College suggestions please: female, bio major, 3.7UW/4.5W, California [resident] & East Coast

College Search & Selection
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I’m looking for college recommendations for my rising senior daughter. She is interested in biology or biology-related majors with the intent to pursue med school (I know, I know). We live in Southern California but she would like to go to the East Coast. Because of some health issues, I am very concerned about the idea but am willing to explore options. As her parents, we want to make sure her list includes some schools close to home (meaning, Southern California broadly).

College preferences:
A small to medium school where she doesn’t get lost in the shuffle (she’s worried about something too small after attending a large public). She has anxiety and ADHD and a high-stress/competitive culture would be a bad fit. She prefers suburban (no rural and isn’t tempted by true urban campuses). Athletics and rah-rah culture is somewhere between “meh” and a turn-off. She’s open and interested in women’s colleges. Financially, it’s going to be a stretch with her older sibling starting college in a few months but we will try to cover the equivalent of in-state tuition/room and board (and many of the private schools fall in that price point on their NPCs). LGBTQ+ friendly and daughter and I are pretty insistent on states where her reproductive health rights are secure. Opportunities for non-theater majors to participate in productions would be great.

In addition to college suggestions, I guess I’m looking for advice on how to convince a teen to genuinely consider local options and that parents might have a broader view of the situation. I think she wants to do something different than her older sibling and the East Coast sounds “cool”. She’s not thinking about how she would handle a medical/mental health crisis with family 3,000 miles away.

After doing the college app process this past year, my perfect scenario would be to have her apply to one school early decision, get in, and be done :laughing:.

Academic GPA: 3.71 UW, 4.5 W (mostly B’s in math and a poorly chosen asynchronous DE class, I think everything else is A’s)

COURSEWORK
•courses completed: AP world (score: 5), APUSH, AP Lang, AP bio, DE macro-econ, H math analysis, H geometry, H Algebra II, H English 9 & 10, H 9th grade history
•senior year (assuming no scheduling conflicts): AP Lit, AP US gov, AP Comp gov, AP Physics, AP calc BC, honors anatomy
•3 years world language. School discontinued AP/4th year without warning and the closest community college that offers the appropriate level is 45+ minutes away (asynchronous is not an option–we went down that road multiple times and it’s a bad fit for her).
•4 years honors level performing arts courses

ECs/AWARDS
•ISEF finalist (twice), multiple additional science fair awards
•awards in social science competitions at district/county/regional level, competed at state level
•heavy involvement in performing arts including leadership and some awards
•formed club, president for past 2 years, 30+ members
•leadership in 2 additional clubs

No test scores yet. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s worth having her invest a ton of time into prep. She got a 28-29 on an ACT pretest at home with no prep but we haven’t been able to schedule a test due to scheduling conflicts.

Thank you for any advice. I know this is long.

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So pre-med is going to be a stresser - plain and simple.

Will she do better at a mid size school.

So there’s lots of schools in the mid-atlantic or a bit more south - you can have a Charleston (public - most kids aren’t stressed but mine is - but that may be kid specific). Her friend there got into Rice, Vandy, and Penn and had to drop Org Chemistry - so it’s going to be tough anywhere.

You’ll always hear about Elon (i say rural, others say I’m wrong). Schools like Dickinson, Gettysburg, and others - not sure if they’re rural or suburban but you can look. Tons of LACs.

Pitt is large - but it’s not Ohio State large. Same with Miami Ohio but it’s more rural than suburban. Perhaps U Delaware. These are not enormous.

SUNYs come in mid size - and you have schools like U Main, UVM, or UNH that aren’t huge.

I don’t think ED is a problem if you go to the right school - but if you’re thinking a Vanderbilt or Duke or Ivy type or even Tufts, etc. it’s not going to happen.

Maybe a Brandeis or a Clark, etc.

I do think pressure is - some kids feel, some don’t…and then obviously there are some schools that are hard core.

As for out west - if not a USD, Chapman, LMU type - how bout a U of Pacific or Oregon school like a Willamette or Lewis and Clark - so close enough but not that the student doesn’t feel they escaped.

Or a U Denver - so not close, but not horribly far.

In the end, mom/dad do get to have a say - it’s your $$ and you have the health concerns.

Really - just tons of schools that could work.

Any budget issues?

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I’ll have to do some serious research about east coast publics. I assume they have all the drawbacks of typical large publics plus the OOS tuition; when California has so many reasonable options, it’s hard to get excited about the idea.

I know she’s not competitive for ivy-level schools and those on the step below (I don’t see them as “below” ftr–referring to the Tufts, Vandy variety). I’m hoping to find somewhere that I can hype (that also has decent financial aid!). That seems to be tricky–a private college that admits strong (but not hooked or rockstar) students that also has a big enough endowment to throw money at middle class families.

I know the pre-med route will be stressful regardless but I imagine the culture at Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore is different than… somewhere else (please help me find this magical place :grin:). She will not thrive in a place that glorifies “the grind”. She loves science research and we’re trying to find a place with solid research funding/culture where undergrads aren’t pushed out by grad students. Thus far, every school we talk to says they’re “collaborative” but it’s hard to get a real read on the culture directly from those selling the product.

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SUNY Binghamton might be a slight reach, but given you are OOS they may give her merit. The area is suburban. The OOS cost before any merit is actually reasonable (relative to other OOS publics). Might be too big?

She can also look at SUNY New Paltz and Geneseo. They are smaller than Binghamton and a little less money. ** Geneseo is rural so would not meet her criteria, but I still think it’s worth investigating. New Paltz actually sounds like a fit, based on her criteria.

You can also look at URI and TCNJ.

The east coast is far. I would add some closer schools as well, especially given the health concerns.

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You may want to look into Wheaton, which offers a strong biology program and an appealing science building, and which appears in this site:

Although perhaps not suburban, Wheaton resides within reasonable proximity to Boston.

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I think you need to have an honest talk with your D about your concerns. Health issues are real and do not go away. IMO as parents who are footing the bill you have the ability/right to limit her distance from home. There will be plenty of excellent options in and close to CA.

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Just going to throw out Macalester - fits a lot of the person side plus great health care in the immediate area. Not East or West - also Carleton, but no merit $, so $$$. Easy airport access too. Theater opportunities too - our daughter sat in a theater class and ended up getting coffee after with kids from the class. She ended up ED’ing to her fav school - but this was a nice fit in so many ways for her.

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A mental health crisis from 3000 miles away is horrible (it’s horrible at any distance). My advice is to sit down with your daughter and create a list of schools that does not include the east coast.

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Thank you! Funny enough, we’re trying to plan a trip to check out colleges and we’re having the health discussion as we sit on the couch right now😁. Man, it’s tough having to gently tell your kid “I’m worried you might crash and burn 3,000 miles away from everyone you know and I’m terrified. Things may change dramatically in a year but that’s a big gamble” (I didn’t say that exactly but it’s what I’m thinking).

I have explained that travel expenses add a measurable amount to the college costs and we’re not the Gates family.

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East coast publics are generally more expensive but not all. The SUNYs are reasonable. U Maine. URI.

but again, while mom and dad have to learn to let go, it’s also your money and if one has health concerns for a child, you have to account.

You’ll find some OOS publics cheaper than UCs etc. Usually they’re in the south or Midwest but not always.

In California you also have WUE access for lower tuition at out of state schools.

The other thing is and I may be wrong in saying this but med school is not going to be TO. You’re going to need to test and test highly. So not sure if getting a free ride test wise now is a good thing.

I go back to budget. I can find you $25k or $85k.

Just saying a lot if merit isn’t enough.

Do you have a concrete figure in mind ?

And to your last point - yes I believe college will costs more than they publish it costs.

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Anecdote. My kid had no health issues. As parents we did set one criteria for college with our kids. They either had to be within a three hour drive from our house…or within an hour of a relative or close friend. They both found many many colleges that satisfied our one criteria…and theirs. I did t think our criteria was an unreasonable one.

One kid went to college all the way across the country. A close friend actually worked at the college, and we have a bunch of relatives nearby. Good thing. Kid had to have emergency surgery the week after MLK Day her senior year. The surgery was at 7 a.m. and there was no way I could get there in time…but one of the close relatives went and actually spent a week there. Thank goodness!

I do not think it’s unreasonable for parents to have a criteria they think is important for college locations.

Re: premed. Your daughter can take the required courses for medical school admissions at just about any four year college in the country…arts conservatories excluded.

Has she had the opportunity to shadow any doctors yet? Being a doctor certainly requires attention to detail, and some situations can certainly be anxiety provoking. Why does she want to be a doctor? And does she know all this will entail.

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I’m working through the NPCs on the schools that are currently on the list (Smith, Mount Holyoke, Scripps). The first year would only be $16k at Smiths (really?!?! Cool!) but would increase to $35k once my husband’s new salary is reflected in the calculation and my oldest graduates.
$30-35k/yr per kid is already going to be a stretch with 2 in college and I don’t think we can stretch much past that.

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For the 2024-2025 academic year, the FAFSA will no longer take multiple kids in college into consideration. No one knows how the Profile schools will handle this.

Just FYI.

And the NPCs are currently set for students starting college fall 2023…and that’s not your kid.

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I just mentioned Macalester to my D and told her it’s in Minnesota. Her response? That’s where they have casseroles, right? :joy: (Spoiler, she gets casseroles right here in California too).

We’ve talked about it before and it sounds interesting, particularly the Scottish elements. This kid asked for bagpipes for her birthday not long ago. Yes, her grandparents laughed hysterically when they informed me they fulfilled her wish. No, she doesn’t sound great yet but has started lessons.

She’s worried it might be a little small but not throwing it out.

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I asked Scripps about the multi-kid FAFSA change recently and got a very non-committal answer. I would be surprised if CSS schools completely abandon the sibling discount but we’re all wading into unfamiliar territory. Removing my oldest as a full-time student increased the cost as Smith by $7-8k. I played with a few scenarios to get a rough idea but understand the numbers are fuzzy, especially with the upcoming FAFSA changes.

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Thanks for the west coast options. I’ll add Chapman to our summer tour list. She seems iffy about religious schools/religion course requirements and, honestly, it’s probably not a good fit but I might be able to get her to do a tour of one of the Jesuit schools.

When I’ve mentioned Oregon and Washington, she seems very “meh”. My husband has a friend at Lewis and Clark and travels for work up that way occasionally so it may not be a bad idea.

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My cross country kid graduated from Santa Clara University. I can highly recommend it…but it’s pricey.

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Unfortunately for my kids, our family is centralized in one part of the country and many in states that are on the “no” list due to recent reproductive rights restrictions. I think your parameters were very reasonable (and your foresight paid off!).

Med school: we’ve tried to suss out the why. She loves biology, medical research, blood and guts, learning how the human body works and has since elementary school. I know the day to day of being a doctor isn’t glamorous in most cases and wonder if medical research would be a better fit (you don’t have to deal with those pesky humans when they don’t follow doctors’ instructions!). No shadowing yet but she’s applying to volunteer at a local hospital (life has been slow to return to normal post-Covid in California and many normal options have been limited until recently). She has multiple close family members with serious health conditions–including her–and I know that has shaped her lived experience. Like many kids who want to be doctors, she wants to find solutions for those problems mixed with the perceived cool or prestige factor (I suspect).

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Not sure how the financials would work out, but Connecticut College would fit the ADHD, East Coast, not getting lost in the shuffle, collaborative vs. competitive vibe you are looking for. We know kids that go there and they feel like they have a lot of access to their professors and advisors and good research opportunities. Along with majors, they have “pathways”. The public-health pathway would be a nice complement to being a bio major for someone interested in going to med school.

D3 sports and no greek system, so there’s not a huge athletic following of party culture, named the most LGBTQ+ friendly college in the (already liberal) state, they seem to have strong counseling services that students can easily access and a student run theartre club.

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I hope the discussion with your daughter is productive.

Attending school on the opposite coast, at the age of 18, with premed intentions and health problems, is tough. You did not mention having friends or relatives there.