She is on the quiet side, definitely not the “party” type. I can’t see her joining a sorority, except maybe at Stevens. A liberal atmosphere is also important.
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She would also prefer a school in or near a big city, which unfortunately Bing is not.
I think merit at UConn is possible, but I doubt it will be enough to get the cost down to $31,000. She could try and see.
Define “better”.
You might try an RPI - especially as a female - but it might not be the right vibe. A lot of creative types seem to like RIT too - not sure the merit opportunities.
I’m guessing only URI and U Maine can touch the Bing amount in the NE - and maybe mid size privates like Qunnipiac at $50K. Some LACs can but you ruled them out and definitely the regional publics as I mentioned. You might take a look at Miami of Ohio - sort of a large William and Mary - with great merit.
For science, you can also look at Purdue - 40k-ish - but again now you are midwest.
I think Bing is in the bag but you add a Buffalo or Albany and honestly the rest of the list could be what you want.
So if you want to try an UMD or UNC or Ga Tech, they why not? Worst case, you’re going to Bing anyway.
Good luck to her.
I just saw near a city:
Charleston is “liberal” but the state isn’t. Lots of Northeasterns. Same for Tucson in Arizona - but it’s not the Northeast.
Why not Buffalo or Albany instead of Bing - given her wanting to be in a city? Or ESF if any majors work - and then she has Syrcause U as a resource too. It’s a cheap way into Syracuse.
Honestly, while Bing may be the most recognized SUNY, for a science or math degree, the “where” isn’t going to impact long term - especially amongst SUNY schools.
U Maine would be out - with the “city” - URI and UDel too as would UMASS and UCONN. Oh, and then Miami of Ohio and Purdue…gone based on that (especially Maimi)…but U Cincy could be a sub.
FSU could work - but again it’s South (but also $25K).
Don’t give up on her desires - city vs. non city is a big deal - much more so than what US News thinks.
Good luck.
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CUNYs?
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Assuming she choses not to apply as an art major, perhaps it’s better to put down “undecided” rather than “biology” or something STEM. Since she really doesn’t know what she wants, it could be tricky for her to write a “why” essay, especially about an inteneded major she knows little about. She could ,however, come up with something art related to write in an essay, which is why I thought it could be a good idea.
RIT and RPI might be worth looking into. URI and Maine might work as well….but she might not like those over Binghamton.
I think she should choose whatever major she wants. Schools know that students change majors all the time.
I remember my kids writing a “why” essay about the school, but not about their choice of major.
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We thought about CUNY’s but due to her shyness, I think it’s important for her to live in a dorm and most CUNY’s have mostly commuters.
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As a rough rule of thumb, if you can easily change majors, then their admissions standards probably will not vary much, possibly not at all, by intended major. It wouldn’t make sense any other way. If they admit by major, and it is hard to later change into one of the more popular majors, then it might also be harder to get admitted into that major. But then it won’t necessarily be a great idea to risk getting admitted to a less popular major, then trying to transfer in later.
But this doesn’t mean a strong arts portfolio/activities list is useless for someone not intending to apply to arts schools or major in art! Admissions at a very selective US residential college is in part about academics, but it is also about all sorts of other institutional priorities, including needing a constant resupply of students to do all sorts of activities. Most such colleges have a lot of arts stuff happening even for non-majors, so the prospect of someone doing arts when not doing academics is not a bad thing.
So mostly, I would apply for whatever schools or majors you actually want, and I would be honest about my current intentions, but I would also for sure look for colleges that may value me as an artist even if I am a non-major.
I think the one possible exception to all this is that sometimes some colleges have some specific merit funds for arts of some sort, and so sometimes you can unlock that possibility by applying to their arts school or an arts major or such. But even then, you have to watch the terms of the program, like will you lose it if you switch out.
And conversely, sometimes you can get such awards even as a non-major (indicating it really is overfunded, but good for you if you can get it!). So you might look to see if some suitable colleges have such a program, but again I would mostly just count on normal academics for merit, and then arts as a cool EC that could be helpful.
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You are overthinking it.
Don’t worry about the major. If she has one going in, great - and if she doesn’t, that’s fine too to go undecided.
And most schools don’t have a why this major essay.
And for those that do, like most other kids (and so many change), she’ll be fine.
She can be straightforward in her response and even weave art into why a STEM is good - if that’s her desire.
She’s going to be fine - no need to overcomplicate. I promise.
I think she should add SUNY Buffalo as it’s near a city and she could make honors.
Some of the SC schools might get to your price point, but she does not want to head south. I have a family member with similar stats who was in the honors college at the U of SC…also not a partier, and she had a great 4 years.
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Thanks for everyone’s input. I will share all the information with my daughter. I noticed someone mentioned Temple. I know they give good aid but I was concerned about the location. I’m not sure if some of the posts are overreactions to crime that may occur in any city (I’m from NYC).
Can you visit?
My daughter hit a lot of merit from Temple. She loves cities (12 miles from manhattan) but she didn’t feel safe off campus (she’s been to downtown Philadelphia every year for dance competitions since age 6, she felt the homeless were more aggressive than NYC, DC and Chicago).
I agree that the admissions standards at such schools do not vary by major. But I believe that admissions rates may still vary. The most selective schools assure us that they have so many students with top qualifications that they can admit only a few, and that they reject many more with the same high stats. So no, they are not lowering their standards for a kid who expresses interest in the humanities, but if a kid meets their standards (and this student seems to), then their odds of admission may be higher. Of course the student needs to have an application that validates this expressed interest; it does no good to be yet another kid from the Bay Area with all ECs in robotics and coding and claim an interest in Art History. The AOs will see through this tactic. But a kid like this who has a genuine interest in the arts/humanities and verifiable accomplishments in this area? This kid would be best packaged as an arts/humanities kid, in my opinion.
Filling all majors (including the Arts/Humanities majors that are struggling for numbers) is also an institutional priority.
Thanks for your input. I think my daughter was just going to apply to a bunch of schools then just visit the ones in the running based on cost/value. She is also fine with a town (rather than a city), as long as there is something nearby. She actually liked UMass, as the surrounding schools and college town felt a bit better to her than Binghampton. However, we saw Binghampton in the summer and will need to visit again in the fall, assuming she gets in. We toured UConn with my older daughter but there was really nothing around the campus (except for lots of cows on a hill when we visited).
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Would she consider SUNY New Paltz? It is smaller than she wants, but I think it might have the right vibe, they have her major/minor, and there is a town.
There is a huge variation between colleges, so it’s difficult to generalize. Some colleges make it easy to switch between majors. Others make it very difficult to switch between majors. At some colleges, it is easy to switch between majors within a particular subcollege, such as College of Arts and Sciences; but difficult to switch between subcolleges, such as from College of A&S to College of Engineering/CS. Some highly selective colleges have much more selective admissions for particular majors/schools than others. Other highly selective colleges have similar degree of selective admission for all majors. In general, highly selective colleges that have the largest degree of difference in selectivity between majors/schools do not make it easy to switch between major/schools. If it was instead easy to switch between majors, then many students would do what you discuss – apply to a less selective major, then switch to a more selective major shortly after admission.
You mentioned Stevens Institute of Technology. Extremely few students apply to an Institute of Technology as an arts major. Does Stevens even have an art major? I see an option for “Visual Arts and Technology” , but not arts alone. If you apply as an arts major (without double major) to an Institute of Technology school, I imagine it will raise some eyebrows, and not necessarily in a good way. If you apply to a major that is not offered, I’d expect it will look like you did not research the school, and would not increase your chance of admission.
Based on my kids, she should get $16,000 a year from UMASS. SUNY Bing came in cheaper for my daughter than in state Rutgers, and she had a B in HS freshman year, and a 33 act. It was on the short list (ended up at Clemson for more $, only $10,000 a year in merit, but every year they keep giving her more). I think Bing is a safety, and a good one.
I’m going to second looking at Miami U. in Ohio, as it seems like something that could be a good fit. There are about 17k undergrads here and offers very generous merit aid to top students.
If she’s looking for a city, then some other possibilities include:
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George Washington (D.C.): About 11k undergrads
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Howard (D.C.): HBCU of about 9800 undergrads
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Saint Joseph’s (PA ): About 5100 undergrads in Philadelphia
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U. of Rochester (NY): About 6800 undergrads
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West Chester (PA ): About 14k undergrads just outside Philly, and sticker price is barely more than Bing’s