West Chester is growing…
WCU officials unveil construction plans
http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20171105/wcu-officials-unveil-construction-plans
A few PASSHE updates…
Millersville University offers sneak peek into new $7M welcome center…
http://www.cpbj.com/article/20171113/CPBJ01/171119983/millersville-university-offers-sneak-peek-into-new-7m-welcome-center
Pa.'s state system begins 6- to 8-month search for next chancellor…
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/11/pas_state_system_begins_6-_to.html#incart_river_index
Thanks @bester1! Lets keep this thread going. I don’t have much new to add, but would like to hear any updates on folks with seniors.
I have a junior and she is likely going to attend a PASSHE school. She is a B-level student, and taking the SAT next month. She is leading a huge charity event for our school this semester and hasn’t had much time to dedicate to college stuff lately. I just don’t see her chasing or getting huge merit awards, and we wont get much (if any) need aid. Plus she saw the turmoil her older sister created last year with looking out of state, and just doesn’t care where she goes all that much but likes WCU. So that leaves us most likely with PASSHE and maybe some of the Ohio schools discussed earlier. We live outside of Philly, and she (and us) are not too keen on driving 10 hours away if it will only save 1-2K per year over PASSHE.
I would like to hear more on cut-offs for West Chester admittance if anyone knows (beyond the scatter plots on Naviance). Like, bluntly, who wouldn’t get in? I mentioned last spring that a good friend in our HS 3rd track (not college prep) with low SAT scores still got into WCU as long as she took 2 summer classes before fall of freshman year. My daughter is a B student, but is at least in college prep.
@Portercat All I can provide is another set of Naviance scatter points, but from our high school (good small suburban public high school near Harrisburg) most kids with GPAs of at least 85 and SATs of ~1100 or more were accepted to WCU. The exception is those who applied as a nursing major, which is much more competitive. According to the website, averages for the freshmen entering this fall were GPA 3.38 and SAT 1120.
Lycoming is a nice college and gives merit to moderate stats. If you attend PFEW in the summer you get a $5,000 yearly scholarship.
My D enjoyed her time at PFEW a lot. The only cost was a $200 something registration fee.
http://www.pfew.org
http://www.lycoming.edu/financialAid/scholarshipOpportunities.aspx
You can look at the colleges that change lives CTCL list too.
Yep, my oldest applied to McDaniel (on the CTCL list) last year. She had a very good GPA, but so-so test scores, and was offered some merit from them, but the COA was still around 31K.
@Portercat Yes, it is nice to have this thread going as so many are about highly selective schools, high stats, or higher incomes…not my kid in any category.
I hear you on the driving for something that really isn’t going to be much better than our state schools & savings aren’t going to be all that much. We have IUP on the FAFSA, yet DD thinks we shouldn’t even bother applying. She is happy w/ WCU or Bloom and they are within reasonable driving distance. IUP adds another 2 hours to the drive, making for 8 hours round trip. Ugh.
I’m getting less inclined to be inconvenienced as I am getting older. 
I wonder if it would be worth it at some point for us to list the schools our kids ended up attending for anybody who might end up looking at this thread.
I’m getting burned out from driving to look at colleges this round and the longest trip is yet to come.
My oldest was under 3 hours away and that got to me, especially for short breaks when there was a narrow window for pick up, like class ends at 4 and dorms close at 6.
I see all the negative reviews about Ursinus but we liked it. I was happy because it was so close.
But then D started to read reviews about the drinking culture and she’s been a little turned off.
So off we go to Western PA and Ohio. My van is making a weird noise so it will go into the shop before I have to drive across the Alleghenies.
All you PA people check your pm’s in case I get stuck somewhere in your state next weekend.
Well, Bloom is now off of our list. Too remote for my S19. And we saw it on a cold, rainy day which did not help. The campus did not resonate. So, we are down to WCU, Ship, and Millersville. All offer the program he wants (as does Bloom). So it is just a matter of which ones feel right. I’ll be interested to see how feels regarding the size of WCU as compared to the smaller Ship and Millersville.
@MACmiracle we are visiting Ursinus in a few weeks.
@MACmiracle I think there can be drinking at most schools. Important is to maybe find out if there are enough like-minded kids and planned activities on campus for the non partier crowd.
@laralei I agree that might be helpful. I can start, as my first daughter is now a freshman at CNU (Christopher Newport U. in Virginia). I have previously detailed our family’s struggle with this decision, and in the end I still did not recommend this school due to cost. My daughter decided on debt over practicality. She is receiving the same amount from us as she would if she went to PASSHE.
On the good side, she is doing very well academically, is enjoying the experience, meeting lots of new people and hasn’t spent an extra dime outside of books and a pair of pants she needed for her on campus job. She is working also and knows the magnitude of selecting a higher cost school (as much as she can). She has a small leadership scholarship to attend as well, and some $$ to go abroad (we also may get in-state rates during those semesters abroad).
My second daughter is a junior (I mentioned above), and is focused on WCU and Bloom, and maybe Ship. I also find that I don’t have the mental energy to focus on this like I did last year. I know more about the process than I ever wanted to. We toured 15 schools, and I got burned out and ended up really resenting the whole process. I am more than OK with a narrowed list for D2.
My D17, who is the one I mentioned the most in this thread, is a freshman at West Chester. She refused to look at any smaller schools (PASSHE or private). Her first choice was Temple but she knew that could happen only if she was awarded some institutional aid in addition to Pell/PHEAA grants (didn’t happen). My S17 was a football recruit to some D1 schools, but didn’t have the grades/SAT scores to meet NCAA requirements. He is at Lackawanna College, was redshirted due to a shoulder injury (fortunately just a bad sprain) but is doing better academically than he ever did before. He is focused on his grades, rehabbing his shoulder, and the possibility of transferring to a D1 school. My S15 was accepted to IUP’s nursing program as a high school senior but changed his mind right before orientation and just started this fall in the masonry program at Thaddeus Stevens.
Great insights from those with older kids - can I ask that we put scores/gpa/merit aid (if any) in the summaries?
Also can’t wait to hear about Ursinus tour, @InfiniteWaves … and @MACmiracle - best of luck on driving in balky cars. I feel your trepidation! We are in the Poconos if you get stuck there … and please give us mondo lengthy reviews of everywhere you go!!
D is still dead-set on WVU first, Ohio U or West Chester second. We have a few still to look at: Stockton (a good family friend is high-up there - might help us with $$); Ursinus and maybe Susquehanna, maybe a couple of other LACs in the state. And the big reachy school: FSU, I think it’ll be. I am a Gator and the thought of my D going there is truly sickening, but money is money, and FSU offers decent merit and isn’t yet at the Ivy-public stratosphere of admission selectivity that UF has become.
I just last week found out that FSU has a great program called FYA: First Year Abroad. You do a year abroad in one of four FSU-complexes in England, Italy, Spain or Panama, I think that last one is, and then if you get a 3.0 GPA or better, you get in-state rates for the remainder of your degree … Only catch: the FYA program is $39k. Of course, that’s not much more than in-state PSU, is it? And there is aid to be had… So we are researching the heck outta that right now.
This has officially become my most checked thread. So glad it’s here.
@Gatormama , I took S19 to Creative Writing Day at Susquehanna last week. We went the day after the cold, rainy one during which we checked out Bloom. He really liked Susq, creative writing or not. And even in the cold and rain. But not Bloom, which also offers creative writing. Go figure. And he ruled out Kutztown after a drive-through. So he’ll have to like WCU, Ship, and Millersville. Because that’s what we have left within two hours from home.
What sense did you get about merit aid at Susquehanna, @InfiniteWaves?
D also was not enamored of Bloomsburg. I think it seemed too small to her.
@Gatormama I totally get the Bloom feeling too small thing. The campus is at the top of the hill so the buildings all seem very close together. Susquehanna is a much smaller school, but the campus is on flat ground and spread out.
The parent session at Susquehanna was geared toward the creative writing program. But the head of admissions was there. The merit info is outlined well on the school’s website. But they didn’t get into specifics about GPA and test score eligibility. And spoke about how they consider the whole student. As such, my impression is that they might consider more than just numbers when it comes to merit.
I know that West Chester is bigger on paper than Ship or Millersville, but after removing grad students and commuters it may be a little closer in student population.
Also, the land footprint for Ship is much bigger and spread out than WCU or Bloomsburg. More walking but smaller town.
@mommdc I agree with you about the drinking and other activities being available.
But I’m glad it’s D saying a heavy drinking culture is uncomfortable for her after her own research, rather than me making those comments.
The whole drunkenness thing is very personal for her because of my family’s history of alcoholism. She’s seen her cousins’ lives torn apart and the stress on the rest of us from trying to pick up the pieces for the sake of the kids.
@MACmiracle is your D interested in substance free housing? Looks like IUP offers it as part of the Health and Wellness Living Community option. Others schools might as well.