She definitely is. The irony is one of my other kids wants to go biomedical research via engineering so I know a fair amount about that. This one is just more pure science. I could see her being more research than pre-med/vet. When she was younger she also wanted to be in neuroscience. Thanks for the tip about starting to consider that earlier rather than later.
True - tough there is still a question on the application to tell us about any special ties you have that make you want to go to UVa.
Well the UCs do not keep the cost down. I have a child at UW and it was the least expensive place from all their admits. Ideally 50K a year or under. If it is a state school, we currently get TAG which is an extra 10K a year but who knows if that will stay in place. We don’t count on it - consider it a nice bonus.
Ha. We live less than a ten minute walk away from UDC. It is not quite a real college - though they it has been steadily improving. Very few students live on campus. It has a lot of minuses though so not an option. They do a lot of programs with our high school so we are very aware of what they have and don’t have. Wouldn’t call it Suburban either - right on a Metro stop and about 2-3 miles from downtown. There are a lot of parks up that way due to NPS.
Thank you - some great suggestions here. I had thought of IU too. but not some of these others.
1 Like
Didn’t think about Colorado State - that’s a great one. I went to Boulder so love the state.
What about smaller colleges with a big sports tradition like Villanova, would that be of interest?
Thx for clarifying. I was using CDS so a past year.
Ok do $50k. Thx.
I think many and most would more than excel in the major. I don’t think a rank per se in the major matters. Most will have strength.
Add in sports, not Midwest, kayak, not super urban, and $50k - I already mentioned Alabama at $20k. More expensive but UTK, UF, FAU, UGA, Arkansas all meet the target as would a Wyoming, CSU, and to a lesser extent as it’s D2 but sports matter - School of Mines. Arizona could work too. Delaware, Buffalo, Montana, Montana State, Oregon State (with merit), Wash State, Nevada Reno and New Mexico (urban but not crazy) are others.
I think all these have elements you’d like but if you go to the Southeast. - you can be $20k at several. I think the rest are comfortably under $50k - except maybe Oregon State but shoukd get there with merit - all meet your needs much better than your original list which conflicted with much of your stated criteria.
Good luck.
To OP, why not Ohio State? Their ranking is in the same ball park with uDub and mid tier UCs. With your DD’s stats, there is a good chance of getting $15K merit/year. COA would then be about $45K, $30K cheaper than OOS UCs. Good Luck.
2 Likes
Great school/idea and OP listed other MW like Minnesota - which is outstanding as well - but then said daughter doesn’t like the midwest.
The Iowa schools, in theory, would be great choices too as would KU under $30K - except for the midwest part.
It was my daughter’s first choice but not for $90,000 a year all in.
1 Like
I was asking more generally - not sure whether sports are a deal breaker ?
Thinking this student could qualify for merit scholarships at some of these colleges too 
https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/villanova/student-information
https://www1.villanova.edu/university/undergraduate-admission/Financial-Assistance-and-scholarship/merit-based-scholarships.html
Of all of the choices suggested here, UVM strikes me as far and away the best fit:
- The academic advantages of having the Med School on campus have already been discussed. Overall UVM is not super competitive but academics are solid - as requested.
- Although it is located in the state capital, Burlington is a small city, so the location is really not “super urban”, which she wants to avoid. And Burlington is generally regarded as a “great college town”.
- The undergraduate enrollment is about 11,000. What makes it unusual is that only 2500 of the undergrads are in state. In this respect, it has more the feel of a private college than of a state college. No worries about being a suitcase school because everyone is from somewhere else. I can’t think of another state school with this kind of enrollment distribution between in state and out of state.
- For a young woman who wants access to nature, the location is spectacular. Want kayaking? It’s a short walk to 100+ mile long Lake Champlain from the campus. You can kayak forever on that lake. Want hiking and camping opportunities? These are really endless. Between the Green Mountains of Vermont and NY’s 6 million acre Adirondack Park (a ferry ride across the lake), the largest public park in the lower 48 states, wild lands are everywhere in this part of the world. And it doesn’t end there. The Canadian border is less than an hour from campus with even more opportunities for camping and hiking north of the border.
- Northern Vermont can feel remote. But it is less than 2 hours by car and about 3 hours by bus to Montreal, one of the biggest cities on the continent with all of the opportunities that cities provide with the added appeal of being in a foreign country, where French is the official language (at least in Quebec Province).
- Big time college athletics were not requested, but as an added bonus, there was a lot of excitement on campus this fall when the men’s soccer team won the Div I national championship.
4 Likes
Is it true the drug scene (weed) is huge at UVM? I’ve heard that is one of its biggest downfalls in the past few years. Plus atrocious food and housing. These are from folks I know—I have no UVM personal experience.
I have no idea. Maybe someone else can help with that.
1 Like
I think marijuana and coke are prevalent at many schools. Can’t speak to UVM but many.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.