@SDCounty3Mom I absolutely know how you feel with your interest being higher. I feel the same way. I do a lot,of research and then tell my son and have him give me his opinion. I will forward web addresses to his email. I do the main communicating with the consultant unless she specifically asks to conference with him. But we are also older and wiser and most likely footing this huge bill so I guess we should be involved… right? LOL
I think that’s also why we’ve gone on a lot of College tours…because I get his undivided attention at that point and he talks about what he likes and doesn’t like.
I’ve been lurking a bit here too (like some others who are popping in to say hi) – I have posted a few times in the past but now that it’s starting to feel more real, am sure I’ll be here more regularly:-)
We are at the phase of the process of DD rounding out her school choices. She is in love with BU (in LOVE!) and I’m a little worried she’ll be very crushed if she doesn’t get in. Her list to apply currently looks like this:
BU (ED)
Northestern
Drexel
Temple
UPenn
NYU
UCLA
USC
Cal
In the quest for more “safety” (or whatever word we’re supposed to say) schools she is taking a look at LMU, Occidental, and Fordham.
We live in So Cal, have family ties to NY and Boston, and DD wants to be at a large school in a big, liberal, LGBTQ-friendly city with good public transportation. She’s interested in bio or similar major.
She got a 33 on the ACT and we went around in circles about retaking it since she took it as a 10th grader. (That thread is around here on CC somewhere about whether that 33 was a fluke or worth it to chase a higher score.)
She’s not taking the SAT at all. Currently in a busy 11th grade year with IB and AP with AP testing coming up in May (her IBs are all 2-year courses so she won’t test until end of Sr year for those.) She’s also planning to take 2 of the SAT subject tests this June (APUSH and Math 2.)
Update on on progress which has been very slow and it seems every time DD eliminates one school she adds another.
Salisbury University: In-state for us. DD liked the size and the program (education). Will likely apply as in-state safety.
UMD-CP: Did not like the size or the campus, although the Education program is much smaller. Reach school given her stats. May still get an application.
UMBC: DD did not like anything about the school. Off the list.
Towson University: Scheduled for 5/4. All the teachers we have spoken to have not but great things to say about the program. We will see.
U of Delaware: DD loved the campus and the program. Nice main street with shops plus sports teams. Easy commute via Amtrak. Looks like the front runner as of now.
West Chester: DD really liked the campus and surrounding area. Concerns about it being a commuter and suitcase school. We may try and return for another visit in the fall. Definite maybe.
McDaniel College: Loved the campus but not much to the surrounding area and too small for her liking. Off the list.
Gettysburg College: Another smaller school but DD decided she did not like the campus. Off the list.
York College of PA: Off the list. At the time we visited she was also thinking about maybe nursing but now that she (I hope) has settled on teaching.
Shippensburg University: Off the list. Campus was fine but no real attached town and felt like a suitcase school. Off the list.
Millersville University: DD didn’t like campus at all. Off the list.
Temple University: City campus is not for her. Off the list.
Drexel University: Same as Temple. Off the list.
University of Georgia: Her first tour last summer and she immediately said no. Too big for her liking. Off the list.
JMU: Tour scheduled for this Saturday. She seems excited about this one.
The rest of the schools on her list involve some more extensive travel which will make it more difficult to try and visit all of them. Some will likely get applications without being seen. List includes:
Auburn University
Butler University
Clemson University
College of Charleston
Elon University
Florida State University
LSU
Miami (Ohio)
Ohio U
U of Colorado
U of Connecticut
University of Kansas
Ole Miss
UNC-Wilmington
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rhode Island
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee
University of Vermont
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Vanderbilt
Xavier University
It is a lot of work but we are enjoying the “process”. We are spending a lot of time in the car, which gives us time to catch up on other things. Just wish she had her license so she could do some of the driving.
Grades are holding steady and she is registered for the June SAT, which she is hoping will be the last one.
@DCNatFan that seems like some serious progress to me! Can’t she eliminate some of those other schools knowing what she learned on your trips? I UGA is too big, then maybe Colorado and Kansas and FSU come off. Do you think she meant too big acre-wise? Or number of students in classes? You can find out how many acres the schools are and compare them to UGA. We’ve done this a couple of times to get an idea of a campus we haven’t seen yet. Ends up UNC is actually smaller acre-wise than W&M. Who knew! For S19 part of the concern Ian that he wants a walkable campus. No busses to get to class.
@DCNatFan I hear you about the license! Our big news is that I finally managed to drag DS off to get his learner’s permit yesterday! It was a rare afternoon without rehearsal. I had taken the afternoon off for a doctor’s appointment. I arrived just as school was getting out with the driver’s manual in the car, and told him we were going to the MVA and he needed to have it read by the time we got there. He passed the driving test, we have the temporary form. So everyone be warned, stay off the Baltimore streets and sidewalks for the next week or so!
I forget, is Frostburg on your list? I have a friend whose kids all went there and they loved it, but it is very much a small town school. We also visited St. Mary’s of Maryland, which solidified for my kid that he does not want a rural school. Gorgeous campus, though. I seem to recall we might have talked about those two in the past, but I’m bad at remembering pseudonyms.
@homerdog Yes, we trying to eliminate and I have the school size (acres) entered into a spreadhseet. The thing that is throwing us off is U of Del is shown as 2,012 acres. She has decided this was about the perfect size for her, very walkable campus. University of Georgia shows up at 767 acres and UMD-CP comes in at 1,335 acres. Kansas checks in at 1,000 acres.
I think I need to dig a little deeper into that Delaware number, it seems off. It likely includes all of the athletic facilities, which is not part of the walkable campus.
DD has the same request of no buses to get to class but then will say maybe for the right school.
@DCNatFan ok. That makes sense. Maybe looking at actual maps of the campuses could help. Also, videos! There are so many video tours out there and I do think they help.
Here’s my current frustration with DD and the college process: we’ve been to tour a couple of colleges already (which is WAY ahead of where we were with our older son at this point in time). DD really like seeing schools, and her GC is encouraging her to go see more. He keeps giving her lists of schools, like if you’re going to see Lafayette, you should see Lehigh too; and Bucknell while you’re at it, and Dickinson. Perfectly sensible advice, except then that’s a three day trip driving around the middle of PA, and it can’t be on a weekend as most of those schools don’t do Saturday visits. When exactly am I supposed to find the time to do that? If those were schools I thought would end up being high on her list, I’d make the time, but I’m pretty positive they won’t. But when I suggest to her that we don’t actually have to visit every single school her GC suggests and that perhaps we could prioritize a bit, I get a snarky comment along the lines of “well, I think [GC] knows more about college applications that you do, Mom.”
@soxmom LOL! My kids have finally come around that I know more than their GC. I understand what the GC is saying but those schools are so different from each other. Maybe do some research first and see if even makes sense to see all of them. We are interested in Lafayette as well but I don’t think Lehigh is anything like Lafayette. After reading about it, it’s not a fit so even though it’s close to Lafayette we wouldn’t visit. Same with Bucknell. That whole bro culture not a match for S19 and no merit there. Dickinson is about two hours from Lafayette but, for us, it makes the trip more worthwhile because otherwise we would be flying out to PA just to see Lafayette. It’s kind of far to just see one school. And he needs some safer schools that he likes.
Does Bucknell have a bro culture? That would be a total non-starter for DD, so that will be a useful way to convince her we don’t need to see that one. FWIW, I’ve heard only great things about Dickinson – we have family friends with a daughter there, and it’s just been great for her. Great study abroad programs, warm, caring environment, collegial atmosphere.
@DCNatFan That is a looong list!
We’re still sitting at a whopping two college visits. Current criteria is: “mid-Atlantic or Ohio with desirable bass faculty that’s not impossible to get into if you haven’t been playing since age 6.” Still no preference on size or anything else. Schools likely to get an application at this point:
UMD-CP (visited)
Temple
Delaware
JMU (S not thrilled)
GMU (ditto)
Ithaca College
“Some Ohio schools” (we will visit some when S goes to a program at Oberlin this summer)
He has mentioned some others that are a reach in every way so something purely fanciful could end up on the list. My hope is to find a place that would also be a good academic fit if he changes his mind once he’s there - some places recommended for less accomplished music kids are kind of “eh” academically, although I guess I should remember that my fairly bright kid isn’t particularly academic. He’s not the type to care about “intellectual peers” but I do wonder about schools where the average SAT is below the national average.
I’m probably still going to encourage him to apply to VA Tech (even as an “exploring” major) and maybe one or two other places undecided to keep his options open…
D has visited 6 schools and I think has eliminated anything urban which really surprised me. She has been so enamored when going into Chicago for trips and such and LOVED the fact that NU was a quick ride into the city that I thought being IN the city would be even better…NOPE! Toured DePaul and she was not trilled to say the least. But liked Marquette…maybe because it’s really on the outskirts of Milwaukee and doesn’t have that really urban feel to it? I’ve stopped trying to figure her out at this point.
We have 3 more schools to tour and then we will be done. We will see Lawrence U at the end of May and then UIUC and Hope College either sometime in the summer (not ideal) or very early in the fall. I’m thinking she is going to poo-poo UIUC as being too big, but we need another in-state public other than ISU. The other directionals are probably out because their MathEd programs are not as strong. NIU used to have a phenomenal MathEd program but, like other IL schools, they have have been pouring money into programs like nursing, business and engineering to attract more students for $$$$$. They are still losing that battle though.
@homerdog May I ask what a “bro culture” is?
@eh1234 Can you explain what about JMU your S was not thrilled about?
@DCNatFan I should have mentioned that he hasn’t been to JMU for a real visit yet. He did an all-state audition there (which was not a great experience because he messed up one of his excerpts and ended up an alternate). He just didn’t like the town or the area of Virginia (he saw a lot of head-to-toe camouflage when he and his dad when out to dinner), and you see some confederate flags in the general vicinity. Just not the type of surrounding area he is looking for - clearly they were not at a place that was aimed towards the student population though.
I will definitely be taking him back for a tour of the school and music facilities at some point. I know they have a reputation for happy students and it looks like it may be a good, inexpensive option for him (if he even gets in). I think he’ll come around.
A lot of his friends will apply to W&M, UVA and Tech, and maybe use JMU and GMU as safety schools, so that may be a strike against it. The fact of the matter is, JMU and GMU would be the best options for music and his grades aren’t high enough for W&M or UVA anyway, most likely.
@DCNatFan - I haven’t visited Delaware, but maybe it just felt more cozy? Your D definitely seems to be steering away from city settings. I live near West Chester. I do think there is probably a substantial commuter population, but the kids would probably live pretty close by. (I certainly have been joking with my D22 that she will live at home and go to WC). But WC is a pretty happening place. so I think a lot of kids who commute would still be going out to bars/restaurants in WC on the weekends.
@ILMom13579 Have you looked at Central College in Pella, Iowa? From what I hear, they have great job placement and are pretty strong in STEM. Also have some great merit aid. I mention it because you said you are planning to look at Hope.
Current frustration… Our educational consultant reviewed sons transcript and then said… hey why hasn’t he had Physics! I said because he took Honors Bio, then Honors Chem and then IB HL Bio which is two years… so no room for Physics. Plus he likes Bio so that is why he started chose that for his IB science and it goes with Neuroscience. He is taking Honors Zoology next year as an elective and is looking forward to that. But now they are questioning if it should be Honors or AP Physics instead. This would really upset our son if he had to switch. They said as a Neuroscience major he really wouldn’t need it but if he changed his mind and went nursing or medical then he would. Arrrggghhhh!
But then I thought if he really needs an intro Physics calls couldn’t he take it in the summer at our community college? or even in college?
And I asked if he could switch to SL math next year and the GC said she would have the IB Coordinator get back to me!
@Kona2012 yes. I think not having Physics is a miss. Our counselor told everyone that Bio, Chem, and Physics are all important for admissions.
Thanks @Trixy34. Since this is #4 (and last) to go to college, I have given us a 3-4 hour max driving radius for schools. Money is going to be a significant factor for D so schools farther than that are out due to travel costs. Since she wants education as a major we are also keeping eyes open as to which state(s) she may want to teach in eventually. I think Iowa and Indiana are both out but we haven’t sat down and talked in awhile (end of year stress here is approaching atmospheric levels). But I do appreciate the heads up, esp since I’ve never heard of the school.