What schools are we missing? Strong Theater and Physics, In Big City, Gives Merit Scholarship, + Decently Prestigious - Unicorn? [4.0 UW GPA, 34 ACT, <$60k]

[UTmeritseeker]

I posted on the college visits thread about our recent visit to University of Arizona (thanks to @tsbna44 for persevering and getting it on our list.

Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?

University of Arizona - Moved Up. TLDR: The campus was much nicer than we were expecting but I still have lingering concerns about the student “vibe” and their current financial strain. Arizona Experience tour - 300+ people there for info sessions, tours, etc. Did we get Covid? TBD! We visited on a coolish but sunny day, so the weather was ideal. The campus was genuinely stunning. Red brick buildings with southwest flair. Wide open grassy spaces, cactus and tree gardens. Very quiet and protected from general Tucson noise, even though it is right in the city. The Honors Village is lovely - a nice (huge) separate dorm with its own dining hall. The dorms are set up so only 4 students share a bathroom. The science departments and the honors college were impressive - a lot of opportunities for research and academic success. The food was mediocre - decent variety, but none of it was great. I am still hesitant about the “hot people” and party vibes of the school. Even though it was a c…

For the sake of this thread I will add: The physics program is clearly much much stronger than the theater. As mentioned earlier, the theater program is in a state of upheaval and that was apparent in the admissions program. Theater was given short shrift in the Fine Arts presentation, almost like it was an afterthought. It could still provide decent performance opportunities, but definitely feels like it is in a state of flux. But if your kid wants to send something to space with NASA - UofA is tops!