FWIW, since Muhlenberg’s been mentioned, that’s where my D17 is headed in a month and a half(!), so I can give what I hear from a student’s POV later on.
Also, those of you with lists of, like, 30 or 40 schools, consider yourself way ahead of things, at least in relation to my D19, whose list after the initial cull is currently at [dfbdfb runs off to check the spreadsheet] an even 100.
@dfbdfb - hahah. My list could be 100 also … the only thing holding me back is time to research and add to it!!
Would love to hear about Muhlenberg - it is about an hour from us and while the theater prog is highly regarded, I doubt the aid gets us to a realistic place.
We only have 3 schools really under serious consideration. Maaaaybe 1 or 2 as outside possibles. I’m hoping that after October PSAT/SAT we will know more about what is really worth considering. It’s really hard without those test scores.
I agreed, @mom2twogirls, and our actual realistic list is probably not any bigger than yours. Without a marked improvement in stats, it’ll boil down to money, and that’ll put us at the PA state school level, so all of this spreadsheeting is really just a fantasy. Honestly, I have involved D in its creation - and she really likes looking at all these schools - thinking that it may light a fight under her, academically, but as junior year approaches, I’m losing hope that she will suddenly turn into an academic beast. LOL.
My DS19 has been told if he can find an OOS school that is comparable in price and quality of education to our instate options, he can consider them . We have great instate options with lottery funded state scholarships that would be hard to leave on the table .
I’m a little jealous of anyone who has been able to sit down and make a college list with their '19 kid! S19 looks at me like I’m crazy if I mention college so I think it’s going to be awhile before he’s involved in the process.
I do have a boring mental list of “public schools with good engineering programs that aren’t too many hours from home,” but some of them might be a little on the pricey side by 2019-20 and engineering is really just a guess at this point. We also need a better idea of SAT scores and junior year grades. I’d love to assume he’ll get the same grades as sophomore year but I’m not really an optimist. I’m going to miss that reliable A in PE!
I haven’t looked that much at LACs but we should probably figure out some less selective ones that are strong in math and//or physical sciences just in case the big schools are not for him or he firmly decides against engineering. He would still be looking for a major involving math that would leave him employable after four years.
@eh1234 You may want to consider Data Science. It’s heavily focused in math, and very marketable . My DS16 is double major in CS and Data Science.
We’re a bit behind creating an actual spreadsheet for college. I know that both have some general ideas (urban vs burbs, big vs small, etc) but they both agreed to wait for some test scores to come in before starting (hoping that their PSAT scores from 2016 weren’t some crazy lucky fluke or something). Based on earlier posts, D19 did start a spreadsheet for summer research programs and the information provided here has helped greatly on the creation thereof. The applications for some of those research programs are akin to college applications, with multiple essays, submission of standardized tests, recommendations, etc. So very good practice for her. Love hearing about all the schools…
@eh1234 Denison just added a Data Analytics major. Sounds like it may be worth checking out.
@carolinamom2boys That does sound like something S19 might be interested in, although he seems ambivalent about regular computer science - I wonder if it would be intimidating to go into with little to no programming background? (At most, he might take AP CS Principles)
@eh1234 My kid has the same reaction to thinking about colleges. He has reaffirmed that he really does want to go to college, but that is the most definitive thing I can get out if him. He has said that he doesn’t want to go far, he likes cities, and he prefers big over small (must be substantially bigger than his high school). Based on this and his GPA which is just slightly over 3.0 unweighted, I’ve got a very rough list of possibilities. Once he’s ready to talk about it, I’ll start throwing them out to him as suggestions. I have no idea how he’s going to react to them.
@eh1234 S19 is the same. Loves math but hated AP Comp Sci A. I think that pretty much means engineering is out.
S19 won’t have AP Physics until senior year (has opted for an honors Earth Science course instead next year because he thinks he might be interested in the environment). I always thought that, if ended up liking math and physics, he would be an engineering major. I’ve looked up a few engineering requirements at different universities and they all seem to include some comp sci.
I still think there are a ton of ways to use math and be gainfully employed. Many colleges require multiple stats classes for their social science majors (econ, poli sci, sociology, etc). Northwestern has an awesome major called “mathematics in the social sciences” also known as MMSS. Obviously, it’s crazy selective though.
D19 took her first “real” practice ACT yesterday (I proctored so we had test conditions) and she did pretty well. Suddenly there is a spark of interest at looking at Common Data Sets for the schools we will be driving by/through next month.
Thanks in advance @dfbdfb for Muhlenberg info. D19 has two friends from her high school who finished up their first year there together (not as roommates but in the same building/hall) and she plans to ask if she can do an overnight.
Thank you @eandesmom for the info, especially on Goucher. I’m not wowed by the school and your info dropped it lower on our list. (It may end up getting dropped altogether soon.)
I keep hearing that kids really start getting more interested in college around the middle of their junior year, mostly because they see seniors they know applying to schools and talking about it all of the time. I feel a little bad talking too much college with S19. Makes me feel a bit like I’m rushing him out of the house and not enjoying where he is right now. I guess it’s a balance.
@OrangeFish good news on the ACT front! I’ve also just been proctoring S19’s tests this summer. He took an SAT two weeks ago and has been studying the kinds of questions he has the most trouble with. I’ll force him back to our library next weekend for another full test. He’s ok with it. Knows it’s important to score well in order to have good choices. Still, though, it is summer so I’m trying not to talk about it all of the time.
We are trying to balance the need for test prep with the need for relaxation, @homerdog – all while D19 is taking her behind-the-wheel course. Her road test is this week, so I am not talking ACT until next weekend. 
She found a volunteer opportunity with a local theatre company. A group of nearby high school alums who now attend William & Mary, Christopher Newport, and I think GMU are performing their own musical about the history of our county. So it is a bit of a take-off of Hamilton. She is excited because it is the sort of thing she wants to do, plus she gets to chat with college students majoring in theatre, and she gets community service hours. I think it helps keep the stress levels down, too.
@homerdog S19 seems even less interested in social sciences so even one with a heavy quantitative emphasis probably wouldn’t interest him. Northwestern is not within reach for him, but that does sound like a cool major. I think I’m just going to have to deal with him being a little later than some in figuring out where his interests lie. He can be stubborn about rejecting things he’s never even tried.
He is taking AP Physics and an “engineering” class junior year and maybe CS senior year so he can at least get a very vague idea before identifying an intended major for applications that require it. He could even end up telling me he wants to major in Double Bass Performance which would involve a whole other list of schools!
@eh1234 I would definitely suggest taking a CS class in high school. It was a complete shocker to both S19 and me that he would despise it so much. Better to know now.
He will also be later than some kids to figure out major. No doubt he will enter college undecided and I’m already taking it into consideration how late kids can declare majors when I look at schools. With engineering and comp science off of his list, it makes it a bit easier.
Has anyone here ever visited a school because it’s close to home even though you know your child wouldn’t get in or go there? I’m thinking of taking S19 to Chicago next week. First of all, it’s impossible to get in. Secondly, I think it’s too close to home for him.
But…it’s a university in a city. I’m curious if he likes that. And It’s crazy intellectual and has a core curriculum that’s mandatory for all majors. I’m curious if he’s attracted to the feel of a place like that. They have info sessions and tours with students in the summer so we would do both of those. It’s only a few hours out of our day. The other schools we are visiting this summer are more rural LACs so I thought it might be interesting for him to see something completely different.
I would be hesitant to take my child to a school for a tour if I was confident that he did not have the stats to get in. If they love it, no other school would compare. JMO
@carolinamom2boys Actually, he will probably have the stats but, at that level of school, admission is a lottery. I’m ok if he loves it, but I would be pretty surprised. I’m more hesitant to take him to a place like Brown or Middlebury where I think he may fall in love but admission rate is so small. I just don’t think he’s quite nerdy enough for Chicago. Like I said, mostly curious to see if he likes location of campus, business of the city, and highly intellectual vibe. Believe me, I understand the importance of visiting safety schools and finding some that are good matches.