@homerdog I think Colgate has a shuttle bus to Syracuse airport…?
@socaldad2002 the thing is that I’m not sold on NU for a number of reasons and she wouldn’t want to go ED. I was really dead set against S19 applying and he likely would have gotten in ED. It’s very stressful there. They seem to have a lot of problems financially and they have little to no advising. D is so undecided on major and she would be in bigger classes as a freshman. Career services focuses mostly on finance and consulting for kids in arts and sciences and she wouldn’t do either of those. It’s also cold as cold can be and she wanted ideally to be warmer (even though I know she’s got a mix of weather on her list).
So she would apply RD. I want her to look closely at the Communications school and maybe Medill (journalism) and see if either of those speak to her. A friend of ours in CA has a D at Medill and she had to take a year off because of the stress and she has multiple friends who were struggling. He actually mentioned to us that she should have stayed home and gone to LMU. Lol.
She does stand out in a leadership way at school. Editor in chief of yearbook. Won a state wide contest for an essay she wrote. Has other ECs that round her out and show commitment like her 30 hours a week at ballet.
I agree that, if NU was a perfect fit, she’d be all over ED.
Our school usually has about 120 kids apply and, for the last three years, 7-10 have gotten in. Not good odds!
But throwing an RD app in for this year is fine. It’s not a commitment and we will see how it goes.
Wow, that’s a lot of students applying to NU! But it makes sense as it’s the top school in the area with UoC. Similar to our high school where over 125 apply to USC but only a dozen or so to NU and 1 or maybe 2 acceptances each year.
I get it if she doesn’t want to apply ED, it’s too bad because this is the perfect year IMO for it.
We are close to LMU and I have only heard great things about the college. A good low match/safety for her with many very good programs and friendly and nice student body. It’s also right next to LAX and Southwest flies here.
Impressed she had many essays completed already. Well ahead of the game!
We toured Colgate and it was by far the most impressive presentation and tour in the whole process. It was completely personalized and the people were so genuine and intellectually curious.
My biggest concern is travel as well. Although there are direct flights to Syracuse, it is still another hour or more (weather dependent). And, it’s really, really cold! Otherwise, I can’t say enough great things about Colgate!
@socaldad2002 Was your ED comment about just NW or do you think ED will be a bit easier all around?
Sorry! I confused Loyola in Maryland with Loyola Marymount when I commented on vibe. With that said, two families I know have kids at LMU and both are happy. They say it’s a bit laid back (in a good way).
Exactly. The kids at LMU seemed relaxed and happy and still interested in their studies and getting good internships etc. There was a marked difference between those kids and some of the intense kids on panels from other schools on her list. Colgate kids also seemed more relaxed and friendly and not as intense. She’s really not looking to repeat the competitive nightmare that is her high school.
I’ve been pretty vocal on CC that ED this coming year for most colleges will be the way to go IF you can afford it and it’s the college that your student would love to attend. Last year most colleges saw a decrease in ED applicants and a corresponding increase in higher acceptance rates. That trend should continue.
Combine that with many HS seniors not being able to do on-campus tours and the uncertainty of this historic pandemic “spooking” families financially and with concerns of sending their kids far away for college (and instead looking closely at their in-state public options), in my opinion this is a great year to apply ED.
@socaldad2002 i totally agree. D21 just isn’t ready to pull the trigger on ED and I really want to wait until April for her to decide. I want to see what happens with the virus and get a better idea of what fall 2021 will look like. While ED will indeed be a bump for everyone, I think it’s even more risky this year to commit too early.
Just to recheck here, but NU is Northwestern? And if so, I’m surprised that they don’t have good advisory services. And also surprised that they’re having financial problems? Was that pre-Covid too?
Yes Northwestern. My husband and I are alums. We watch carefully. Advising is bad. I’ve asked umpteen current students. They all say it’s way better to know what you want to study when you get there. Very little advising. They were having financial issues ( relative financial issues - not like they are going to close or anything) for a while now and just announced letting go of something like 70 staff and/or faculty.
There’s a lot to say about this but here’s an article from a year and a half ago with a little peek into what was going on
Agree with @socaldad2002. Though I will add that being a full pay student will provide a more significant boost than it did in past years. Colleges lost money last spring, and will lose even more this year with most closing the dorms, or operating at a lower capacity. Everyone (including the elites) is tightening their belts and looking at places to cut costs. FP might be enough to make up for the advantage lost in not applying ED.
We need more of these detailed threads. I wish there were a D21 story for a student with interests closer to that of my daughter. The thought process is still helpful.
As an Austinite, I’ll note that UTexas is 80% Texans for undergrad with no limit on out of state graduate students. Campus dress is casual with lots of shorts, big t-shirts, ponytails, and messy buns.
My dad is retired from Lehigh and I spent quite a bit of time on campus oh so many years ago. My dad was adamant that my son should not apply due to the conservative student body and partying. I gather from a current professor that Lehigh has mellowed out some.
@homerdog. At least 4 years ago my son’s high school sends something 25 kids/year to NW and 25/University of Chicago or something like that. These kids are extremely prepared (not saying your daughter is not). My son’s school is competitive but in a good way but still there’s that grind mentality. Both of these schools seems to be on our campus for different events etc. My son did a 3 week AP high school Stats class in one of the summers on campus there. It was the whole year in 3 weeks and the 12 kids thought it was just the right pace. They would of been bored if they had to take the year course. That’s the attitude that I gathered when he was there.
Your daughter , from what I gather, is not that intense? The kids that we know that went/are there state it’s a grind and not in a good way. As stated, counseling is subpar. Stress is a real problem. We know someones kid that committed suicide like right before graduation a few years back. I tell my kids to go seek counseling if things are not going well or just to talk with someone. I tell them and show them these stories.
It’s a beautiful campus but I really think fit is really important.
Being the big fish…can be rewarding and open up opportunities also. Going online and meeting kids that were accepted was very big for my daughter. She got to see the “kinds” of kids going there. She is an arts kid also, so this was very important to her. Having her “peeps” was even more important.
@knowstuff Yes. I tend to agree about NU. You can see in my posts about it above. I didn’t want S19 applying either. It’s a bummer because my H and I had such a great experience but it’s different now. It was just a thought. I’m glad to see my recent impressions are the same as yours.
Our HS sends many kids to NU (and UChicago) every year as well.
D19 worked in a lab at NU for over a year in HS. She enjoyed that experience very much, but did not like the vibe or campus, at all. Not much green space on the campus, and she says she felt the intensity of the place…said students weren’t friendly, always looking down when they hurriedly walked places. And some of the recent HS grads that have gone there report the same.
One of my D20’s closest friends (a legacy) was accepted to NU and chose not to attend because of many of the factors you have discussed.
It’s actually too bad that info like this (NU) gets buried in thread that is not about the school…this info is so helpful for people, especially when it’s consistent. Of course, there are students who thrive at a place like NU, but any info that makes it more apparent who will thrive there (and won’t) is helpful.
We should be able to tag comments, not just threads. Hmmmm
NU accepts 1 student per year from our HS…if they ED. I think we had maybe 1 non-ED acceptance in the past few years. My D’s good friend had to take a semester off due to the stress.
It is interesting to hear the comments about NU. I am a Medill alum, and my daughter was accepted in 2019. When we toured, I didn’t think it felt like it did when I was there. It felt stressful, people were not particularly helpful, and the admission/audition process felt really disorganized and unfriendly (this was before COVID). Even though she got in, I didn’t think it was a good fit for her.
As far as the Ohio schools, I grew up in Dayton, and know lots of non-Catholics who went there and loved it. Dayton is Marianist, which seemed pretty similar to Jesuit schools to me (a non-Catholic). We are looking at it for our D21. We loved Denison–visited last spring. I was very impressed with the advising presentation–they really want to place their liberal arts students. It seemed like there was a lot of intellectual energy without being too intense. Wooster felt very similar and we really liked the town. The friends we know who went to Wooster were smart, a little quirky and comfortable in their own skin–and loved the school. My D will be applying to both.