Match me: Geoscience or Construction Mgmt or Urban Planning or Geography [VA resident, 4.0 UW, 36 ACT superscore, <55K if possible]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Some info on my son - I posted a few months ago, but I’ve got more info now on what he cares about and some wants/interests have changed. Thanks for thoughts!

  • US Citizen
  • VA Resident
  • Attends a rigorous public high school

Intended Major(s)

  • Can’t decide, but interests so far are one of: construction management; geosciences; urban planning; geography

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0 on a 4-point scale
  • Weighted HS GPA: No clue, but he’s gotten A’s in all his AP courses (six so far) and that adds a 0.5 per class when figuring the average
  • Class Rank: school doesn’t rank
  • ACT/SAT Scores: If ACT superscore = 36, if not then = 35

Coursework
*5 APS currently, planning to take 5 more senior year; all academic courses have been “honors” level if not AP

Awards

  • n/a

Extracurriculars

  • Eagle Scout + Order of the Arrow scouting honor society
  • Varsity indoor and outdoor track since freshman year
  • Selected by coaches to represent the school on a county-wide council for athletic leaders to discuss issues of mutual concern
  • NHS
  • Summer - has completed three Boy Scout high adventure treks (Philmont, Northern Tier, Seabase); generally works one week per summer and one week over winter break at local food pantry

Essays/LORs/Other

  • No idea how these will go, he’s made good connections with teachers, so hopefully will get good letters.

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • Would prefer to stay under $55k tuition/room/board (after merit, if applicable)

Schools
So far he’s visited the below schools, I’d really like to flesh out his list more, as watching admissions this year I’ve gotten nervous that he needs more options

Safety

  • JMU - would likely be a safety for him. Could do the geography major here which seems well regarded. He really doesn’t want to go to JMU though - he doesn’t like how the campus is bifurcated by the interstate and we had a bad tour (only of one side of campus, and not the pretty side) so that didn’t help advance the cause. He also didn’t like how many kids from his HS attend. I’d like more safeties, preferably something that makes him happier.

Likely

  • Pitt - he liked that there’s a wide variety of programs he could do, the urban planning major sounded good. It seems likely he’d get in here. I don’t know that he loved the urban environment - he used some negative words describing it (everyone is in a hurry, feels rushed, people seem really focused on just getting to the next thing, doesn’t feel friendly) but said “that’s reasonable given that it’s a city”. And he’s not wrong, but every other school he really liked was because it WASN’T like that.

Match

  • VA Tech - I wanted him to love Tech but he didn’t. It’s got all the programs he’s interested in and would be in-state tuition. He didn’t like the architecture (felt too gray to him) and he had a hard time overcoming that. We talked with a number of students who talked about how much they love it there, and he really wants the big sports and engaged school spirit community. I think Tech would fit the bill, but we saw it on a quieter Friday afternoon. It’s not coming off the list, but neither is he excited.
  • Clemson - he fell in love with Clemson. He really liked how warm it felt (not temperature, like welcoming-ness). Loved the school spirit and the general vibe. Really loved how welcoming the students were. (Random strangers came up and said “hey” to him, which really helped him feel welcome.) It just felt like a very collegial and collaborative and fun place. Here he’d do construction management - my main concern is that if he ends up not liking that, there aren’t as many options for a different major as at, say, Va Tech. (I also wish that it were Tech priced…)

Reach

  • UNC Chapel Hill - he really liked Chapel Hill. Liked how friendly and outgoing the students seemed, liked the school spirit. Here he’d be a geography major. Loved how the campus felt like a college to him - I think it was the big trees and green space. To him this just felt like a quintessential college and he really liked it. This would be a reach - during the admissions session we attended last week they said they only accepted 6.5% of out of state applicants.
  • UVA - He’d apply to the urban planning program, within the school of architecture. Our HS sends a ton of applicants to UVA, so it would be a competition for limited spots. He’s not sure he likes UVA - while a beautiful campus, he felt that the students just felt very competitive and not very welcoming. It didn’t feel warm and supportive to him.
  • NC State - after visiting, he’s taking this off the list. But I’m putting it here just to share his thoughts in case that helps with other suggestions. What he really didn’t like was the muti-campus feel of it. Here he would have been in the engineering department, doing construction engineering - and that’s on the not-main part of campus. He didn’t want that. Also, even though we were there last week in what should have been a big school spirit time due to their great success in the NCAA tournament, it just didn’t have a very spirited vibe. Maybe it was because we were there for a morning time and people just weren’t up and going? Since this school would’ve been a reach, and he didn’t like the physical set up, it’s easy to take off his actual application list.

So - with all that said, what schools can he add? He wants larger than his HS (3000 students) but I’m not averse to showing him a small school just to check it out if it has his potential majors. Maybe he’ll realize that the welcoming vibe is really present in smaller schools? The things he really seems to care about the most are school spirit, welcoming-ness of the student body, and basic collegiality. He’s a smart kid, but he also wants to have fun and not feel too stressed out or competitive with his colleagues.

Any ideas for more safety/likely/match schools? Thank you!

2

The issue is budget - right - so unless you have need, UVA isn’t going to work and UNC is going to be a bit much.

If he liked UVA, you might check out Auburn - link below. You might also check out Miami of Ohio (which has an urban planning but may not be right - more policy retalated). You might look at Delaware too - but not sure if there’s a match.

Purdue might be too big but the campus is more compact and the price is always right. And they seem to have a program for you. Link below.

UTC for a smaller school might work too with a cool adjacent town - link below.

Finally, Mississippi State, to me, is like Auburn, minus the immediate town surrounds - you sort of drive in on a road like it’s Disneyland (but smaller scale) but merit is strong, kids are happy and it would be worth a look.

Anyway, those four are fine schools, seem like they might fit - and I put links below to see if they match curriculum wise.

Best of luck.

Building Science (BSCI) < Auburn University

Construction Management Degree | Purdue University

Construction Management | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (utc.edu)

Building Construction Science | College of Architecture, Art, and Design (msstate.edu)

3

Thanks for these suggestions! I’ll check them out. We live in VA so UVA will fall in budget for us, but he just didn’t like it that much - it was more the students then the physical plant. I’ve heard good things about Auburn from other folks too, so I’ll see about including that. My hesitation, with both Auburn and MS State, is that he really doesn’t want to live in the South after college. He’s a pretty liberal kid, and I think he feels uncomfortable wit hthe politics in both Alabama and Mississippi. Not that South Carolina is terribly different, but I think he’s thinking that he’d be happy in North Carolina or Virginia, and SC is closer to those so more likelihood of future job there so…

I don’t know anything at all about UTC, so that will be good to look into. Re: Purdue, I think he’s worried about the time it takes to get to an airport, and how he would get home. I told him that’s ok to consider as a factor, but not THE factor. Regardless, given the price point Purdue definitely deserves a look.

Thank you!

4

I personally, in today’s world, wouldn’t worry about where they’ll end up. WIth linkedin, indeed, etc. you can end up anywhere.

My kid is out West - had 5 or 6 job offers, and all were in different parts of the country and he went to Bama. He’s got a job where he spent 6 months in Utah, now Arizona, next CA, and 6 more months somewhere else (maybe Cleveland) - and then he’ll tell them where he wants to settle - which is unknown -but won’t be South.

As for politics on campus, I think it’s overrated (maybe not the community) but I can only speak to Bama and it’s nearly 60% OOS. Auburn will be diverse but not as - with many from Atlanta (they’re just not as strong merit wise). My wife’s close friend here sends their Honduran born to MS State and she loves it. They are left of left :slight_smile: So I personally think that at some schools, most kids are there for school, to party, etc. Within TN, a lot of kids who wants smaller (not small) choose UTC over UTK. It’s less gritty, big tourist area nearby and walk over the bridge and you have access to a great city (sort of like Chapel HIl in some ways).

Obviously your son has unique interests, etc. and you have a budget and given where you said he liked (but can’t afford - I assume UVA was OOS) - I was just trying to match up similar type (in my mind) campuses.

There’s likely schools in the MW - but will be larger - that work too. Or in the NE like a URI or some SUNYs - I just didn’t check their programs given a focus on cost.

As for Purdue, I’m guessing there is regular travel / busses at holiday or shuttles - to the airport - the closest being Indy an hour away. Given the price point, it could work and still be under budget.

I know some aren’t a fan and academically it’s less, but if you are looking to stay closer to home (for driving), you can look at WVU - also will be within budget.

Construction Management | Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences | West Virginia University Institute of Technology (wvutech.edu)

5

Just for some added insight regarding campus political vibe…

My kid is non binary, but isn’t really interested in LGBTQ clubs or events. They haven’t had any issues fitting in or finding friends. They were very impressed by the friendliness of everyone on campus, which was a big reason for the choice. And child has good friends and a good social life. School is also large, but not overwhelmingly so. According to child the only thing political that ever comes up and causes concern is that you would have to travel far should you need reproductive choice.

Child has no desire to live there after school, but they are looking more at places like Atlanta or Dallas or NO or Austin (no FL for obvious reasons)

6

Thank you - that’s helpful, but I think I missed which school your kid is at?

In general, I’m not overly worried about on campus politics at any of these schools - they should all be large enough that my guy can find his people. I just don’t want him to feel like he’s stuck staying in one of the more reliably red states after college, because that’s not him. So I’d want him to be at a school that has broad post-college recruiting appeal.

For example, my older son is at school in MA. Loves the school, it’s the perfect fit for him. It’s a well regarded school in it’s field but has a largely New England draw, and most of the companies that come to their career fairs and that the career office works with are New England based. Sure, he can find a job elsewhere, but that requires more legwork on his own. And neither of my boys are afraid of a little legwork, but why not make things easier if you can, and have recruiters at the job fairs be from places where you want to go?

7

They are at Miss State. This is freshman year, so I’m not sure how career center works. I know they have a coop program and kids have gone everywhere from Google to Goldman Sachs (CA and NY offices). So I know there is corporate recruiting outside the south.

Child has also been selected to be on a research team next year by one of his professors, so there are also research opportunities.

Kid wants to stay in a warmer area, but that could change. I’m not getting a sense that getting a job outside the local area would be an issue. If you are interviewing with a large company, you often have a choice of where you want your home office to be

1 Like
8

I think the amount of kids finding jobs through schools today is shrinking and shrinking.

I love the Cornell database - because it shows how kids got jobs. And Cornell being an Ivy - of course, people think they’re just sliding you right into a position. Not…

Without even picking a major, what are the top ways:

Internet posting - i.e. company job section, indeed
Linkedin
Handshake - which is the different college’s linkedin - which so many companies post on

Those 3 are about 630 jobs. Cornell sponsored career fair - 53

It’s a new world…even companies coming onto to campus are doing so virtually.

I wouldn’t assume you’ll end up where a school is - and today you can get anywhere - and they’re most likely going to have to be doing the legwork in order to find a job when graduating.

1 Like
9

The first school that came to mind is Appalachian State . This would be an extremely likely admit for your son. There are about 19k undergrads and he’ll find some of the school spirit here. Additionally this is towards the northern end of the south, so it seems closer to what he was wanting geographically as well.

There are a number of majors that suit his interests:

I suspect he would be competitive for some serious merit aid (up to, and including a full ride). And even if he doesn’t get a penny, costs should be less than $40k/year.

I’ll continue to think about other options.

3 Likes
10

For clarity, is your son wanting to settle back in the NC/VA area, or is he more inclined toward living in a state that’s not deep red? Trying to figure out geographic boundaries, like if a school like Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo would be given any consideration.

11

Okay, another extremely likely admit for your son would be Eastern Carolina (ECU). Again, he’s going to get school spirit here. There are about 22k undergrads, and out-of-state tuition, room & board would probably be around $35k/year (God bless North Carolina and its relatively affordable tuition costs).

Like at App State, your son wouldn’t be limited in terms of needing to choose a major while still in high school because all of his interests are covered here:

3 Likes
12

Honestly he should check out Penn State. They don’t have the “urban planning” part but everything else but prob have urban planning somewhere.

You gotta love Pittsburgh to enjoy Pitt. Honestly, we like VA better because we spent 6 years there but are from Pittsburgh.

My kids tolerate the campus because it’s close to home.

13

I don’t know if he wants to end up in NC/VA permanently, but both would be comfortable for him. He loves the mountains of western VA and NC, and really seems happy when there’s some nature accessible. He definitely wants to stay out of the deep red states. For college he’s indicated that he wants it to be driveable in a day (even if it’s a really long day) so CalPolySLO not, but maybe something mid-west-y.

Oh App State. We had a tour scheduled for App State, and it would’ve been on the way and an easy stopping point as we drove from Va Tech down to Clemson. Like, literally not even 30 minutes out of the way. And we didn’t go because he said “I just can’t see telling people that I’m going to App State, I just don’t think I’ll feel proud of that.” In general he’s not a prestige oriented kid, not at all, but somehow that was just not something he felt he could be happy about. Which is disappointing because you’re right - it’s got everything he wants major-wise, it’s in exactly the location he loves (we drove down on the Blue Ridge Parkway and got off repeatedly to hike - he really loves Western NC), it would be totally affordable at sticker price and yes, he’d probably get good money.

We live in VA right outside DC, and in a hyper competitive really comparative snobby area (this is also what soured him on UVA, felt just like home, not in a good way). While he can normally brush that off, here he just can’t.

My sister and BIL went to ECU - I tend to forget it’s not just for teachers since that’s what they do. :slight_smile: I’ll have to take another look.

1 Like
14

I suggested he look at Pitt mostly because that rolling admission (and hopefully likely early acceptance) just makes senior year so much less stressful if you can feel comfortable there. And he liked Pittsburgh, he likes going into DC when he’s home. But I’m not sure that I see him really wanting an urban campus when it comes down to it. I wanted him to check it out, but I suspect Pitt is one that’s going to need him to do some more ruminating to decide if it feels right or not.

I think Penn State would be a good fit. I was trying to remember why it wasn’t on my list, it’s on the more expensive end and doesn’t give very much merit aid, so I think I took it off because I couldn’t see how it would be different/better than Va Tech for the price. But now that I know it was more the LOOK of Tech that was off-putting than anything else, something that looks different but feels otherwise similar maybe should get added back to the list. Thank you!

15

In the vein of @AustenNut fine picks although they didn’t work out (in part, based on the “prestige” or name - is $20K a year WCU - well you stopped a lot to hike :slight_smile:

Western Carolina University - Construction Management (wcu.edu)

16

If he ever becomes open to a smaller school (and he may not!) I think he is a plausible candidate for the Johnson Scholarship at Washington and Lee University.

It does not tick all his boxes – size, and I believe no Construction management – but it does tick a lot: very collegial (between the Speaking Tradition and the Honor Code (taken very seriously), and a good Earth/Geoscience Dept. It’s one of the few LACs with a business school. Can’t speak to urban planning but a friend of my sons is doing that (and is also a Johnson Scholar).

So, it’s not a safety, but if he becomes ok with the size, it’s a pretty amazing opportunity. I should add that VMI is right next door, so there are around 4,000 college students in Lexington.

2 Likes
17

The rolling admission is great, yes. fwiw, Oakland (where Pitt is located) pales in comparison to DC. PSU is expensive but really green and nice. I really thought my S24 was going to choose PSU, but he is close to his 2 siblings, one at Pitt, one just graduated Pitt last spring.
I love the VA school choices personally. :slight_smile:

18

This was my thought. Delaware is squarely in the “not too southern but not too wintery” belt. They have Construction Engineering and Management and also a Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences that has Geography, GIS/Analytics, and Earth Sciences majors, among others. There’s also Landscape Architecture, which might be another thing to consider within his sphere of interest. And Public Policy, Enviro Science, and various others. The suburban campus, not too far from major cities, seems like what he likes. And he’d almost certainly qualify for significant merit, and the Honors College, which in turn has some themed “scholars” programs that might appeal: Grand Challenges (Engineering)Scholars, Climate Scholars, etc. Enrichment Opportunities: Honors & More | University of Delaware The only thing missing is a specific Urban Planning major, but I suspect a lot of that content can be found within other programs.

3 Likes
19

If you’re looking for some smaller schools that might suit, here are a few suggestions:

  • Furman (SC): This school of about 2300 undergrads is in Greenville, which is an up-and-coming city, but is set apart in its own little space. Its location would make it relatively easy to access the lower Appalachians (though nowhere near as easily as at App State or JMU). It offers a business major but also offers majors in urban studies and sustainability science. It also offers a dual degree in engineering, so some of that coursework that might have been taken in construction engineering could potentially be taken here, too.

  • Hobart William Smith (NY): This school of about 1600 undergrads is along the Finger Lakes and all the outdoors opportunties in the surrounding areas. Some of the areas of study that might interest him include majors in architectural studies, environmental studies (with an urban studies track), geoscience, management and entrepreneurship, and there’s a minor in urban studies.

  • Rhodes (TN): About 2k undergrads at this Memphis school. Offers majors in business, environmental science and environmental studies, and urban studies.

  • College of Wooster (OH): About 2k undergrads here. Offers majors in business economics, earth sciences, environmental geoscience, environmental studies, geology, and urban studies.

1 Like
20

My D24 just completed the admission process and only applied to schools that offered either Urban Planning and/or Geography. Her stats - 4.0 UW/4.4 W with 10 APs (all 5s so far), lots of ECs, volunteering, and varsity athlete. We are west coast so leaned heavy that direction but did apply to a few midwest and east coast school. Here’s where she applied:

  • UC Davis - Sustainable Environment Design (great college town, very low key with a really nice student body)
  • UC Berkeley - Urban Planning and Geography
  • UCSB - Geography (GSI)
  • UCLA - Geography
  • USC - Urban Planning and Geodesign
  • CU Boulder - Sustainable Environment Design
  • San Diego State Univ - Urban Planning
  • University of Oregon - Planning, Public Policy and Management
  • University of Washington - Community Regional Planning
  • UMich - Urban Technologies
  • University of Richmond - Geography
  • Cal Poly - Urban and City Planning (this is an amazing program and he should definitely explore)
  • UVA - Urban Planning

I’m not adding a lot of color as it’s all very subjective - hoping this helps, and wishing your son lots of luck!

3 Likes