UPDATE (sorry for the delay):
He and his dad went to see BC and BU this summer. We couldn’t get tours at Tufts and have dropped it from our list of schools to see. In terms of schools to see, I’m trying to show him a diverse range of smaller/larger, urban/suburban/exurban, etc. BC was his dad’s idea and though he liked both BU and BC’s campuses, he doesn’t feel that they are right for him. I was pretty sure that BC was not for him for the religious/size/urban.
We’re going to Cornell Homecoming next weekend and though there aren’t tours, I want both of my kids (I have a sophomore too) to see the school not during reunion, but during the school year. I also want to go for myself (I haven’t been to Homecoming in 20 years) and for them to see what a big school/student-led/school-spirit celebration is like. And to go to a football game other than UConn (where the stadium is far from campus). Even though they are playing VMI, and it would be fun to see one of our big rival schools like Harvard or Princeton, I’m excited.
He also wants to see Syracuse, so we’re spending Fri/Sat at Cornell, then heading to Syracuse on Sunday (no tours unfortunately but we’ll self-tour), and then home.
At our suggestion, he has looked at UVM online and wants to see it in person. He really likes what he’s seen - the community (very liberal, environmentally conscious), the school (lots of opportunities, interesting cross-disciplinary offerings, large, liberal arts), and the area (close to skiing). We’ll probably go in early November as it’s pretty far - and take the whole family. I don’t know if we’ll be able to see UNH though it’s on the list.
He’s going to go with his dad to UConn for the day and do the tour, though it’s not on his list. Given his legacy connections (also we were both faculty at UConn - his dad still is), he may apply as safety though I know from experience that it isn’t a safety school. I mean safety as in he has a pretty good shot and if he doesn’t get in elsewhere, he could go, have a good year, and transfer if he wants to. We hope to fit in a day trip to UMass.
Georgetown is off the list - far above his stats/application as many of you noted and he’s not that interested. We don’t have time to visit other schools, and I agree, Colgate is a little small. It’s not off the list, officially, but I doubt it will make the application list.
We’re planning a familyColumbus Day weekend trip to DC - the kids have never been, we have family in Annapolis to stay with and visit, and while there we plan to see American, GW, and U MD College Park. I don’t think we’ll have time to see U Delaware but when we’re down there we’ll talk to our family there - they’ll know the school better than we do. One of his uncles went to U MD for journalism which is why it’s on our list, plus it meets a lot of the boxes.
What we visit (and have time to see) doesn’t necessarily match what he’ll apply to, but here’s where we are at this point in time:
REACH: Cornell Arts & Sciences, BU (unsure)
POSSIBLE/possibly reach: U of MD, American, GW, UVM, UNH
SAFETY/backup: UMass Amherst, ?? (maybe UConn just because of legacy & in-state, tho see comment above and he doesn’t want to go here)
Thank you for the other suggestions. Here’s his interest:
-
Medium-to-large school (non-urban except DC) in New England (not CT or RI) - NH, VT, ME, MA - NYS (not Long Island), possibly PA but that’d be a hard sell for him politically, DC, northern VA, MD, DE, Washington DC. Not a “weekday” school - UConn is a lot like this, where most students go home/leave campus for the weekend.
-
Liberal arts majoring in Government or Poli Sci with no active religious affiliation. While he’s still thinking about ROTC, after researching it, nearly every school we’ve looked at has either an on-campus ROTC program or nearby affiliated program.
-
A liberal leaning (or feeling/flavor/tilt) on campus and in town (“town-gown” relations), and in the overall region. This is one of the reasons why he is not okay with PA; he has an aunt who lives near Harrisburg, he doesn’t like the area and especially the largely conservative atmosphere. It’s worth noting that our rural town has a similar political bent, though we tend to say that a conservative in New England is a liberal elsewhere. It’s also another reason why he’s keen on UVM (and we are too).
He’s follows politics and enjoys the debate (hence Poli Sci) but more than that, he wants to be in an area that is environmentally conscious, forward-thinking, supportive of others regardless of faith, gender identity, race, ethnicity. When I went to college, I wanted to be the next Alex P. Keaton, get my MBA and my BMW :-). Instead, he wants the opportunity to learn more about other people from other experiences and other regions and break out of the confining role he’s had living his whole life in a rural largely conservative town and going to Catholic schools. For him, the community and the region matter far more than they did for me. Even if I don’t understand it entirely, I respect it, because it’s his decision. While I want him to be challenged, I also want him to be comfortable where he’s living and studying.
He does not want to even look at, nor consider, any school outside of the northeast. I’ve pointed out great schools in Chicago! - nope. And given the import of regional culture on his decision, he has absolutely ruled out anything south of the Mason-Dixon Line. I could see him consider a school in northern VA near DC (though I can’t think of what’s there in the size/style he likes). I proposed UVA - great school, gorgeous campus, etc. etc.! He asked me where it is, and when I mentioned Charlottesville, he said “no.” Unfair, sure, but he is 17.
I respect that. I visited Duke which was on my list - beautiful campus, great rep, incredible school. But once I saw the chapel in the center of campus, I asked about religion, and though the religion requirement then was to take 1 class even in comparative religion or whatever - it was a hard “no” for me. I now know that that instinct, however petty it might have seemed at the time to my mom (who didn’t go to college), was the inkling of much more. Comparing schools comes down to more than just facts. There is an X factor, and everyone has their own different gut feel as to what that is. It’s hard to get that sense from online campus tours. I felt the same way about schools that only had single-sex dorms (I went to an all-girls prep school), or curfews, or other restrictions that didn’t treat students as quasi-adults.
At this point, he doesn’t want to apply ED anywhere because he wants options. I don’t know if that will continue to be the case. That fantastic college counselor and her team that I mentioned in my OP have left his school. We have no idea who is on the college counseling team now. Welcome to Catholic education. Glad my younger son chose to attend a nearby public high school that has many more opportunities than my older son has had - that said, he picked it, he wanted to go, he likes it (mostly), and he declined to transfer though he talks about what-ifs sometimes.
Last update: his Senior Year schedule:
AP US Gov
AP Comp Gov
Creative Writing & Poetry (full year class - only option because he didn’t want to take AP English Lit & Comp)
Astronomy (1/2 year), and Oceanography & Ecology (1/2 year)
Calculus (not AP - he doesn’t have the math strength for AP though it is offered)
Ethics (1/2 year) and Ecumenical Issues (1/2 year) (Religion, required)
Though he could have taken AP Chem (they alternate AP Bio and Chem each year), he did well in chem but not great, and not up to the rigor of AP. Had AP Bio been offered this year, he’d have taken it, but instead took Physics, which isn’t offered this year.
Last bit of contention. DH went to one of UConn’s regional campuses (then we called it The Branch) and lived at home his first two years before going to Storrs, taking a term off to get his head together, and then finishing strong. His parents were not involved in his college application process, he knew they were struggling financially, and he didn’t want to burden them with higher tuition - even though he got accepted to Villanova which was his dream school. He went to Catholic school until 10th grade, and partied his way through high school.
I went to public school until my parents made me go to a well-known all-girls’ boarding school (as a day student). I loved the teachers, didn’t fit in at all, and disliked the school tremendously. Hazing didn’t help. We started visiting colleges my sophomore year, and my mom was very involved (dads were different then - my dad would leave the Cornell Alumni magazine on my bed but that’s it). I hit all of the checkboxes - top of my class, APs especially STEM where possible, editor, varsity, volunteer, community involvement, clubs, independent studies, 670/740 SATs. I was a nerd by all accounts, and a female nerd in the late 80’s was more unusual.
Our son is quiet like his dad, but passionate and opinionated like me. He and I debate global policy, socio-economic inequalities, and ethics (and movies and TV shows). He talks about sports and fishing and hiking with his dad (who has his PhD and is incredibly smart and hard working just more private and self-sufficient than I am). I mention this because while we both want DS to go to a school that he likes and is comfortable, I want him to be challenged and have a wealth of academic opportunities (he rises to the challenge every time). DH wants him to be comfortable and in the middle - not too hard, not too easy. I think college is the best time to show your stuff, but I don’t want him to go someplace he won’t succeed. I think he can handle Cornell though it would be a lot of work. In terms of fit, I haven’t seen Maryland yet, but I think UVM and possibly U of MD are. Maybe GW or American. There is a lot to say about the doors that Cornell opened for me, and the incredible campus and surrounding community. Still, GPA matters more now than it used to, and he’d have a much higher GPA at other schools.
Though we are financially comfortable (and thus are not applying for any aid or loans), we live a quiet country life. His essay is going to be about living in a rural town while going to school in wealthy suburbs, and what he’s learned from that experience.
Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions - I will try to pop back here more often now that the application season is upon us.
my D22 hoping for improvement. (Scheduled for ACT Sept. 11 - she’d love to skip.)