Parents of the HS Class of 2015

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
7001

<p>Slackermom, Thank you for the report on UNC Asheville. I just love the Asheville area, and it’s a school that I keep thinking of adding to the list. Because D (and I) would like to find a school with a more liberal vibe…but still in the Southeast, I tend to look at how many students come from out of state. I haven’t checked on that for UNC Asheville, but that immediate area has a reputation for being much more liberal than the state, or other southern states in general.</p>

<p>On UGA, I think I have just not even seriously considered any of the big state schools of any other state. The main problem with our state schools(for D) is that they are huge, with party school, football reputations, and even the honors programs don’t seem to do much to create a smaller school environment. But recently I have seen posts that make me wonder if maybe some big state schools are different. Do you think UGA has a program that creates a small school within a big school feel?</p>

7002

<p>Keepme, I wish I had thought to record the show! I hope all of those traveling are doing well and staying safe! This is exactly the type of ‘weather in the news’ that makes me really want D to stay within driving distance. Of course, being in Florida, a days drive won’t put us in winter driving, so for some of you relying on driving in snowy weather might be worse than air travel.</p>

7003

<p>I am finding this process very stressful. Shoboe have you visited any state schools honors colleges outside of your state? I suspect that some schools are better than others at making a big school feel like a small school. </p>

<p>There are just too many schools out there to narrow down. It’s overwhelming.</p>

7004

<p>We haven’t visited any other big state schools. I tried to get her to look at UNC Chapel Hill when we visited Duke, but she was not at all interested. She said it was too big. I didn’t argue a lot on that one because the school is so hard to get into for out of state students.</p>

<p>It is hard to narrow down. I also have this habit, when ‘shopping around’ for something…like houses, or cars or colleges…things that require going to see them…I have this habit of getting some basic info and then selling myself on it, deciding it will be just right…until I do go see it, and then I can more easily spot the flaws. Right at this moment Agnes Scott seems to be the one I think will be just right. …oh yeah except for I’m not sure we can afford it.
We will be traveling over Christmas break, and can swing by there to see the school, but it will be closed down for the holiday, so I am not sure it’s a good idea. We saw New College over a Christmas break and were not left with a positive feeling about it. That turned her off of the school, and I wonder if it had been more lively with students out and about if that would have given us a different reaction.</p>

7005

<p>My nephew goes to UNC-CH ( OOS) and they keep bugging us to have my daughter apply. We are still trying to decide if we will include it on our February trip- it’s very hard to get in OOS and quite frankly I am not into the stress!! </p>

<p>I am not sure if the school I see for my D exists: 5,000-15,000, very little Greek life, strong academics, “rah rah,” kids who enjoy going to dinner and then staying in to work on a project, in a city or college town. Diverse. Able to speak with professors easily. Good study abroad program and good internships. </p>

<p>Our journey continues…</p>

7006

<p>twogirls, I was just going to ask whether anyone had information and opinions about the honors colleges at U of Maryland, U of Delaware and Penn State. I created a profile on cappex using a screen name and D’s stats and preferences and got a number of messages from supposed “match” schools that say they’re interested; one of them is Schreyer Honors College at Penn State.
I have to say that I hadn’t thought about Penn State but went to their website and it looks attractive; there’s a quote from a student saying “You can make a big school small, but you can’t make a small school big.” [Future</a> Students: Schreyer Honors College](<a href=“http://www.shc.psu.edu/future/]Future”>http://www.shc.psu.edu/future/)</p>

<p>It has good reviews in this article [Penn</a> State Schreyer Honors College: Best in the Northeast | Public University Honors](<a href=“http://publicuniversityhonors.com/2012/06/12/penn-state-schreyer-honors-college-best-in-the-northeast/]Penn”>http://publicuniversityhonors.com/2012/06/12/penn-state-schreyer-honors-college-best-in-the-northeast/)
Here’s some info from the article
*The Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University is the best public university honors program in the northeastern United States, providing the strongest state school option for top students in a region that is loaded with elite private colleges.</p>

<p>In fact, Schreyer is among the best public honors programs in the entire nation, according to the recent book, A Review of Fifty Public University Honors Programs. In the major category of Overall Excellence, Schreyer is ranked 8th nationwide and 4th among large honors programs that have more than 1,800 students. Schreyer also ranks 9th in Honors Factors, a category that is more program-specific.</p>

<p>The University of Delaware Honors Program is another great choice in the Northeast, ranking 16th in Overall Excellence and 10th in Honors Factors.</p>

<p>Schreyer is one of only five large honors programs to receive size/quality bonus points for scoring above the median in all three of the most important categories in the book—honors curriculum, prestigious scholarships, and honors graduation rate.</p>

<p>Schreyer has an enrollment of almost 1,900 students, out of a total Penn State undergraduate population of almost 39,000 students. Admission to Schreyer is much more selective than for the university as a whole. The average SAT/ACT for Schreyer is 2070/32</p>

<p>What makes Schreyer such an excellent option?</p>

<p>Funding. Schreyer provides a $4,000 scholarship to all students, not counting the other scholarships they can earn. Schreyer has $55 million in reserve, and can spend about $2.75 million a year of scholarships and programming. </p>

<p>Satisfaction. Penn State as a whole has a strong record of retention and graduation; Schreyer is even better. </p>

<p>Credibility. Penn State and Schreyer are recognized for their support in career services and graduate placement rates, with the Princeton Review ranking Penn State career support at number 3 in the country. Schreyer reports that it “is well known and well regarded for the strength of program and quality of our graduates. Our students have a 100% placement in graduate and professional schools and the vast majority get into their first choice.” </p>

<p>Honors Residential Community. The college says that “Schreyer Scholars also talk about the Honors College being a small community within the larger university. We call it the living-learning community with Atherton and Simmons halls, part of the South Halls residence complex, being what anchors the Schreyer Honors College on campus.” *</p>

7007

<p>We are visiting University of Maryland and UVa in February and UDel and UConn in April. We already saw UPitt. If my D applies to the U of G we will visit if she gets some money. Same goes for the Ohio state schools. We will not be seeing Penn State although I hear their honors college is great. </p>

<p>The rest of the schools will be privates. There is a huge selection so I need to narrow it down. </p>

<p>My D graduated with a girl ( very smart kid) who plays soccer at one of Penn States satellite schools and will transfer next year.</p>

7008

<p>My friends D is in the honors college at UDel and is very happy. UDel is one of those schools that attracts a ton of kids from our HS- one reason why my kid was not thrilled about visiting. She has since changed her mind and agreed to look at it.</p>

7009

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<p>Other than the Greek life (which the administration is slowly deemphasizing), you just described Duke.</p>

7010

<p>^ ugh thanks. We are visiting Duke in February. Now I need to find another school like Duke just in case Duke does not work out LOL.</p>

7011

<p>One more vote here for Colleges that Change Lives, not just the list they present but more importantly the attitude. My d13 was looking for exactly that mind set…will I be able to improve myself here, will I be surrounded by others who are looking to get better, will I Learn to be a life- long learner, will I develop my ability to solve problems that someone doesn’t already know the answer to. My goal now is to get s15 to think through those questions. </p>

<p>One of my biggest questions is, when someone says “I want a good education”, what do they really mean by that? And the follow-up, “what is a rigorous education, really”. What does “critical thinking” look like on the hoof. I’m not going to ask what makes an elite school and elite school, because I have heard a lot of answers already, and I am not sure anything I’ve heard is worth paying 50-60 grand per year for. But the big question of what makes an education good? Ahhhhh. </p>

<p>I would lead off by saying that a good education trains you to always ask yourself, as you decide that you are right and the other guy is wrong, “but what if even part of what he is thinking turns out to be right”. </p>

<p>When I asked the 2013 group what made a good college, one of the great answers was that it is a place where the school cares about the students and the students care about the school. There are so many layers of commitment implied in that statement, and a sense that the job is bigger than we are, so we need to commit to our team, whatever form that team takes, in order to get it done. On one level, kind of cornball, but on another level, really important, particularly if you have spent any time with the folks who put themselves first and the job second, and are therefore a pain in the :$)(;); to work with. </p>

<p>I would love to hear from others about what they want their student to get from these four years, and what questions they are asking. Majors, FA, big vs small…all good questions to start with. But perhaps there are more?</p>

7012

<p>The extreme rain/wind is upon us. Just sent S1 out in it for practice and it will be my turn to pick up at 9:00…yuck! Thankfully school is closed today so he’s the only kid venturing out anywhere today.</p>

<p>D got her club volleyball schedule which means our college visits can be added before or after the tournaments. For the first time they are playing in Boston which is very convenient since we were planning a trip there anyway. We will miss a day of school to see Boston College and Northeastern. We are taking Boston University off the list since she preferred Fordham over NYU, I figure it will be the same in Boston.</p>

<p>They will also play in Wash. DC and we will get our official tour of Georgetown in. We’ve been around campus a few times with H and D took a tour at softball camp but we’ve never done the official one through Admissions. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth the extra trip down to Charlottesville to see UVA. I know she’ll probably like it, she seems to like every campus. It’s another long shot to get in especially as OOS, I don’t know if it’s worth the extra hours in the car. Or I wait until Memorial Day weekend and drag her to S1’s tournament in Richmond and see it then. Only problem is there won’t be students on campus at the end of May.</p>

<p>I guess we will also have to see what her scores are and we’ll have a clearer picture on whether what I think are target schools are actually target schools. After seeing our travel schedule for 3 kids playing club vball, I am starting to back off the idea of the Feb. ACT in CT or NJ. It’s one of the only free weekends we have all winter. Maybe the April one won’t interfere with AP studying too much. So dumb that NY doesn’t allow testing in Feb.</p>

7013

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<p>I agree 100%. Everyone has a different definition of a “great education”, but IMO what makes an education “great” is the student. There are tons of schools that offer outstanding opportunities with their Honors colleges, internships, assistantships, etc…but will a student take advantage of those opportunities? I think that too many students rule out certain schools or types of schools because they want to be surrounded by “like-minded”, academically serious students. Why would you assume those types of students don’t exist at all “flavors” of universities?</p>

<p>You can find others that share your interests, beliefs, and academic seriousness at virtually any school. Why anyone would spend huge amounts of money unnecessarily, IMO, is beyond me…and if they burden themselves/their child with unmanageable student loan debt it’s just plain foolish.</p>

7014

<p>Ssacdfamily…good question. D is leaning towards a business/accounting major which really eliminates a lot of schools right off the bat. Her school must be AACSB accredited and have a strong internship placement and alumni base so she can actually get a job after graduation. It must be well-known enough (not prestigious exactly, but known) to get a job in NY if she chooses to come home after college. So those are the questions we are asking right off the bat.</p>

<p>She does not want to be in the middle of nowhere but still wants the green campus. She is leaning towards business but still wants to take Humanities classes so we are looking at a lot of the Catholic schools since they have a core of those type of classes for business majors. They also are near big cities which is what she wants.</p>

<p>She also wants some kind of big sports program, either football or basketball or both so she can go to the games or watch the team on ESPN and have school spirit around that team.</p>

7015

<p>W you said it best!!!</p>

<p>I have no clue why NY does not offer a February ACT. If my kid takes it again she will be taking it OOS ( we are not far from bordering states). For now she just needs to get through Dec 7 and 14.</p>

7016

<p>twogirls wrote:

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<p>That sounds too general. It pretty much describes every Jesuit (<a href=“http://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions[/url]”>Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities - HOME) and Catholic (<a href=“http://www.stirenes.org/information/college_list.html[/url]”>http://www.stirenes.org/information/college_list.html&lt;/a&gt;) college/university in the country… :confused:</p>

7017

<p>When asked what she was looking for in a college, D’12 was very clear that she was looking for an intellectual community, a school where the life of the mind was valued above all else. D’15 isn’t that clear, but it’s early yet.</p>

7018

<p>Giter I did not know that this described every Jesuit and Catholic school in the country as these are not schools that we have visited.</p>

7019

<p>Twogirls. I was going to add that your description sounded like the University of Dayton. Which is a catholic school. Kids absolutely LOVE that school and alumni will defend UD until their death!!! It is definitely rah rah over their basketball.</p>

7020

<p>Hoping you got to NY safe, OhMomof2.</p>