creative outside-the-box on-a-shoestring college ideas wanted

Parent Cafe
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<p>Thanks for more ideas--Montana and Oregon appeal more than places in the south. (Partly because of weather and partly because of stereotypes about students--the latter may not be entirely accurate.) </p>

<p>Oregon definitely sounds appealing as far as political climate and weather--we'll look into that.</p>

<p>Montana seems excitingly exotic in geography, if nothing else! Good to know it's the "blue part of Montana," wolfpiper. I hope you'll have time to post with your impressions after you've settled in there in the fall!</p>

<p>Grinnell does sound worth keeping on the list too.</p>

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<p>I wonder if she might be a great for Tulane. The post-Katrina Tulane experience is shaping up to be very special. My S has to leave - as he is an Engineering major and that is a program they are phasing out. But he is leaving quite reluctantly. And I cannot tell you the growth I have seen for him as he experiences what has gone on/is going on around him with the people of New Orleans.</p>

<p>Now, before you tune out thinking Tulane is a party culture etc. I'm sure that is there; there are frats/sororities, but it does not dominate the culture. My S was in the Honors dorm and found a vibrant non-frat-oriented life there.</p>

<p>Tulane is emphasizing community service now, requiring that as a component toward graduation. They feel that is is a place for kids who want a world class education while living in a city where they can give back and make a difference. No need to go to a 3rd world country to find a need and fill it - it is right there.</p>

<p>They have always been known as a generous merit aid school and will continue that way. S had the DSA ($22K/year renewable) and knew many other kids with that. There are some lesser and some larger merit awards and there are now also Community Service awards which might fit your D.</p>

<p>*I guess you can tell that I (along with my S) have left my heart in New Orleans :o *But it is worth a thought and a look, imo</p>

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<p>Consider UMich. It's expensive for a state school, but she'd almost certainly qualify for merit aid at LSA ( the liberal arts college there). My S, with lesser "stats" was offered 15,000/yr, and I believe there are several larger scholarships. He was also nominated for something called, I believe, Tulleride House, where students did community service projects and got free room and board and other mentoring/academic opportunities. Can't promise any of this, but she'd have an excellent shot.</p>

<p>Besides the money, UMich is an excellent school, she'd certainly qualify for the Honors program, and judging by your description of her, she'd consider Ann Arbor to be heaven on earth. It's smart, eco-friendly, liberal, and plain loads of fun!</p>

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<p>The school that crossed my mind is Cornell. Clearly, she is academically qualified. My impression of the school (my son is Class of 2010) is that it's a <em>real</em> university for motivated kids with all sorts of granola-y stuff going on. As Ezra said ... paraphrased ... a school where you can get instruction in anything! And for housing, there's Ecology house, co-op housing, many sorts of program housing ...</p>

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<p>Your daughter is in a great position merit scholarships. </p>

<p>Already mentioned, but look into Hendrix. My son (homeschooler, NMF) was offered generous MERIT aid there. (Total cost at Hendrix is about 28,000--I think it is on the "best value" list. From what I've seen/heard, with her stats she would easily qualify for 1/2 of that and probably more--with no consideration of need/income) Also, their curriculum is more flexible/creative and that seems like it would suit your daughter very well. If she makes NMF, there are quite a few (mostly public) universities that offer tuition, fees, room, board--and some even kick in stipends for research, travel, laptops, etc. Some of the bigger schools with generous NMF offers are Arizona State, U of Florida, U. of Oklahoma, etc. Really, if a "free" education is what your daughter wants, there are dozens--if not hundreds--of schools that would offer her that.</p>

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<p>free<em>spirits</em>dad: Check your private messages.</p>

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<p>I'm sure your D would have no issues figuring out what courses to take and how to fend for herself at a large state U - it's not nearly the big deal sometimes implied on this board. As you stated and her stats indicate, she's quite smart and independent. As others have said, the large state U's have a diverse population and generally have a diverse array of programs/degrees available. They can also be a bargain depending on the particular Uni and whether she's living on campus in a dorm (more money) versus off campus sharing an abode with others (can be quite inexpensive). </p>

<p>As you pointed out, transferring in from a CC will allow her more time to decide what direction she wants to head and will reduce the costs. With the SAT stats she has, she might qualify for some pretty good merit based scholarships so it might be to her advantage to apply at a number and range of colleges.</p>

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<p>Your daughter sounds like she'd be a perfect match for Oberlin. We found them to be generous with aid - though of course that would depend on your financial documentation. Also check into Vassar - also good with finaid (if you qualify.) Wesleyan would also be a good match but we found them to be incredibly stingy with aid.</p>

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<p>My own experience has been that the State U's have tremendous restrictions and requirements (due to the state laws). And it sounds as if you think your D should try to go someplace other than one of them. U of Chicago that someone else recommended has the core. Your D sounds like a free spirit who wants to be able to investigate what she wants, and not be tied to rigid requirements. A private school would be a better fit for her. I second Smith and Williams. And think you should add Amherst to the mix. Smith has a lot of free spirits like your D, and Amherst and Wiliams have open curriculum where you can take whatever you want except in your major, and if they don't offer what you want as a major, you can work with your advisor and develop your own. Amherst and Williams have good financial aid, but no merit aid. I think you should take her and visit some of the schools. Maybe money wouldn't be so much of an issue if she felt she belonged elsewhere.</p>

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<p>Williams does not have an open curriculum.</p>

<p>"philosophically incompatible with a quirky agnostic liberal intellectual crunchy granola nondrinking nonmaterialistic environmental kid."</p>

<p>You'll find some of those at my alma mater, but it would hardly be close to the dominant culture (29% heavy drinkers - daily, 2 drinks a day or more; 48% binge drinking in past two weeks, according to the college's own survey). Not particularly relevant, though, as there is no merit aid.</p>

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<p>A lot of people are suggesting non-merit aid schools. It doesn't matter how good FA is if the OP doesn't qualify, and he seems pretty sure he doesn't. </p>

<p>I also disagree that a free-spirit wouldn't thrive at a Core curriculum school. the freest spirit I knew in high school went to St. John's and thrived there. However, I think the overall point here is sources of merit aid; it sounds like the OP and family can work out fit itself very well.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Montana and Oregon appeal more than places in the south. (Partly because of weather and partly because of stereotypes about students--the latter may not be entirely accurate

[/quote]
Yes, some Southern schools are "in" the South, but not "of" the South. Tulane is the one I have first hand experience of; I'm sure there are others. So if they sound like a possible fit in other ways, I would ck them out.</p>

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<p>im a student, but i really suggest you look at the book Colleges that Change Lives, by Loren Pope. It hasnt been updated in about 6 years but it still has some really great info and has an entire section on homeschoolers. most of the colleges in it seem like places where a " quirky agnostic liberal intellectual crunchy granola nondrinking nonmaterialistic environmental kid" would fit in well and your daughter could def. get some merit aid from a lot of them. they are all smaller schools, but many allow students to design their own majors, ect., something that would probably work out well if your daughter has a free spirit attitude about education. although i dont know if she'd get aid, she sounds like a perfect fit at a place like Reed.</p>

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<p>If you are looking for merit aid, your daughter should not do the community college then transfer to 4-year college thing. Many scholarships are for entering freshmen only -since colleges are trying to attract kids w/great stats/scores/NMF to propel themselves up the USWR rankings. Very little money available for transfers.</p>

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<p>^___good point</p>

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<p>Freespirit, Your daughter sounds like a bright and passionate young woman. I’m sure that whatever path she chooses it will be HER way. What occurs to me is that maybe NO college is the right move right now. She’s had an unorthodox education so far and apparently has benefited from it; it seems that she may just need some additional space to continue her own individual, quirky, self motivated education. I’d just put that money in an interest bearing fund and let her roam for a year or two. Let her travel some, or maybe work fulltime for a humanitarian organization. </p>

<p>The main reason that I say this is that unless I’ve missed something it seems your daughter has a pretty clear idea of what she doesn’t want but no idea of what she does want – at least within the framework of realistic options. How does she articulate what she does want?</p>

<p>
[quote]
I looked into places with generous merit aid, but they seemed to be mostly places that were philosophically incompatible with a quirky agnostic liberal intellectual crunchy granola nondrinking nonmaterialistic environmental kid.

[/quote]

I don’t see any indication that that’s entirely true. There are plenty of liberal kids and plenty of liberal environments in academia and plenty with money to hand out to high achievers like your daughter. In fact, I think the opposite is true. If she didn’t want to be around crunchy granola kids, her choices would be more severely limited. [“Snazzy clothes, makeup, hairdos” are endangered species, even at the most traditional colleges.] If she prefers to earn her tuition through merit money, she’ll have a reasonably good range of choices.</p>

<p>Another idea would to take advantage of one of the extension programs offered by many universities. That way she could test her interest in college level education while still doing whatever it is that she feels she should be doing instead of being a fulltime student.</p>

<p>She does have some time before bringing anything to closure as applying is only the first step. She’ll still need to get accepted and make a final decision on one school: the final deadline almost a year away. Even then, she could still defer. I’d suggest that she proceed along several paths simultaneously and see which one provides the best fit.</p>

<p>Note to erj1: Just to clarify that Williams does have distribution requirements. They’re fairly loose but still more structured than Amherst or Brown.</p>

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<p>A couple more thoughts</p>

<p>Arizona State often gives full rides, tuition and room/board, to National Merit Finalists. I know my son keeps getting letters from them and they mention that frequently. They also highlight the honors programs and dorms reserved just for the honors program students.</p>

<p>For outdoors activities there are many qualtiy inexpensive Western colleges with Skiing, mountian climbing, biking etc within an hour of campus.</p>

<p>Univ of Montana
Montana State Univ.
Univ of Wyo (Only two hours to Denver for city folks)
Univ of Nevada Reno
Univ of Utah (nice safe city in Salt Lake)</p>

<p>The Rocky MTN region is a nice place for outdoor adventurers and free spirits.</p>

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<p>Thoughts:
I'd recommend that your D apply to some top schools as well (i.e, top 25 lacs and unis); it's my biggest personal regret about the application process--I didn't have big names, even to turn down.</p>

<p>The U of Utah is very commutery and gave me the impression of being cold and industrial, though both my parents got a fine education there. You might want to look at Westminster College in the same city as a smaller alternative. They give decent merit aid and your D would certainly be in the running for a full ride. Course selection is not as wide as I would have liked but not bad in general.</p>

<p>Look at Whitman in WA as another smaller college--a good friend of mine visited and said nothing but good things. Some MA is offered, but it is not substantial.</p>

<p>Also, I'm not sure if this would be out of your geographic range, but the very small (~280) people College of the Atlantic in Maine seems very free-spirit friendly with self-designed majors for each student. They give merit aiid, though I'm not sure how much.</p>

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<p>I understand that you're not that interested in southern schools--but
I thought I'd mention that Hendrix's reputation is very liberal/crunchy/granola/tolerant. BTW, I'd say the weather there is quite nice--especially in the "winter."</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for all the thoughtful advice and good suggestions.</p>

<p>momrath's words especially resonated:</p>

<p>
[quote]
What occurs to me is that maybe NO college is the right move right now. She’s had an unorthodox education so far and apparently has benefited from it; it seems that she may just need some additional space to continue her own individual, quirky, self motivated education. I’d just put that money in an interest bearing fund and let her roam for a year or two. Let her travel some, or maybe work fulltime for a humanitarian organization.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'd actually been trying to tell her just that--that there's no rush, she can take her time and do more free-form learning until she knows what she wants.</p>

<p>However...she is feeling that formal college education is something of a "necessary evil" to be gotten out of the way so she can get on with the rest of her life. At her age and without a college degree, she feels that her options for fulltime work are pretty limited. (She does have a part-time job tutoring at the cc. She would need to get a work permit from our school district to be eligible to take a regular fulltime job, even though she is officially homeschooled.) </p>

<p>Travel is a possibility, but at her age, again, she is pretty much limited to exchange programs where she would have to live with a family and attend high school in her host family's town. It's not like she could just go bumming around Europe on a bicycle at 16 and staying in Youth Hostels on her own (or at least I don't think so? In this country, the hostels I know don't allow kids under 18 to stay there unless they are with a parent.)</p>

<p>Maybe "necessary evil" is a bit too strong a term for the way she feels about college, because she does like the professors at the cc and she enjoyed the camaraderie with the other students and feels that the nontraditional students contributed a diversity of valuable perspectives to class discussions. </p>

<p>At this point, she's thinking she should just get a running start on college credit-earning as painlessly and inexpensively as possible and then when she's over 18 and has more options for work and travel, she can take a year off if she likes.</p>

<p>But it's a good point that there seems to be very little merit money available to transfer students! I guess that's because admitting a junior transfer with 2340 SATs doesn't help their USN&WR standing but admitting a freshman with 2340 SATs does help.</p>

<p>So perhaps the ideal is to apply somewhere as a "technical" freshman at age 18 but do it at a school that will still give her "advanced standing" credit for all or most of the cc courses she will have taken.</p>

<p>Lots more to think about...</p>