College Searching

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, everyone! This is my first post, so bear with me! I have used CC for a while now with college researching, but finally decided to create an account.</p>

<p>It seems like the more I stress over choosing the right college, the worse off I am. I have two big problems with my college decision- 1) college type and 2) location.</p>

<p>1) I originally attended a large, prestigious public high school (consistently ranked highly with Blue Ribbon awards, etc). There, I completed the MYP certificate program and began the IB Diploma Program. However, I had never "fit in", because I come from a middle class, hard working family and I do not fall under the "stuck up, snobby, holier than thou" category. I was afforded the opportunity to attend a much smaller (~500 students compared to ~1,600), private, Catholic high school. My experience at the Catholic high school has been wonderful- I have not been bullied, I am flourishing academically (although I've always worked hard in my studies), and am making many friends that do not make fun of me. So, I was looking for a small, Catholic college in my area to continue the environment.</p>

<p>2) I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Up until June of 2012, I really had not been concerned with the location of my college. When my grandfather passed away, I realized that I "am part of a family" and I feel like I would be better off closer to my family (grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc).</p>

<p>That being said, the only small Catholic colleges in my area that fit my needs are Duquesne University and Saint Vincent College, both of which I have been accepted at with substantial scholarships. I have also applied to the University of Notre Dame and Villanova University. The latter two are my favorites, but they are both approx. 4-5 hours from my house... Also, I have been accepted to the University of Pittsburgh, which is seemingly "better" academically than Duquesne and Saint Vincent.</p>

<p>I am stuck, any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much for reading my novel of a post! :)</p>

2

<p>Why not wait until you see what happens with Notre Dame and Villanova, since they are your favorites? In the meantime, have a talk with your folks about what they can afford. For some families, that pretty much answers the question about where to go.</p>

<p>It could also depend to some extent on what you plan to study and what your professional goals are. Do Duquesne and St. Vincents have sufficient depth and breadth in the area(s) you plan to study? Can they prepare you for the career(s) you think you might be interested in?</p>

<p>Finally, 4-5 hours isn’t that far depending on the transportation options. Is there public transportation available? Do a lot of people who live in your area attend these schools so you could share rides? You won’t be coming home all that often, especially after your freshman year- but it’s close enough that you could if you really wanted to.</p>

3

<p>Did you use sites like this to look for others? [CCUs</a> - Eastern U.S. - Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.accunet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3792]CCUs”>http://www.accunet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3792)
Here’s a list of of ones in the “mid-east” area -
<a href=“http://www.accunet.org/i4a/member_directory/feResultsListing.cfm?directory_id=18[/url]”>http://www.accunet.org/i4a/member_directory/feResultsListing.cfm?directory_id=18&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Thanks, BeanTownGirl- I’ve used that site before! I think I am going to follow M’s Mom’s advice, as I am retaking my SAT to (hopefully) improve by 100+ points for Villanova and Notre Dame. I got decent scores (1250 critical reading and math), but I spoke with the admissions counselors and they advised me to retake, as both ND and VU superscore.</p>

5

<p>A lot depends on just exactly how close you are to the train station in Pittsburgh, but if it isn’t too difficult to get there, you have nice public transportation options.</p>

<p>Amtrak has daily service between South Bend, IN and Pittsburgh on the Capitol Limited. The times are a bit challenging, but it is do-able. <a href=“http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/289/52/Capitol-Limited-Schedule-050712,0.pdf[/url]”>http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/289/52/Capitol-Limited-Schedule-050712,0.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Amtrak’s daily service between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is on the Pennsylvanian.
<a href=“http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/670/94/Pennsylvanian-Schedule-050712,0.pdf[/url]”>http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/670/94/Pennsylvanian-Schedule-050712,0.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Actually, you might want to take the local train between Villanova and Paoli, and then catch Amtrak at Paoli. That might be quicker. You also can take Megabus between Pittsburgh (pick up location near the Amtrak station) and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia where you would get the local train to Villanova. Amtrak has a student discount card for frequent travellers, but even with that I expect the bus would be cheaper.
[Train</a> & Bus Tickets - National Railroad - USA & Canada | Amtrak](<a href=“http://www.amtrak.com/home]Train”>http://www.amtrak.com/home)
[megabus.com</a> | Now serving over 20 million bus customers in North America](<a href=“http://us.megabus.com/Default.aspx]megabus.com”>http://us.megabus.com/Default.aspx)
[SEPTA</a> | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority](<a href=“http://airs1.septa.org/bin/query.exe/en?]SEPTA”>http://airs1.septa.org/bin/query.exe/en?)</p>

6

<p>As a backup plan, consider non-Catholic colleges as well. College life is very different than high school, so you are very unlikely to have problems with kids picking on you. It is mostly a “live and let live” approach in college :slight_smile:
So take a closer look at your area colleges. Read descriptions of the student body in the Fiske Guide and Princeton Review guides, talk to students when you visit the campus.</p>

<p>While there is nothing wrong with focusing on the Catholic schools, it might be good to have more options you are comfortable with.</p>

<p>Absolutely work on bringing up your test scores! High GPA and test scores are the keys to having lots of acceptances and potentially merit scholarships for schools that have them.</p>

7

<p>Thanks, BeanTownGirl! I actually applied to a lot of non-Catholic colleges. My list of other colleges that I’ve applied to:
Allegheny College (accepted with scholarship)
Boston University
George Washington University
John Carroll University (accepted with scholarship, invited to apply to Honors program- which I did already)
New York University
Washington and Jefferson College (accepted with scholarship)</p>

<p>I would be perfectly content at any of the aforementioned schools, I just want to make the right decision, so that I don’t have to transfer! As for majors, I am interested in Psychology, Political Science (maybe business, law school), and Computer Science. Although I heard job opportunities aren’t easy to come by with just a bachelors in Psych.</p>

<p>I think I am going to wait until I hear back from all of my schools (by late March), then make final decisions then.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, everyone! I will keep you updated :)</p>

8

<p>Here’s a good article on choosing - [Advice</a> to Seniors on Getting Decisions Right the First Time - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Advice to Seniors on Getting Decisions Right the First Time - The New York Times”>Advice to Seniors on Getting Decisions Right the First Time - The New York Times)</p>