Half of the kids at our school are actually on scholarships and money seems to be the issue for most. Our school is saying merit is possible with admission to Honors Colleges, but I will look into it further. for Oregon state the average cost seems to be $30K/year for kids from our school. Majority of kids go to U of Utah. U of Idaho seems to be like a solid choice in a great location with lots of snow, mountains and safe.
Would you like to share the list for feedback?
It looks like a lot has to do with personal relationships between the admissions officers and the school counsellors. Our counsellor’s BFF is the in Tulane admissions. They also recommended Baylor University for the same reason. But I just cant get over Waco, TX location.
Will Idaho have enough Internationals/Eastern Europeans? I don’t know much about the U so I’m curious. The only ethnic info I have about the region is from various watch groups which note the number of Aryan Nation/hate groups operating in the state, which doesn’t seem terribly diverse to me. But I’m sure you’ve run the numbers.
If you and your D end up moving there to be near/with your son, will the place meet HER educational needs?
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We dont have the list, that’s why I am in this group, too many variables, we are constantly adding and removing schools from the list. The only sure ones are the no CSS profile from non-custodial-Vanderbilt and U of Chicago, Rice-possible merit. And his dream schools (which I am willing to take his dad to court for)-John Hopkins, MIT and Stanford. Everything else is tentative.
I would have major concerns about pre-med students having access to medical ECs in Idaho. Idaho is not diverse, at all. I don’t understand why Idaho would make the list and not Alabama or even Tulsa for that matter.
He needs one or two sure admit schools that will be affordable. Why apply to 40 schools? Pick two affordable sure things, and drop all the other schools that he would not attend instead of those.
The amount of work needed to do a good job on all the essays for the highly rejective schools will be enormous, and I would question any student’s ability to do those at an A+ level across the board.
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My daughter is in a completely different situation-she is an accomplished artist. She is very heavy into art. She has an impressive portfolio and international awards. She has an option to go to the UK for Art and also to St. Petersburg or Moscow-it’s actually a very big possibility for her. I doubt her and my son will be nearby-her needs are completely different. I am working on my daughter separately. She was already recruited directly by all main Russian art universities and studying Art and Design in the UK is very realistic for her, since it’s a lot cheaper and easier to get into than Medicine. And we are obviously looking into Italy for her, which would be free or very cheap. She has a lot more options than my son. She is also not competitive at all and does not want top universities or cutthroat schools, like my son does. My son wants as competitive and as cutthroat as it gets-he is very competitive and loves to be challenge.
Which could be particularly uncomfortable for a student who looks obviously Israeli, but whether or not those groups are around campus is another question.
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I don’t know anyone with your exact situation, but I’ve helped plenty of people with similar “too many variables, how do we figure this out?” so here’s my suggestions.
Make a good old fashioned ranked list. Not of schools, but of your priorities. Cold weather number 1? Great. Doesn’t matter that your guidance counselor has a relationship with an adcom at Baylor (not cold) Tulane (not cold) Rice (not cold). Whatever your number 1 is- ditch all the options that do not have that.
And go down the list. By number 4 or 5 things get squishy and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. That’s where your son decides to trade off soccer for dating opportunities, or medical research at a hospital for what-not.
You guys are trying to thread a VERY impossible needle with so many requirements.
Rank your preferences which will keep your list manageable….
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Idaho is on the list because of the weather and proximity to skiing. I agree on the diversity and everything else. Tulsa and Alabama-weather. As I have already said-he is miserable in Hawaii. He is a skier. He will have a much better quality of life close to the ski slopes.
We are still working on the school list, that’s why i am in this group
Ok…so I hear weather and proximity to skiing is more important than diversity, medical ECs, and everything else. Is that correct? I would challenge you that he would feel safe at U Idaho or anywhere in that state.
If he wants cold weather and skiing, looking at Idaho subs…consider Utah (still not diverse tho) or Montana State. (not sure about affordability of either)
We are willing to drop the weather variable for the right school, Rice being one of them, obviously. Tulane-highest chance for aid and admission, so we have to keep it. Soccer is not a factor at all.
I agree with blossom on prioritization. Start with his affordable safeties…1-3 of them, and go from there. What are those schools?
You have to approach list building in a disciplined way, step by step. Throwing darts makes no sense. I will give you being opportunistic with the school contacts. But Tulane is not a safety academically, nor financially because they don’t meet full need.
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When choosing between comparable schools, I think weather is a big factor, yes. U of Idaho has a solid pre med. What’s the benefit of going to BAMA vs U of Idaho? U of Idaho has 23% international students-looks pretty diverse to me.
I think the “little bit of this, little bit of that” strategy is going to burn you guys out before your son writes his first essay- but you do you. I’ve helped other people RANK the decision factors to avoid things like “New Orleans is very hot, humid, and not near skiing but we’re keeping it”.
But I’d check on the ethnic populations both IN the state of Idaho and enrolled at the University. Even Tulsa is more diverse (heavy native American population in Oklahoma, along with African-American and immigrants).
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As I have already mentioned-the school is strongly recommending Tulane, has already contacted them. I agree on the school and New Orleans in general.
I have to add the colleges the school recommends. Our school does admit kids and gets them aid, so I have to listen to the list of safeties they recommend. I also have to look at where the kids from our school go. If Tulsa gives full ride, I will definitely look into it. Tulane has a close relationship with our school, that’s the reason we are considering it. Also, as I have already said-my son is a musician, he would find his people in New Orleans.
I wasn’t saying to take Tulane off the list. I was making the point it can’t be one of your S’s 1-3 highly likely/safety affordable schools. Please start with those. Maybe they are all ex US and that’s ok, but that will add to the app volume.
Make sure your HS counselor knows what your budget is with and without NCP financials.
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Thank you, the councelor knows our situation, she is trying to help us get financial aid.
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There is not a single flagship U in the united states (so 50 of them, plus some of the directionals) that does not have solid premed opportunities. So choosing Idaho because of THAT-??? seems illogical to me.
And earlier you expressed concerns about the “portability” factor- have folks in Europe, Russia, the global community heard of a particular U. I will bet you dinner that Idaho is not on anyone’s list. I have a cousin who ended up at U South Dakota (had a particular program he wanted) and not a single relative in UK, Europe or Israel even knew that South Dakota was a state and had a university (and half of these people are academics and professors in various fields– one was department chair of a big university AND had done both his PhD and fellowship at a top U in the USA).
So if the criteria are:
Affordable
Portable for the future back in Russia or outside of USA
Solid Med School Prep
That’s a good way to cull your “too many choices for now” list. You can add back one or two outliers once the list is firm– that’s when Tulane might pop back, that’s when considering the Dating pool, skiing, other “soft” factors can add another college. But to have them front and center right now is going to keep you from identifying the rock solid, affordable safety AND is going to blow up your list to impossible proportions.
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