Thanks so much reading all of this!
<<How was your son’s list developed? In looking at it, I’m unclear about what it is that he wants out of his college experience.>>
He has a definite interest in IR. There’s no doubt about that. The list was initially developed with that in mind. Of course we started in DC with AU, GWU and Georgetown. We then discovered Seton Hall and Drew. The DC schools for obvious reasons and Seton Hall has a school dedicated to Diplomacy and IR. They have regular interactions with the UN. Drew also has what they call a semester at the UN where students meet weekly in Manhattan and meet different people that work at the UN. Beyond these 5 schools, we started adding schools within our state like Rutgers, Rowan, TCNJ, Ramapo. They all have IR programs, but none of them seemed to have the same level of detail within their programs like the DC schools and Drew and Seton Hall. The Ivies are there just because. His thinking is “why not?”. I get it. As far as all the other ones go, I think he just started adding schools to his list for the heck of it. For example UMich. He didn’t like the feel of Rutgers and I have a feeling UMich is the same thing, only colder and snowier. But of course, their football team has a cool uniform and they just won the national champiosnhip. Another one is High Point. He really likes the dorms there. Beyond that, I can’t think of any other reason to go there. His mom and I lean more liberal, so that would be a weird choice. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think that not a lot of thought has been put into his list beyond superficial stuff that doesn’t really matter. I do think the initial 5 I mentioned were put on his list for the right reasons. His mom and I really believe he’ll end up at Seton Hall. It’s really close to home and has everything he wants. He made a comment earlier this year along the lines “Most people want to come here (NYC area) and I’m already here.” We thought that was really mature of him to think like that despite his addition of schools like Umich to his list. He’ll either end up in NY/NJ or in the DC area, we think.
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We just talked about this and here are some answers:
<<What size school does he prefer?>>
He told me he doesn’t really have a preference for school size, but we’ve visited about 15 campuses and we can tell he prefers a smaller suburban campus. For example, we visited Seton Hall and Rutgers. Rutgers was overwhelmingly large. As we understand it, you might have to bus from one class to another. When we were at Seton Hall he said that felt perfect (same with American Uni). Same with Ramapo, TCNJ, Drew.
<<What size classes does he prefer?>>
He prefers a class size like high school, 25-40. I believe this is line with preferring a smaller, mid-size campus/student body size as opposed to a larger one. We also believe he would benefit from a smaller student/faculty ratio as this might keep him more engaged. We realize professors will not babysit him, but it’s nice when they know your name.
<<Are there area(s) of the country that he prefers or prefers to avoid?>>
He want’s nothing to do with any place in the middle of the country. For example, ND, SD, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, etc. He prefers, the northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and south (NC, SC, GA, FL, MD, VA). He wouldn’t mind the west coast, but as his parents, we’d like him a bit closer. Not only that, We haven’t seen anything even remotely within our budget in CA. Our SAI is ~60K, but it’s very unlikely we’d go that high.
<<How does he feel about urban/suburban/college town/remote campuses?>>
He really has no preference on this. I will say that he didn’t like the feel of Drexel, open and right in the middle of Philly. He likes a campus that is enclosed, like American or Columbia. They’re in the middle of big cities, but within their own gates for the most part. He liked GWU, but wasn’t crazy about the open campus setting (similar to Drexel, out in the open)
<<How does he feel about the importance of enthusiasm surrounding intercollegiate sports?>>
He’s a big sports fan and would prefer a setting where everybody’s excited about the big game, whether it’s D1, D3 or whatever.
<<How does he feel about Greek life (fraternities/sororities)?>>
Couldn’t care less about this.
<<Are there any other factors (like politics, religion, percentage of a population, etc) that will influence the college decision?>>
Not really. For example, we’re not religious, but Seton Hall is near the top of his list.
<<Are there any additional interests that he’s hoping to pursue while in college?>>
He’s a hockey player and would like to continue to play in college at the ACHA or AAU level. He’s kept his list, however sporadic, to schools that have club hockey. He’s also very interested in Study Abroad and definitely wants to do this.