@taverngirl I live very close to Central CT and U of Hartford. My understanding is that Central can be a suitcase school to some degree, while U of Hartford has kids from all over so not as many head home on the weekends. West Hartford center is very close to U of Hartford, and has lots of shops, cafes, movie theater, restaurants, etc. for kids to go out. I’m not as familiar with New Britain. I don’t know about the engineering programs, but I would imagine with UTC headquartered in the state that they tap some schools more than others for internships. That would be a big question to probe at all 3 CT schools the list.
@CTCape we’re local as well, which probably means CCSU and UHart are unlikely, lol. I was surprised at the amount of housing at Central, tbh. I figured it was very much a suitcase school. UHart doesn’t have the best rep, but the kids we’ve known who attended/graduated liked it and are doing well. Good idea re asking the schools what companies hire interns. I have quite a few friends at Pratt, and I think I will ask them which schools they like for interns/hiring as well, though it’s likely my son will intern at an architectural/civil engineering firm vs UTC and the like.
@taverngirl Someone I work with actually told me the dorms at CCSU are really nice. I’m a teacher in a local town, and work with many very bright, ambitious people who went to both schools. We have a neighbor who works at UHart and their oldest goes there for free, lives on campus, and loves it despite it being a mile away. The close to home choices don’t always feel the most exciting, but can be amazing. Does he have a front runner at this point?
@CTCape. Doesn’t really have a frontrunner. Likes the campus and hockey at Quinnipiac, the location and potential internships opps at Manhattan, and the success rate of Clarkson grads (also, hockey!) The honors invite at UMaine intrigues him, and he thought the engineering facilities there were fantastic. Also, as a family we love Maine - have camped and hiked in Acadia since the kids were little, and he loves skiing so UMaine overall is a good location. I have a feeling it’ll be down to these four in the end (Clarkson will be out of the running - obviously - if he doesn’t get in). Quinnipiac’s program is new, but we are wondering if that could be a positive, like they’ll try harder to prove themselves. Also, heard on CC that they cap all engineering classes, which would be a huge plus, but need to confirm this. Quinnipiac and Manhattan are the most expensive but he got decent merit so they’re not out of the running. Our D is awaiting scholarship info on a transfer opp so we really don’t have a grasp on what our total outlay might be for 2020 and beyond yet.
@taverngirl Ive heard great things about UMaine. Several kids from my boys’ HS end up going every year, particularly with the tuition exchange situation making it affordable. Maybe would give him a similar experience that he would have had at UNH? Lots of luck to your DS. More than anything, it’s really nice to have choices.
@MinnieFan Congrats to your daughter on getting into her favorite school! I can’t wait to hear the name of it!
I love your screen name although I am more of a Donald fan!
I have not been online recently as I was having trouble logging on but fortunately that has been resolved.
My son finished first semester with a 3.5uw and 3.83w so we’re happy about that. So far he has been accepted to Iowa, Oregon, Penn State and Boulder! Boulder is probably his top choice at this point. He is still waiting on 5 schools, some which are big reaches. I hope he gets accepted to a couple more but wouldn’t be surprised if the rest are rejections. Even if that’s the case, he has some great options!
Good luck to all as the remainder of schools trickle in!
So DS was accepted to 2 schools at Rutgers—arts and sciences and business. Merit awards/honors decisions are released mid February. Theoretically, he could get $/honors/both/nothing at either school. We are trying to be optimistic, but realistically dreading the outcome. Getting into the business school was unexpected and a game changer, and it has become his first choice. However, his stats make him more likely to receive aid and/or honors at SAS. I find myself hoping that he either gets $ at both or neither, so we can either say yes or take RU off the table, since aid will be the deciding factor. Anyone else been in this dilemma?
So impressive to hear how many people have all their decisions in!
First rejection from a reach - University of Richmond. He has three acceptances (UMBC, St. Joe’s with merit and Elon, no merit but they did not have final 1440 SAT for EA). Now it’s wait mode for final word, coming between the end of this month (UMCP) and April 1.
I’m concerned that he will have a raft of rejections from his reach schools, and I just hope he takes it in stride. He was devastated when his dream reach deferred him for EA. I was surprised he took it so hard because it is such a reach.
It was tough for him because he is capable of so much more than his junior year GPA, which was tanked by a disastrous sophomore year.
I so often hear that colleges want to see an upward trend. Well, he’ll be somewhere around a 4.3 for first semester senior year GPA with two honors and two AP classes. That MAY budge his cumulative GPA above a 3.4.
Does anyone know of any situations where a “late bloomer” did get into a university that normally would not accept a student with a 3.4 and no APs till senior year?
D was accepted into Goucher last night with their top merit, which we weren’t expecting, so it’s suddenly become a top contender! Going to visit for a dance scholarship audition in a few weeks!
S was deferred at his last school yesterday, it was a reach for him so we were not shocked. We are going to admitted student day at his 1st choice in a few weeks and I think we are done. It is starting to feel real!
Things keep changing here. Last week DS found out he didn’t get a scholarship at his “tied for 1st place” school that we were really expecting to get so that was quite a bummer, then yesterday we got our first financial aid offer from his 3rd choice and it’s going to be really hard to dismiss this school now. We thought we would just be focusing on the Top 2, now we have this other huge carrot dangling out there. Very stressful.
My son was deferred at one of his top choices yesterday too. It was a reach but he is still disappointed. He has four left but won’t hear until March. They are all reaches though so he may not get into any. But he has four choices so he’ll choose the best one for him!
My D is only waiting for one more academic decision- college of Charleston. Does anyone know when their decisions come out or if they’re rolling? I guess she’s technically waiting on two, but we are fully expecting her LMU deferral to turn into a rejection. She just wants a full picture to make her best decision.
@milgymfam I know several kids in our town who already heard from CoC 1-2 weeks ago. And I know they didn’t apply ED.
Son had a steady good first semester with a 3.6. That’s good because he had a bumpy Junior year, especially the first half of Junior year. He explained the Junior year dip on applications, and stressed how much better he would do his Senior year now that an issue has been resolved.
We’re kind of excited waiting for the later decisions now. He was deferred from a couple of his EA favorites, and the Admissions Reps said they liked him overall but specifically mentioned they wanted to see his first semester grades before making a final decision.
Hopefully his demonstrated improvement is enough to show those schools what they need to see. He’ll be very happy going to a couple of the schools that has accepted him already, but he’s holding out hope for one of his more favored options to say yes.
@eb23282 I know their EA decisions came out recently. It seems everyone applies EA there. My daughter didn’t discover it until five days after the EA app deadline, of course. I hope she isn’t waiting until the end of April because that’ll probably push it out of possible for her- she won’t have time to visit the dance department before decisions are due.
So…S20 recruited to play soccer at VMI…seemed very happy…signed non-binding commitment letter (after I repeatedly asked if he was sure he wanted to commit)…rushed to buy VMI soccer shirt…spent overnight visit at VMI and like it. Uncle is VMI alum so family all excited…
Now…while at college id tournament this past weekend…ODU coach approached him with interest but wanting to watch him play one more time (to happen next weekend) Now S20 excited to hear from ODU and hoping to be recruited by ODU coach.
I prefer VMI…smaller school, smaller classes - much more structured environment (it is a military college after all).
ODU…first, S20 hasn’t even toured/visited the school…54% graduation rate…school is not in safe area of Norfolk, VA…
The only positive I see with ODU is that it has a B.S. in Cybersecurity and is an NSA designated National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Operations which is S20’s desired major.
Any opinions out there on ODU?
@scoutmom2002 First of all, congrats on the good news! My husband went to ODU for undergrad, granted it was about 20 years ago & I went there for graduate school. It is more of an urban feel but they have added a lot around the “campus” like apartments/dorms and restaurants. The immediate surrounding area is not the best but also not that bad. My husband actually rented an apartment in the Ghent area when he attended which is not far away and a bit nicer. I thought my graduate courses were strong and I was able to get a job in my field before I even finished. My husband also had a job in his field prior to graduating.
@MommaCat -thanks. I worry about S20 at ODU – he is a very sheltered good kid from NOVA but does procrastinate which is why his GPA is below 3.5.
I guess my bias is related to high school friend who went to ODU (in 88-90+) - got involved in too much partying/drinking…took 5+ years to graduate only to end up selling shoes at Macy’s after graduating. I realize this can happen at any college…but this friend was also the sheltered good kid from NOVA.
I have a HS friend who went to ODU around '90 from the sheltered world of northern NJ. She has a successful career and great family. It’s not ODU, it’s the kid.