<p>Thanks for first responses. D will take ACT. I do not expect that she will go up on this. She gets test anxiety, and does not do test well. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about URI? Never hear about it here. When I grew up back east, it was not a good school. I s it better now?
Rodney, I know most of these schools are large. I guess that is because so many are public schools. I do not know anything about Towson or COC. Any highlights you can share. I will look on line. You mentioned Kansas. Their private dorm at Kansas is called Naismith. It is known on campus as Bnai-smith.(mostly jewish kids live there) They have close to 2k jewish students, and rising. Mostly from Midwest and Texas. We will visit it in April. I hear they have beautiful campus, jewish greek life, very active hillel, and easy for B students. Good hoop team as well.</p>
<p>Linymom…Thanks for your response and welcome. I will do more research into Ithaca and Hartford? your D has much better grades. I loved Delaware when we looked at it for D1. A girl from our town is a frosh there now. She went based on our recommendation. I would be thrilled if D2 could get in there. Great campus, loved the kids we met. Not too jappy or pretentious(unlike maryland). I am under the assumption that it will be a reach school with her numbers… Am I correct on that. I thought it takes 3.5 and much higher test scores. </p>
<p>socaldad - hi and welcome! Regarding your younger daughter - I’m going to 2nd the idea of the ACT. My younger son (the one that inspired this thread) took the PSAT twice and both scores were in the 140s - so predicting a rather dreadful 1400/2400. But his first ACT back in September was a fairly respectable 27. My older son is a much stronger student and a machine when it comes to standardized tests - but he also did better on the ACT. So - have her give it a try.</p>
<p>We keep the definition of “B” student loose and broad here. A lot depends on your hs. My son has close to a 3.6 GPA/4.0 weighted GPA - so maybe that is more of an A-, but within the context of his high-achieving hs - he’s not even in the top 25%. So, within the context of his hs - I see him as more of a “B” student when I size up the competition and look at the scattergrams on Naviance.</p>
<p>Towson and CofC are both on my son’s list. I am very satisfied with the size of the Jewish population and the Hillel or Jewish Student group at both. Towson has a wide range of majors and the area around the campus is very suburban - lots to do that you can walk to - and of course just a short bus ride from downtown Baltimore. We are visiting CofC for the first time in April and I will post when we return. But again - it meets our criteria of Jewish population, somewhere between 2400 and 18000 students, plenty to do and wide variety of majors. We also want him to stay on the east coast and he prefers warmer weather.</p>
<p>I know this thread is long - but if you use the search function at the top of the page in the blue horizontal bar - you should be able to locate lots of commentary on both of these schools.</p>
<p>socaldad: UD might be a reach with your DD’s current stats, but if she can get them up a bit, apply early and show interest. Being from CA would give her a leg up as compared to students with the same grades/scores from NY/NJ. My DD loved Towson (very nice mall nearby!) and she has a friend there now who is really happy. We didn’t know a lot about URI except that we knew the area bc my brother has a summer house there. It was a safety school and she even got merit $$ (!!).</p>
<p>What do you mean by a “private dorm?” I never heard of that…</p>
<p>socaldad-my D also has huge test anxiety. Her tutor read an article that I will try to find and link. The study showed that for students with test anxiety it helped to write down their fears and thoughts for 10 minutes before the test. My D did this yesterday and felt it helped.</p>
<p>By Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times
3:54 PM PST, January 13, 2011</p>
<p>This school would be on S2’s list except for the location - he won’t head north. Here’s a link about merit scholarships - which many in the B+ range would be eligible for:</p>
<p>URI: DD applied in October and was accepted by mid-December. Great news to have so early during senior year (first acceptance). My DD would not have had to fly there, but for those who do, Southwest flies to Providence.</p>
<p>Thanks RVM. I just researched Towson. Looks good. I will continue to try and find out more. URI is next project during the jets game.</p>
<p>Linymom–Private Dorm…Some Public universities have Private dorms. Texas, Kansas, illinois, Kansas, to name a few. These are private dorms. They are not owned by the university. they are owned by private real state holding companies. They have their own dining hall, study rooms, usually nicer dorm rooms. At Texas, my D had a two bedroom two bath suite for 4 girls. They also had a living room, dining area, and small kitchen. Wisconsin is just larger nicer dorm room. I have not seen Kansas yet. Of the dorms I listed, they are primarily inhabited by Jewish kids. They flock together. At ut it is called University towers, Wisconisin is Statesider, Kansas is Naismith. Hope that informs you.</p>
<p>Very interesting article. I have forwarded it to my daughter. Thanks so much. </p>
<p>This thread is amazing. I am in awe in the quality of responses. Thank you all. Keep those thoughts coming.</p>
<p>As we speak, My D and I are looking at Towson. Why have I not heard of Towson before? Is it an emerging school, a not well known school, or a hidden gem. Do tell. She asked if she can go look at it when we visit Delaware. Thanks all. Next up COC and URI.</p>
<p>Mom60 - interesting article about test anxiety - had not heard of that suggestion before. </p>
<p>My son does not have test anxiety - he’s just not a great standardized test taker. All of his close friends have now taken the ACT once - and their scores range from 30-34. But - he’s not concerned about his 27 - as I have mentioned - very relaxed about the whole process. He did a few sessions of paid test prep with a private tutor - focusing on the reading section since that was his lowest at 24. But - he did not think it was helping much, so we have discontinued it. He is going to do some practice sections on his own for the next 2 weekends and then test on Feb. 12. He is adamant that he is done testing at that point - so what will be will be. Taking my cues from him - although it is hard to fathom how I gave birth to a child who exhibits no signs of anxiety or stress! Must be a throwback to some previous generation.</p>
<p>socal - Towson is interesting in that it is gaining in stature. Go back 10 years and it was pretty much just in-state - for those who could not get into University of Maryland. I like it better than Maryland for my son and he will be applying there. Very active and vibrant Hillel. Nice range of majors/minors. The campus is not sprawling - it is actually fairly compact (the main part) and then there are sports facilities and some newly built dorms fairly close by. We drove in both directions from campus and heading back towards the hwy - you will pass a very suburban Towson Town Center with movie theater, restaurants and a mall - it looked very nice. Many Towson students live off campus - there are lots of apartments nearby. So, while the actual undergraduate population might be 17,000 - maybe 4500 live on campus - again giving it a smaller feel. We liked what we saw and are planning to visit again this spring or in the fall.</p>
<p>Towson’s campus was nicer than I expected. By that I mean that the mental picture I had was pretty utilitarian - and it wasn’t like that. Attractive buildings, landscaping, etc. Now, it’s not going to be on anyone “Most Beautiful” campus list - but it was fine. It did have open green space. The only real negative was the abundance of parking lots and parking garages - which are not going to be attractive structures. But Towson does have a lot of students living off campus - hence the need for parking facilities. There was a brand new liberal arts building that was almost finished construction that looked quite impressive. We were there on a Sunday - so just walked around on our own - returning for the official info session/tour at some point in the next few months.</p>
<p>Photo of one of the original buildings - view from York Road</p>
<p>socaldad42: I will chime in here to second the comments on Towson and URI. Both good fits for a true-B student. UVM, UMass and UConn will be more difficult and UDel even more so. UDel has become very popular on the East Coast among all kinds of students. It would be good to inquire of Admissions how much they value geographic diversity.
USF is very hospitable to Jewish students and UCF is becoming a more common destination for Jewish kids too.
Quinnipiac is one of the most expensive colleges in the country and I don’t know that the degree will carry much currency on the West Coast (if the intent is to go home after graduation).
Colorado would give your D the same atmosphere as the other publics and might be more practical.
What about UTampa?</p>
<p>I’m also a big fan of the ACTs. The conversion score added 120 points to our son’s SATs, moving him into some mid-ranges that schools look for. </p>
<p>Ithaca may be a stretch for a lower B student. That said, it is an excellent school for students who require learning supports. The school is set up to handle an array of accommodations, and the faculty is very good about keeping tabs on their students. A student with ADHD (and appropriate documentation) will not get lost on this campus. Jewish vibe on campus is very positive.</p>
<p>Another vote for the ACT here. My daughter ended up with a score that was the equivalent of 200 points above her SAT score after preping on her own.</p>
<p>Socal: As RVM said, Towson was more of a regional school in the past. It was originally a state teacher’s college, and education continues to be one of it’s strongest programs. In the past 10 years, it has become a popular choice for “B” students from New York and New Jersey. I believe that it is about 30% Jewish. The campus architechture is nothing special, but the grounds are very pretty with open space, trees and wooden walking bridges. The setting is surburban with restaurants in walking distance and a huge mall nearby. Downtown Baltimore is about 20 minutes away. It’s about one hour from U Del. My daughter liked it better than Delware, mostly because of the location and vibe of the students.</p>
<p>College 4 three…I am surprised to hear U Mass is that difficult. I thought they like OOS. I would hope that a california kid might be attractive to them. Not many from here go there. What do you hear about budget cutbacks and slashing faculty? I agree that Delaware is a hot school and a long shot. Will probably try as a reach school. Good to know about Quinnipiac. i will take it off the list. Need to research more about the florida schools. She wants a traditional looking campus. Are these modern hodgepodge or pretty southern style? any idea? I agree about Boulder. It is a beautiful, and closer. I think she has a good shot at getting in. Not sure it has a cohesive jewish community. I like it, though It is one of the most expensive publics for OOS.</p>
<p>Mom4989. We are trying the ACT’s in Feb or March. We will see how that turns out. If it looks better, we will adjust tutoring for that. I will do more research about Ithaca. Surprised it will be so difficult for a true B student. Remember when if you had a pulse you could get in. Things have changed.</p>
<p>Thanks all for thoughts. Open to any and all. </p>
<p>This is a great group of involved and caring parents. Thanks for support and help.</p>
<p>while a specialized major at Ithaca may be more competitive (music, theater, communications), I don’t think that it’s that difficult for arts and science kids…lots of “B” and even “C” students there that are from here…</p>
<p>socaldad: UMass is definitely viable for your D but it would be good to try to pin down OOS stats.
Michigan State should be a comfortable fit. What about Ohio State?
UTampa is gorgeous. USF not really.</p>
<p>I think that what is going to be paramount is finding good matches and applying EARLY. If there are rolling admissions, take advantage of being one of the first apps in the pile. Yes, I’m talking September.</p>
<p>Additionally, once you’re east of the Mississippi, I’d be aware of name recognition with regard to the West coast. It might make the privates a bit more appealing in that regard.</p>
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