<p>shawbridge – BU does NOT have a football team. They dropped their FCS (DI-AA) program several years ago. Northeatsern is another Boston school that had a FCS program but they dropped it this year. Boston College is the only Massachusetts school with a Division I (BCS) football team. Harvard, Holy Cross and UMASS have FCS programs.</p>
<p>hudsonvalley, thanks for the info.</p>
<p>good to know, hudsonvalley. What do they do with the stadium? Soccer and baseball? That’s awfully valuable real estate.</p>
<p>Here’s what they say: <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickerson_Field[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickerson_Field</a></p>
<p>My daughter is attending a summer program at BU, and she really loves it. They don’t have a football team, but Ice Hockey is very big. She loves the Urban setting and easy access to the entire city. They campus has several “T” stops, so it’s really easy to get around.</p>
<p>They have a beautiful new Hillel building, a kosher dining hall, and a big range of Jewish activities. Kids have a choice between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform services. They have a nice percentage of Jewish students, but also a lot of diversity because they draw students from around the county and internationally.</p>
<p>Now reconsidering UMBC and am confused if they have a business school.</p>
<p>Mdcissp,
It looks like UMBC does not have a business school, but you can major in economics and get a certificate in accounting or finance. They also have some interesting business options in the Information Systems department.</p>
<p>I’ve thought all along that UMBC would be a good fit for your son. It seems to attract nice, studious kids who manage to have fun without excessive partying. It sounds like it’s worth another look. If he’s still not sure, he can apply to have it as an option.</p>
<p>mdcissp,
Please respond to my pm so that I know that you received it. You have been on this forum since I sent it yesterday morning. Does your profile not notify you when you get a PM? If it did not go through, I will send it again.</p>
<p>cherryhillmom - somewhere on here - I know not where - I posted a lot of college-related links - and one was specifically for retention and graduation rates. I can’t find it at the moment - but will try to locate it and repost tomorrow.</p>
<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/masters-north-freshmen-least-most-likely-return]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/masters-north-freshmen-least-most-likely-return)</p>
<p>cherryhill - accoring to USNWR - Suffolk Univ. had only a 72% freshman retention rate - that’s kind of low - I’d be a little concerned about that.</p>
<p>I called UMBC before driving out there again to find out about GPA and test scores. They want to see a 3.5 GPA and 27 ACT. My son has an acceptable ACT for Towson and Salisbury, but is a little low for UMBC. The admissions rep said to apply and see what happens (he has some other nice things going for him).</p>
<p>My other worry is that my son is taking a college course this summer which has a lot of class discussion. My son has Aspergers, the professor knows this, and my son said some of the other students laugh at him by his comments (not trying to be funny). He also gets very upset at some of the discussion because he is reading too much into the meaning of the vocabulary used.</p>
<p>This class is tremendously insightful because I now think my son cannot be in a major where discussion and social communication is involved. Therefore, I am worried-he is an average student in Math, thinks accounting or actuary science is a good fit, but I am not sure.</p>
<p>I think the academic standards at UMBC maybe too high for my son. He does not want to repeat the ACT. </p>
<p>We looked into Hofstra-but at $45,000 a year, it is too much for us. </p>
<p>My Jewish friends think Salisbury is a mistake because there is no Hillel and no Jewish life there. This leaves us with Towson which is an excellent choice, but my husband says have other back up safety schools.</p>
<p>Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your feedback and e-mails.</p>
<p>Typo-UMBC wants 3.6 GPA.</p>
<p>Maybe we should revisit Stevenson? Goucher? Maybe Northern Virginia Community Coillege?</p>
<p>I think my son needs a program with a lot of mentoring and nurturing to help him. I also think he should be closer to home.</p>
<p>I am worried about choice of major and all the other social adjustments college will involve.</p>
<p>Actuary is not a good fit for a kid who is only average in math. Accounting is possible- as long as his fundamentals (arithmetic, pre-algebra) are strong he’ll be able to keep up. The bigger problem is whether he’d be happy in a major and a career which is at its core numbers based-- but if he hates his first few accounting classes he’ll know soon enough. I would be reluctant to encourage a kid who didn’t love math to major in a quantitative major… not that he couldn’t do it, but why spend so much time with numbers if you don’t enjoy it?</p>
<p>MD- what does your son love? That’s probably a better starting point re: majors than trying to stick a round peg into a square hole.</p>
<p>Unless U Mass Boston has changed quite a bit I would not describe the school as nurturing. A decade ago it was a great place for someone balancing work and college, or someone commuting and trying to keep costs down.</p>
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<p>Math performance greatly depends upon the teacher. An A student with an A teacher. Grades match the teaching ability. If he gets excellent teachers, he will be ok with accounting.</p>
<p>Salisbury: The academic staff we met were fantastic at Salisbury. It is a great academic fit. Problem is few Jewish students at Salisbury. Except for the remote location and little Jewish life, Salisbury is a perfect fit. I wish I could find something similar to Salisbury (medium size, excellent business school, nurturing staff) with more Jewish students and a better location.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom:</p>
<p>Two thoughts to ponder:</p>
<p>1: Wouldn’t it be healthy for your S/D to spend the next four years at a school with no “special” Jewish focus? Rather than holding on to your roots, isn’t college is a great opportunity to be exposed to a variety of religious views?</p>
<p>2: Scanning through your past posts on CC begs the question: “Who is going to college - you or your S/D?”</p>
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<p>^^Most students who are searching for colleges with vibrant Jewish communities <em>want</em> to be at schools with students from a wide variety of backgrounds. The two elements are not mutually exclusive. Schools with strong Jewish communities are almost always religiously diverse, and diverse in other ways, too.</p>
<p>mdcissp, when you find the perfect school that has everything on your “want” list, and at an affordable price, PLEASE POST THE NAME OF THIS SCHOOL!! I have yet to find it, lol.</p>
<p>I think it would be unlikely that every math professor that your son has is going to be able to teach your child in the manner that is best for him. He may need to seek help/tutoring in a math lab. College classes move quickly.</p>
<p>Reread what you said here:
</p>
<p>I think that you and your son can pick a major now, but at the end of the day it means nothing. Your son will need to explore different classes and figure out what he enjoys and is good at. Pointing fingers at the professors won’t change the end result for your son either. I agree with Blossom’s advice.</p>
<p>jpm50 - your questions have come up before - but I realize the thread is long and you probably have not read the entire thing.</p>
<p>The representations that I make on this thread are made in consultation with my son. In fact, I have offered him the opportunity to be a “guest poster” at any time if he would like to do so. He knows I post as Rockvillemom and can read my posts whenever he wants.</p>
<p>My son presently attends a very diverse hs - and we are simply looking to continue that at college. His hs has many Asian and Indian students - among other nationalities. His friends are a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish. This is not a situation where he attends a Jewish day school and is looking to perpetuate that experience.</p>
<p>The list of college features that I am looking for has been developed in conjunction with him - it’s just that I have the time and interest to do the research. He wants a college with a healthy mix of sports culture and Jewish life. He is very active in BBYO and wants to participate in Hillel at college.</p>
<p>If you read more of the thread, you will see there are times where our opinions differ - and I mention that. For example, he liked James Madison much more than I did. But since this is HIS process, we are keeping JMU on the list and in fact, I have suggested to him that we visit again in the spring. The ultimate decisions on where he applies will be made jointly - but he certainly will have the final say on where he matriculates, as long as it is financially feasible.</p>
<p>Finally - I’m not sure if you are a student or parent - but I think most parents would agree that it is hard to get a not quite 16-year-old boy to research colleges. I have several college guides for him to look at - he has yet to open one. At any time, if he becomes interested in a college that is not on our list - I will certainly be happy to investigate further. But so far, he is HAPPY with my efforts. In fact, I overheard him the other day enthusiastically telling some friends about the colleges we have already visited and where we are going this fall.</p>
<p>So, thanks for your “thoughts to ponder”, but we’re good.</p>
<p>mdcissp - have you visited Goucher? It seems to me it might be a good possibility as it is a small size, close to home with a good-sized Jewish population. I’m sure you have already done this - but there have been threads on CC regarding good colleges for students with Aspergers. Have you seen any good suggestions on there? I wish I had more ideas for you. It might be worthwhile to keep both Towson and Salisbury on the list - apply to both - and then see what happens - where else he gets in, etc. If Salisbury is a good fit in every other way - maybe you do have to bend on the Jewish piece of it - I know that is hard, but as Northeastmom said - finding the perfect school with every attribute you want at an affordable price is pretty tough.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom:
Your reply makes a lot of sense. Thank you.</p>
<p>I am a parent. My wife and I did go through this college process with our two children.<br>
We were involved in their college search/application process. At the time we felt our involvement was at a balanced and appropriate level. It worked well for both of them.</p>
<p>However, looking back, I can see many opportunities for where we could have simply not gotten involved. I’ve been learning the importance and value for letting the student take a larger role in the process. My view now is if I can live with the consequence of their decisions, then I need to let them go. I wish I did more of that with our two.</p>