College visit in Philly area, want to visit one more...

Parents Forum
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<p>We live in South Florida and are going to be in the Philly area in two weeks for a Bar Mitzvah. My son is a rising Junior and we thought we would visit a few colleges while we were in the area. This will be DS's first exposure to college visits (other than seeing his sister's schools). He is relatively uninterested in the process at this point but we are hoping that seeing some schools and listening to the tour/info sessions will motivate him to start thinking about what he wants/needs to be on his college list. We have Thursday afternoon and all day Friday to see schools so I am guessing we could fit in 3 schools. I am thinking we should visit UPenn (I went to grad school there) and Muhlenberg (my sister went to school there and LOVED it...it would be an out of state safety and possibly a good fit) and ...what else? Should we see Swathmore OR Haverford OR ???</p>

<p>I do not know what this coming school year will bring in terms of grades or test scores. He is very bright but has time management issues. He did not do well on the sophomore PSAT (but took it cold)and hasn't taken any tests that count yet. His just took the Math 2/SAT but the scores are not back, although he said it was easy. He is currently in the top 2% of his class (out of 825). His UW GPA is about 3.9. He has taken 2 AP's and 11 honors so far and next year he is taking 5 AP's/2 honors(The AP's he will take are Calculus, Physics B, Chem, Eng and Spanish). He is a member of NHS and Mu Alpha Theta and is on the math competition team. He has over 300 hours of community service. </p>

<p>His crowd is the academic one but he also loves sports and xbox live. We want him to be in a school with a Jewish presence (at least 10%, although we are not religious). He is a great kid. I would love to visit someplace where he would fit in well (other good kids). </p>

<p>What would be a good third school to visit (I don't think we could fit in any more than that)?</p>

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<p>How about Lehigh or possibly Lafayette? Also, there is Bucknell, although that may be too far away. Dickinson is also a possiblity. Lehigh and Lafayette are close to where Muhlenberg is located, but are somewhat more competitive.</p>

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<p>You can do a drive-by with Haverford and Villanova fairly easily if you’re out that way.</p>

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<p>Friend of mine’s D goes to Temple and loves it. Ursinus is nearby and it is a small LAC. Some other school in the area though not in Philly proper would be Rutgers at Camden, Widener, UDEl, Rowan, West Chester U. Philly has Drexels and a bunch of Catholic colleges like St Joseph’s, Villanova, LaSalle as well, if those interest you. Swarthmore and Havorford are two well known schools there. </p>

<p>My picks for him would either be Ursinus or Temple. Temple has a very nice Honors Program and Ursinus has really been recruiting kids from outside the area, and I know Jewish families who are very pleased with both schools. Being a LAC person, Ursinus would be my pick if you only had time for one, but Temple is in Philly proper, and is a state school with a lot to offer. It would round out what you are already visiting–a big state city school with a suburban private LAC type school and a private highly selective City school.</p>

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<p>We looked at Dickinson, Gettysburg and Bucknell. Lafayette, Lehigh and Villanova were on our list too, but our route and intinerary pretty much designated the three we ended up seeing. I believe Muhlenberg is also on my son’s list. He has crossed off Lafayette, Lehigh and Bucknell, and still wants to visit Muhlenberg, which has become a very hot school in this area, and Villanova, also very popular among kids here.</p>

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<p>In Philadelphia - Penn or Drexel (for certain programs, co-op).</p>

<p>Philadelphia suburbs - Swarthmore, Haverford, Ursinus</p>

<p>Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton (ABE)- Lehigh, Muhlenberg, Lafayette</p>

<p>If you’re up for a drive to Lancaster - Franklin and Marshall. </p>

<p>Further out- Bucknell, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Penn State-UP</p>

<p>Other states - Princeton (45 minutes away), U Del (45 minutes), Johns Hopkins (Baltimore - less than 2 hours), New York (NYU or Columbia) (less than 2 hours)</p>

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<p>Congratulations on your son’s accomplishments!
Muhlenberg is in Allentown. It is at least 50 miles from Philly, and you have to take the “Sure Kill” expressway if I am not mistaken, which has a constant traffic jam. I suppose you know this since you and your sister were in the area. Most people combine visits to Muhlenberg and Lehigh (in Bethlehem) because they are within proximity of each other. People have to rush out of one to see the other, but it is doable. However, they are really not near Philly.
If you want to stay in or near Philly, you are better off seeing Penn, and then pick Drexel (next door to Penn), Haverford (you can take the TRAIN!), or Swarthmore, depending on his interests. (You can probably rule out Villanova if you want a Jewish presence.)
Is he interested in engineering? If so, you can pick Drexel. Or, if he is more interested in a liberal arts/sciences education, you can pick Haverford or Swarthmore. If he is super intellectual, pick Swarthmore. If he is really into social justice and community service, pick Haverford.
Or, if he wants a real urban experience, you can see Temple.
In any case, two schools might just be enough for this introductory visit. You will want time with your relatives or friends too! And, it is definitely worth it to do some sightseeing: Constitution Hall (the rangers give a talk that is great), the Liberty Bell (it is in its own building now with a whole exhibit about its significance during the abolition movement), Ben Franklin’s house (I believe that you can see his inventions and information about his scientific and diplomatic accomplishments), etc. It’s wonderful to just walk around Old City. So much beautiful restoration has gone on in Philly! I don’t know when you were in school there, but the last twelve years or so have brought a lot of really nice changes. It is often easier to get a student interested in this process if you combine it with some non-college (but still intellectually stimulating) activity also.
Have fun!</p>

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<p>I can’t imagine someone from South Florida having any interest in Temple. Rutgers-Camden? You must be kidding. Don’t waste your time. I also wouldn’t waste time on Drexel FOR THIS STUDENT. Your goal is to just start the college engine going a little. Penn, Swarthmore, Princeton just to see it.</p>

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<p>Swarthmore has more to look at than Haverford. Haverford is really a pretty tiny campus with some fields and a pond, Swarthmore much more expansive with an honest-to-goodness gorge in the back yard, and beautiful trees everywhere.</p>

<p>I think you’ve been getting good advice. Places like Lehigh, Lafayette, or Muhlenberg are only close to Philly if you are coming from South Florida. I second or third Ursinus, which is actually in the Philadelphia suburbs, if barely. Another LAC people like is Franklin & Marshall, in Lancaster, which is about 70 miles from Philadelphia.</p>

<p>Come to think if it, if you are willing to drive as far as Ursinus (not to mention Muhlenberg, etc.), there’s another interesting school that happens to be quite beautiful, and that lots of people like, about a 45 minute drive from Center City in a different direction. It’s in Princeton, NJ; you may have heard of it . . . .</p>

<p>While you are at Penn, you may want to take a peek at Drexel, too. It’s literally across the street, and attracts good students.</p>

<p>EDIT: Lots of cross-posting, obviously.</p>

<p>I agree that lots of these schools are undershooting for a strong student, but since he’s only a 10th grader now it’s not wise to assume that he’s going to keep a 3.9. On the other hand, I think it’s OK to visit Penn and Swarthmore if you want.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry about Jewish presence at Villanova. LaSalle, maybe, but not Villanova. In general, this area has a strong Jewish population, and there are lots of Jews almost everywhere.</p>

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<p>This site should be helpful - [Campus</a> Visit / Philadelphia .::. The official hotel and travel site for Philadelphia’s top colleges and universities](<a href=“http://onebigcampus.com/]Campus”>http://onebigcampus.com/)</p>

<p>My suggestion is not to go all the way up to the Lehigh Valley (my neck of the woods) if you are just trying to get a feel for some colleges. Instead of taking out two hours of your day driving to and from Philadelphia you can use it there in the city and the close-by suburbs.</p>

<p>I like the suggestions of Penn and Drexel, Villanova, Swat and maybe Ursinus. I like the contrast of Penn and Drexel and a nice thing about Drexel is that because of the co-op programs, they truly are a year round school so you won’t feel that you are just visiting buildings. The very technical feel of Drexel is also a great contrast to the liberal arts/humanities emphasis at the other colleges.</p>

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<p>I generally agree with MomofWildChild - However, Drexel might be worthwhile for certain programs, for example, its music industry program attracts good students from out-of-state.
[Music</a> Industry: Undergraduate: Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design: Drexel University](<a href=“http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/academics/undergraduate/musicindustry/]Music”>http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/academics/undergraduate/musicindustry/)</p>

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<p>For initial visits my thinking (and what we did with our oldest) is to visit a variety of types of schools - big, small, urban, suburban. At this point I think it might also be a good idea to see “reachy” type schools, since these will be outstanding examples of these types of institutions. If the idea is to jump start or get your son excited about colleges, reach type schools might do this best. Another consideration is that it might be a more fair comparison to look at Penn and Swarthmore, for example, than Penn and Ursinus.</p>

<p>With those thoughts as preamble, I’d recommend seeing Penn, Swarthmore and Princeton, as giving you a sample of urban, suburban, large, medium and small. They are all high quality and very selective, but if your son finds that he is attracted to Penn, for example, you can look further at urban universities. Similarly, if Swarthmore seems most appealing, future visits can explore LACs.</p>

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<p>OP, I know you said your son was uninterested in the process, but is there any chance that he might be interested in picking the one final school on the tour from a list of choices? It would give him a little bit of buy-in. </p>

<p>I took D1 to look at Muhlenberg, Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr last year when she was a rising junior. Muhlenberg is still on her list, in matchy/safety territory…but we’re going to probably send her back (from the west coast) to interview in the fall to make her a stronger candidate for merit aid. If she hadn’t visited before, she wouldn’t have known she liked the school, but it would have been a better deal to have had her do the visit and interview together.</p>

<p>I’d suggest seeing Swarthmore just because it is so amazingly gorgeous. :)</p>

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<p>I would love to disguise this post as something other than a shameless plug for my alma mater, but if your son likes small, liberal arts colleges and wants to major in engineering with a rising Jewish presence he should at least look at Washington and Lee in Virginia. They are finishing building their Hillel House and have a great Engineering department.</p>

<p>I personally think the third school you should visit though should be Swarthmore. It will give you a rounded out perspective visiting a suburban school after an urban school (Penn) and a small town school (Muhlenberg).</p>

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<p>Not sure about the Catholic schools mentioned here if you want a “Jewish presence.” Sure there are probably Jews there, but it might not be the atmosphere you want. (For example, my son would not consider Villanova.)</p>

<p>You can cross reference the schools you are considering with the information on [url=<a href=“http://www.hillel.org%5DHillel:”>http://www.hillel.org]Hillel:</a> The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life<a href=“it’s%20not%20all%20up%20to%20date,%20but%20can%20give%20you%20an%20indication”>/url</a>.</p>

<p>Even if you are not “religious,” I understand why you’d want 10% +.</p>

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<p>alum08- I really want to see Washington and Lee! We keep driving by the exit on 81, but are always in a big rush to get to our final destination (in whatever direction) and H keeps reminding me that we have no one else to send to college, so we don’t stop. I do better getting to look at colleges that are actually IN the cities we are visiting. Just spent the weekend in Charlottesville and got to sniff around UVA again.</p>

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<p>Our friend’s daughter loves Temple. She is in the honors program and chose it over a number of choices. She is from OOS, and is Jewish. She has found an active Jewish community there and is doing very well. It is also a good school to be a safety and an example of a state school in an urban setting. She chose it over Pitt, for one, which is a delightful school, but she did not make the honors college cut. </p>

<p>Since he is looking at UPenn which is a highly selective school, my advice would be to mix up the bag a little. I see so many disappointed kids who have looked only at the UPenns, HPY, Swarth, Haverford and skipped the more accessible schools in the area. It’s ever so easy to cherry pick ANY TIME. It’s more difficult to get a handle on these schools that are not well known and written up in so many handbooks.</p>

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<p>MoWC, You are getting addicted. Uh, uh, uh, ahn. Wanting to look at colleges when you’re done with that? Better be careful. Your family is going to be staging an intervention for you soon.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much CCers for such thoughtful and insightful suggestions. We don’t want to overload him on this first go-around but realistically, we may not be back to the Philadelphia area until after the acceptances come in senior year. He is very busy during the school year with his tough classes, extracurricular and his weekend community service so it is very difficult to get away. Next year, with all the standardized testing, it will be much more difficult. We saw many of the Boston schools a few years ago while touring with his older sisters. </p>

<p>It is so early to really know how he will test and how his GPA will fluctuate so I definitely want him to see at least one less selective school (less than HYPS, like Muhlenberg). We are also going to be in NYC for a few days so we will look at Columbia and NYU. </p>

<p>He is leaning toward a science major with premed focus. He is a math and science kid, not into humanities. He is taking 3 science classes next year (this past year he took 2 sciences and 2 maths). Who knows, the Berg might turn out to be his dream school? Our HS is uber competitive, meaning that the top 5 (out of 800 kids)last year who had UW GPA’s of 4.0 and near perfect SATs still did not do that impressively in the college admissions. Yes, the val and sal got into Yale and another HYPS but ranks 5-12 got waitlisted everywhere. Broward County Florida is very densely populated and has many bright, afflluent students applying to top schools. After going through the process before and spending a few years reading the blogs on CC, I know that my son is not a shoe in for any school. He is bright, adorable, and loaded with integrity but has not discovered a cure for cancer and is not a member of a URM or from an underrepresented geographical area. He will cast a wide net, we just have to help him find where to cast it. We are fortunate that finances will not come into play in his search but location does. He must be able to fly home easily (be near a major airport).
Right now, I am thinking that Swathmore should be our third looksee…</p>

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<p>Science and pre-med + Jewish makes me think you might want to look at Franklin & Marshall.</p>