@rosered55, she is interested in psychology, criminology, maybe sociology; also trilingual and interested in study abroad and maybe a language major. UW GPA=3.3, 6 APs, good writer. Financially, we can swing college costs with the help of some merit aid and a partial loan.
My older daughter is a University of Redlands graduate. She loved college. Her high school GPA was approximately 3.4 and ACT score was 34. She concentrated in writing and art at Redlands (she was enrolled in the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, in which students can design their concentrations, which substitute for majors). Redlands provided a reasonable amount of financial aid, a combination of need based, merit based, and loans. The aid would not have been enough if not for our assets; my now ex-husband lost his job the spring of my daughter’s senior year in high school and we were low income for most of my daughter’s time at Redlands. We wouldn’t have been able to swing paying more than one-third of our income for college (between this daughter and our younger daughter) one year if not for those assets and D2’s better financial aid from her LAC. But I’m not dissing Redlands; I think they were as generous as they could reasonably be with us.
Totally off topic - but ya’ll with your music/dance kids have inspired me with a holiday gift for my spouse, so I want to share. Maybe it will help someone else who has the same holiday gift stress I have.
Background: Historically, I have set a very high bar with clever, thoughtful gifts. And it has become the expectation. Uhm, gets hard 25+ years into it.
I am going to get tickets for a variety of live shows, plays, concerts, dance… One a month for 6 months. I’m feeling kind of brilliant with this. So, swiping the sweat off my brow, and sharing.
That is a lovely and truly brilliant gift idea, @oldbrookie. Hats off to you! =D>
@rosered55 how did your older daughter like U of Redlands overall and how did you like it as a parent? I don’t know many people who’ve gone there but my daughter applied as it seemed interesting and she’s been casting a wide net and applying to a bunch of schools to try to cover all her bases. She hasnt visited it but the campus looks very pretty from their website and seems like a friendly school. She would major in Psychology if she went there. Did your older daughter feel it prepared her well to get a job after college? I know you say she went to the Center for Integrative Studies - I think that sounds really cool, but my daughter wasn’t into it so she would just do a more traditional major.
My daughter loved Redlands overall. The one thing about the school she wasn’t impressed with was career services but when one’s goal is to be a writer and not have a 9 to 5 job, I think the career services office probably would have limited value in the best of circumstances. That said, I think Redlands prepared her well for what she’s doing now: living in New York City and supporting herself with a serving job while she tries to make herself as a writer. She gained a lot of confidence at Redlands and she learned a lot in her writing and art classes. She was happy with her social life; she made the somewhat unusual choice to both live and get a degree in Johnston (with the “hippies”) and be a member of a sorority. I certainly don’t think that Redlands is “the” school for everyone but it was great for my daughter.
Nice small surprise today, a $1K one year award at WWU for S. I hadn’t expected him to qualify for a thing so it’s a nice little surprise. They do not offer much at all in non need in state monies. I’d really read the one he received as one for kids of alumni or kids with a fair amount of leadership. Based on the CDS they only give out 2% in non neet merit (avg 2K all years, 73 enrolled freshman, 267 students in total) so would NOT have expected S to get a thing. A drop in the bucket to be sure but we will take token awards here no matter how small or limited. I hope this bodes well elsewhere for app interpretation. We need all the merit the kid can get!
@stlarenas fair point about cost of living and income but oh, I can’t imagine those tuition numbers.
@93pilots Welcome!!! Loving all the new posters and delurkers! Congrats on Whittier.
@“Queen’s Mom” I don’t know much about Wofford but have heard they are on the generous side for merit.
@MomStudent2017 I hear you on the “fit” challenges. S was high maintenance between location, major, music and theater, weather, school size/type and politics!
@oldbrookie what a lovely lovely gift. Not only is it something that’s very thoughtful…you benefit too with 6 schedule dates!
@suburbancat I agree with the Redlands recommendation. Others that seemed an academic fit depending on what you were looking for were Santa Clara, UCSC, St. Mary’s College of California. My S wanted nothing to do with CA so I didn’t really look but if you don’t have budget constraints it opens up a lot. In general the “coast” schools are not great for merit.
@rosered55 thanks - good to know!
@93pilots, mine got in at Whittier too. They gave some decent merit and it’s definitely a contender, but we are still waiting for financial aid.
@eandesmom, my nephew is at WWU. He loves it, but has had some problems because he’s on the spectrum and I’m not sure he’s getting the support he needs. I think it’s a great place for someone more neurotypical.
@QueensMom it’s a bit bigger than ideal for my S, I worry it will be easier for him to fall through the cracks. I’m not “really” worried but do think he would do better at a smaller school and smaller classes early on. But that price tag is hard to beat. He has a good friend who is a freshman there who is on the spectrum, I am curious to hear how it is going, they should be able to catch up over the holidays.
I’m glad we have so many de-lurkers here! And so many acceptances. That’s when you know things are getting real I guess. D is pretty close to done. She has only two more school apps (Smith and VA Tech), along with some scholarship and honors apps. I’ve been pretty good about not obsessively portal-checking because I really doubt we’ll be hearing anything before mid-December. All the EA apps are complete, so there’s not much to worry about. I do still check her college email every day (it’s solely for college stuff and we share it).
@smakl70, wow grats! It will be quite a while before most of us are in your shoes. I don’t have any input about those schools, but I hope the visits will help him find his new (four year) home!
@momofa12, another grats! Good thing you have prior experience just in case, but how wonderful to get into his first choice with necessary merit.
@london203, welcome! It really is nice to have an affordable acceptance in hand and I hope your D gets some good news soon. We’re still awaiting EA results from some pretty high interest schools, but her final decisions won’t be made until RD.
@luckycharms949, yay, another acceptance with merit! Not even mid-December and things are getting exciting. Your Pitt story reminds me of one I read on CC a long time ago. A kid had applied to the state flagship and got what looked like a big acceptance packet, tore into it, and it was a rejection with a brochure for another (less selective) campus. Pure evil!
@inthegarden, I looked at a couple of those videos and they are very cool. I’ll have to show them to my oldest D who loves world dance. She want to Balkan Camp (music, dance, and culture) in the CA redwoods this past summer and thought it was amazing.
@93pilots, congrats on the Whittier acceptance! Yes, it’s going to be quite the rockin’ thread pretty soon.
@roycroftmom, congrats on Elon! Wow, so many really early acceptances here.
@oldbrookie, first, that is a great gift idea and second, I wish my H would go to live shows, plays, concerts and dances! 
@eandesmom, yep, $1000 sounds small when we think about overall cost, but how happy would you be if someone just handed you $1000, right?
@snoozn…Balkan Camp!!! It seems there is no end to all the fascinating things in the world!
@snoozn I think the bigger win isn’t the money. 1k is nothing. It’s the fact that so little is given in general for non need and in-state that for them to throw him a little bone of any sort is just really really surprising. I figure it’s the value of credit for one AP test or 2 quarters of books. Both of which are nice.
@inthegarden, I’m not an artsy person myself, so have learned a lot from oldest D! It worked out great for her. She and her dance partner were dancing at an event and a woman who is a local patron of the arts offered them both full scholarships. Road trip to Balkan Camp! (https://eefc.org/balkan-camp/west-coast/)
@eandesmom, I still say a thousand buckaroos is nothing to sneeze at, though I guess it’s 1/100 of what you need. But feeling the love is nice. I know I’ll be pleased to see any amount of aid (especially from any reaches where she gets accepted) even if it’s not nearly enough – it still says “We want you!”
@snoozn - I know we’re really lucky that the schools he was interested in were all either rolling or early. Older son didn’t have that luxury and we were still nail biting at this time. Honestly, since he was the second to go through the process I think we were more prepared and he was more cooperative in terms of checking links out that I’d send him. The list was narrowed down by this summer and as soon as apps opened he was able to get them in. I think he actually sent his first one in back in June.
@eandesmom - I agree with @snoozn, it’s the schools way of saying “we like you too”. Any amount is nice. Maybe it’s just me but it makes me think, “Yay, someone else can see my kids’ strengths!”
@oldbrookie - that’s one fantastic gift! I’m jealous but not sure I could get my husband to go.
Great news about the money, @eandesmom! My son also got a small yearly award from the state school he’s always liked, and where I’m pretty sure he’ll end up. Since the start I’ve been saying I want my kid at the school that will be delighted to have him; the cash is a nice way of showing it!
I can’t even keep up with how fast this thread is moving–I love it! Seems there are even more folks since the last time I said hello to the delurkers! Welcome!
@eandesmom, congrats on the $1000! Every little bit helps!and I agree that it may be a bellwether for how your S’s application may play out elsewhere. From the time I joined this thread he’s seemed like a really strong applicant–I think you will continue to be pleasantly surprised at what comes his way during decision time.
God luck to all completing the last (or next) set of applications. We’re sitting tight until we hear from the ED school.
@snoozn oh definitely! It was just unexpected love so I think the appreciation is just far greater than the dollar volume itself warrants lol. As I said in this case it isn’t really about the money, it’s more the pleasant surprise of the unexpected. 1/880 of what is needed . LOL! For a full ride at any ways. From a tuition only standpoint at a state level it’s much nicer at 1/24. I truly am not knocking it, just still really surprised but in a good way.
@smakl70 I agree, it is nice! Just super unexpected and yes, makes me think they like him more than honestly I expected them to. Which is cool!
@tacocat333 that is wonderful for your S, congrats! It was just really unexpected, I think it’s more the surprise (in a good way) factor than the dollar amount. But every little bit helps, even at the least expensive option!
@klinska I hope so, we will see. I go back and forth as to whether he is strong or not at all. Not necessarily weak for his schools but…not necessarily strong either. The dreaded middle 50 lol. This was a very nice and unexpected little bonus prize to be sure and yes does make me a bit hopeful for later interpretations.
so I emailed D’s AP physics teacher concerned about her grade and was going to ask for additional suggestions for her to improve her C to a B-, then I went on the portal and because of her last test, her average is a D+. I told him I’m a little concerned about her top choice college that will want to see her semester grade prior to making a decision. I was hoping he could provide some insight on why she isn’t grasping the material.
Response: This class is a big challenge even for top students. The colleges know this and are more impressed by the student taking this class even more than the grade they have. I see this year after year with students. I’ve had many kids with D’s and even F’s who become physicists and engineers. When they take the class in college it’s easy for them and they already know their weaknesses and gaps in their physics skills. My daughter is a great example. She struggled in Calc, Chem and Physics here and now college is a breeze. Physics takes practice. She needs to read the book, do the sample problems and complete the homework. If that doesn’t work, do it again until you get it. It worked for me. Most important! read the chapter in advance before the lesson, that helps immensely. D is brilliant and hardworking. She can do it.
(Of course, she already does all that, something isn’t clicking - we’re pulling the trigger on a tutor this week, but)
He told the same story at back to school night in September. I mean, D’s and F’s, really? I think this hurts chances big time, am I wrong?
@london203 That “winter term” thing is fairly common at semester schools, particularly private LAC’s.
@CAtransplant I visited U of Redlands with my older D and was impressed with it. I think it’s a bit of a hidden gem, those in my area don’t think that highly of it. I’ve recommended it to quite a few people, as they give fairly good merit money from my perspective to the right kids. The campus is very pretty, and for the right kid like @rosered55 daughter it has an interesting program. Looks like a small east coast LAC. Why it doesn’t get more attention locally I think is it’s a part of S. California not many students want to move to in San Bernardino. It’s about an hour east of downtown LA, at the base of San Gabriel Mtns and about half the way to Palm Springs. Most local kids know it as a town you pass through to get to the local skiing.
@eandesmom Nice to see a small scholarship. 
@93pilots Welcome. Great news about Whittier. I assume you are talking about the S. California school. Another one my older D looked at. I liked the school but it turned out not to be a good fit for my D. A neighbors had highly recommended it and it works great for their D.
@suburbancat Welcome. Idea’s for California other than the State Schools. (Since that deadline has passed.) What are they interested in? Any idea what they want to major in. What part of the state? CA isn’t a small place. I do recommend checking out Redlands. Santa Clara, University of San Diego (the private catholic one). My D got into (and it’ was her 2nd choice) Dominican University of California (it’s in Marin county). We really liked it & my D charmed the admissions counselor. Dominican is no longer religiously affiliated. I’m sure i could come up with more.
And I know a lot of kids who have been very happy with Santa Clara & USD.