Suggestions, Phil Dept important

Consolation
Mon, 18 Nov 2013 12:09:55 +0000

When you say his 8th grade SAT was 1560, was that CR+M or all three sections? I find it hard to square a 27 on the ACT with a 240–a perfect score–on the PSAT. A 27 is nowhere near the score he would need to get into one of the deep pockets schools that would be likely to really meet his financial and academic needs. Realistically, for an unhooked student, you should be looking for a 33+. To be a NMF, doesn’t he have to take the SAT, or have they changed that? In any case, if his performance on the PSAT is that much better than his ACT, I would forget about spending time prepping for and retaking the ACT.

With the exception of a Christian focus, schools such as the University of Chicago, Harvard, and Yale would seem to offer what he is looking for intellectually. (I took Biblical Hebrew at Harvard extension school decades ago. It was taught by someone from the divinity school.) I can’t imagine why MIT is on his list at all, frankly. The fact that it has some respectable non-STEM departments doesn’t change the primary focus of the institution.

OOS flagships are not going to meet your level of need, unless he wins a special scholarship of some kind.

How graduate departments in philosophy would regard the preparation at Wheaton or Taylor is an interesting question. I have no idea. I doubt that places such as Juniata or Gordon would provide the preparation he would need.

You might want to look into Pitt, which has a good honors college with the possibility of substantial aid for OOS kids with high stats, and a well-regarded graduate philosophy program. NYU is notorious for bad FA, and it is very expensive to live in NYC.

Questbridge should be a priority for you. If your income is under $500 per month, merit aid schools are not going to do the trick, unless that merit aid extends all the way up to a full ride. $30K off a $50K bill will not work for you. (BTDT)