<p>5boys: Save for a couple of classes, most at Tulane are in the twenties. S2 has had no class larger than about 35 his freshman year, and most are in the high teens lower twenties. All have been taught by PhD faculty that he has really liked, particularly in philosophy. As far as an outdoor program, I can’t speak to that, but you might want to post that question in the Tulane forum. Across from the university is Audubon Park. It is a huge beautiful park, which includes a zoo. The athletic center does rent outdoor gear so it is likely there is some organized outdoor group. The optional freshman NOLA experience also involves outdoor activity. [Tulane</a> University - Nola Experience](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/nola/index.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/orientation/nola/index.cfm)</p>
<p>Pertaining to OP’s post #54, you remark that as long as schools meet full need you will be all set. BIG warning here: most schools WILL NOT meet full need other than with loans. Be wary, and go into it with your eyes wide open. Run the fafsa EFC estimator now, before she starts applying. And even then, low EFC from fafsa is no guarantee of aid. Many of the lac’s we are talking about her are well into the $50s annually now, and unless she is somewhat overqualified for a school, they may very likely give her no aid other loans. Full cost of attendance at even some publics is really climbing for out of state. Penn State is at $43k and UVM is around $44–my D was accepted at both, and only got $6k merit aid from UVM, nothing but loans from PSU. I wish I had known more about all of this a year ago, and thankful to have the experienced CC posters to educate me. This year.</p>
<p>I agree with kbireserach’s comments about finaid. Davidson eliminated loans a few years
ago and has managed to stick to this committment through the economic downturn.
I’d look at some schools known for good merit aid. The d of a friend of mine has a daughter at Earlham. She got significant aid with very similar stats/interests as your d.
She’s very happy with the choice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Whoa Bovertine, no need to get defensive. There are two kinds of kids that get ‘top scores’- the intellectually curious and super smart who work hard, and the ones that are hoop jumpers who just work hard. I see both kinds that manage to get into this very selective program I teach which grooms kids for graduate school (and we are constantly trying to avoid the latter). </p>
<p>There are the intellectually gifted and very curious ones with a lot of cool inherent qualities…no doubt you and/or your offspring. Then there are those that are obviously bright but are mostly motivated to follow rules, pick out the pattern, and instrumentally seek all the right things. Obviously schools are looking to separate the former from the latter which gets increasingly difficult because what can be gamed will be gamed…the SAT was supposed to reflect aptitude…but has morphed into many as merely a test of cold, hard persistence (great attribute too but not enough). And it might explain the thread about all the 2400 kids getting waitlisted at Harvard. </p>
<p>I was not comparing a 3.5 UW kid to a 4.0 kid, but rather comparing 3.5 UW kid who is obviously intellectually curious with an interesting character and independent-mindedness, to a 4.0 grinder (not intending all higher scoring kids are grinders at all). I strongly believe a school would rather take a risk on a kid that isn’t tippy-top in grades but can clearly come across as the intellectually curious and interesting one over taking a risk on a kid with perfect grades and scores if that kid comes across as a grinder (took the SAT how many times? took no risks, did the same old ECs and summer programs ‘that look good on a college resume’?). </p>
<p>I should have been clearer.</p>
<p>try Sewanee University of the South…extremely rural but incredibly beautiful!! it sits in a very small town, the professors and their families actually live on the campus…i think the president was also the mayor of the little town. Students frequently eat dinner with their profs in their homes. Re hiking, caving etc… during our tour that was a side they emphasized…all the out doors activities…for which they also supply all needed equipment. 10000 acre campus sitting on top the cumberland plateau in tennessee.</p>
<p>[Sewanee:</a> The University of the South](<a href=“Sewanee”>http://www.sewanee.edu/)</p>
<p>[sewanee</a> - Google Search](<a href=“http://www.google.com/search?q=sewanee&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivnslm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cZC0TbSlIIOEtgfuu8npDg&ved=0CFwQsAQ&biw=1847&bih=982]sewanee”>http://www.google.com/search?q=sewanee&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivnslm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cZC0TbSlIIOEtgfuu8npDg&ved=0CFwQsAQ&biw=1847&bih=982)</p>
<p>University of California Davis.
Not completely rural, but just enough.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I won’t add to the many suggestions offered in this thread, as it appears that the need to have schools ranging from low-level safeties (and plenty of them) to reaches has been addressed. </p>
<p>I do, however, want to applaud SoozieVt for correctly pointing out that the 3.5 GPA UW might not be a factor. After had the OP posted the same information with an Weighted GPA of 4.1 or 4.2 this thread would have taken a completely different turn. There are schools in the country where a UW 3.5 is akin to a stratospheric GPA at 99 percent of our public schools. Leave it to adcoms to figure that out, especially if a rank is available! </p>
<p>As we know, while a 2390 is hardly a path to universal admissions, it remains that such score places the student in a very rare category. </p>
<p>One could hope that the student will be able to rely on her great relation with the GC and the professors to highlight the qualities and uniqueness of the applicants … without forgetting the tone down a few negatives. And, fwiw, I happen to believe that angular and unique students are amply rewarded in the admission process, but that the ones who are pushing the envelope to include extreme quirkiness and too much “own-drum-beating” rarely are.</p>
<p>A. Take heed of the central message at CC: build a list from bottom up, with safety/match/reach. Love Thy Safety. Also have a “financial safety.” Once that’s on the list and she’d be happy there, then add on the matches and reaches. </p>
<p>To me, while she’s a match socially for Oberlin, it’s a bit reachy academically until she establishes some semesters with excellent grades. The past doesn’t matter as much as the present/future but she should really try to pull up grades so she can get into a high-quality out-of-the-box what CC lists as “elite LAC’s” such as Oberlin, Reed, Grinnell, etc. Maybe you can inspire her to do this so what was a “reach” might become more like a “low reach” or “high match” for admission. It’s really up to her.</p>
<p>B. Given your daughter’s music, environment, food/agri interests, when she looks at Oberlin, be sure to pay particular attention to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Food and dorming cooperatives, “OSCA” (Oberlin Student Cooperative Association) - student-governed meal planning and dorm maintenance. This includes: meal planning and group ordering from local farms; shared cooking as regular weekly jobs; serving food family style; self-cleaning of dorm common areas. Makes friends; saves parents some money on housing/dining costs.<br></li>
<li>ExCo - Experimental College, peer-taught courses on many out-the-box topics</li>
<li>Winter Term - to pursue individual or group projects during January</li>
<li>The state-of-the-science Environmental Studies building which provides and produces energy for itself and other buildings on campus</li>
<li>Opportunity to enjoy concerts offered by students of Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and dorm with them (no separation socially between college and conservatory students)</li>
<li>Jazz Studies Program - first conservatory to offer this, began within past few years; brought in American jazz greats to faculty</li>
<li>impromptu music listening opportunities, such as Steel Drum band on steps of Finney Chapel, or the “Organ Pump” once monthly at Finney, where students do homework starting at midnight as Organ majors from the Conservatory go up to the enormous pipe organ and play pieces for their friends </li>
<li>opportunity to take free private music lessons from Conservatory students for academic course credit.</li>
</ol>
<p>She sounds like a lot of students I know from Oberlin, but she’d be more securely competitive there for admission if she could just push up her GPA northward. In return for all that out-the-box goodness, the students work hard there on their coursework. Yes, Oberlin embraces quirky students, but they also look for demonstrated academic work ethic in h.s. years. This could be in her GPA and perhaps some unique, longer-term hands-on project to which she commits her time very steadily between now and then.</p>
<p>hi, </p>
<p>My daughter isn’t quite the high-flyer described in the earlier post, but I think I’ve more than enough reason to be proud and she’s planning on applying to Reed.</p>
<p>Her interest is British Literature and Theatre, and she was drawn to their interdisciplinary major, among many other things.</p>
<p>I was always under the impression that Reed is a very progressive, intellectually rigorous college and that academic competition is discouraged by postponing reporting grades until graduation. However, I recently learned that quite the opposite is true, and that the competition is fierce among students, if even in an unpleasant way. </p>
<p>Initially I was thrilled at the prospect of her attending Reed, but now I’m concerned; we believe that academic rigor is important, but we also want our children to have the opportunity to explore many aspects of the experience of attending college. I was wondering if any of you might have any insights that would be helpful.</p>
<p>I will go out on a limb here and say Furman University located just outside Greenville, SC. I know they are big time into the whole sustainability concept with some student living in sustainable living cottages and they have the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability. The vast majority of the students are into the outdoors with the mountains close by. Students go hiking, rafting, camping etc…</p>
<p>She seems very bright, but the workload at Furman is considered fairly rigorous. The school has a southern cultural feel to it but students from all over tend to love it.</p>
<p>
Where did you learn this? I can assure you that is far from the truth.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, Reedies do not spend four years locked in the library studying. I attend Reed and went hiking at Washington Park this past weekend, and Mt. Tabor the weekend before that. If one manages their time well (or is prepared to face the consequences if one does not), one will find time to do whatever they want.</p>
<p>“I was always under the impression that Reed is a very progressive, intellectually rigorous college and that academic competition is discouraged by postponing reporting grades until graduation.”</p>
<p>Mostly correct. Any Reedie can ask about a grade on a paper, test, or class at any time, but there is a strong culture NOT to ask, though a few do.</p>
<p>“However, I recently learned that quite the opposite is true, and that the competition is fierce among students, if even in an unpleasant way.”</p>
<p>Totally false. Because of the non-grade culture, students don’t even know how they’re doing in relation to each other. Students must work hard to meet professors’ requirements, but they are NOT in competition with each other to do so. There is no curve. Think of it this way: those who master the material earn a B, to a greater or lesser extent an A or C, with all grades “hidden” unless asked for.</p>
<p>Have a look at <a href=“http://www.reed.edu/registrar/form_downloads/grades.pdf[/url]”>http://www.reed.edu/registrar/form_downloads/grades.pdf</a> especially the “GRADING POLICY” section.</p>
<p>I have current grad students who attended Reed. They have told me that it was a very cohesive student body. The tough workload bonds them together, so its not too difficult because everyone is working hard (they will study together, then break or party together). Though one student said there was quite a drop out rate after the first year because some didn’t manage their time well.</p>
<p>
Absolutely true, although I believe the dropout rate has dropped compared to that of “Olde Reed.”</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds like an interesting kid. She could have a real shot at some of the top LACs. My son is currently at Swarthmore and she sounds like she would fit right in. They want students who are interesting and interested in learning. I think the fact that she is independant minded would be attractive to them. My son was never very interested in what his grades were. His essay was about his love of learning and his impatience with his fellow students who were only interested in the grade not in what the class was about. One of the things he loved about Swat was that for all that the academics are quite rigorous it is also not at all competative. It is acutally considered rude to talk about grades. Swat is one of the few remaining schools that meets %100 of need without loans. The other side of that, however, is that they do not have any merit money. The admit rates are frighteningly small but a student who is outside of the box (but is also clearly very bright and able to work hard) will have a shot. Absolutley include some safeties as well!</p>
<p>If you decide to check out Davidson and/or Sewanee, you can also check out the Sustainability project at Furman that was already mentioned - my D ended up at another school but was pretty impressed with this:</p>
<p>[Furman</a> Farm](<a href=“http://www.furman.edu/sustain/organicgarden.html]Furman”>http://www.furman.edu/sustain/organicgarden.html)</p>
<p>Out west, seattle, near Udub, where DS works and lives.<br>
Portland is nice too. :)</p>
<p>why is it getting dark?</p>
<p>DS had a HS classmate( 2 years behind, NMS) that had a full tuition scholarship to BU, Honors, who gave it up after the third semester to come back to Or to attend Reed. Father was not too pleased but understood. </p>
<p>This girl got a Fulbright 2 years out of Reed. </p>
<p>trip, stumble</p>