@londondad and @mohchan360, thanks for the suggestions, too! I didn’t see them earlier for some reasons. We’ll take a look through these suggestions.
I think it’s farther away, but University of Rochester gives merit aid–and it’s an amazing school.
@pinkdog13, thanks for the suggestion. University of Rochester keeps coming up. We won’t be able to visit it on this NYC trip, but will keep it in mind for future trips and would be interested in hearing why you think it’s amazing. (We’re accumulating ideas for geographically broader suggestions, too, but I’ll wait to post until later in the school year when we have a little better idea of what the SAT and this year’s grades look like for our son).
@“apathetic panda” I just believe it’s one of those schools that’s getting a better reputation every single year (much like Northeastern) and I have a couple of friends currently attending who turned national universities that rank in the top 5 for it and say they couldn’t have been happier with their decision.
Not necessarily NYC (my hometown), but I really liked Trinity in Connecticut. You could try Fairfield, Sacred Heart, and Wesleyan too. They’re all within a similar area and around 2 hours away from Manhattan. Binghamton is around 3 hours away, but it’s the best public school our state has. Have to recommend New Paltz. Usually popular with students within this area. You could try Marist College in Poughkeepsie. I actually really enjoyed Scranton in PA. It really depends on his interest and the kind of environment he wants to be in. Does he prefer an urban or rural area? Feel free to message me. I know the city and the state like I know the backs of my own hands – I’ve been living here 17 years! (PS - I’m a high school senior with one of the best advisors in the city. I’m happy to offer as much advice as you’d like about any parts of the process. I’ve also been on a number of these campuses.)
@ezlbio and everyone, thanks for your offer/ideas. Since we will be in the city for a week, we are currently planning on visiting NYU, Fordham, and Sarah Lawrence. I think NYU will be a non-starter due to limited merit aid. Fordham sounds interesting . . . the Catholic aspect is not his cup of tea, but he loves the idea of the urban campus(es). There is a lot of info online comparing the Bronx campus/Rose Garden and the Lincoln Center campus. He is definitely not a preppy/fratty/bro-ish guy (no offense, just using shorthand terms here). It looks like he’d be admitted and would be likely to get merit aid. We look forward to checking it out.
We are also currently scheduled for visits at Muhlenberg and Lafayette on an overnight/day trip out of NYC. However, I’m wondering if we should scratch one of these two and visit Dickenson instead. Anyone have opinions on this? Now that his first semester grades are back, his current stats are an overall unweighted GPA of 3.97, weighted GPA is 4.2, with all As in every class since 9th grade except one semester of AP Stats (B), including a college class and 5 APS so far. No SAT yet, but PSAT was 1470. He’s planning on taking the following next year: AP Spanish, AP Calculus, AP Eng Lit, Physics or AP Psychology, and AP Econ. He is a serious student/thinker, not at all into partying, would prefer no Greek scene, is very liberal, and is kind of shy. He loves live music, eating out, and urban environments.
Marist: definitely too religious and party-oriented for his taste, based on the info we see online (of course, everything is taken with a grain of salt).
Muhlenberg tends to offer good merit and many people I know really like the school. It’s worth a trip, I think. Not bro-ish fratty, more arty and good academics
I know Vassar is more need-based than merit, but they do provide 100% of need, however that’s defined. It’s really acadmic, no Greek, also fun and arty, easy train ride to NYC (take Metro North to Poughkeepsie and take a taxi to the campus), serious academics without being overly competitive with others, gorgeous campus, great traditions. He might just like it. They need boys.
Dickinson might be a good option. Sounds like he’d have a good shot at merit aid there as well…
@Dustyfeathers, thanks for the validation about Muhlenberg. Also, I totally agree about Vassar, and feel kind of mean not to be taking him there (not that he’s asked, but I think it might be really appealing for him, based on what I’ve read - with the exception if there being possibly a lack of students from middle income familes). However, we don’t qualify for need-based aid any way you cut it, and we have decided to target schools that will bring our cost closer to an in-state flagship, or at least under $40K.
@gardenstategal (or anyone), do you have any sense of Lafayette vs Dickenson for a kid like him, since we only have time for one actual visit in PA in addition to Muhlenberg?
I’ve just been looking at the Common Data Sets for Lafayette, Muhlenberg, and Dickinson. I’m writing it up in case anyone comes across this thread and has the same question in mind.
Lafayette apparently gives an average of $28K each of non-need based merit aid to 33 students out of its freshman class of 650 students. At Lafayette, 30% of the freshman class have GPAs of 3.75 and higher, and 60% of the students are in the top 10% of their graduating class. Tuition is $48K. No non-binding EA at Lafayette.
Muhlenberg gives an average of $12.6K non-need based merit aid to 200 (!!) students out if its freshman class of 630. At Muhlenberg, 17% of the freshman class had GPAs of 3.75 or higher, and 36% were in the top 10% of their graduating class. Tuition is $47K. No non-binding EA.
Dickinson gives an average of $10K non-need based merit aid to 95 students out of its freshman class of 610 students. Here, 48% of the students are in the top 10% of their graduating class. The CDS doesn’t give GPAs, but 20% of the freshmen have SAT scores that are in the 600-700 range per area. Tuition is $51K. Dickinson does have EA.
It’s interesting to me to see that Lafayette gives such substantial amounts of merit aid, albeit to fewer students. If he was awarded the average amount of merit aid at Lafayette (harder to get than at the other schools based on their stats), we’d be much closer to our $40K per year goal. I’m leaning toward sticking with our visits to Lafayette and Muhlenberg after looking at these numbers. It’s also more convenient for us to visit those two this trip due to proximity. Also, since Dickinson has non-binding EA, he would have a fair amount of time after they issue a decision to visit next year if he decided he wanted to do apply sight unseen.
@“apathetic panda” Have you considered Stevens in Hoboken? I have not visited, but many people rave about this school. My nephew, who attended Johns Hopkins, said that Stevens was his second choice if he had not gotten into JHU even though he was a History major.
Also, as you mentioned, “He loves live music, eating out, and urban environments.” He might really like being in Hoboken which is a really cool little city (pop. 50,000) and is also really close to Manhattan. They do provide merit scholarships, but am not sure what the typical award is.
If your son is interested in Econ, International Studies and Political Science, Dickinson would be a great choice. I have a Sophomore majoring in languages there and she is extremely happy. Those 3 majors are among Dickinson’s most popular ones.
Dickinson has its own study abroad programs in 15 locations. It is always on the top 5 schools for long-term study abroad. My daughter will be studying at Dickinson sites in Italy and Cameroon during her Junior year. Even though it is located in a small town (which I find very quaint), the school does a great job in bringing in speakers, artists and performers from all around the world. Around 11% of the student body is international. The Army War College is in Carlisle and they have fellows there from numerous countries. Their spouses and kids are able to take classes at Dickinson though a partnership they have established. My daughter has enjoyed having classes with some of those fellows’ family members (which adds to the diversity of opinions in Dickinsons mostly seminar-based classes). She will also be tutoring English to 3 family members of a fellow.
It looks like your son is a great student. If he is able to score 1410+ in the new SAT (based on his PSAT that would be achievable), has mostly As and shows some sort of leadership, he would be considered for Dickinson’s top merit scholarship of $20,000.
Based on your son’s fields of interest I would try to squeeze in a visit to Dickinson.
@londondad, thanks, we’ll check it out - that’s the great thing about CC, you get ideas about things that might never have crossed your mind!
@idiomas, thanks for the info about Dickinson. Study abroad is something he’s very interested in, and the other information is helpful, too.
@Dustyfeathers, Of all the visits for my DS14…the dining room @ Muhlenberg always stands out as closest to Hogwart’s…it was amazing! Beautiful school…wasn’t right for my DS but will take my DD18 for a visit for sure!
@“apathetic panda” we will look forward to your reviews!
I second Stevens, and it doesn’t need to be a full day. You can take the PATH train there, spend a few hours at Stevens, get a great bite to eat in Hoboken, take the PATH back to NYC, and you’re done. Well worth it.
There’s a ferry to and from Hoboken too. That might be fun to try!
Stevens is on my list of “hidden gems”
Not that this should be a criteria for choosing a college, and maybe those of you that live in or near NYC this isn’t as big a deal, but for me the Stevens dining hall has the best view I’ve ever seen in a college dining hall – wall to wall windows facing the Manhattan skyline looking across the Hudson.
@stencils, thanks for the tip - that sounds wonderful. Speaking of dining halls, my son is a committed, long-time vegan. Do you have any sense of the food options there?