@eandesmom one more question…what’s a direct admit? does that mean you tell the school your major up front? No way that’s happening with S19. So, maybe that’s a downside to any school that requires him to pick a major before he steps on campus.
@homerdog yes, direct admit is direct admit to the program you want to major in. It isn’t required at UW however almost all majors are impacted, meaning that there are more kids that want to major in most things than there is space for. So, direct admit gets you your spot. You can look at their catalog to see what is impacted or not and there is data out there on many of the programs regarding freshman admits versus those who declare later.
For engineering, nursing, and CS in particular (though there are others I am sure), if you don’t get direct admit it can be risky…and stressful. It can also work out. For the undecided liberal arts kid (that was me) it might still be fine. I’ve a good friend whose oldest D was not direct admit to nursing but did get in sophomore year (crazy odds against her). Her sister was waitlisted at Harvard, direct admit to engineering at Notre Dame and USC and did NOT get direct admit to engineering at UW. She’s at USC. But I know another boy, son of a different close friend, who has waffled on majors for 2 years and is still on track to graduate with something liberal arts though I can’t recall what.
Some schools are incredibly hard to change lanes if you are admitted to a major without incurring extra time. Cal Poly is one for example but there are lots. There are also lots where it’s not an issue and is definitely a benefit of an LAC.
Students who are more academically oriented and take some initiative can find many opportunities to connect with faculty, including through the Undergraduate Research Program:
http://www.washington.edu/undergradresearch/about/
http://www.washington.edu/uaa/2015/05/07/undergraduates-to-present-research-spanning-academic-disciplines-on-may-15/
The UW offers 165 different majors in 79 departments. Most majors are “open” or have “minimum” requirements (such as no grades below a 2.0, or overall 2.5 GPA), but some popular majors, including computer science, the engineering majors and business administration, are, as they now call it, “capacity-constrained.” How “constrained” will vary greatly by major, and I recommend that you consult the department’s website and contact the department’s staff directly for more information about specific majors of interest. Last time I checked, the only majors that offer a direct admission pathway are business administration, computer science, the engineering majors, biochemistry and the audition based majors, such as dance.
@homerdog, for future reference, Washington’s Common Data Set reports the unweighted GPA of enrolled freshmen in 2016 was 3.78, and the middle 50% ACT of enrolled freshmen was 26-32. According to the CDS, rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, and application essays are “very important,” and standardized test scores, ECs, talent/ability, first generation, volunteer work, and work experience are “important.” Also “considered” in making admissions decisions are character/personal qualities and state residency.
The admission rate in 2016 was 45% (WA residents: 62:9%; OOS: 43.3%; international: 29.9%), and it will probably be about the same in 2017.
@eandsmom, there does not appear to be a direct admission pathway to nursing at UW:
http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/school_nursing.html
https://nursing.uw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/BSN-Prerequisites.pdf
You are correct, not direct admit freshman year, she chose UW over other direct admit nursing options which her parent thought incredibly risky given her HS stats and how competitive nursing (in general) is. Thankfully it worked out but she (the current nursing student) very clearly told her sister that if she didn’t get direct admit to engineering and had it at other schools, she should go elsewhere based on what she’s seen with classmates.
One thing to know about UW is that there is a fine arts requirement for admission that is non negotiable (1 year I think). It has been a deal killer for some OOS applicants that didn’t come from a HS that required any fine arts and their stem kid chose to take academic courses over fine arts.
That number makes me mad, there should be a cap, 70-80% in state. The admit rate for our HS is closer to 50%. Granted, many apply that have no chance as it’s the dream school for most local kids and we are a solid public HS (no more, no less) but still.
@eandesmom I have two words for you, Clemson University . We are in the same boat.
In 2016, 43,525 freshmen applied to UW:
27.1% resident
72.9% nonresident
Thanks again everyone for the details on UW. I never would have figured this all out on my own. I hear you about state schools with difficult admits. Out our way, Michigan is like that. Only 42% acceptance rate for in-state kids. But Michigan also has Michigan State which is still desirable for in-state kids. UIUC isn’t an easy admit either and, with the state of Illinois’ fiscal problems, they need to admit more OOS in order to pay the bills.
As for UW and S19, he’s a liberal arts kid, maybe Environmental Science (which seems strong at UW) or Poli Sci, Econ, History, English. Obviously have not narrowed that down too much! But no engineering, nursing, business.
I think he would have to be convinced that something about UW is better for him than Wisconsin as that’s the one big state school he knows and will definitely be on the list. I think he might like the vibe of the PNW. He loves the outdoors so that’s a plus as well. In general, I’ve been trying to flush out a list that includes larger schools that might check some boxes for him. He will not apply to Illinois and Michigan is just too expensive ($70,000 OOS). Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota state schools just not that appealing to him for various reasons.
Most of the schools on our list are private LACs. He’s been riveted by the NCAA basketball tournament, though, and I’m sure he’d love to go to a school that has school spirit and sports. Still wondering if there are any out east that might do the trick and aren’t $70K. Looking into UVM too. I think southern schools are out for him.
Who knows, maybe the school spirit thing won’t matter and he’ll fall in love with Grinnell. You’d think I’d know our son well enough to have a gut feeling, but I have no idea. :-S
@homerdog I’d look at Gonzaga. Wonderful school sports, tons of spirit and a really fabulous Enviro program but strong across the board. They give nice merit to make it more reasonable. It’s Jesuit which, esp in the PNW is pretty liberal and open and lots of non catholics (or agnostics or atheists for that matter) attend happily. Oregon State could be a nice safety school and does give some out of state merit, not huge, but something and it’s a fabulous Enviro program. Too large for my S17 but it’s got the big school spirit, the outdoors but not cutthroat.
Depending on your price tag comfort, U of Colorado Boulder could be a good fit.
It is looking more and more likely I’ll have a kid at UVM next year (Enviro) so if so, I can keep everyone updated on that score.
And seriously, what they think they want now, or in a year and then at decision time…it can turn on a dime. We have three totally different schools as S17’s final list. Apples and Oranges!
@carolinamom2boys I hear you. Thankfully we do have other solid in-state options. Not UW competitor level but most kids end up at one of the other 3 state schools and do just fine. Washington State (WSU) can give kids the big sports/spirit experience and is a solid engineering alternative and one of the best Ag programs in the country, hospitality is strong too. Western (WWU) can give them more of a liberal arts mid sized feel (no greek, no football) and is strong for education and environmental in a lovely setting and is locally regarded as “2nd” to UW, and Central gets a lot of the music and theater kids as well as those that need something a little smaller but not the huge sports/party rep of a WSU but still want some sports.
Which is nice although out of our 4, only one kid has even applied to any of the in state options! However it is in his final 2 (or 3, depending on the day of the week you ask).
We know happy kids at all. Vast majority of kids stay in state but our LAC’s and Private U’s aren’t as generous with merit as some in the midwest or other less popular locations geographically/ weather related. Still, most kids stick relatively close to the coast.
Washington State also has the highly regarded Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
@eandsmom I think that’s so interesting when kids have “apples and oranges” to choose from at the end. I don’t think any one school is perfect (for most kids) so it makes sense to me to have big, small, and in-between left at the end and maybe even some geographical diversity. We are so far away from a final choice but I imagine making choices after acceptances can be quite stressful in and of itself. I heard advice to flip a coin if you’re between two schools. If the student feels disappointed after the flip, then maybe it’s best to choose the school that didn’t win the toss!
I honestly think the good news for my S17, with his 3 vastly different choices (LAC, Mid Sized Research Uni with direct admit and small program classes to start, Mid Sized Regional Uni with a larger gen ed req up front ) is that the regional can always be the backup plan if things should not work out at one of the other 2 if that is what he chooses. It is a very very nice safety net to have and he would have zero issues transferring which gives me peace of mind.
But yeah, it’s apples to oranges. Other than the obvious one. Cost. That is one banana versus 2 pineapples or mango’s in off season.
LOL
D17 is home from college for spring break and laughed/cringed a bit at the new Fiske guide on the kitchen table for S19. She had great plans for applying to summer jobs but instead has been sleeping and drawing and getting dental work done (yeah wisdom teeth!).
Re the UW discussion. D17 refused to apply (it’s our home flagship) but did tour and said if she wanted a big university, she would apply. But she wanted a small school. I have no idea what S19 will want. He is keeping his thoughts to himself. D17’s graduating class was kind of odd—only 2-3 of the 60 or so went to UW. Most left the state for college.
S19’s big news was qualifying for the AIME (American Invit Math Exam). He’s been prepping for this for 2 years. Back in Sept/Oct, I’d decided S should take responsibility for signing up for the qualifying exam as the announcements are made at school. Every week in Oct/Nov, I’d dutifully asked about whether the sign-ups had happened. ‘No mom, I’m on this. I will sign up when the announcement is made.’ Finally, I looked up the deadline for sign-ups. He missed the deadline. Arg!! However, the teacher said that someone would bail at the last minute so come to the test and if an extra test was available, he could take it. So morning of the qualifying exam comes. The school declares a snow day (most other schools did not) and therefore will not offer the exam (?!?). At 8am, I email every school in a 45min radius that might be offering the exam in the hopes that one has a spare exam. At 8:30am I get a reply. A school 20min away is starting the exam at 9am and has a spot if we can get there. S jumps out of bed, throws on clothes and we race there. And he qualified, barely, but did! The next exam (AIME) is today. He will not qualify for the USAJMO (USA Jr Math Olympiad), as that’s unrealistic but is trying to get the median score.
@liska21 – Ha ha! Great job!! That reminds me of me the morning of D’s SAT test. We got six inches of snow and every school – EVERY SCHOOL – canceled the test. Except the boarding school where I’d foolishly signed her up to take it. Because, doh, all of its students could get there. Our outcome wasn’t as good as yours.
All you experts who have gone through this before – what ways have you used to organize what majors are at what colleges, so your S or D is better able to compare/contrast potential colleges? My D is considering multiple majors, and I’m wondering if it would be easier to store them as part of a spreadsheet or as part of a word processing document. Or maybe there is a better way someone else has used? Ideally I would also like to include other degree requirements, such as but not limited to The Dreaded Foreign Language, because Latin 3 is as far as she’s going to go in high school >:/
I’ve got a spreadsheet.
I only have one tab, which makes it too unwieldy to print.
I should probably start separating it out …
I do have one cell for majors, but a new tab for academic specifics like that would make sense. Right now I’m focused on COA.
Thanks, @gatormama – so far we have a shared Google Sheets and a shared Google Doc, and the two link to each other. (It’s nice to be able to access these on a phone.)
I do spreadsheets, lots of tabs, it’s a bit ridiculous actually. but I found charts are better for S17 to grasp the financials and it’s just a lot of data to track. Plus I like data lol!
I’ve not started one for S19 yet though and don’t expect to until sometime next year, maybe after the first SAT or ACT test results. All I have for him is a running list of school ideas in the notes app on my phone.
Thanks, @eandesmom! I think I need to move everything to a spreadsheet. (I wonder what the maximum number of tabs is in Google Sheets?)