It is, but it’s still not my first choice. The main reason I wanted to apply in the first place was just because I’m in state, but it’s a good school. It does have pretty much everything I want in a college. I like Alabama a lot more than UIUC mostly because of the location, but I wouldn’t hate going to UIUC either.
You will have trouble finding education bachelor’s degrees in states here they’ve moved to regular major + MAT. I agree and education or educational studies minor should be offered though. Did you check out Davidson?
Davidson is a lot smaller than I’d prefer. I don’t think I’d like going to that small of a college.
UF doesn’t have an OOS enrollment cap, so that doesn’t factor into admissions**. The admit rate for OOS students is about the same as in-state students. That may change as UF becomes more popular with OOS students…
**The State of Florida system has a 10% overall cap (out of 350,000+ students), but UF’s OOS % is below that, and the system’s % is far below that limit. It currently isn’t something UF factors into admissions.
So does that mean that UF isn’t a reach for me?
I haven’t read the whole thread but the Midwest Student Exchange Program might be of interest to you.
It is a consortium of schools where you would get reduced OOS tuition based on your Illinois residency.
Farthest south is KS, MO, Nebraska. Probably not your dream come true, but they are options.
I know a lot of students who pick a major in a discipline and then get a quick one-year certification in education or a master’s degree. That’s another path to what you seek. If you were to get into and complete Teach for America, the program has some graduate school tuition benefits.
I did not read all posts so sorry if you mentioned that before but except from your academic profile gpa and act/sat what are your ECs like? Do you have a “narrative” or coherent story that would suggest to admission officers that this student will be dedicated to their major? Some of the “prestigious” schools that offer education majors (for example Boston college) do look for a good match and love to get students “passionate” about teaching. In schools that offer pre-professional tracks the high stats usually cluster in the “high pay” majors. Some times the education department will get a bit lower stats (not by much and not always but “sometimes”). A student that shows an understanding already what teaching is and that looks eager to participate and be active in the department will get some edge. Anyway, since you want to apply to prestigious universities make sure your app is well prepared and reflects well on all that you have to offer through your experiences etc.
I have one year of experience working with kids at a daycare, it’ll be closer to 1.5 by the time I start applying and more than 2 by the time I actually start college.
My only other ec is a sport.
What about College of Charleston? I apologize if this has been mentioned already.
College of Charleston doesn’t really have the name recognition, prestige, student body, and sports that I would like. It looks like it has a great location and an education major, which are good, but otherwise I don’t think I’d be a good fit for me.
The oos student pool is usually a little more qualified in general. But the middle 50 for all in 2017 was 4.3 to 4.6 gpa and act 29 to 32. I would posit the oos student pool is stronger than these stats
you may want to look at James Madison University in VA – https://www.jmu.edu/idls/ similar acceptance rate and admissions criteria to Elon, slightly larger school than Elon. Might not be what you are looking for, but worth checking if you like UVA (about 50-minutes away), and this area of VA.
I like the idea of JMU - how about Penn State ( sorry if this was mentioned). I think UNC, UVA and Vandy are very reachy… although it certainly does not hurt to apply.
Penn State is one that I’m thinking about applying to.
I like JMU.
Is there anything I can do to increase my chances at my reach schools?
I think your reach schools (UNC, UVA, Vandy) are pretty reachy, especially being out of state for the 2 state schools… Does your school rank? Where do you fall within your class? Can you retake the tests? At this point you should focus on your essays and letters of recommendation. Beyond that… apply… But recognize that they fall within the high reach category.
I think JMU and Penn State are very solid match schools that meet your criteria. Have you considered the University of Maryland?
My school doesn’t rank. I’m not sure where I fall in my class. I can retake one of the tests but I’m not sure if I’ll have a significant score increase.
I haven’t really considered the University of Maryland but I will.
Does your school have Naviance? Can you ask your guidance counselor about your school’s acceptance history to your reach schools?
My school has naviance. A lot of students from my school get waitlisted at Vanderbilt, apparently. One student with almost exactly the same grades as me got accepted. At all the other schools it looks like I’ll just get denied.
What were the test scores for the Vandy acceptance? Naviance won’t tell you if there were any hooks. In any event you have been given a lot of excellent options and I wish you the best!
It was a 30 ACT. For close to my GPA and that score, there was the one acceptance, one waitlist, and 4 denied.