<p>“Vibe” is SO important! We looked at UNH (safety) and Brandeis (reach) over the weekend. Brandeis felt so exactly right-- the kids full of life and energy and also humor, smiling and seeming very natural and open. UNH did not have the same vibrancy at all. If D keeps pushing she might get in to Brandeis…but I’d love to hear of other places, not quite as selective, where she would find the same kind of motivated, lively kids.</p>
<p>Gwen, at our HS, ED gets reach kids into Brandeis. In terms of less slective, but still lively and motivated, is there a major you seek? From a blank slate, schools which might be similar (intellectual more than sports-oriented) and less selective might be Skidmore, Union, Juniata, Goucher, NYU, Clark and, in the midwest (where I know less about rleative selectivity and everything else) st Olaf, Careleton, Macalester, Beloit and Grinnell).</p>
<p>Brandeis is fab!</p>
<p>Gwen - how about Oberlin or Tulane?</p>
<p>yabeyabe, thank you! She’ll be a theater major, music minor likely… Brandeis theater dept is small but good (I’ve heard). She’s looking at auditioned BFA programs and really wants to dive into theater headfirst (so she’d have to change directions a bit to apply ED). Skidmore is another possibility in the BA realm–but for D, who is so serious she’s nearly religious about theater, I think a small, smart department might be just the place where she can really immerse herself in all aspects, get to know her professors, etc. They also have a good theater MFA which I’m hoping might trickle down to the undergrads in some ways.</p>
<p>I will look more at Oberlin and Tulane, mdmom, thank you! She wants to stay near home and Brandeis is ideal in that way too.</p>
<p>Gwen - if she wants theater has she looked into CMU? It seems almost impossible to get into for theater, but if she gets in, I have heard it’s one of the best programs with an incredible alumni network.</p>
<p>Gwen, CMU is an excellent suggestion. Emmybet is a true theater expert and very generous sharer and I believe there is a separate thread for theater–perhaps even separate for musical theater and dramatic theatre.</p>
<p>Theater and music (which also has its own thread) change the mix of school, as they are often worlds unto themselves, with reps that can be much better or worse than the rest of the school. Drew, Ithaca and Susquehanna might be added to the list.</p>
<p>yes, thank you for all suggestions-- I haunt the theater thread and see emmybet there often! It does focus on BFAs though (like CMU, d’s first choice and a true pie in the sky, it has so many applicants and so few places)-- and I’m looking more holistically too, so it’s good to attend to both.</p>
<p>GF – have you looked at Goucher?</p>
<p>Would you please educate me on why one would major in theater and what career path that would take you on after college? I’m just curious - it’s not for my sons - it’s just something I know nothing about. Do those who major in theater intend to seek roles on Broadway or off-Broadway? Or teach theater in hs? I just don’t get it - and I don’t mean this in a snarky way at all - I just don’t understand the concept.</p>
<p>I would also offer Muhlenberg as a suggestion for B students interested in theater.</p>
<p>unbelievable-- D looked at the Goucher website and hated it for some reason I don’t even understand! But thank you.</p>
<p>rockville mom-- I think lots of people who major in theater do intend to seek roles on Broadway but of course that is a very, very long shot. It’s like majoring in art or music though-- if you’re passionate about it, you pour yourself into in a way that brings surprising returns and can make for a very meaningful life. Theater is literature come alive–I think my D sees it as the closest thing to actual time travel-- a way of understanding other times and cultures from the inside. She’s crazy about history too. </p>
<p>from a practical perspective-- certain skills, such as the poise and presence you develop in theater, can take you surprisingly far. Fortune magazine, naming its 50 most promising young executives ten years ago, looked into their backgrounds for similarities and found only one thing they all had in common-- they’d been involved in theater as young people. (D’s math skills make it very unlikely we will be seeing her name in Fortune magazine, I must say.) </p>
<p>Teaching is an option, and there are lots of jobs–acting, directing, managing theaters, etc…not just on Broadway but across the country. But there are also lots of actors waiting tables. Just depends on your mindset I guess–I have a creative arts degree myself and have worked so many jobs, from retail sales to college professor, and had some success in my own work, so I feel confident she’ll find her way, though I can’t guess exactly how.</p>
<p>Went to Towson open house. It is an excellent school for Rockville Mom’s son. Highlly impressed with the Business school presentation: top Accounting program, has 500 internships, required to do one internship before graduating, very good selection of Business majors, 80% graduation rate. Math dept. has Actuary Science and Risk Management program that looks excellent. There is a Hillel and Kosher food available. Surprises: a Towson rep said the graduation rate is in the 50s range (misunderstanding?). Heard that 5 years to graduate is not unusual. Like the study abroad programs for allowing you to take classes in your major overseas. No quiet dorms available, have quiet hours available, and no detailed housing form to try to closely match roommates with compatible lifestyle.</p>
<p>All that said, the neighborhood is very nice, but the campus has a modest, simple feel to it.
I think Towson is good for those who want the strong majors (Accounting, etc.). I am not sure if it is better to go to Towson for 4 years, or go to community college for 2 years and then transfer to a private university.</p>
<p>Gwen, I second Muhlenberg. As with athletes and broadcasters, actors have to weigh the quality of the program vs. their chances to get lead roles. You and yYour daughter seems to have very healthy attitudes</p>
<p>MDCISSP, everyone has to make their own decision, but re 4 years of Towson vs. 2 at community college then 2 at private, I think that any child who could afford Towson in that scenario and is ready to leave home should take it. Getting into the private college in your scenario is not a sure thing and any poor community college grade could be fatal.</p>
<p>In addition, community college is not nearly the social experience that Towson could be, even for a commuter. Meanwhile, starting the private college as a junior means the difficult task of making friends who already have established social groups and little chance of becoming a leader in a campus group.</p>
<p>Finally, the transition to private college can be difficult and weak junior grades are more damaging than weak freshman year grades.</p>
<p>[Institutional</a> Research - Towson University](<a href=“http://www.towson.edu/ir/trn_gradret.asp]Institutional”>http://www.towson.edu/ir/trn_gradret.asp)</p>
<p>Here’s the link to Towson graduation and freshman retention rates from their Office of Institutional Research. This shows a 66.4% 4-year grad. rate and a 72.6% 5-year grad rate. Not as high as more selective private schools - but I think acceptable for a public institution that has a certain percentage of commuter students who might also be working. The percentages are improving and Towson also does a good job of graduating minority students. See link from August article in Washington Post.</p>
<p>[GMU</a>, Towson among 11 schools with no race ‘gap’ in graduation rate](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081002535.html]GMU”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081002535.html)</p>
<p>“Nationally, graduation rates run 15 to 20 points lower for black and Hispanic students than for white students. But at Towson, they are nearly identical: The school’s graduation rate stands at 67 percent for both white and black students and at 70 percent for Hispanics.”</p>
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<p>Great comments on theatre, Gwen. You said it so well.</p>
<p>My D has been living and breathing theatre all her life - and not wanting to be “star,” in fact, hardly ever performing onstage until last year, although she absolutely loves to perform and would love to make that work out somehow. But since she was very little she read and talked and studied, wrote plays and imagined how she’d stage them and cast them, and definitely sees it all in the big picture of literature, history, and overal human interaction. It’s just something she loves. She generally is a very artsy/humanities person and always would have gone in that kind of direction even if she doesn’t major in theatre. In terms of a day job, she has other ideas, too - for example, she would love to teach small children if she doesn’t find regular arts work.</p>
<p>It’s too bad Gwen’s D didn’t like Goucher. My D is holding it at the ready in case her higher-match LACs don’t come through. She met them at a CTCL fair and really liked the school. We wouldn’t visit until spring, though. The nice thing about Goucher is that it has the city access similar to Brandeis, which is rare for a smaller school. Although my D might not like it after all, either, so we might end up in the same boat.</p>
<p>Schools like Brandeis that are less reachy and in the general vicinity … that’s been a challenge for us, and why my D doesn’t have a Boston or NY area LAC except for Bard, at which she by no means can depend on an acceptance. She found Sarah Lawrence too intense for her - probably Bard is as intense in the work, but they didn’t project anywhere near the “we think think think and write write write every single second and you have to be like that or you won’t fit in” attitude. Her Bard tour guide said he would have gone to Skidmore if he hadn’t gotten in, but Skidmore doesn’t click for D. She considered Bennington but realized she didn’t want that small and remote. </p>
<p>Holliesue has had good feelings about Alfred and Juniata’s theatre depts. Isn’t it nice having this “family” to share with? I think many LACs do theatre beautifully, even though it doesn’t come up in conversation - we know theatre kids at Lawrence, Knox, and others out here.</p>
<p>My D had the same feeling about Muhlenberg that Gwen’s D had about Goucher - just can’t see herself there. Ah, well. I’m suspecting Gwen’s D might have the same turnoff mine did at Drew - just doesn’t do the preppy suburban vibe very well. She’d rather be at a gritty city school than a too-pristine little college.</p>
<p>We talked about size today - she’s definitely the type who could make small “work” but would be plenty happy at a bigger school. She’s not anticipating being turned off by a larger flagship type U, especially because she knows she’ll be in a close-knit dept, a defined world. We definitely know what a big flagship looks and feels like, with one in our backyard, and she knows plenty of people who have made it work.</p>
<p>Of course that isn’t going to make a decision in April any easier, when she (hopefully) has a basket of apples and oranges. But so far she knows how she’d go with 3/4s of the possible pairings. Hopefully the hard pairings won’t be what she’s faced with.</p>
<p>PS - Gwen, sorry to hear about UNH. Will URI stay on as a safety? We’re still holding that as an option, but again can’t visit until spring.</p>
<p>mdcissp: I was speaking to a friend recently whose S for several reasons is going the CC route. He is now looking for schools to transfer into and is finding some issues with his credits transferring and also with less FA being available for transfer students. If anyone is considering going to a CC and transferring into a specific 4 year college it would be a good idea to research credit transferability at the front end as well as FA availability to transfer students if this is being sought. I was really surprised to hear that some CC credits would not be accepted even by some in state university schools. I would have never guessed that.</p>
<p>Gwen, I have never been to Goucher, but last year 3 kids from the B student thread wound up there after exhaustive searches and I know someone who teaches there. But I know how hard it is to change kids’ first impressions.</p>
<p>There is a special type of CC angst which comes when the child of someone you respect highly looks at a school you thought was a great fit and hates it, often for a reson you find bizarre and you feel embarassed that someone wasted a day at your suggestion and wondering why you spend time giving what you think is thoughtful advice if the sighting of a single jock with a backwards cap is going to undo it. :)</p>
<p>Gwen and Emmy Bet - thanks for your comments on theater - I find it very interesting that so many kids seem to pursue majors in theater/music/dance - something I was not aware of til recently. We are a very non-musical, non-artistic family - so it’s just something I don’t have much personal experience with.</p>
<p>[The</a> Pendulum - Elon Hillel borrows military Torah for Jewish celebration of Simchat Torah](<a href=“Informasi Seputar Pendidikan Dan Ilmu Pengetahuan”>http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=4250)</p>
<p>Really looking forward to our upcoming Elon visit. I’m going to be devastated if S2 does not like it. Yabe - I’m worried about one of those bizarre incidents you mentioned - where a kids gets turned off to a school by virtue of one stupid trivial thing. Hoping for good weather and smooth sailing.</p>