<p>What is your favorite non-selective school and why do you like it? </p>
<p>By non-selective, I mean a school that would admit a student who has above average (but not stellar) grades, scores and ECs. </p>
<p>The school can be anywhere, any size, public or private.</p>
<p>like this thread…how about I just list my daughter’s list?</p>
<p>No, but really:</p>
<p>my favorite non-selective schools: </p>
<p>Public: Indiana Reason: because they would admit a student who has above average but not stellar grades, scores and EC’s yet has programs/majors/opportunities that rival schools that do not admit this type of student</p>
<p>I’ll come back later to possibly post my choice for private: lots of schools to choose from for lots of the same reasons as above…</p>
<p>City college NYC.</p>
<p>You can find kids who were slackers in HS just there to get their ticket stamped; or kids with off the charts grades, scores, and EC’s who couldn’t afford a private college or couldn’t afford to leave home who are destined for greatness. There are kids who come from upper middle class homes and the children of the people who clean those houses. Etc. </p>
<p>You can watch the American dream in action every single day.</p>
<p>A nephew of mine is at one of the public NYC colleges. He was one of the self-described slackers in HS. He said that there was a kid in his Freshman writing seminar who barely spoke English on the first day who is now gunning for Phi Beta Kappa and whose professors are encouraging him to apply for fellowships. It made the nephew humble to realize how close he was to wasting the opportunity to attend college. This kid will never be Phi anything-- but being close to kids who work so hard to overcome so many obstacles in their life has really helped turn his attitude around.</p>
<p>Another vote for Indiana. UGeorgia also. I think the big state universities have SO much to offer and are a lot of fun. An average student can “find themselves” and get a great education. These schools require some discipline freshman year so as not to “get lost” in the administrative tangles, though. UColorado is another one.</p>
<p>Bard. As intellectual as the “big guns” but a lot easier to get into, and with EA, a really nice option to have a good acceptance in the student’s back pocket while s/he fights the admissions wars.</p>
<p>Ripon College in Wisconsin. Crime rate virtually nil; kids toss their backpacks, purses, textbooks, and homework in a giant pile under sunny windows as they walk into the dining hall, and never have to worry about anything missing when they return. Close family atmosphere; the president of the college might end up behind you in the lunch line and it would be a perfectly normal occurrence.</p>
<p>College of the Atlantic</p>
<p>It only has one major (human ecology) that’s flexible enough to allow you to do pretty much anything with it. The college is very small and located in beautiful Bar Harbor next to Acadia National Park. Marine science is a standout program, PhD production is high, and COA is virtually the gold standard for college sustainability.</p>
<p>Many of these are kind of selective…a student must have decent stats and college prep curriculum from HS. </p>
<p>I like them because a student will get a good education and the campuses are very nice. </p>
<p>Seton Hall
Christian Brothers
Samford
Birmingham Southern
UAHuntsville
Spring Hill
Miss St</p>
<p>If you have at least B-B+ stats and comparable ACT/SAT scores…</p>
<p>then definitely The University of Alabama - an A+ school for B students according to US News. Awesome campus, great academics, great honors programs, great football :)</p>
<p>My 2100+ SAT, IB candidate D really, really, really likes Seton Hall. It’s one of her top choices. Her reasons are varied. First of all, the tour guides were amazing. Exactly the kind of people she’d like to go to school with, but I suspect that’s not very likely. Next, she likes the location because it’s close to home, then she thought the campus was lovely, they have a major that she’d be happy with and she vainly thinks she might be one of the top students in that department. Finally, they have one of the few five-year master’s programs in her hoped-for field.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would consider her quite a bit above “above average.”</p>
<p>Adrian College in Adrian, MI…my alma mater. For years, this was a school on the decline, but a dynamic new president has reinvigorated the school and its programs. The buzz on campus is palpable, and it’s a school worth watching.</p>
<p>I also really like my daughter’s school, Otterbein College. Very strong pre-professional programs (e.g. nursing, business, equine-related majors, musical theater…some of which, however, are very selective) and a campus climate of midwestern-nice that can’t be ignored; when push came to shove, it was the niceness factor that hooked my daughter and reeled her in. Otterbein also has a new president this year, which I think is going to be a positive for the school. The former president retired after 25 years, and while he did lots of good things over the years, I do think he stayed on a bit too long. While Otterbein is facing financial strains due to the drop in the endowment (like so many schools), I think the vision and energy of the new president will go a long way in stabilizing and eventually improving the financial picture.</p>
<p>Both schools have historical affiliations with the United Methodist Church, so if a student is an active member (for three years) of a United Methodist congregation, they are eligible to apply for United Methodist scholarships, through their conference and/or the Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Both schools are also quite generous with merit aid; Otterbein’s COA is about $36,000, but my daughter receives $20K in scholarships just from the school and has received United Methodist scholarships (conference and GBHEM) each year.</p>
<p>Your topic is sort of why I started this topic awhile back…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html?highlight=ohio+northern+university[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/370873-brag-about-your-lesser-known-school.html?highlight=ohio+northern+university</a></p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Although your D is an outstanding student, I’m glad to hear that you also think that Seton Hall is a good choice for more average students. I also put SH on my list.</p>
<p>SH has a wide range of students - from avg to stellar. The NMF son of my kids’ English teacher went there on a full-ride. He loved it. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for letting me know that mom2collegekids. Seems to have a lot going for it. i wonder why so little respect.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I’ve never understood that, either.</p>
<p>My own favorite is Oklahoma City University. You don’t have to be a super star to get fabulous merit aid. Good food. After freshman year, terrific housing. Respected dance and musical theater programs. Added bonuses: The most Miss Americas from any school. The most Radio City Rockettes from any school. Located on historic Route 66.</p>
<p>A relative of mine–a top student in high school–took a full scholarship at Seton Hall. He loves the school–and its proximity to NYC.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone,</p>
<p>What about schools west of the continental divide? My S will likely need to get into one of those “less selective” schools and probably won’t want to stray too far from home (we live in CA).</p>
<p>Southern Oregon University, BfloGal!</p>
<p>It has a beautiful campus, it’s in a beautiful town. Lots of art, theater, music. And it’s a WUE school, so out of state tuition is quite reduced for students from neighboring states.</p>
<p>It’s a terrific smallish college – about 5000 students.</p>
<p>Thanks rentof2! I had been looking at SOU. Doesn’t a kid have to be artsy to go there? I could see my S going into advertising or event management/marketing, but not performing arts. Otherwise, it seems perfect. (BTW, what is WUE? sorry for my ignorance)</p>