Nice campus (mostly got that with the exception of a hideous building right in the middle of campus)
Greek life of some sort, but not too much
Both kids compromised a lot from what they thought they wanted at the start to what they ended up getting. Bottom line, both cared a lot about their fellow students.
Kid 1:
–Preferred urban, mid-sized schools.
–Undergrad b-school with direct entry.
–Not heavily Greek.
–Collaborative student body.
Kid 2:
–Really wanted a LAC.
–Strength in STEM majors.
–Collaborative student body.
–Flexible general ed requirements (she had specific areas of interest not alligned with her major and wanted the freedom to pursue coursework in those areas).
Thankfully both kids ended up at a schools that were a great fit.
From experience, here’s some of the things that ended up mattering for our kids (not for their selection of college but what made a difference in college:
Endowment per student. You could really see where the schools with more were able to provide better student opportunities and response better to Covid, etc.
Ratio of students who receive grants or paid research opportunities
Whether (and what ratio) the school provides paid work opportunities regardless of work study status. This was a huge benefit to one of our kids over the other based on their schools. Too many schools reserve jobs only for work student and those jobs often offer experience opportunities beyond pay that non-work study are shut out of.
Ratio of tenured professors teaching undergraduate courses. Too many schools relying on adjuncts that float in and out of system instead of stable professors who have the time to fully develop a stable curriculum and hone their lectures.
Class size. Yes some school manipulate it, but there really is no substitute for small classes taught by full professors who give 1:1 time to undergraduate students.
Outcome specific to related major or field. Too many of the post-grad salary comparisons don’t take into account career, so STEM-heavy schools are favored and even if you’re at one of the you have no idea how grads in non-STEM fields fare. It would be great to see what a grad in English makes 5 years out versus typical grads of that major. Or even better, what a grad that goes into consulting or p.r. or teaching, etc. makes versus the average grad.
Ratio of students who report successfully getting summer internships. Internships are almost, in some cases more important, than the degree for many fields and its an extremely uneven playing field.
Ratio of graduates seeking additional degrees (grad school or professional) who end up in highly rated schools in those categories.
I would still put a minor amount of weight on a combo of selectivity and yield. Yes it can be gamed to an extent, but even when it is it tends to come to reflect reality – consider NE, which is now a legitimately popular school despite its rise being entirely manipulated. I know first hand that come employers are sensitive to selective schools.
This is a fun thread - and helpful as I talk with my younger son about what matters to him.
DS22
Weed out factors:
Must have strong engineering program
Must be within a single day’s reasonable drive from home
Must have ability to row crew (D3 or club)
Must not be smaller than high school (approx 3k students)
Inclusive of merit aid, must be within acceptable financial parameters
Ranking rating factors:
20% - Within the engineering program, what is the opportunity to gain real world experience?
2% - Is there a maker-space? How robust is it?
8% - How far from home is it? (with a goldilocks zone between 2.5-5 hours away)
15% - What does the crew team look like in terms of skill? Is it D3 (better) or club (worse)? What is the vibe of the coach? How does the team support student athletes?
15% - Is there a defined campus? Is there easy access to a city?
20% - What is the vibe of the students, do they seem happy and like they are having fun?
20% - How expensive is it?
For my second son, DS25, there’s still a lot to be determined.
Weed out factors:
Does the school have one of the things I’m thinking about majoring in (urban planning, construction management, geography)?
Is it within the realm of affordable?
Does it have school spirit?
Is it larger than my high school?
Then after that, ranking and rating:
40% - how many of the potential majors are available at the school? How deep are the departments and class offerings associated with the major? What are the required classes for each of the majors and are those more or less in line with my interests?
2% - Can you do study abroad? How hard is it to manage with the major?
20% - how expensive is it?
20% - what’s the vibe of the students? Friendly and outgoing? Happy to be there? Do students come together for social activities?
10% - What’s the campus like? Is there green space? Can I get to woods/hiking/nature?
8% - Is the food good?
high concentration of kids with similar academic interests/intellectualism
-not huge
-majority small classes (less than 50) even for freshman, even for stem kids
-no barrier to getting into major and ability to switch majors or schools of applicable
-good in areas of academic interest as well as many other areas in case of change of mind
Secondary priorities in an ideal world:
D21 leaned smaller and wanted some school spirit vibes, did not want IN a city but nearby ok(Vanderbilt, fordham rose hill) was fine. Rural also fine: access to outdoor extracurriculars was key. West coast fine; frigid midwest and north of Boston eliminated: too cold.
D23 hated rural campuses, banned everything west of St Louis/Chicago, banned south of NC due to being heat-intolerant , walkable to a city or at least a town preferred, but had to have at least some contained campus(ie Columbia fine, NYU not), wanted dance specifically classical ballet, wanted Engineering program but a smallish cohort so minimal giant-lecture classes, also flexible and easy to switch out if she didn’t like, as well as ability to have interdisciplinary minor/major/ interests and a campus culture that supports Stem kids with arts or humanities or other interests.
D’23 musts were 1) hands-on filmmaking curriculum; 2) urban or suburban campus (definitely not rural); 3) semester in LA program; 4) strong alumni network; 5) didn’t want to be too close to home; and 6) she loved campuses with ivy walls (this was added after she did a summer program at Syracuse before senior year).
She goes to Emerson so wound up meeting five of her six requirements, although Emerson does have beautiful old buildings and theaters, just none with ivy.
How does/did she like Emerson? My son (hs junior) has similar criteria and also did a Syracuse precollege. He wants California but Emerson is in our backyard.
She had a terrific first-year experience. She had a lot of opportunities to get hands-on experience through different film organizations. She probably worked on half-dozen movies and tv shows this year.
She loves Boston and seemed to take advantage of most of what the city offers. She’s done well academically with a 4.0 first semester and I think this semester. Emerson even offered her a job as note-taker for one of her classes because of her high GPA, which she really needed because she spent almost all her money on going to concerts and enjoying the city!
My daughter grew up in southern California and thought of going back. Got accepted to Chapman but felt Emerson was more down to earth. Her plan is to graduate a semester early and spend her last semester at Emerson LA.