I’m looking for college recommendations for a student with my stats. I’m a junior at a public HS school in VA & school is almost over & it looks like my GPA will be 3.3. My HS includes all 9-11th grade courses in the cumulative GPA & weights Hs @ .50 & APs @ 1.0. I’ve taken 2 honor courses & 1 AP course & will take 2 APs next year. I took the ACT in April but had to leave early because I was ill. My scores were 20E, 23M, 28R. I took the SAT in March and my scores were 530R & 440M. I’m registered to take both exams again in June.
I’ve been a member of my HS marching band, jazz band & symphonic band for 3 yrs. This year I volunteered as an after school music tutor at our cluster middle school, volunteered 3 summers @ the public library & volunteering as a camp counselor this summer. I don’t know what I want to major in yet–my Dad is pushing me toward MIS/CIS/GIS. He has been very successful working for government contractors in the Washington, DC area & thinks this is the best path until I decide what I want to do.
My Dad ran the NPC & his income doesn’t qualify me for need based financial aid. He has $ saved & is willing to pay up to $30K/yr. We’ve checked West Virginia U & I might qualify for their $6K OOS Blue & Gold Scholarship.
My U preferences: $30K/yr, marching band, football, East Coast, 5K+ students, students live on campus, no religious affiliation, max 60:40 F:M ratio, not sure about urban/suburban/rural. I’ve toured Old Dominion U in Norfolk, West Virginia U in Morgantown, Ohio U in Athens & this summer U of RI in Kingston. Any others I should look into and/or visit?
No East Coast college suggestions for low stats students?
How about States East of the Mississippi?
Any comments on my picks so far … ODU, WVU, OHU, URI?
Maybe look into College of Wooster? Not sure if your stats would be enough for merit aid. But they have a marching band. Also smaller, maybe 2,000-2,500 students? Ohio Wesleyan might be worth a shot also, and is a little bit larger.
I came across this school in OH, called Wittenberg University( it’s small though). It sounded great. Also look at Susquehanna Univ in PA. Maybe also James Madison in VA.
@moooop … thanks for the suggestion, but I think my GPA may be too low for U of So FL
@citymama9 … thanks … your suggestions are closer to my stats. I was hoping for a U slightly larger & no religious affiliation, but I may have to change my criteria.
I don’t think any of those schools are religious from what I can tell. Sometimes schools are affiliated with a church from when they were formed, but there is nothing religious about them. Maybe James Madison? Big and less expensive
@citymama9 - Ohio Wesleyan U, Wittenberg U & Susquehanna U are listed as Methodist or Lutheran affiliated. I’m not a religious person, so I’ve been using “no affiliation” in my searches. Other than visiting, how would I determine if a U is only founded/affiliated with a religion vs a religious campus/student body? Someone had told me about U of Dayton & Sacred Heart U, so maybe I should look into them again (Catholic affiliation).
@happy1 & @suzyQ7 - I’ve looked in state. We have 15 in-state public institutions, but only 8 offer marching bands. Of those, 2 HBCU, 1 Military, U VA & VA Tech are reaches, James Madison & Christopher Newport are reaches/matches, and my safety is Old Dominion. I’m also looking at George Mason–no marching band but a great Pep Band. VA Commonwealth also has a great Pep Band, but the area of Richmond was too urban for me.
@RoundGenius - I’ll look again @ FairTest. If I remember correctly, the ones I’m interested in have minimum requirements.
Thanks everyone … I appreciate all the suggestions.
What I would do to see if a school is still religious if it’s affiliated with a religion is go to the websites and see if they have any mandatory religious classes. Also look under student organizations and see if they have a variety of religious orgs such as Hillel for Jewish students or a Buddhism group. That should tell you that a school founded by the Methodists isn’t really a Methodist school, for example.
I just copied this from another website. Wittenberg would not be considered a religious school based on this:
Wittenberg is Lutheran-affiliated, but there is a great deal of diversity in regards to religion. The most represented religions on campus are Lutherans and Catholics. Clubs on campus include Lutheran Student Movement (LSM), Newman Club, Athletes for Christ, Young Life, Jewish Culture Club, and Common Ground, among others
This is just an example. You have to research and see if it’s the right fit.
According to Wikipedia, OWU “was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges. Ohio Wesleyan has always admitted students irrespective of religion or race.”
It is pretty secular. 59% of students do not declare a religious affiliation. No religion courses required to graduate.
Wittenberg, St. Olaf, and Luther are tolerant of diverse religious backgrounds, but have more of a Christian identity and require some coursework in religion.
For Wittenberg - one course in Philosophy or Religion required
St. Olaf and Luther - require two religion courses, one of which must be a Bible course, these are taught from a scholarly perspective
@citymama9 & @mamaedefamilia - thanks for the clarification on the “religious” schools. I don’t mind taking a course in religion (I like to learn about other countries/governments/cultures). I just didn’t want to feel uncomfortable attending a U where religion is an important part of the school culture & student/faculty daily life.
@NEPatsGirl - I’ll look into the list of schools you posted. To be honest, I’ve never heard of any of them. We live in a pretty snobby area outside of Washington, DC. & there are people within our State who haven’t even heard of some of the lower tier public U’s that I’m looking into – it’s all about getting into UVA & VA Tech in my area with James Madison a close 3rd.
@Wien2NC - App State was originally on my list & I was going to visit during spring break but decided that the posted mid 50% GPA of 3.94-4.48 was out of reach. If I can bring up my SAT and/or ACT scores, I may fall into the mid 50% ranges but I’m sure my 3.3 GPA will hold me back from acceptance.
You guys are great! I’m currently at school in study hall, so I’ll research more when I get home.