@Novacat9191 I am only familiar with St. Joe’s and Catholic. My D17 attends Catholic so I’m happy to answer any questions you have. My D is a nursing major so I do not know much about the special ed program. My D loves Catholic. There are several popular majors which tend to have a high retention rate (nursing, engineering, architecture and business). When my D19 looked there for math, we ruled it out because the program was just too small for our liking. As far as the comment above about everyone transferring, that has not been my D’s experience. She knows of one girl who left for financial reasons but none of her close friends. My D loves that it is truly a national univerisity with students from all over.
Although the schools are very similar academically, I do think that SJU and CUA have very different feels. SJU isn’t really in the city even though it has a city address. It is one block off of a very wealthy suburb and a commute to downtown. My D’s friends who attend there do go into the city on weekends. I know plenty of kids who love it but some who say it’s a suitcase school. I don’t think that’s truly accurate but our high school sends a large number of kids there since it’s so close so their perception is possibly biased. SJU offers D1 sports and there’s quite a bit of school spirit.
West Chester has a very good reputation for their education programs. I would research where students do their student teaching at all of these schools. One local university (not one that you have mentioned) is notorious for sending students up to two hours away which is extremely taxing on the students. It’s a result of them over enrolling their program without expanding local opportunities.
@JBSeattle: Although I really don’t think it actually fills up we signed up for Arches already thinking it would be easier to switch out if she didn’t want to do it rather than switch in. I think just the ability to get in a week earlier and the nicer dorms are a great perk. My D did like the traditional dorms though too (rooms were big).
Enjoy your trip in! Hope you have some time to explore the city. I saw your post on the Manhattan thread about using the Subway and wanted to clarify a few things becasue there seems to be some misleading info. The 1 train sits right on the edge of campus at Van Cortland park, you don’t need to walk anywhere but across the street to catch the train.
Travel time into Manhattan is really variable on where you are going, and it is certainly alot easier from MC to get to MOST places vs any school outside of Manhattan. For example 116th St Columbia, 25 minutes, 86th st Central park 30 Min, 42nd Broadway 40 miinutes, Christopher St NYU 45 minutes and the last stop South Ferry is 1 hour.
@Momof3kidz@Longhaul: My screen name is from my alma mater (Villanova) so I’m VERY familier with the School Spirit at SJU! LOL.
It has been quite a journey, when I think back to where we were a year ago with a D that was really not interested in even talking about college and thinking that she was going to struggle to find a place that would be a fit. Fast forward to today and I feel really blessed to have so many great options and feel so happy for all the parents/students in this thread going through similar challenges and finding a path ahead.
I’d be careful of relying too much on published 4-year graduation rates—to really judge those you need to know both the number of students who attend part time (who, of course, won’t graduate in four) and the transfer-out rate (since students who transfer out are counted as “not graduating” for the school they started at).
Also, it’s nearly impossible to graduate in four while working full- or near-full-time, and so if you’ve got a sizable non-traditional-age student population (who are more likely to need to work a good amount to support a household), then you’re almost certainly going to have a lower 4-year graduation rte.
One of S19s got into Tisch, NYU yesterday, in the Clive Davis institute - which is his dream school, and pretty much a guaranteed career launcher for that field. He is beyond thrilled.
When I ran the NPC a while ago, I knew it would be a stretch - but I let him apply , as the chance of being accepted was so slim, I didnt think it would really be an issue. We have an unknown factor in our financial calculations, as the boys’ father is assessed financially - but doesnt contribute. That means any attempts to have accurate financial pictures becomes skewed by unknown variables. Now i have to puncture this wonderful bubble of excitement and I feel TERRIBLE. What a roller coaster!
@carolinamom2boys I love this thread. I haven’t posted much because S19’s journey was a little different because he was getting recruited for sports, but his stats align here and his search for the right fit academically made me feel more comfortable in this thread. Lots of excellent information shared here for people w/o top stats. S21 will have yet another different search as he has an LD and does not test well at all (he’s one of those kids that no amount of practice and prepping will have much positive impact on his score). I’m looking forward to when a similar thread is started for the 2021 class.
I don’t know what happened but looks like one of our frequent posters on this thread seems to have been banned from CC. I’m bummed because I was following her D’s journey and was looking forward to seeing where she ended up!
@4kids4us my son does not have a documented LD, but his test scores are not consistent with his grades. We looked at test optional schools and he was accepted and received merit at both.
S19 applied to two schools that are TO and got into both so it’s definitely in my plans for S21. However, S21 has different priorities for college that don’t align with most TO schools where I think he will fit best so it’s going to be a battle (he wants a larger school with big time sports).
@carolinamom2boys - which TO schools did your son apply to? S21’s grades are good for him but nothing outstanding. He’s As and Bs (more Bs) but he is just in college prep classes. He will probably never take an AP class. He is taking honors history next year but everything else is CP. He’s in a special program for kids with LDs at his h.s. He has a regular courseload but one period a day goes to the “center” for test administration, studying help, etc. Each kid in the program is assigned a teacher who stays with him all four years to help prepare him for college and give them the skills necessary to hopefully succeed on their own, or at least be able to advocate for themselves in college. All this to say that his college search will be for a place where he isn’t just a number. His LD isn’t severe thankfully but he’s quiet and hates asking for help so it is a work in progress getting him to recognize when he needs to! But this program has been a life changer for him (and us, quite frankly!).
I love this thread as well…it has been an amazing resource for us and I thank you all. Love the stories, ups and downs and I so look forward to hearing where all our kids land.
All of D19s results are in and she has been accepted into direct entry 3+3 or 4+3 programs in her major. Excellent merit but all still leave us with substantial contributions. She had 2 reach schools but she was really only interested in the one reach school where she was waitlisted. Would love to see her come off that waitlist as we have family in the area and she loves the city the school is just a short train ride from, but looks like they only admit a small number off the waitlist. Hope springs eternal
Did one admitted students day back in February and will be doing 3 more over next two weekends.
Haven’t posted much for months, because despite my really long spreadsheet comprising a couple of years of research, D19 ended up getting a full tuition scholarship to WVU, her favorite, and so our search was over - no need to apply anywhere else and she withdrew other applications/didn’t finish them. (The scholarship isn’t really helpful to anyone else, as it was a regional thing…and to post more about it would identify us immediately. )
I still love reading this thread (the main 2019 thread, notsomuch) and want to make sure parents in the coming years know of my kid’s journey and my research, so at some point when things aren’t hectic, I’ll try to summarize what I learned.
Wow - congrats to him @Britmom5 - I don’t blame you for thinking it was a crapshoot, but he must be very talented!
I hope you can sort out the financial aid and make it work. If not, well, I hope there is a clear second choice.
I love this thread, too. My kid doesn’t really fit the stat profile, but he is an oddball in that his test scores and grades are higher than they should be based on his actual level of effort - I feel like he should be a 2.7-3.0 student. My older kid was probably better prepared for college than he is and she fell firmly within the 3.0-3.4 thread for 2016.
He is leaning towards going to JMU in the fall but UMD is still on the table, kind of teetering on the edge about to fall off. He’s coming around to the idea of saving the extra $60K for grad school, when hopefully he’ll be ready for a more competitive music program. If he gets off the waitlist for his top choice, it may throw a wrench in things.
@Novacat9191 - West Chester was one of my D’s safeties and she toured there and loved it. It’s in a beautiful town, close to Philly. I don’t know anything about your D’s major and where WCU stacks up, but I know it was financially affordable for us and seemed to have great enthusiasm at the open house. There has been a past reputation as a suitcase school but I think that is no longer the case: As the cost of PSU and Pitt and Temple has skyrocketed, WCU has become the next-most affordable and next-most desirable in-state option.
Jumping in to this wonderful group really late. Really, really late.
Sorry if this topic has been discusses a dozen times, but I’m looking for experience/advice. (point to an earlier post if possible)
Did any of you meet with your family lawyer or other legal pro to fill out any necessary healthcare related documents to help you kiddies while they are away? HIPPA releases, power of attorney, etc etc. S19 is a cancer survivor with ‘special situations’ and we need to be able to make quick decisions on his behalf in an unlikely emergency. I want to make sure all docs are in place.
@STEM2017 we completed a MPOA , HIPPA form and durable POA for DS16. We printed forms off from the internet and had them notarized. No attorney needed.
