@2muchquan and everyone else. Did you know the Common App is open? :))
@MotherOfDragons Havr you looked at the honors college? Some of their honors programs look pretty amazing.
Fresh Idea request. Need to see if I have missed anything.
Sigh. Summer program seems to have possibly crystallized a few things though not really the ones I might have hoped!
Looking for…
Lower/Middle stats schools. 3.45 UW, 3.7W, 25 ACT but retaking. Decent rigor, ok ECs but not earth shattering.
Smaller to Mid Sized schools (1,200-15,000)
Urban OR in a more “robust” college town. Meaning…rural is kind of ok IF the town has enough going on. Preferably walkable to the town if possible.
Cooler climates. No southern, super warm, desert or beach. Not West Coast.
Nothing religious
No tech only schools (or primarily tech focused)
Has music programs but not super competitive ones (needs to have the ability to play jazz)
Some type of theater program a plus
Environmental Science and Studies a plus but…I’ll worry about major “fit” later…it’s all over the board at the moment again!
oh and yeah, we have to be able to afford it as we are full pay so lower stats merit schools are a plus! I’ll take all ideas and crunch the numbers. Again.
We are going to see several CTCL ones tonight but most don’t fit the urban/cool town requirement…or if they do they aren’t affordable.
@2muchquan I don’t think she’d be in the top stats at Dartmouth-isn’t that an ivy? I think only Stephen Hawking would be in the top edge of those stats!
U Charleston-too small. 1500 undergrad. College of Charleston’s honors college-she’s still outside their range.
Today in the mailbox-U Tennessee, UIUC. Both good schools for CS, but for various reasons were beat out by the other schools currently in the BOD.
re: APHUG
So I floated the idea to S about taking regular Gov to try to fix his schedule and he got all mad. Now he’s having a meltdown about his other classes, and the world has ended and nothing will ever work ever again ever. FML.
UIUC tough on merit seekers perhaps?
So, to clarify, @MotherOfDragons, you want D17’s stats to be around the 25-75% of admitted students? I’m a little confused.
@eandesmom Take a quick look at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Its a NJ state school. Growing in reputation. Does give merit aid. You may know it. Fits alot of your criteria.
Downside: Not the greatest walk able town, but pretty close to Philly. Also they are trying to shake their commuter/suitcase reputation.
EDIT: Changed NYC to Philly. oops
@eandesmom, Same here. Location and finance. Before the school ended for summer, school counselor recommended D to attend CTCL fair. I love the concept of CTCL but they don’t fit my D’s location requirement and my financial requirement. Too bad. We will not be going.
@eandesmom Maybe look at Lindenwood University or Webster University in St Louis - I think they both fit many of your requirements - I am just not sure about the price tags.
Both of these are in cute little suburb towns of St Louis City - Lindenwood in Historic St Charles is especially neat.
@flatKansas … Similar Gov issue here. D is going to take an off period and take government online. It won’t hurt her rank or GPA so she’s all in.
D17 took government over summer before 10th grade. So glad she got that over because she’s taking both semesters of AP / IB econ and the second year of IB History of the Americas thisv year so there’s no way to add a third social studies.
@MotherOfDragons Here are the stats for the Honors College including the William Aiken Fellows program for 2019. Also some stats regarding the graduating class of 2016 that may be a better representation of the Honors College. If you have any questions, I’d love to talk to you.
http://cofc.edu/about/freshman-class-profiles/
http://www.cofc.edu/about/graduation-class-profiles/
** Downsizing ** To people who have done it or in the know. Won’t the college kids spend summer back in the house??
I see that as a deterrent for a boomerang kid after college graduation.
Sorry no room at the Inn. =))
Should look into a micro apartment or aero trailer. ;))
@payn4ward I thought the same thing. Kids will come back for the summer and they want their own room. I even worry about the time they come back with their significant others and bunch of kids (grandchildren) in the future!
@2muchquan I have not been to URichmond myself but my son’s school took the kids there last year for a info session / tour. S17 said he couldn’t imagine living there for 4 years. He said when they asked the tour guide what there is to do off campus, the tour guide commented no need to leave campus because there is a bar on campus. [-X
In the ongoing APHUG drama, I found out the school district offers virtual classes year round so he could take the original class he signed up for (psych), but online. Now he’s mad at me for that too. Can I quit this parenting gig?
@STEM2017 Thanks, I will take a look, I do not know it. He’s not big on commuter schools so trying to avoid that as well but it’s not out of the question. He likes Temple, it’s just bigger than he wants.
@HiToWaMom some of the CTCL schools look like they will work financially but of course they may not meet the college town/urban request and the ones that might, may not work financially.
@stlarenas thanks! I am not sure I could convince him to consider St. Louis, it is likely too Southern in his mind, he’s not terribly keen on the midwest in general but am working on expanding his reach if he is going to be this ridiculously difficult and picky. I will take a look though!
No downsizing here. in fact dome of our building mansions after kids go to college. I guess to show opulence at the time of the marriage.
No current plans for downsizing. We’ve been waiting for a few years for H to lose his job so we’ll probably take that opportunity to relocate/downsize. Definitely looking forward to renovating a bit!
@eandesmom Missouri is southern…however St. Louis is not. 
Plus he’ll get a glimpse of all 4 seasons here. If you do make a visit I would check out SLU too. It’s a Catholic (Jesuit) school but I hear it is light on the religion.