Daughter confused/Parents Clueless - Please help with college search!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>We are very new to this site and have been completely amazed by the intelligent and informed people who frequent it. Stumbling upon CC has been like finding water in the desert! As the title suggests, our beloved D is so confused as to where she should begin her college search. We, her parents, are so totally clueless about this process, we are of little help to her. We are also beginning this search a little late. Our older D applied to state U honors program and honors housing, was accepted, is there and loves it. This D does not think she wants to follow that same path. We read and read, find a school we think might fit her, and someone will say, "Oh she doesn't want to go there!!" Our counselors struggle with their 350+ student loads and are of no help - can't say D's counselor knows anything about her except she is a good student. Counselors also know nothing about any schools outside of local and state U. Any help as to what would be good reach/match/safety schools for her to consider would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>D's story:
<em>we live right in the middle of the US - town pop. 25,000
*junior at a very mediocre, noncompetitive high school of @ 1400 students
(school has 1 AP class - yes 1) only high school in town.
*class rank - 1/325
*GPA - 4.0
*classes taken: the best the school offers (the 1 AP class, 4 years of honors English, 3 years of honors soc st, all math offered, etc.)
*SAT: 2200 (CR800/M700/W700 - E9) - no SAT prep in her school or in our town. In fact, she drove 75 miles to TAKE the test!
*should be a NMSF in Sept. (PSAT 230)
*advanced orchestra (9,10,11) - qualified for state orchestra 10,11 (not eligible to tryout freshman year) - only student to qualify this year
*tennis - varsity (9,10,11) - regional champion (11) state qualifier (11)
-only player to qualify for state this year. Will be team captain next year.
(</em>*Tennis is a tough college sport - she is still probably not at the level to play at any college she would be interested in attending).
*National Honor Society (10,11) - elected president for next year
*artistic - Scholastic gold key and honorable mention awards.
*Bausch and Lomb Science/Math Award - selected by the math and science teachers at school this year as most outstanding math and science junior.
*Named "Student of the Quarter" - (10,11)
*D was ill for quite some time when she was young. For the past four years she has raised several thousand dollars by selling artwork and gives the money to the national association for the illness (she is doing great now!).
This association asked her to do the artwork for the Christmas card they sold as a fundraiser in 2005 - group sold over 5,000 cards and considered it a great success. She was invited by the group and this past May served as a lobbyist for their cause in Washington, D.C. Talked to several senators, representatives, or their staffs to promote awareness and ask for increase funding for research. Plans to continue this in college, if possible.
*she is in some other various school clubs, etc. and holds offices in some of them - tried to just list the major ones.</p>

<p>What she is looking for in a college:
*small to medium (or possibly a great honors college/program if large public U)
*decent residential housing available all 4 years
*seperate housing for males and females (or at least floors segregated by sex)
*fabulous professors who want to get to know their students
*smaller class sizes
*probably not right in a large city - wants a "campus"
*other students who are not cutthroat and overly competitive
*doesn't want a school so ridiculously hard that her grades might keep her out of a graduate/professional program she would like to enter.
*a "college town" would be nice but not absolutely essential.</p>

<p>What she wants to study:
**This is the difficult part. She has studied German four years and wants to continue that in college, but not major in it. She wants to "dabble" in art at the college level, but not be an art major. She wants to be able to play her violin in an orchestra (recreational orchestra??), but not be a music major.
She has a true passion for science, so her major will probably be some type of science, but she does not know what kind. She also really loves math.
People have suggested architecture, medical illustrating, medicine, etc. to her, but she is just not sure of what path she wants to take.</p>

<p>We can't thank you enough for any suggestions of places we might take her to look.</p>

2

<p>i think wellseley college would be good, but for language, columbia has so many undergrad majors. also, if u wanted a "college town" look more in the LACs of MA...</p>

3

<p>Reaches: Chicago, Yale, Williams, Amherst, Brown, Princeton
Matches: Tufts, Middlebury, Macalester, Oberlin, Northwestern
Safeties: USC, William and Mary, Lehigh, Michigan</p>

4

<p>Your daughter sounds amazing! You should be proud -- and she should be thankful for such caring parents :).</p>

<p>I'd suggest UNC Chapel Hill, Washing Uni in St. Louis, and Tulane (Tulane = a very friendly environment). Good luck!</p>

5

<p>If I were an admissions counselor at ANY college in the country, I would admit your daughter. That being said, I'm not one, so what do I know.</p>

<p>If money is a concern, I would suggest applying to Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Your daughter would be an EXCELLENT candidate (I can't stress that enough) for a full-ride merit scholarship, they offer classes in German, and the Meadows School of the Arts is quite a decent program. I don't know anything about the math and sciences there, though. But the campus is beautiful, and even though it is in Dallas, it is really about 5 miles north of downtown in suburban University Park (in the affluent Park Cities area), and the students don't seem too competitive. It's not a terribly hard school, and your daughter would probably be in the honors program. The immediate area (especially on Hillcrest Avenue) has a "college town" feel to it, with restaurants, bookstores, and such. SMU is NOT affiliated with the United Methodist Church; despite its name, it is non-denominational. 6,000 undergraduates. <a href="http://www.smu.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.smu.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also, look into the Kittridge Honors Program at the University of Colorado. CU is excellent in the sciences, and takes advantage of Boulder being home to the Naitonal Institute of Standards and Technology. Boulder is a great college town, and the students take their academics seriously, but are not overly competitive. When I visited, it seemed like there was a "have fun while working" attitude on campus. 25,000 undergraduates. <a href="http://www.colorado.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.colorado.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Those are two schools I would take a look at. Of course, they are two I am interested in, myself, so maybe I am a little biased.</p>

6

<p>I don't recommend you listen to people who say "oh, she doesn't want to go there". Not that they aren't right, but it really should be your daughter's search, along with your guidance. At any rate, I am recommending a small group of universities I think would be a good fit for your daughter.</p>

<p>Amherst College
Brown University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Princeton University
Rice University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (she should apply by late September at the latest)
University of Rochester
University of Virginia</p>

7

<p>Williams in Massachusetts could be a good choice. It's rural, but I've heard that it has an excellent art program, is regarded as one of the friendliest prestigious liberals arts colleges, the professors are highly accessible, and it has good math and science programs. Not sure about dorm segregation by sex, though. Amherst College could also be a good choice, and it has a great college town. I visited and I loved the campus and general area. It's very similar to Williams, but might seem a little more competitive. Other LACs might be worth looking at, too.</p>

8

<p>Btw - Amherst has housing guaranteed for all four years, not sure about Williams, and both have small class sizes. Amherst also has the Five College Consortium - worth looking into, for sure.</p>

9

<p>Duke has a strong German dept. and fits what your looking for.</p>

10

<p>This is so helpful!! We are getting the college books out to look up your suggestions as fast as you type!
Please keep the suggestions coming and THANK YOU!!</p>

11

<p>Dartmouth, Pton, Duke, Brown, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Yale...elite schools with campuses</p>

12

<p>MidwestParent - If you need help researching any of the schools, feel free to ask. I'll be glad to help as I may learn something in the process!</p>

13

<p>I really, really encourage your daughter to try and reach for Princeton. She's the kind of student they're looking for, and when you described what college she was looking for, I instantly thought of Princeton.</p>

<p>If money is a concern, Princeton is KNOWN for giving out good financial aid. And if your daughter were to stay on track, heck, they could give her full tuition, especially if you play up something like Tennis.</p>

<p>The one thing I would suggest is trying to have her take classes at a local community college in her senior year. Since her school is noncompetitive, taking classes at a community college will show she's going above and beyond to try and get a better education. Admissions should already consider the fact that there is only 1 AP offered at her school, too, so that wouldn't be a problem.</p>

<p>Just make sure that with whatever college your daughter applies to as a first choice (I'd reccommend she go ED or EA for some place), she writes a great essay and gets very strong recs! An interview will help a lot, too, if available.</p>

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<p>Midwest Parent, Your daughter is very accomplished and is within the reach of being accepted at any college in America. The challenge is going to be finding the ones that are right for her. I certainly know the “lost at sea” feeling of starting the college search. The good news is that the applicant has SO MUCH going for her that her problem is going to be eliminating choices not isolating them. </p>

<p>As always, there’s no guarantee and so that all of you get some sleep between December and April she needs to be sure to have a good balance of selectivity. Finding the “sure bet” schools (AKA safeties) is somewhat more difficult that identifying appropriate reaches but you must not underestimate the importance of loving her safeties.</p>

<p>What is your financial situation? That will have a big effect on how your daughter should build her list. If you can and will pay for her education then you needn’t read further on this topic. If, on the other hand, your family will depend on financial aid then you should first determine whether you qualify for sufficient need based aid or if you will depend on merit aid as well. You can get a fair idea by using one of those on-line calculators. If you need merit aid, then you will have a very different list from one that only offers need-based aid. </p>

<p>From what you’ve told us about your daughter I would tend to think that she would like a small LAC versus a large university. Disclaimer: I am a graduate of a large university and my son attends a small LAC; his experience has been far superior to mine and I am thus unabashedly prejudiced.</p>

<p>There are dozens of excellent LACs and medium sized universities that would suit your daughter. If she could identify one or two that appeal, then it would be easier to suggest others that fall into the same general character, but at different levels of selectivity.</p>

<p>For example, if she likes Williams, then I’d suggest Dartmouth, Colgate, Hamilton, Kenyon, Skidmore, Wellesley.
If she likes Brown, then I’d suggest Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Middlebury, Grinnell, Smith</p>

<p>Most of these schools are generous with need based aid. Some are also generous with merit aid; some offer NONE. That’s why it’s critical to understand your financial requirement before proceeding further.</p>

<p>There are so many others (including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford) that it’s more of a recitation of names than a focused search. You’ll find as you and your daughter begin making lists that schools fall into a kind of pattern of concentric circles. You’ll just keep narrowing in until you get to a refined list of 8 to 12 covering a range of selectivity.</p>

<p>My second disclaimer is that my son goes to Williams and it seems to offer everything in your daughter’s wishlist. (Except possibly single sex dorms. First years are grouped in mixed gender entries. They are same sex by room and bathroom, but are in close proximity to the other gender. Housing is guaranteed for four years. Almost all live on campus.)</p>

<p>Williams has excellent academics, including sciences, and excellent arts. The students tend to be multifaceted and many are involved in the arts and play a sport in addition to being serious about their intellectual accomplishments. The music department is very strong and there are many opportunities for non-majors to perform. The art department is also first rate, both in studio and art history. There are three world class museums on or near campus which bring an intensity to the art offerings that you wouldn't expect in a rural environment.</p>

15

<p>I'll second Oberlin. Their art museum is amazing, probably one of the best college art museums. Very good for music as well.</p>

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<p>MidwestParent: confused_student is correct in that Princeton seems to be a logical choice. If you want to get an estimate on how much aid you can expect from them, try going to <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/aid/prospective/estimator/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/aid/prospective/estimator/&lt;/a> and click on estimator. Then follow the steps and enter your information in.</p>

17

<p>If you want something closer to home, there are many excellent liberal arts colleges in the midwest - Carleton, Grinnell, St. Olaf, Oberlin, etc.</p>

<p>I suggest you and your daughter tour some liberal arts colleges to see if that is the direction she wants to take vs. large university.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

18

<p>i'll second amherst- seems perfect. if she would consider looking at some womens schools (smith, mt holyoke), they could be good safe matches.
also wesleyan (CT) maybe?</p>

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<p>Williams in Massachusetts sounds logical due to their strong programs both in science and art. <a href="http://williams.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://williams.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As far as the women's colleges, keep in mind that many are very liberal (more so than the LACs mentioned on this thread), which is a change from the midwest culture. </p>

<p>Colgate, maybe? Rural upstate New York, 3,000 students, good science programs. I don't know much about the arts there. <a href="http://colgate.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://colgate.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

20

<p>Chicago might be worth looking into. It's "in a big city," namely Chicago, but it's not right downtown, meaning it actually does have a campus, quadrangles and all. And it is relatively small (~4000 undergrads).</p>

<p>The class sizes are verys small -- my largest class was only ever about 40 people -- and the largest one here is probably only about 100. My average class size has been somewhere between 15 and 25. </p>

<p>Teaching is a huge part of the life here (we're known for producing great teachers), so the professors tend to take that part of their job very seriously. Their devotion to the students is reflected in this. Of course, lower-level classes might be taught by grad students rather than actual professors, tenured or otherwise. </p>

<p>We used to have dorms with segregated sexes, but no longer, so that doesn't apply, and Hyde Park definitely isn't a "college town," although there's lots to do (it's a real, breathing neighborhood, with its own culture and history). </p>

<p>The workload is intense, but doable , especially for someone as talented as your daughter. And finally, the students here are very friendly. That was the first qualitity I noticed when I came here. It really feels like I'm learning with my friends, rather than merely around them or, in the case of <em>really</em> competitive schools, in spite of them.</p>

<p>Although Chicago isn't know for its music or art departments, there are tons of music and art opportunities on campus and a lot of people at Chicago go on to artistic careers. I have several friends in the orchestra, whose majors vary between everything from mathematics to human development. There's a lot of passion for the arts here on campus, even if it isn't reflected in the cirriculum.</p>

<p>Anyhow, that's my $0.02. I'd suggest giving Chicago a serious look, although Williams sounds great, too, given your daughter's interests.</p>