@me29034 , the number of APs might matter re: consideration for merit scholarships (say, if student has a higher test score and lower GPA, or vice versa…); because the APs may indicate a willingness to take on more rigor and challenge; and the willingness to accept a C or B instead of an easy A…
I think that’s what ECs often indicate as well… Neither ECs or AP classes are required for graduation, or even getting into state uni’s, but it speaks to a student choosing to go the extra mile.
@MomStudent2017 , I think that has been my D16’s requirement as well (she never officially said this to me out loud, lol, but I suspect it’s why she did not like so many LACs…)
If Ball State in Indiana is not too far, they also have a marching band and there is no audition, except for percussion.
Also SIU-Carbondale has one, and I believe OOS students with a 3.0 can get in-state tuition. (but that may be just for Midwest Exchange students, so double-check that on their website.)
We also looked at UW-Eau Claire.
My D was admitted to Ohio U, as well. She says she prefers Ball State’s band, overall, as they do more “traditional” and formal marching, but that’s just her preference.
Ummm…what is a directional college? Thanks.
I wanted to let everyone know I appreciate your comments to posts #244 & 253 re: Sr Yr. courses & MB colleges. S’17 is my only child & it’s been beneficial to receive insight from those of you who have recently been thru the process.
We live in VA, so thanks to those of you who commented on the OOS universities I mentioned. Reps from OH U are visiting the area next month, so he’ll have an opportunity to speak to them & there is a college fair @ the end of this month, so hopefully other universities he’s interested in will be in attendance.
The public non flagships - often have a “direction” in their name “Eastern State University”, “Central State University”. They can be called other things: PASSHE in Pennsylvania (oddly named - there’s a “California” and an “Indiana”, alongside those named after a city, like Slippery Rock or West Chester); Radford, CNU, Longwood, UMW in Virginia (named after famous Virginians); St Cloud State, Mankato State in Minnesota (named after the city they’re in) 
Thanks @MYOS1634! I guess that’s what my daughter is planning to attend. I didn’t know they were considered a “thing” other than NOT the other university and somehow considered subpar because of it although I have no idea why…
I had no idea that was the origin of the term “directional.” Learning so much here!
@porcupine98 I suspect it’s a newer term. I had never heard it until a couple of years ago when S17 was referring to where one of his friends was going to go. “Oh one of the directions but I can’t remember which one” he said. I was like…huh? Makes sense but growing up we did not call them that, it was just Western, Central and Eastern.
@labegg back in the day at the UW (WA that is lol) we had the same option, logic for the math credit for a liberal arts major. I stopped taking math after my sophomore year in HS, or basically once I had enough to know I’d get into the UW. I’ll never forget my math teacher that year, who I actually loved, for Algebra 3 and Trig. He told me I would HAVE to take it in college and tried so so hard to get me to stick with it.
I always wanted to go back and show him my diploma. The funniest thing is logic was one of my absolute favorite classes of my entire college experience, albeit one of the hardest. That said, I’ve told all my kids it is the one thing I do regret, that I didn’t stick with it in HS and that is the one thing that bit the oldest in college, having to take extra credits for not going far enough in HS…which adds $$ and time to the degree.
Wow, I had no idea about directional colleges. FYI, the PASSHE in Pennsylvania are all named after towns. There is a California, PA and an Indiana, PA.
In Maryland, many of the non-flagship in-state public colleges are also named after the towns or counties in which they are located. They are still part of the University of Maryland System, but are different from the 4 schools that have University of Maryland as the official name.
@lifegarding it’s the same with the University of North Carolina system - 17 campuses in all, but only 6 have the “UNC” prefix.
It’s funny, I often forget that the flagship has its own smaller campuses, all named after the towns they are in but with the UW and WSU prefixes. Those didn’t exist back in my day lol. I would say though that the top directional is viewed higher than any of those and in many areas on-par with WSU.
@vamominvabeach honestly, hearing all this great stuff about CNU makes me really wish I had applied there - @MYOS1634 recommended it to me but I had decided against it because it had D3 athletics (and I don’t even play sports smh). At the very least, it would have been a better LBad Cup Final than the oversaturated one we saw last April. 