<p>Also going to do a walkby visit of CMU, since it’s so close to Pitt; then Oberlin on Saturday and Wooster briefly on Sunday before heading back home.</p>
<p>Okay. my son came up with a game plan today that seems more than reasonable. He will take the SAT II in Math level II in May, and in June he will take the ACT and the SAT IIs in Chemistry or Physics (or possibly both). He’s going to stick with just the Matt II SAT II in May since it is also AP exam month. If he is not happy with his ACT scores then he will retake either the SAT or ACT or maybe both early in the fall. I put the ball in his court, which I find is usually a good thing to do. After all, he’s going to have make decisions for himself all the time fairly soon and his plan seems to make sense. What do you all think?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I need some advice on how to help my daughter make a more extensive list of schools. She is somewhat lost when deciding where she’d like to visit and/or apply. We did visit Clemson a few weeks ago and plan to visit William and Mary next month, but that’s it so far. She is 3rd in her class of about 500 and has a weighted GPA of 4.75. She will be taking the SAT and ACT in June, but if her PSAT scores are any indication, she will have no problems with either test. I think her problem is that there are too many choices. All I really know is that she does not want to go to any school here in NC and does not want to go west. She is interested in majoring in mathematics and a science with plans to go to vet school. Any suggestions?? All of your kids seems so organized! I’m trying to get her to have at least five possibles but I’m not sure how to help her decide.</p>
<p>musicmom, that plan sounds good and reasonable to me.</p>
<p>mamagx3: Not sure how much I can help, since I tend toward the opposite issue (interested in too many schools), but I will try. </p>
<p>Here is something I copied from another (very long) thread. Mabe it will help.</p>
<p>Daughter Hates Her Matches And Safeties - Page 11 - College Discussion
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/599371-daughter-hates-her-matches-safeties-11.html#post1061308374[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/599371-daughter-hates-her-matches-safeties-11.html#post1061308374</a>
Specific criteria for index cards or otherwise:</p>
<p>Absolutely must have
Would really like to have
Nice, but not critical
Don’t care either way
Don’t want, but could live with / deal with
Don’t want at all</p>
<hr>
<p>Small size (under 5000 students)
Medium size (5000-15000)
Large size (15000+)
Lots of students just like me
Lots of diversity - not just students like me
In a rural area
In a suburban area
In / near a small city (like Indianapolis, Iowa City)
In / near a medium-sized city (like St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle)
In / near a big city (like Chicago, Boston, NY, LA, Phila, San Fran)
In / near a very unique city like New Orleans or Portland, Oregon
In a college town that is really geared towards students
Campus is small / easily walkable
Campus is large
Must live on-campus all 4 years
Can live off-campus after freshman year
Has really neat architecture
Has typical college dorms
Has dorms that are more high-rise / apartment style
Has a Greek system, but not very big
Has a big Greek system, most students are in it
Has no Greek system or a very small one
Has a big party scene
Has only a few students from my area
Has hardly anyone from my area going there
Student body is mostly wealthy
Student body is a mix of all income levels
Student body is preppy
Student body is less concerned with style / image
Student body is known for dressing well / being stylish
Student body is mostly from the suburbs
Student body is mostly white – not a lot of diversity
Students have unique interests - not just cookie-cutter
Students have mainstream interests
Students are more on the serious, quiet side
There is a big drinking scene
Students love to party
Students are really dedicated to their studies
Students are very intellectual / like to think about things
Offers a really wide range of majors and classes
Students are mostly heading to grad school (business, law, medicine, etc.)
Students are mostly heading to work / corporate world after college
Students are relaxed, easygoing
Students are known for balancing work and play
Has a lot of athletes
Has students from all over the country
A lot of student diversity – kids from other countries and different ethnicities
Kind of place where students feel really loyal to it
Kind of place where students keep to themselves
Has a lot of sports to watch (football, basketball, etc.)
Is a top sports school – other people know their teams
Has a lot of school spirit
Has a lot of sports to play (intramurals)
Students typically don’t care about sports
Has lots of things for students to do (like a student center, etc.)
Has a strong Jewish presence
Has a moderate Jewish presence
Has very few Jewish students – will be unusual to be Jewish
Has opportunities for Jewish life (clubs, etc.)
In an area I want to eventually live in
Students who go here tend to stay in this area after graduating
Is well known – most people will have heard of it
Is well known among people who know about colleges but average person may not have heard of it
Is ranked high nationally
Students are very competitive with each other
Students aren’t competitive – really help each other out
Is near other colleges so I can take classes / meet other kids from nearby colleges
Has mostly small classes
Has a mixture of small and large lecture classes
Has an involved faculty
Has a lot of opportunities to do research / interact / work for faculty
Campus is in a city / downtown environment – all the activities of a city are steps away
Campus is in a neighborhood type environment
Campus is in a wooded / forest area
Campus is in a rural area but not wooded
Campus is in an area with a lot of natural beauty, waterfalls, etc
Campus is in a flat part of the country
Campus is in a hilly part of the country
Campus is on / near an ocean, lake or river
Campus is on / near mountains / skiing
Campus is very picturesque / beautiful
Campus has really old charming buildings
Campus has newer, more modern buildings
Weather has all four seasons (like Chicago or NY) – will get snow
Weather is moderate all the time (like in Seattle or San Francisco)
Weather is warm / hot all the time (like LA or New Orleans or Florida)
The area / city is very progressive and liberal (like Seattle, Portland or Austin, Texas)
The area / city is very conservative (like parts of the south)
There are a lot of colleges in the immediate area (like Boston or Philadelphia)
Students tend to do everything on campus / rarely go off campus
Students can easily go off campus / into a town (like Evanston)
Students stay on campus on weekends
Students go out to nearby towns / cities on weekends
Students go home on weekends
The town / city right around the campus has a lot to do
Easy to go walking / hiking / camping / outdoor activities nearby
Close to home
Far from home
Really far from home 
Can drive there easily from home (within a 6 hour drive - like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, St. Louis)
Need to fly there (like the coasts)
Other students from my high school often choose this college
Specializes in what I want to study - and only that
Offers a lot of different options
Is a liberal arts school – with general education requirements
Does not require me to take general education courses
Gives me chance to study abroad / overseas / do exchange programs
Requires me to study abroad / do exchange programs
Gives me chance to do internships
Will serve me well if I want to go to grad school, law school, med school, etc.
Has graduate programs as well
Campus is in a part of the country I have always been interested in
Has a lot of unique traditions special to that school
Really good programs in English / writing / journalism
Really good programs in history / political science / psychology
Really good programs in math
Really good programs in science
Really good programs in the arts (filmmaking, TV, radio, theater, etc.)
Really good programs in foreign languages
Really good programs in something else that interests me
Is in a very specific part of the country (write in what that is)</p>
<p>You let these youngsters hang around, and they prove useful! Thanks for that comprehensive list.</p>
<p>I haven’t officially visited Pitt, but what I’ve seen looks nice. Second the recommendation for the Residence Inn which was also very convenient for mathson’s Carnegie Mellon dorm. We saw Tufts this afternoon. The initial positive feeling was somewhat negated by the admissions office guy. I can’t say why we found him off putting, a little pompous or full himself. He kept emphasizing that they were a “research one university”. Whats a “research two” university? However before that we had absolutely great food at the main cafeteria, lots of choices and everything we ate (all we could eat) was great. Tour guide was nice, but tour was huge. Emphasized international programs, students etc. and the fact that the professors do cutting edge research. Campus is attractive and well kept, though something about being on the hill looking down on the peons seemed a bit off-putting. I was sorry to hear that Jumbo (all I remember from touring the place in 1972) was destroyed in a fire in 1975.</p>
<p>I would also have been put off by ‘research one’. It is so much more impressive when the admissions officers and tour guides acknowledge that their school is just one of many fine schools.</p>
<p>I live really close to pitt, and if you want a good option on where to stay, i suggest that you stay at a Greensburg hotel(4 Point Sheridan). It’ll put you about an hour outside the city, but its a quick drive on the turnpike and your cost will be much lower</p>
<p>^^ Don’t be put off by “research one.” It’s a bit of shop talk, but this is standard terminology used by the Carnegie Foundation to signify universities that:</p>
<ul>
<li>offer a comprehensive range of bachelor’s programs</li>
<li>offer post-secondary education through the doctoral level and award at least 50 doctoral degrees per year</li>
<li>have a major research output, and</li>
<li>receive substantial federal research support</li>
</ul>
<p>According to Carnegie, there are only about 60 Research One (R1) universities in the United States. These include all the Ivies except Dartmouth; other top privates like Stanford, MIT, Caltech, USC, U Chicago, Northwestern, WUSTL, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and BU; and quite a few state flagships and “secondary flagships,” more or less the usual suspects among leading public institutions. It’s a distinguished and rather exclusive club in the academic world, and Pitt is obviously proud to be a member, as it has every right to be—these are the schools that generate most of the new knowledge coming out of the academic community, and training the people who will become teachers at the rest of the nation’s post-secondary educational institutions. </p>
<p>The question I’d ask when facing an admissions officer boasting about a school’s R1 status, however, is this: Given that R1 status is determined largely by reference to graduate education and research grants, what assurances do applicants and their parents have that undergraduate education won’t get short shrift under competing pressures from graduate education and the research effort?</p>
<p>mathmom - I don’t think the fact that Tufts is a “research one” university was mentioned at all when we visited last summer. I guess different tour guides emphasize different things. Ours portrayed Tufts as very laid back compared to certain other Boston-area schools, and spent a lot of time talking about ECs like sports and performing arts. Oh, and the food. If the admissions officer mentione the “research one” thing, we missed it because we were a few minutes late, so it definitely wasn’t mentioned more than once.</p>
<p>bclintonk - thanks for the explanation.</p>
<p>S visited Tufts yesterday with his dad. Definitely on his list. He mentioned the huge number of people on the tour (everyone is on spring break), but had the advantage of having a HS alum show him around. He got to see a real dorm- with the guys playing Wii (study!! that’s what we’re paying for!), eat with members of the XC team etc. Left a very favorable impression.</p>
<p>bclintonk:</p>
<p>Good info regarding R1 universities and how that status might impact undergrad education.</p>
<p>We’re off the visit Berkeley and Stanford this morning. My school board member friend gave me the contact info for her twin sons, who are going to grad school at Stanford. So It’s possible we may be able to see a bio lab up close after we finish the regular tour Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>My sister just emailed me her SAT scores! She knew she had made a huge mistake on the math (she accidentally skipped a question in the booklet but not on the answer sheet and didn’t have the time to correct it all before time was up, so all the answers in that section were off by one) and thought of canceling her score because of it, but seeing her verbal scores I think she’s happy she didn’t.</p>
<p>Critical Reading: 730
Math: 580
Writing: 740</p>
<p>She’s been doing the “SAT Question of the Day,” vocabulary flashcards, and maybe some of the College Board book, but I don’t think she studied very hard for it. And obviously, the math can only go up (I’d expect high 600’s, maybe low 700’s).</p>
<p>And she actually got a higher score than I did on the writing section. I’m proud of her. :D</p>
<p>re post 5025 lol</p>
<p>another thanks for the list K</p>
<p>why didn’t we have good food on our Tufts tour? Maybe because we ate late? I also found the dining hall dark. We were also there on Ash Wednesday so that might have had a food impact?</p>
<p>Our tour guide and admin info session person were upbeat, the guy who came to our school the other night was less dynamic than some of the others, but he wore bright rainbow socks.</p>
<p>Liz- good job to your sis, she can correct that math. </p>
<p>have fun on all the current tours, everyone</p>
<p>Just wanted to say how much I’m appreciating reading all these visit reports, and talk of considerations. We’re in a situation where we have to have the kids apply first, see what is most financially feasible, and then visit. CC was such a great help to my first kid as he put together his list, and now with the second having totally different academic interests, we’re learning all over again.</p>
<p>Liz: Congratulations to your sister, those are great scores. Too bad about the math mess-up, but at least she knows the score does not reflect her ability. Your sister may want to call up College Board and ask them about their ‘score verification’ service. My D had an unexpectedly low Math2 subject score in December. She was (is) sure that it was either a scantron error or some sort of bubbling error. I called up College board to ask them about their ‘score verification’ service, where an actual person examines your answer sheet as well as your question booklet. They told me the service would pick up scantron errors but in addition if there was an obvious, noticeable bubbling error that the person examining the sheet could identify, then they <em>may</em> be able to give credit for the mis-bubbled answers. No promises, of course, because every ‘mess-up’ is different. Unfortunately my D’s score stayed the same after score verification, but who knows, your sister’s error might be possible to catch? Of course, your sister could simply retake the test.</p>
<p>So we saw Brandeis this morning. Silly me forgot that Passover started today, if I’d been thinking I’d have reversed the order of Tufts and Brandeis - but Tufts had later tours which was good for us. So we saw very few students, but the student guide we had (a Posse member) was very nice and the other two seemed good too. Brandeis, having with one notable exception, been built post 1948 it has a more modern office park like feel than most New England colleges. I liked the architecture and layout for the most part. Like Tufts, it’s also on a hill above the main town, I was less bothered by it. It’s right near a commuter rail stop, but our guide said he prefers using the Brandeis van because the once an hour schedule of the T bothers him. Unlike many schools, the cafeteria is arranged so that kids who keep Kosher (including separate plates) can eat with those who don’t. I believe all Freshman are in freshman dorms, while Tufts has various options. Both schools don’t guarantee housing for juniors, but say that enough juniors study abroad or want to live off campus that it’s rarely a problem. Brandeis is the only school I’ve seen that had a one page summary of each major - it describes some required courses and the research interests of the professors in the department. My son thought the course in the influence of climate changes on history looked like an interesting course. Brandeis doesn’t require SAT2s which surprised me. The campus is very well kept up. They said they are need blind, and have responded to the fiscal situation by reducing the number of merit scholarships they give out, while increasing the number of need based ones. While they accept need blind, they may not give 100% of what you need. They said they didn’t have money invested with Madoff, but many of their major donors did, but so far the fallout hasn’t been too bad. (Aside from deciding to close the art museum which from reading the student newspaper is obviously still a contentious issue.)</p>
<p>Oh, and thanks for the research one explanation. The Brandeis admissions session was run by an overly perky young woman. So far our favorite presentation was Vassar, which had both a student and someone from the admissions office.</p>
<p>At a hotel about an hour outside Pittsburgh–I will definitely report back tomorrow night in-depth. For now, anyone have tips for my Oberlin interview on Saturday?</p>