A little further afield, check out St. Anselm in New Hampshire. It should be a safety for her. Great community and campus for someone who loves Villanova.
@jyyanks My D actually chose Loyola over Villanova and Lafayette, partially because of the big scholarship they gave her but also because of the vibe and fit. She just started her sophomore year and absolutely loves it there. I’m not going to lie, she had a hard time making a decision and turning down Nova, but it was definitely the right one and she is so happy with her choice!
@Hanna Thank you for the suggestion. I will check it out.
@crazymamaB Can you tell me more about Loyola? We were supposed to visit Scranton this weekend but I’m thinking we should check out Loyola as that seems to be the most similar to Nova. How is the campus? What are the students like? Loyola looks like it may be a great alternative. Trying to figure out how Nova, Loyola and Scranton compare.
That was the thread, but I did not think it was that long ago!
An older thread discussing Villanova, Loyola, Scranton:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-scranton/736892-u-of-scranton-vs-villanova-vs-loyola-md.html
And a couple more threads that may be of interest:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1525761-catholic-colleges-why-did-you-pick-what-you-did.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/christian-colleges/1294696-looking-at-catholic-colleges.html
A+ Colleges for B students:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/a-plus
NVM–wrong thread!
Loyola is smaller than Villanova (about 4,000 undergrads). The campus is within the city limits of Baltimore but a bus ride away from the Inner Harbor area (the way that Villanova is a train ride away from Center City Philadelphia). It is just a mile or two north of Johns Hopkins. Nice consolidated campus with a traditional quad, buildings all around, then housing within walking distance. Among the largest first-year dorm room I’ve ever seen. Very good business school. We visited 2 years ago and found many aspects of the school appealing. Definitely worth a visit. They have Saturday sessions (2-3 hours) if you want more than just a tour.
FWIW, I have a niece and nephew who are recent Nova grads (Nursing and Accounting). Their middle brother graduated from Loyola (Accounting). All three were very happy with their choices. Both of the boys have what sound like solid jobs with big companies in Philadelphia related to their major.
Check out this post (and the thread that contains it), @jyyanks. It contains a nice summary of a lot of the schools being discussed here by a parent who recently visited with her daughter:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18788756/#Comment_18788756
Might give you some ideas!
@LucieTheLakie You are so helpful!! Thank you very much for the links - really appreciate it. We’re on our way to visit Loyola tomorrow so I’m going to have a lot of time to read up on all the threads you posted.
@LuckyCharms913 Thank you so much for the info. You sealed the deal!!! We are on our way to Loyola tomorrow to visit in hopes that our daughter likes it and won’t get her heart too set on Nova since she might not get in. Glad to hear that your niece and nephew are doing well - definitely comforting.
@clarinetdad - Great link - thank you!! We have most of those schools on our list to visit. Currently we’re scheduled to visit Loyola, Providence and Scranton but thee are others on the list and suggested on this forum that we have to look at. Appreciate the link.
@jyyanks, happy to help and extend the many kindnesses I received from folks here on CC when we were beginning the search process a few years ago.
Rhodes college in Memphis may be a very good option. Beautiful campus, very holistic admissions, has a club fencing team. They also appreciate the geographic diversity of kids from the north.
Temple may be an academic and geographic fit, and has a competitive fencing team. Other NCAA teams that are not the top tier competitive admissions that may welcome ‘walk ons’ are LIU Post, Wayne State, Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson University, Stevens Institute,Sacred Heart. She should contact coaches at these schools, fill out the prospective recruit form from their website, and fill out the NCAA eligibility form online. Do those things immediately if she is applying this year. Some of these fencing teams invite kids with no experience to join them, so making contact with a coach and asking them to support your application through admissions can help. Those schools I mention are not competing for the top tier fencers and may be able to help you.
Villanova is need aware in the sense that they know kids who are borderline admits are praying to get in and are just thankful to get the Yes even without aid - they are very stingy with their financial aid and it is a very expensive school.
CC is a bit crazy - your daughter sounds smart and competent and will do well. Good luck with the admissions cycle.
I agree that she will do well. I have been a long time lurker and I thought this might be a good time to jump in the pool.
My S is a sophomore at Villanova and I am hoping to poke a few holes in the “Nova is stingy” drumbeat.
True, the opportunities for merit are limited. Outside of the full ride, very competitive Presidential, the Villanova Scholarship amount is token. The school acknowledges as much.
However, the school has been increasing its need-based aid and awarded $115M to the Class of 2019. The key is to apply EA and trudge through the CSS and iDoc as required.
Villanova admits a slightly higher percentage in EA than in RD, so the money is used to lure the kids they really want and to meet the need of lower income applicants. I believe they are meeting around 82 percent of need.
The recent fund-raising campaign is focused largely on boosting the endowment (just over $500M currently) and continued increase in FA.
We have found the school to be responsive and generous and S is happy there. I would encourage your daughter to apply.
Good luck!
Check out Duquesne in Pittsburgh. A top 50 university by USWNR when factoring in what you pay vs the quality you receive. I will bet she would get merit bringing RB+T under $30k. Great campus, nice student body and tons of opportunities to explore in a small safe city. Underrated.
And FWIW, I don’t think Nova is worth $60k year, unless $60k is not a lot of $ for you. Not worth taking on significant debt IMO (I stress opinion) . Very good school, no doubt, but it’s not an elite or even next tier elite. Before someone asks, I would define elite as the HYP, MIT, Stanford, etc and next tier elite as Notre Dame, BC, Georgetown, Tufts, Carnegie, etc. Nova is next rung down on par w like a BU. And of course none of that matters unless to you it does.
She definitely has a chance of getting in.My sister had a 3.5 gpa and only took 2 ap classes;AP Lit and AP Bio and had an 1830 on her SAT but was waitlisted and did not stay on the interest because she had no interest in going there,my parents forced her to apply.Your daughter has higher SATs and took more AP classes so she definitely has a chance!
@saskatchewan Wow - great information!! I’m meeting with her guidance counselor and coach this week with a list of schools and will ask about her chances of getting “recruited”, even if it’s for fencing schools that are not as competitive as some of the D1’s out there. Thank you for the vote of confidence. My daughter may not have the best GPA but we know she will do well if given the chance.
@Middleman68 - Thank you for the vote of confidence as well. So glad to hear that your S is doing well at Villanova and that you are happy with what they offered financially and find them to be responsive. She is definitely going to apply - even if she doesn’t get in - she needs to try. We just have to go in with everything else she has to offer knowing it’s a reach and hope for the best. I’m honored that you came out of lurking to help/respond!
@kollegeguy - another college to add to my list. Pittsburgh is a bit far but merit will help! I don’t think my daughter can get into the elite schools you mentioned with her GPA. $60K is a lot of money for us but I’d feel better spending $60K on a college with a recognized name than one that doesn’t. That being said, if we can get some $ from some lesser known colleges, we will gladly consider. If not, then our preference is to a) spend money on a recognized school b) if she doesn’t get in to Nova have her go to a state or c) the third option is to go to a less recognized college that will give her enough merit so that it will be close to state tuition.
@213320q Thank you. Your sisters GPA is higher but good to know there is a chance. That’s all I can hope for.
@jyyanks I hear you. Everyone’s situation is different thus making these decisions difficult and not cut and dry. There are SO many individual factors to consider that you are the only one in the end that can decide what’s best for your daughter. For us, S was not getting into any of the schools I mentioned above, but a Nova or BU were within reach (but not a guarantee). We did not even let him apply to these schools because to us, at full pay, they were not worth it. I def would have paid for the tippy top of schools if they had been within reach, because I feel that if your chiild has that level of ability to get into an MIT for example, and you can afford it, you have to do it. We decided to use the $120k difference for graduate school or money for a home or business seed money. Doors are already open to him based on our network and based on what he wants to do. For others without extensive network to tap, the name may matter more and thus be worth it to them. Or they have plans of going to a top medical or law school or working for Goldman Sachs or a top hedge fund. Again, none of those appeal to our son, but may for your daughter. I will say, both times we visited Duq there were job fairs on campus that day (coincidentally) and there were a lot of F500’s recruiting. When I spoke to a few recruiters they basically said they recruit at solid schools in cities simply because they can hit several schools quickly and without difficult travel. In Pittsburgh they can get to Duq, Pitt and Carnegie and stay in same hotel and not have to drive to the middle of nowhere. I saw more companies recruiting there than I did at some large state schools ( located in rural areas)… Duq is right in downtown Pittsburgh, but campus is isolated inside the city and feels more suburban with nice landscaping, trees, etc. Internships are widely available and within walking distance. And airfare is cheap back to NY where we live, $220 RT. Visit and you will likely be pleasantly surprised. Again, I agree Nova is a better school (by reputation) more recognized, etc, but based on all the unique factors for your D and your family situation, is it $120k better? Only you can answer… For some the answer is yes, for some no, and either decision is right because its your decision and really none of anybody else’s business. FWIW, in my experience, outside a few select things like IB, medicine and law, etc., your UG name really won’t matter after a few years of working. I work with many multi-millionaires in the tech sector, and know a few very successful business owners, and the names of their alma maters would not impress. If you met them, you would be. The cream always rises to the top as they say.
@kollegeguy I really do appreciate your insight. Thank you for your help. This is our first go around and unfortunately D’s school has not been helpful and I’m coming in here clueless.
Here’s where I think I’m confused.
When I look at Villanova - I see tuition at approx $47K and R&B at about $6K plus book etc. We expect zero financial aid so we’re planning to pay about $60K out of pocket no matter what. When I look at other schools such as St. Joe’s in Philly - tuition is $42K with R&B about $5K etc so it’s exactly the same. I guess I don’t understand how I’m saving money on Villanova when every other school, with the exception of state schools, are almost the same price.
Again, I expect no financial aid and with her grades, I don’t think she will be getting a scholarship so I’m curious where the $120K savings comes from? Honestly, we figured that no matter what school she goes to, we have to pay $60K unless she goes to a state which is why we were pushing for a more well known university. I know we won’t get any financial aid and when I look at D’s stats and what everyone else on this site seems to have on the “chance me” threads, I don’t see how she would get a merit scholarship anywhere.