<p>Hi all - just wanted to wish everyone good luck as school starts. We went to registration yesterday, got her schedule. We’re trying to decide if it’s really OK to have 2 art classes (not her choice, but a result of their having to switch things around) first semester. She says she’s going to take ACT again, too, and STUDY this time. I need to pin her down on that.</p>
<p>I could definitely see the “I hate this place/This year could be fun” expression on her face, very touch-and-go. Luckily her music and theater stuff starts right up, and our Japanese student (I’ll have to come up with an abbreviation for her here … ) is a lovely distraction, too. </p>
<p>She’s telling everyone she wants to go to school “out east.” She doesn’t have any safeties out there, and I may remind her that she needs one if she wants to be sure that wish comes true. We’ll see what she says.</p>
<p>Just talked to her: she agrees to look for an eastern safety. This will be fun! We’ve been done looking for a while, and I love this part!</p>
<p>Turns out she thought a match school on her list was more of a safety - she does fit perfectly in the profile, but she’s naive enough not to understand the percentages. She needs one where she’s in the top 25% of applicants, or even 10%. </p>
<p>I wish her cousin (also a theater major) wasn’t going to Hofstra. That was going to be the east coast safety, the right location and a non-auditioned theater degree, with the option of an auditioned BFA the second year. But I can understand her reluctance to join a department with her cousin a year ahead of her - they get along only OK - where people are pretty competitive and definitely together all the time.</p>
<p>I wish my cousin’s D all the best but I sure was hoping she’d end up somewhere else!</p>
<p>EmmyBet , sounds like it’s going to be great year, and there’s always the off chance that the cousin will drop out and transfer somewhere else. You will have to keep us updated on your Japanese exchange student. We will all get through senior year somehow, someway.</p>
<p>Hee hee - great idea! You’re right; that could happen. Hmm…</p>
<p>Our Japanese “D” is working on her English and having fun doing summer stuff with us. School will be hard for her, but she has a great personality and good energy for it. We love her!</p>
<p>Hey parents. What do you think about my list? I have a 3.36 GPA UW…</p>
<p>UConn
Rutgers
U. Pittsburg
Northeastern U.
U. Maryland- Baltimore County
Drexel (my mom doesn’t want me to go there for some reason)</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at LACs but the sticker prices are SOO high. What are some hidden/underrated schools with good engineering programs?</p>
<p>Also, if I get into a Reach school, would I get less FA since my grades are lower? What’s the typical FA school give to us B students? (1/10 discount, 1/4 discount, 1/2 discount?)</p>
<p>I think you’ve got a pretty good list aStyle, but I’m not sure I see any financial safeties unless you are a Maryland resident. My older son just graduated from Roanoke College. It’s sticker price was in the low forties his last year and he got just less then $20,000 in merit aid. Every school is different though. Roanoke had the highest compensation package. He got nothing from Towson (no surprise), and I think about $10,000 from Allegheny. You should check out collegedata for some estimates.</p>
<p>Update - D is definitely more psyched for school. We went back over yesterday and she was getting excited, definitely feeling like a senior.</p>
<p>Now to get the apps started! She says she’ll get going next week when the current play she’s in is over. I bet she can crank a lot by the end of Labor Day weekend.</p>
<p>How funny, son has gotten four offers for “streamlined” or priority applications. RPI, Drexel, Roanoke and Washington College. All are waiving the application fees. This was the hook that got my older son to apply to Roanoke five years ago. I would like all of the colleges on his list to offer their apps “streamlined”.</p>
<p>leaving shortly for our road trip. Looking at Alfred (NY), Ohio Wesleyan, College of Wooster and HIram in OH, and Allegheny in PA. (next week looking at Elizabethtown in PA). Will post reports upon my return.
a serious plumbing issue that arose about an hour ago means DH is going to have to stay home to deal with that. Will miss his great mediation skills as I am anticipating that D and I will have some differing opinions on what should take place at the visits!</p>
<p>Thanks, holliesue - we drove through Drew on our trip to the area last March. She didn’t get a good feeling, unfortunately, caught a real “preppy” vibe which was compounded by the students we saw there … especially the two who got into their illegally parked Lexus and drove off …</p>
<p>Seriously though, there are other things she doesn’t like, substantively. The way the theater program is organized, especially their study abroad, doesn’t meet her particular needs. So it was a combination of research AND a 5-minute impression.</p>
<p>She did like Montclair State’s looks and vibe, though - except that is an auditioned program. Most likely she will be auditioning there and hoping it works out. Other academic safeties in that area with auditioned programs she likes and which take a decent percentage of applicants are SUNY New Paltz and Adelphi. Non-auditioned safeties are hard to find, though. She would prefer not to be at a small LAC if possible, so probably no Muhlenberg, Manhattanville, etc.</p>
<p>UNH has gone on our list as a probable safety, near Boston and with a good theater dept …</p>
<p>UNH is about 75 minutes from Boston … a doubt UNH kids go to Boston very often at all. Durham is an OK college town and Portsmouth which a nice funky small town is only a few miles away.</p>
<p>I grew up in Boston, and I didn’t mean to imply UNH is on the outskirts. But my folks are out there and could manage to get up to see her, especially if she’s in a play. And I’d consider letting her have a car so she could see grandparents when she wanted, if they allow it (second year, I think?). Mostly the appeal is what looks like an excellent theater program and some other nice aspects. But it’s not solidly on the list, yet. </p>
<p>The problem was that she thought an eastern match was a safety and would like a safety in that area. Her other safeties in a lot of ways are better choices, but they’re both out here. </p>
<p>It’s a big juggle to figure out her various chances with/without auditions … and she won’t audition until late winter … So we have a little more looking to do if she wants a guarantee out east. At one point she was interested in Clark, but their theater dept isn’t quite what she wants. She’s seen UMass Amherst and sadly it doesn’t work for her, either.</p>
<p>We’re open to other suggestions … it’s just complicated getting all the ducks in a row.</p>
<p>Just looked at URI - it actually has a non-auditioned BFA. This could be very interesting. Certainly no further than UNH from Boston, and closer to NYC. We have family in RI, so I’m familiar with this area.</p>
<p>Might be a good idea for her, going to have her read up more about it. Any perspective, anyone?</p>
<p>URI is near the beach and an Amtrak stop, so it has good access to Boston and not bad to NY. It has a lot of OOS kids, many drawn by a party rep and being much easier to get into OOS than UConn, Penn State or Delaware. Providence has attractions for college kids, too.</p>
<p>Hollie, best of luck on your trip and to you rhusband with the plumber (who earns much more than most college grads).</p>
<p>Thanks, yabe - you always have great info in a nutshell about anywhere.</p>
<p>kathie - yes, I did post on the theater forum if anyone has specific knowledge of the program (my D sings but wants acting, not MT). We’ll see what we hear there. </p>
<p>It’s very helpful here to hear about the school in general. Big state schools have their ups and downs - she’s applying to UMinn-Twin Cities, too, and would have to negotiate how to find her niche there, too (arsty, non-partyer, listens to music 30-60 years old, plays Zelda, etc.). But theater kids tend to have their own niche automatically, so maybe this would be a good backup plan, even if there are significant downsides. </p>
<p>Like everyone, we’re hoping she doesn’t have to rely only on safeties, so likely this becomes moot. But I will feel so much better when she has these bases covered.</p>
<p>URI does seem more accessible, less remote than UNH. I’d like to get a touch more info on specifics. We’ll see how she likes the website, anyway. And we can do a visit at some point, will be in the Boston area sometime this year.</p>