@CroissantMiser I know Ursinus was on a preliminary list…had lots of the CTCL schools on there and I think that is one, right? Can’t even remember at this point why we took it off. Didn’t grab D17 for whatever reason, I guess. But it did look like a cool place [didn’t visit, just what I read].
I’m wondering if anyone here has any insight on St. Mary’s College of Maryland? They have reached out to our '18 kid in a big way so I took a look at them, and they look amazing on the surface. It is a public u, no religious affiliation, named because it is in St. Mary’s Md. Described as the honors college of Maryland, and in a staggeringly beautiful location. Costs for oos tuition and r&b are about $41k, and it looks like 31% of freshman get Merit aid. Max oos award of $12k. Although it looks like only 8% of the student body are oos.
This out of the blue concept of a school has become very intriguing to me. If anyone has any insight please share!
@CroissantMiser my S17 applied to Ursinus. However he is not at the stats for the Gateway. We have not visited but there was enough about it that he liked to apply for a variety of reasons. If accepted we will visit. I believe that @snoozn 'S older D applied, was accepted and offered some nice merit but I may be mixing it up with another school.
@oldbrookie I have heard of it, and only really nice things. I can’t recall why S vetoed it to be honest although likely because he’d be unlikely to get the max OOS offer!
St. Mary’s is a gorgeous rural campus on a river, with architecture that reminds me of a high end summer camp. They have a good reputation locally and everyone I know who went there absolutely loved it. Very nurturing environment for a public school.
@CroissantMiser–for whatever reason, Ursinus didn’t appeal to my D. I used to work for a company that had its headquarters in Collegeville, and it didn’t strike me as a particularly vibrant place. I think I had also heard that the facilities were run down (and I’m pretty sure I got that here on CC), but when I just went to look for that thread I couldn’t find it–so maybe I am mixing it up with another school. We ended up having so many CTCL schools on our list already, and my D wasn’t completely sold on a small school when we were building her list, there just didn’t seem to be a compelling reason to add it. However, I must say that $30,000 does sound pretty compelling! I’m assuming that the SAT score is based on CR+M on the old test–my D wouldn’t have qualified.
Thanks to all for the insight! much appreciated. As i understand, the scholarship is new for class of 2017 and therefore is based on new SAT (i’m sure they convert old as well)…so Act-30 and new sat-1260 + requisite college prep courses outlined on website = guaranteed $30K–no limited quantity available, etc. I guess that’s what i found compelling as much as anything. I’ve heard/seen reports of run-down buildings, etc and we will are scheduled to take an eastern PA roadie during spring break in March so we will see for ourselves…she’s into creative writing/dance/visual art so that means we will be supporting her for the next 10 years at least :)…we have the usuals on our prelim list build: Muhl, Goucher, Ursinus, Denison, st. olaf, beloit-- along with some reaches like Bard, Vassar, Kenyon so we shall see…
I can try to assist with both Ursinus and St. marys and maybe make another suggestion. St. Mary’s is a lovely and idyllic college, and many of my friends have kids who have gone there and loved it. BUT it is very isolated and there is very little in the area. It is a beautiful water town. Some kids love that and some do not. Ursinus is similar in feel to me, but collegeville si very close to King of Prussia and there is much more accessible in the area. If St marys appeals to you, i would also recommend Washington College in Chestertown. it is my alma mater, and is private, but they have good endowments and are always competitive with aid offers. Chestertown is also on the Eastern Shore, but very close to delaware and not too far from Annapolis.
@CroissantMiser If you are looking at Denison, I would also recommend College of Wooster in OH. I did the Early Aid Calculator [you have to provide a lot of info but they give you a personalized report] and it came back with merit of $26K. Of course, D17 hasn’t been admitted yet! But that is a good chunk of change. We haven’t visited yet but I love everything I have read about it, and will certainly visit if she is admitted. Dunno what your D’s stats are [did I miss that somewhere?] but if her stats put you on this thread, your reaches are pretty reach-y. 
Also, Bard gives VERY little merit aid, Vassar doesn’t appear to give any, and Kenyon doesn’t give much either, if that’s a factor for you. But always good to have some reaches on the list, I think–you just never know!
little early to post stats–only in her Jr. year, but she belongs on this thread. She’s at a very competitive NE private school so stats are skewed down, but sends many kids in her range to competitive schools, etc…allowing her 3-4 “dream schools” that at least claim holistic admissions process, but she understands the reality as we laid it out early in the process…College of Wooster is on the list, but issue is they don’t really have a dance minor, which is impt to her–otherwise, it’s a good fit.
@CroissantMiser Gotcha. I was the same…went to very competitive boarding school in MA and got into very competitive LAC with good scores but grades just okay.
@kt1969 – i suspected as much based on your threads, that’s why i singled out you and Klinska :)…i hope you don’t mind!..We are definitely in the boat you described, but we just need the “good scores” portion to come through!
@CroissantMiser Look a little deeper into the dance offerings at Wooster. They offer a dance scholarship which is stackable with other merit scholarships (an extra 4-8K per year). It’s a small program, contemporary based, but seems viable. One of the professors was/is on sabbatical leave so that may make the course offerings seem smaller than they are. Denison’s dance program seems similarly small, if memory serves.
We liked the dance facilities we saw at St. Olaf and they graduate about 8 dance majors per year.
@mamaedefamilia --Thanks so much for the further insight. COW is staying on our prelim list and hopefully we will make a midwest trek sometime next year. I know St. Olaf has a good dance program so thanks. Being able to minor in dance is very impt to her at this point, along with a Major in English/creative writing. And merit $$$ is very impt to her parents
@CroissantMiser I would definitely ask @snoozn, her older D applied to many of those schools and is a dance major.
@momofa12 I just took a peek at Washington, it looks like a very nice option. NPC still puts it on the higher side of what I’d like but that one hadn’t crossed my radar before.
Wow, a 1260 SAT (new) concords to an ACT of 26–that’s why I assumed the SAT score threshold was based on the old test. My D is not at a terribly competitive school, and her stats fit firmly within this thread–her dream school is her ED school, at which she has a chance, but is still a reach. I think we included a lot of likely schools (probably more than she needed) in our list, and maybe we could have shot higher, but @CroissantMiser’s D’s reaches would definitely be reachy reachy reaches for my D. My D’s RD schools are generally more competitive than the schools she applied to EA (her ED school would be the exception, because they give a substantial acceptance bump for ED), so it will be interesting to see how that plays out (if we don’t end up withdrawing those applications).
We looked at a few of those reaches (and others) but the merit just isn’t there so don’t have a single true reach on the list. Which at times kind of bums me out but honestly, I am ok with it and far more importantly, so is S.
@klinska --my apologies. I just checked the Ursinus website and the Act is 28; not 30…SAT is 1260 combined CR + M. Again, keep in mind that those schools are FAR reaches/Dreams for my D, but we are allowing her 3-4 of those based on her interest and holistic admissions claims as well as historical data from her NE private school. We and she knows full well they are less than 10% chances. The real focus is clearly on the usual suspect schools on this thread: CTCL schools, etc. We are not going into this with beer googgles on
@CroissantMiser Our dancer daughter, who strongly prefers LACs and smaller universities, also considered Kenyon, Macalester, Dickinson (collaboration with CPYB), Oberlin, and Case Western. Beloit, Grinnell and Lawrence didn’t make the cut because the dance offerings and faculty were too meager. Muhlenberg looked great for dance but fell off the list for other reasons.
Given your D’ interest in dance and writing, U of Iowa might be a place to investigate further if she/you are open to larger public universities. She might get some out of state merit money for her stats. The campus is lovely and the town is nice, IMO.
Good luck!
@oldbrookie, I have a friend whose son goes to St. Mary’s of Maryland. She says it’s full of quirky/hipster kids…that it’s perfect for those who love it, but not for everyone. She did say there’s an awful lot of cigarette smoking. Close-knit group of kids, and yes, very beautiful right on the water. Of course, this is second-hand…I haven’t been there. She said her son previously applied only to Bowdoin (go figure) and had to scramble when he didn’t get in and was admitted to St. Mary’s. I think it’s considered strong in biology.
BTW, I’m a lurker on this thread…but I feel at home here! I REALLY shouldn’t be on CC at all…my daughter’s only an 8th grader! And no, I’m not on CC in an obsession to steer her into tippy tops . I just find the whole idea of “fit” so durn fascinating, I’m hooked. So far she’s a straight-A middle-school student but I do expect grades to be more of a struggle in high school. She’s the average really good student who wants to do well, but she doesn’t have burning ambition and that’s OK. Some of her “A"s are just barely, and she survives” math because her chemist dad works with her. She adores reading and her lexile score is sky-high so that is her strength…but she has little patience for writing. I would call her “healthily moderate” in personality. So, I find the discussions on this thread very refreshing and I’m learning a lot. Her college direction will be mostly up to her but I will be ready with loads of info when the time comes, thanks to all of you! I have a feeling she will be more of a LAC or medium-sized school kid (too bad, as our state flagship is very solid) so I read with interest about those in our region…)
@mamaedefamilia --Thanks! Challenge is that her interests lend more to LACs but her desire is to be in an urban environment so the 2 work at cross purposes most of the time. She probably will apply to the Iowa young writers program so if she’s fortunate enough to get in that will give her a good look. May i ask why Muhlenberg fell off the list? (as her parent–it’s my “secret crush” for her)…thanks!