Unfortunate… it keep it in mind in case she decides to transfer in the fall.
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What an awful piece of bad luck:pleading_face: - the trauma of the accident and the medical issues related to the concussion, on top of everything else … I would take the medical withdrawal. 
It might also be worth emailing colleges that accept Spring transfers whether they accept Spring freshmen - explain bad accident, concussion, had to medically withdraw and now wants to attend a college not associated with the accident , ie., perfectly logical, legit reasons to need to start college in the Spring.
Since these colleges admit students based on their HS records (in October the first semester transcripts aren’t available yet) it wouldn’t be a huge leap and some may be okay with the idea.
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First semester transcript would have no grades if medical withdrawal taken so admission would be solely on HS record.
I’d consider anything medical withdrawal – unhappy and concussed is not a recipe for success.
Hugs to you both.
(Sorry, meant to reply to the thread)
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She needs to find the right fit, not the highest ranked.
I feel like pedigree/peer pressure is at play here.
You have to be somewhere four years, day after day.
She’s already witnessed how that may be if not the right fit. Pedigree isn’t part of fit - in my opinion.
I don.t know her post college goals, but she, far more than the school, will make those happen.
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Yes, that’s what I meant but you put it more succinctly 
There has to be colleges that admit students as first semester freshmen in January, ie., no college record after HS graduation.
I agree unhappy+concussed is very risky academically.
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So sorry to hear of your daughter’s accident and injury. I hope she makes a full recovery. This may be a sign to move on; don’t fight it.
There are several schools that share significant similarities with Notre Dame; Duke, Vanderbilt, & Boston College are most often mentioned. Loyolas & Holy Cross & College of William & Mary are also worthy of consideration.
I hope & pray that your daughter makes a full & quick recovery.
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One of my kids had two medical withdrawals during college, and the one that was mid-semester meant the slate was wiped clean in terms of grades and credits. She had migraines and seizures, and when the brain is involved, as it is with a concussion, keeping up is tough because the brain needs to rest and recover. Depending on the severity, concussions can take quite awhile to resolve.
Your daughter could get accommodations (extensions on papers, postponements on tests, note taking etc.) but in our experience, when the brain is involved, work just piles up faster than you can keep up. So yeah, I would think a medical leave would be warranted (and frankly, it gets her out of there… though I think many kids are unhappy until spring term of freshman year…)
A couple of other things:
What is the rush for spring? My kid improved and got an internship at a music agency one time, and the other stayed with a friend of mine in NYC and did some composing. There are lots of things to do and applying for fall ensures a careful choice, and widens the choices.
She does not have to major or even minor in music, and can continue lessons and EC performance- if she prefers to focus on the science. And she doesn’t need a school that is “good for music” to do that, and might have better chances of getting a spot in ensembles or orchestra.
People are suggesting schools that are not “competitive” but my understanding was that she is “academic-y” and “loves learning” and that it was clubs that were competitive. It sounds like she might like a reachy school-? Or a school where kids love to learn at least.
I really love the Colleges that Change Lives website ctcl.org. Some of the schools mentioned above are on there. I would add Sarah Lawrence and Bennington. We loved Clark, which is in a consortium with Holy Cross and WPI. Interesting music offerings and known for excellence in psychology.
The kid who took medical leaves barely remembers them 10+ years later and is doing great, graduated a year and a half late. Another one of my kids had a messy time with a year at an LAC, home for community college, the degree completion program while working. All I can say is that things tend to work out over time!
ps If you got tuition refund insurance, not only do you get the money you spent back with medical withdrawal, but you are also paid whatever the financial award was…
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The answer varies. Some colleges may consider a student in that situation a frosh applicant, while others may consider a student in that situation a transfer applicant.
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Yes, there are open admission community colleges and less selective four year colleges where this is the case, but those may not meet the desires of the OP’s student.
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I’m going to +1 Santa Clara since BC and Villanova are on your list. Perfect-size undergraduate student body and music seems very welcoming. Students are very friendly and happy. Weather is fantastic. I think the Jan transfer deadline was today but you could call to find out if there is any flexibility?
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Based on everything that the OP has written in this thread, I do not understand the recommendation of these two schools. What am I missing ? Thanks.
To continue: OP’s daughter’s first choice school was/is Notre Dame. She is also interested in Boston College and other Catholic/Jesuit schools. The campus culture at the Catholic/Jesuit schools would be quite different than that found at Sarah Lawrence or Bennington.
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One criterion was other students loving to learn.
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St. Olaf transfer rate for 2024 was 27% not 55 on the chart above. 41 out of 150 accepted.
It is definitely harder to transfer to a lot of schools than it is to get into them initially, so with a transfer be aware that she may not get into a school she would have gotten into the first time around.
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you are correct–pedigree/pressure are definetly a factor..trying to get her to see that!
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Thank you–this is all great advice! She is really not willing to take what she feels is a lesser ‘academic’ school when considering transfering. Side note: she has friends at some of these schools and they spend 1/2 their day tanning in the sun. That would drive her crazy!! And I didn get tuition refund insurance, thankfully
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I’ve heard such great things about Santa Clara but it’s just too far for her (from NY)
You might want to look at this thread - there is some really great info from @AustenNut , especially at the bottom - this is where it counts. Ultimately, the major will drive success IMHO vs. a school. But the student might be surprised to find some schools at a higher level than others in certain areas - if you had toward the bottom of the thread. This is just for a few states (including PA, so close to home) but if this data was extrapolated to other states of interest….
Schools like James Madison scored very well - it’s in a decent town. Bucknell (always does well), Allegheny and Susquehanna did too but might be too isolated. Lafayette might be a strong name to consider. But in post 145 from @AustenNut schools like Randolph Macon outperform schools like Richmond and then more top schools for career preparation. I don’t know the meaning of the data but something is behind it - just like the WSJ says Babson is #2 in the country behind Stanford and ahead of Yale. And Bentley is somewhere up that list too - business focused but has other majors too. There’s more than one way to skin the “impress my friends” cat - so I hope she realizes to find a good fit - and impress herself - which is most important!!!
I guess I see things differently but both mine voluntarily turned down reaches for safeties. They just felt much better to them in regards to fit. We saw 20 schools + after the one my daughter attended and she (voluntarily) did so many apps - and yet i knew the minute we visited this one school, she was going there.
In the end, fit matters. It’s a bummer she didn’t get into Emory proper as the experience might be different.
But it’s also a bummer that kids get cut (orchestra) - many schools don’t mention that in their advertising. I would think, for her, going somewhere where she can play or do the things she wants would be more important than - I went to Emory but couldn’t play vs. I went to U of Delaware and loved playing in the orchestra and it was so much fun.
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Not sure if it’s pure distance that matters, but SCU is 10 minutes or so from San Jose airport (not familiar with flights from there) and around a half hour from SFO with frequent direct flights. I did an exercise with C26 in mapping out door to door times from where we live driving to various colleges in state vs flying out of state and it was quite interesting. Of course there are other factors than time - cost, flexibility’, time zones etc - but just saying maybe think about it. (My D19 did the opposite way, Bay Area to college in NYC).
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I often wonder about the travel thing.
Once you’re on a plane, does it matter? Going to Atlanta but then driving to Oxford…not close.
But there’s lots of Jesuit colleges closer to home. Does the student have a major yet?
Holy Cross, Fairfield, Loyola MD, Fordham, Scranton.
As the student liked Catholic Notre Dame, there’s many (the schools on the Jesuit list appear on this one too).
Well, I hope you all figure it out - and the concussion is just another unfortunate but impacting issue.
One other thing that just popped - and this might give you a chuckle if you know the Golden Girls - or might resonate with your daughter as @AnonMomof2 noted on a different thread where at first, a student was concerned with pedigree but chose St. Olaf (in transfer) as she noted above. It goes to show you, if you take pedigree out of the equation and find the right fit, then all can be great. And a lot of top names aren’t known names to the masses anyway.
Well, I wish you well - it’s one of the unexpected and tough parts of parenting….never easy!!
AnonMomof2Parent HS Class of 2025
I know this is an old thread, but regarding prestige, my daughter started at Hamilton. A top 20 LAC. It is less than 5 hours from us. Zero people from our large city that we told where she was going had ever heard of it. She transferred to St. Olaf and I have found in my entirely un-scientific research that it has much more name recognition. Even if it may be because people say hey isn’t that where Rose was from.
OP - I know you said money no issue but you are the parent and maybe you use that - to at least steer vs let her get what she wants - if you think what she wants is not necessarily in her best interest - as Emory was apparently not. By this, i mean if you feel she’s putting a name over a place you see isn’t right, you might use that lever.
Jesuit Colleges and Universities - Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Catholic Colleges and Universities in the United States | USCCB
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First, I hope your daughter is recovering from her auto accident injuries.
Second…I hope she finds a good way to move forward with her college studies…whether at Oxford/Emory, or elsewhere.
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