As the parent of a new junior, we have started putting together a list of potential schools and have added and crossed off several already.
What colleges are on your list so far and which ones have you visited already or plan to visit in the coming months?
Here are some great and sometimes un-known schools
Those are just a few good ones. It really depends what your child is looking for. What are your child’s scores and grades? Those are both very big factors in deciding where to apply. Make sure you follow the 4-4-3 rule. This is a ratio of schools you should apply to. 4 reaches to 4 likely schools to 3 schools you are 100% sure your child can get into. MAKE SURE OF THAT! It would be even better if your child would love to go to AT LEAST 2 of their “shoe in” schools. Hope that helped!
This thread is right up your alley:
Thank you for your input, but we already have a pretty good list put together. The purpose of my post was to get others to list where they or their child was planning to apply and eventually visit. Here is my son’s list as of today:
University of Delaware
Virginia Tech
James Madison
University of Kentucky
UNC- Wilmington
Clemson
College of Charleston
U of South Carolina
Furman
U of Georgia
Auburn
U of Alabama
Florida Gulf Coast U
We will visit the NC and SC schools during his spring break in early March. The 2 Virginia schools he will visit with friends one weekend this fall.
Some good info to be had despite the main purpose of this thread
I’m assuming finances are not an issue as you have public universities from a number of states on your list.
Regarding the OP…there are 3000 or more colleges in this country. Different strokes for different folks. You could get posts listing all 3000 at the end of the day.
What are you really looking for?
@ElleLakes , none of those are unknown.
My S18 has refused to visit any colleges. He has been to the state flagship where his sibling is and said that he would be happy to go there, if accepted (and we would be delighted as well - it is a great school and quite competitive). He stayed at a small college while at CTY camp and says it was OK, too, so small vs large issue is not critical.
He is also undecided on a major and has not done any testing outside of trial SAT, ACT and PSAT, so while we have a fairly good idea of what his scores will be, it is not solid at this point.
It appears that the son it right … there is no point in visiting colleges at this time and we should focus on determining safeties and matches within our financial and geographic range.
Thanks for all replies. @thumper1, no hidden agenda on my end. Although I have been through this process already with my daughter, my son has a different set of interests, priorities and grades. I came across college confidential recently and have really enjoyed reading various threads including all of those that were referenced above.
I am always curious about the college choices people make and the reasons behind those choices. I just wanted to get some feedback on how the search was going for those in the same boat as me. The early stage of picking, choosing and visiting has been intense and a little stressful.
"I am always curious about the college choices people make and the reasons behind those choices. I just wanted to get some feedback on how the search was going for those in the same boat as me. The early stage of picking, choosing and visiting has been intense and a little stressful."
@VaNcBorder, After having visited many schools with my D, I think most of those visits had little affect on her final school choice and didn’t affect the outcome of which schools she was accepted at. I think I see the same for my S in his current search and our trips. To be honest, the biggest unexpected benefit has probably been for me, as I’ve gotten a lot of road-trip face time with my kids. I wouldn’t give that up.
Furman’s COA is quite a bit more than the other schools on your list at 60,000 a year with limited merit aid. I’m not sure if that would make a difference or not.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19285871/#Comment_19285871
This is pretty much the list right now for DS18.
@carolinamom2boys, the pricetag at Furman is way too high as it stands but I wanted my son to look at one smaller school as an option. If we are visiting Clemson, I figured it would make sense to also visit Furman at the same time as they are fairly close together. Furman has a lot to offer in a smaller package.
@Loukydad, we are staying within similar perimeters as you as far as weather and distance with the exception of FGCU which is a 15 hour drive. That in itself may eventually take it off the list. Your son has put together a great list! The hard part is narrowing it down.
You may want to consider looking at Wofford University in Spartanburg after your trip to Clemson. It is a little smaller than Furman, approx 10,000 dollars cheaper and typically more generous with merit aide than Furman. Just a suggestion . Also look at the Wofford Scholars and Furman Scholars program if your son is a Junior for merit opportunities. Good luck. My son was accepted at Furman, Wofford, Clemson and CofC and we have visited all of these schools multiple times. If you have any questions , please feel free to PM me.