My high school d is a independent schooled 11th grader from OOS (not PA) who will be attending school on the east coast, due to the expense of colleges here and that none of the good ones nearby within her reach have her Major. (Graphic Design)…we had previously ruled out Temple due to the surrounding area (I grew up in Philly/South Jersey, have visited the campus, and been to the area quite a few times, my uncle has a house there, etc.)
But we just are hesitant to totally rule it out. I am thinking with proper use of all of the advice, staying on campus and using the shuttle when going off campus, it is as reasonable a situation as any. I would not want my d to use the subway but would have her take a cab when she wants to go to Center City.
Here are her stats but it’s kind of a wild card due to portfolio…
1260 SAT 10th grade (should have a 1290 or higher this year)
3.89 GPA non weighted
Will graduated with a Middle States Accredited diploma even though we are on west coast
Will have one community college class junior year and 4 or 5 senior year
No Honors or AP
SOme leadership (student gov, runs a book club) but not a lot
Volunteering (library)
Has a steady summer job with excellent references that is actually a very good job with our City running the welcome desk and cashier at a large city pool…
Attending an Art program in a City from a reputable Art college which will also give her 3 college credits
Her art portfolio will not be amazing like- it’s not worthy of RISD or CalArts. We can’t afford for her to go there anyway but even if we could it’s just not at that level. She is very talented and has combined her talent with a LOT of hard work this past shcool year but due to a late decision to “go for arts” she did not focus on her art till 11th grade. And she has had no access to Art Class in schools, so we have had to get very creative and drive long distances to find art teachers. She is mostly self-taught which is great, and I hope she pluses that on her essays.
As you can see she is a bright, hard working well rounded student with real world skills. Her art portfolio will definitely have some great pieces showing composition, shading, all the basic elements, she can also now draw people who look exactly like the person and she’s added many details. She is working on her oil painting and over the summer she will have some serious graphic design pieces to add to her portfolio. So, I am more than confident they will take a second look but no one would look at her portfolio and say she’s the next rembrandt or anything. Her work tends to lack a bit of originality, which is common to all the portfolios we’ve seen for the bigger art schools such as CalArts and RISD. I think she’s definitely one that will always get a second look but not sure she will actually get in.
Also, do you think it’s realistic to send a student there with the hopes they’ll almost never leave campus unless in a cab bound for center city for a good reason?
Also from previous helpful threads, she will be applying to PennState Main, PennState Abington, and we tentatively added Temple to the list. She will also apply to Arcadia though it’s not really a fit due to cost. Drexel is also not a fit due to cost, and this particular kid would be very stressed out by the quarter system, so we took it off the list.
Hi @CalmingTea. I went to Temple back in the stone ages (mid-late 80s for undergrad and mid-late 90s for grad), so take this for what it is worth. I lived in West Philly during undergrad, and I took the subway back and forth to Temple with no issues on subway or on or near campus. One of my best friends lived on campus and nothing ever happened to him there. Both of us were victims of crimes when we lived in other areas of the city (not North Philly), but it was a different. time and Philly in general is much safer. What I can tell you is EVERYONE I know who goes to Temple (myself included) or has a kid at Temple seems to love Temple: my neighbors, my suburban friends, my daughter’s friends, and a Canadian nephew of a neighbor. Two kids on my block started there this year and are never home because they are so happy there (we live a very short train ride away). One of them was accepted at colleges all over the Northeast, but chose Temple, I believe for graphic design. His mother told me back in the summer that her son was late to becoming an artist and she was pleasantly surprised he was accepted at Tyler (Temple’s art school). as it has a very good reputation.Anyway, I think your daughter’s SATs are around Temple’s average and her GPA is great. Also, I live near Jefferson East Falls (beautiful campus, expensive school), and I know it is good for some types of design. I would choose Tyler, though, as it is much less expensive and there are more options if she ends up wanting to change her major. As an aside, someone I know has a daughter who just got into Pratt in Brooklyn for art and received quite a bit of academic merit and probably other aid. Something to consider if she likes NY.
Thanks so much momandslp! This is why it is so hard to decide about it. I really like the area around Jefferson East Falls, it’s walkable and safe, and even if they wanted to venture up into the outskirts of Germantown I think it’s relatively safe and comfortable, in a group … ?
Good point about Temple having more possibilities if she wanted to change her major. And yes, it’s a very affordable school, even for Out of State people. I will have to look at the cost difference. Since Jefferson is private, we dont’ pay more for OOS, but we would for Temple.
I have an aunt that went to Temple back in the 60s and several other extended family members. My uncle owns a house in the area and he renovated and fixed it all up and rents it to graduate students. He’s convinced there is going to be continued improvement in the neighborhood. And I read that Temple is making increased efforts to work WITH the neighbors and not against them, and even considering an Early College program for higher achieving high school students from the area. This would help relations a lot, I believe. But I don’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of that tricky situation Temple and the Cecil neighborhood is in.
Temple would still be a slight reach for her, I believe due to not having a lot of AP or Honors, and also I’m really not sure about her portfolio and how tough they are on their review, or what they are even looking for. Not being able to attend Portfolio days hurts us there. But it helps in that she will not be dissuaded by those who have had years to prepare where she only had one year SO that’s a good thing
ah, ok it’s a 10K difference for out of state people. Now we know in state, Temple is a huge savings. But 10k represents like $800 per month if you’re paying out of pocket, so that is a lot. If that’ the case PSU Abington might be a better choice than Jefferson East Falls. And PSU Abington comes it at 6K less than Temple, and a whopping 16K less than Jefferson. One really has to wonder if Jefferson East Falls really brings in that much of a better education, internships and opportunities to be worth 16kx4 = 64K over the four years. I did read that Jefferson EF has really strong connections with some pretty huge corporations, but how many of the students actually get those internships? And how many are at smaller companies and searching on their own for internships just like they would have been at PSU Abington? This is worth more research for me…
Temple is just stuck in the middle in my brain. I just can’t really see my d there. The hugeness of it is also an issue, as she wanted a smaller school, and the reason she is ok with PennState UP is because they have the LEAP program, a 6 week summer program to acclimate students to the large environment.
@CalmingTea. You might want to look into the commuter population at Penn State Abington. A student I know lived there and her roommate went home every weekend. Ultimately I don’t think your daughter can really decide about these schools without visiting. She could apply to all 3/4 and then visit when she gets in and also sees the financial package - a pretty common approach. I personally transferred to Temple from Penn State main campus after two years (I was too much of a city girl). That said, I know many kids of all types who are very happy there. PSU is huge, but the LEAP program is great and it does help with the transition.
I cannot speak to the art question, since that is not my area, but I think her movement may not be as restricted as you think. Do you live in a rural/suburban area now? If so, it may take her a while to get comfortable, but then would likely be fine taking the subway. We took the subway there when we visited, and the stop is right there on campus, so not much walking around the neighborhood needed. I would be perfectly fine with my kids taking it alone, especially during the day, but they grew up in an urban area, so feel more comfortable with it.
UNY Mom- we technically live in a city but it feels pretty suburban. We do have issues with homeless drug addicts as well as some sketch situations but there are not much race issues here, especially in our neighborhood, and not really a lot of violence, and almost no gun issues. A lot of petty theft and the gangs are pretty low key - you don’t really see their activity. My d has never used a subway or train or bus alone- they are very empty here and not very useful. No subway exists.
That is good to know about the subway being close to campus! And, would you say there are lots of people on it or would someone be quite alone and feel vulnerable? Are there subway police patrolling like in NYC?
Here, if you get on the light rail at our stop there is no one on it and you can easily be in a car alone with one other person, who is usually a drug addict homeless. further up as the stops go, there are more people but generally speaking unless it’s rush hour they’re pretty empty.
I have only taken the subway out to campus on weekends, so they were not terribly crowded, but there weren’t lots of sketchy people hanging out there either. I will be there again next month and will take better note of things.
There is also a commuter train that stops right on campus. It goes downtown and to the Amtrak Station. It is more expensive than the subway and doesn’t come as often, so I haven’t tried it, but it is for commuters, so would likely avoid many of the things you are worried about with the subway. If she takes it TO Temple, it should be no problem at all. I have been in the train and downtown station, and they are fine and well-patrolled. I don’t know what the station and platform is like at the Temple Station, so not sure what waiting for the train would be like.
@CalmingTea - For what it is worth, we have 4 children, currently each on a city college campus. None (knock on wood) has been the victim of a crime, however, we are not naive. We understood and continue to understand that life on a college campus, ANY college campus, in a substantial city, is always vulnerable to crime. We and our children were prepared to assume such risks at great schools in major metro areas, e.g., NYC, Chicago and Boston. The balance tipped toward caution when we perceived the area as more risky and the particular school perhaps less worth the risk, e.g., Baltimore around MICA and Newark around NJIT – A personal evaluation. A school such as Temple, Tyler in particular, presents some substantial value, particularly if you are in-State. I attended college outside of Philly and back then one would NEVER venture into the areas around Temple. When we visited to interview at Tyler, however, I was genuinely thrilled to see the gentrification and development that has occurred in the area over the past several decades. There is no question that the “safe zone” has expanded. The outlying areas remain troubling, but this must be a function of vigilance, common sense, and safe practice. Most dedicated art schools are, by necessity, in metro areas. Access to museums, art shows, and to cultural events generally are so important to a fine arts education. Assess wisely, within a reasonable comfort zone, and give your child rules of safe conduct to live by. Good luck!
I think she’s definitely one that will always get a second look but not sure she will actually get in.
SO that’s a good thing