College for B student with special(?) circumstances

College Search & Selection
1

<p>This is for my cousin. Please help! Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>He's in 11th grade, and when his mother asked him if he wanted her help looking for colleges, he said he'd rather have mine, since I'm a senior doing applications, but I pretty much only know elites and state flagships. Elites are a no-go for him, and many flagships are reaches. Also, he wants to stay in an area I'm not super familiar with.</p>

<p>I have no idea if this is actually special, but he was adopted pretty late (7, I think) and before entering the foster system lived a pretty rough life, going without food frequently, helping to take care of his younger deaf, developmentally delayed sister with whom his biomom never bonded.</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]PSAT: CR: 57 M: 49 W:48
[</em>]GPA: B+
[<em>]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): No APs[/ul]
Subjective[ul]
[</em>]Essays: I've read two of his. Simplistic but sympathetic
[<em>]Recs: His math and science teachers really like him, he's won some in-school certificates in those classes, so they'd probably be good.
[</em>]Summer Activities: Wrestling camps, volunteering with animals
[<em>]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): URM (black)[/ul]
Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Maryland
[li]High School Type: Public, "Silver Medal"[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>He's looking for schools in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina. I suppose nearby areas would also be okay, but he's extraordinarily picky (sigh).
He's planning on being a veterinarian, so we looked at schools with pre-vet programs, but a zoology or even biology major would be fine, probably.</p>

<p>His current list:</p>

<p>UMD College Park (his #1 choice, dream school)
Delaware State
Syracuse (this would be reach, I'd think)
Towson
UFlorida
Auburn
UNC Charlotte</p>

<p>(As you can probably guess from his list, he's planning on improving from the PSAT to the SAT. I'll probably be recruited to help with that too. Sigh.)</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>It’s hard for me to say which colleges for him to look at because I don’t know what type of school he is looking for, but I wish him luck. What a horrible past he seems to have had… he should have his guidance counselor mention it in her recommendation because it might help him in the admissions process if the admissions counselors know.</p>

<p>I guess he might as well look at the other FL publics, although I do think if he could raise his SAT scores and/or try the ACT, he could get into UMD CP.</p>

3

<p>An important question to find out the answer to is how much his parents feel they can pay each year for his education. Pin them down or else you may steer him to colleges they can’t afford. Most colleges aren’t able to meet the full documented need of students who need aid, and even when they do, there may be less aid than the parents feel they need, and there also may be larger loans than they feel they can take out.</p>

<p>Your cousin may want to be a vet, but his math scores are very low for someone who’d have to do well in such subjects. Anyway, most students change majors at least twice while they’re in college.</p>

<p>It probably would be most affordable and reasonable for him at less competitive in-state schools. Public schools base admissions mainly on stats and state of residence, with in state students having easier admission. For them, his unfortunate childhood probably won’t be a factor in whether he is admitted.</p>

<p>His scores are average, and there are many colleges that would accept him.</p>

4

<p>He’s in-state for Maryland, so be aware that unless his family can pay for all of his college costs, the Out of State publics won’t work. OOS publics don’t give aid to OOS kids (UVa is an exception).</p>

<p>So, as NSM says, find out NOW how much his family will pay each year for his education. She is right; if you don’t have that info, you may be creating a list that won’t work at all. </p>

<p>So, once you have that info, you’ll be able to proceed. :)</p>

5

<p>Goucher is an excellent school with a nurturing environment. They are generous with merit aid as well.</p>

6

<p>re: family finances: A colleague of mine who adopted a son from the foster system receives additional grants or financial assistance to send him to college. This is in VA’s foster care system, but there may be a similar provision within MD</p>

7

<p>The family is fine with paying with OOS tuition. His mother, in fact, is encouraging him to pursue OOS schools. His mother has also provided about half of the money for both me and my sister to go to college, so she’s got him covered.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>That was one reason why I thought it wasn’t necessary for him to go to do a pre-vet major. If he decides not to be a vet, having a degree in pre-veterinary medicine is pretty useless, but a degree in biology or zoology has utility.</p>

8

<p>Some of the public Ohio regional campuses would be good matches, but he would probably get a comparable education for lower cost in-state.</p>

9

<p>I was thinking Goucher as well- small & nurturing. They are about 70% female, so they may look kindly on a male. Same would be true of Hollins, Arcadia. He may want to consider the supportive environment of a smaller school.</p>

10

<p>What else does he want in a school? </p>

<p>Does he want small, large, quiet, rah rah big sports, college town, city, warm weather, cold/snowy weather?</p>

<p>I agree with pursuing a Bio degree with some kind of “pre-health” program that would give him flexibility. There really isn’t a “pre-vet” major. It usually involves choosing a major (often biology or zoology and then also taking recommended chem, bio, physics, and math classes).</p>

11

<p>Peruse sites like the students review.com, princetonreview.com web sites. Yahoo Answers also is a great resource.</p>

12

<p>You are so world-weary for one so young. It’s kind of adorable, to be honest.</p>

13

<p>In OP’s defense, he also has the responsibility of putting his own apps to college together and trying to keep up his GPA his senior year. Plus there’s that additional burden of being indebted to the kid’s mom. If he can’t complain to strangers, who’s he going to complain to?</p>

14

<p>What about St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Small. Far away from home, sorta. Small, attentive. Good in the sciences. He’d need to bring that SAT score up.</p>

15

<p>This thread is years old, guys! </p>

<p>But, two minor points of contention: 1) I’m no “he” and 2) I’m hardly “indebted” to my own aunt.</p>

16

<p>HAH! Where did your cousin end up going, OP?</p>

17

<p>CC really needs a mechanism to respond to old old posts without moving them back to the top of the pile. </p>