The schools that are known in other countries are all CSS profile schools. We have to add FAFSA only schools as safeties.
U of Idaho is on the border with Washington State-huge Eastern European population
I agree. Which schools are these? Again, don’t need more than three affordable safety schools, one would suffice if your S liked it enough to attend.
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Thank you so much for your comment! I cant keep my son in HS any longer, he has already graduated last year from a Russian high school and has 47 HS credits ad 13 APs. He would have to study fully online, because there is nothing left to take for him here in Hawaii.
U of Utah (school recommended), U of Idaho. We are working on the rest. Our school recommends Liberal Arts colleges, like Gonzaga. We have to think a lot of the FAFSA schools.
If you are sure those will be affordable then you could be done identifying safeties. I would be surprised if Gonzaga would be affordable, but you haven’t really said what your budget is (without bio dad finances)….is it $20K? less?
Big picture I and many others love LACs for pre-meds.
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Gonzaga is very generous with the kids from our school. My son will have child support of $3500/month. I think $20K/year is realistic if he has a part time job and I will obviously be getting a second job to help them both out. $30K/year would be harder-it would be good for him to have some extra cash. A lot depends on where my daughter ends up-we have to look into combined cost for both kids.
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So an international brand school in a cooler climate that meets full need and has a grind culture, top notch research, significant international representation, and access to skiing? And a artsy, not too intense school nearby for the sibling?
Cornell.
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But where in Washington state is that population? Is it mostly around the Seattle area, which is not particularly close? FYI: a friend of my D19’s went to Washington State U, and not so fondly referred to it as “western Idaho” because of the lack of diversity in Pullman.
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If you want FAFSA LAC, apply to Rhodes College. CSS profile is not necessary. It is optional. We never filed it. Rhodes is generous with grants and FA.
No skiing but plenty of music. No Russian stores, but Russian department, Russian club, and numerous students from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Occasionally Russian girls from there too 
. Horseback riding 30 minutes from campus partiality supported by school.
You can PM me if interested in more info.
I would go to Rhodes over Idaho or Gonzaga for sure.
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Tracking this thread from the start (and occasionally chipping in), I, too, worry about this for OP.
A few thoughts, which I hope will be helpful to OP:
- How does your son feel about the various trade-offs? For example, no consideration of possible free rides at UNM and Alabama due to hot weather and lack of academic renown but okay with hot weather if a university has a strong academic reputation (Rice and Tulane) and okay with lack of academic renown if there’s access to skiing.
- On a related note, I am somewhat surprised that your son’s college counsellor has suggested schools such as Rice and Gongaza given what you’ve shared on CC about his strong dislikes (hot weather and LACs). Is the college counselor clear about your son’s preferences?
- Regarding your comment - “U of Idaho is on the border with Washington State-huge Eastern European population“ - are they recent arrivals or people who settled there long ago? From my experience, American culture exerts a stronger assimilation “pull” than most other places, particularly from the second generation onwards.
- Your description of the resources that your son’s school possesses makes me think it is one of two schools in the state. Note that even though both are highly regarded, the proportion of students that each school sends to HYPSM/Ivy+ school is relatively small as a % of the graduating class. So, the college counselor’s “close relationship” with top schools should be understood in this context.
Lastly, I agree with blossom that a clear list of criteria/priorities can help make this process more manageable for OP. Best of luck!
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U Idaho in Moscow-- DH interviewed for professorship when he was thinking about leaving the National Laboratory he worked for for a lower profile, lower stress job. He turned Idaho’s offer down. For reasons that had mostly to do with living in Moscow, ID.
FWIW, There is no MD med school in the entire state of Idaho. There is a DO school in Meridian, a suburb of Boise that’s about 5.5 hours away.
Skiing in Moscow is not close by. The ski areas are 2 hours away.
Sorry @SJ2727. can’t edit. My remark isn’t directed at you.
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What is the artsy and not intense not to Cornell? Cornell is also CSS Profile, same problem.
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Yep, 90% of private and all top are CSS.
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Thank you for your comment on Rhodes-I will research it. My son is ok with Central Asian girls, we are from Altai Region of Russia, on the border with Kazakhstan, and my son speak Turkish, so he would relate to the central Asian girls for sure.
I meant ethnically Russian in addition to a lot of Kazach and Kirgiz girls who all speak Russian. I have DD there, so you can PM me.
U of Idaho is on the border with Washington State-huge Eastern European population
Just FYI:
U of Idaho is on the border of the rural, eastern part of Washington state.
From UI, it’s 300 miles and a 6 hour drive to Seattle in good weather, and in the winter that’s a drive where the pass may be closed entirely, and/or it’s a drive that’s going to take 6-10 hours.
It is not a place I would recommend for proximity to Eastern European populations, who are noticeably located in western Washington.
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Thank you for such a detailed response.
The problem with my son is that he’s never even been to the mainland USA, so I have to rely on what I know, since I lived everywhere. I think the weather/environment trade off is only worth for a strong academic school, otherwise it would be hard to convince my son, who wants a competitive and cut throat environment and has all or nothing approach. “If I dont get into Stanford, I am not going to college at all, I dont need it, I will study online and voluteer at the hospital” So it’s very hard to convince him. If I throw in skiing or girls, he would be more motivated to settle for a less competitive school. Peer pressure is also a big factor- many of his close friends are applying to Rice. Tulane is strongly suggested by the school, that’s really all it has.
As for the college counsellors suggesting schools-they suggest the schools they are working with, most of them are on the West Coast.
As for the Russian transpants-they dont really assimilate as much as the Japanese do. I know people who’s been here for 50 years and still dont speak English. There are all kinds in Washington State-lots of new youth, lots of oldies. East Coast is mostly Easter European Jews who came long time ago, and West Coast is newcomers that came after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Can I please ask you what you think about Temple University? The kids from our school also go there, I am looking at it as a possibility for my daughter-we spent a lot of time in Japan, and my daughter is very interested.
I am following admission at our school now, for the current seniors. You have to understand that most kids turn down Ivies because of the cost. I see people turning down Princeton and Yale for U of Utah. So the number of kids admitted to the Ivies, and the number of kids who actually go is very different. Even kids from wealthy families seem to choose U of Utah over paying $400K/year for the Ivies.
Thank you, ethnically does not matter, he mostly is looking for the same values and mindset, not the looks. Meaning-more traditional girls, LOL. He will be happy with Central Asian girls and also speaks the language.
This is a lot of schools! Just a heads up that competitive schools will have multiple additional essays and then there will be another set for the merit scholarships. My daughter applied to 8 schools and had 19 unique essays to write.
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