<p>Ahh-- crossposted with Suze!</p>
<p>OK, how about Case Western as a possible match school (one of my son's safer matches and his ultimate choice). </p>
<p>Pros: 75% acceptance rate, known for generous merit money, cheap 1:15 hour Southwest flights from BWI with rapid transit from CLE to campus, non-binding EA (the ultimate safety is an acceptance).</p>
<h2>Cons: Probably not "cool," Cleveland weather and reputation.</h2>
<p>Here's a question: What about Smith?<br>
(I'm interested in comments since I have an 11th grade D).</p>
<p>"With all due respect, I am finding myself wondering who is the one dropping back and punting all the suggestions? Please...... there are reasons to look further into schools, not to so quickly reject them. You've gotten lots of great suggestions here. Your daughter should meet with her college counselor to discuss these suggestions so she can identify a few more safe schools, especially with the many great ideas offered here."</p>
<p>I don't think D and I will have a productive discussion if I come back with the same things that have been rejected 10 times already. I mean, the point of this thread is to come up with either new ideas or new arguments, preferably the former. "Honey, let's have another look at Elon and Lehigh" is going to be a very short discussion indeed.</p>
<p>So far, we have the following fodder for tonight's discussion: Depaul, U of Richmond, Tulane. That's actual progress. I've gotta run right now, but when I get back, I will follow up on a few other ideas that have been tossed out (and try to figure out what the heck is going on with Williamette, 'cause the web site didn't give me a good idea about the hard stats there).</p>
<p>I have suggested that she contact the guidance counselor and run some of this by her. We shall see what happens.</p>
<p>Soozievt, we are in a situation where she is going to pick three more schools that she loves as safetys. If she doesn't want Goucher or Baltimore, what is the point of pushing this just because she likes Georgetown? I don't think it is reasonable to say "Well, if you like X, you will like Y also and that's that." Not true. Her thinking is not that linear, nor should it be IMHO.</p>
<p>Yep, they are. Yours too. I know that it is fruitless trying to appease a teenager who is being difficult. The thing is when they like a school it can be everything that they said they hated. My friend's D is at Bard. She had eliminated all schools like Bard, like Skidmore, Vassar, Wheaton, Bennington, Ct College, Goucher, etc and was more into the Dickinson, Bowdoin, Lehigh schools. She looked at Bard late in the process and it struck her as a school she like. She actually filed the app late, got in and there she is. They apparently saw she really liked the place in that they encouraged the late app when she asked. You just can't tell with kids. </p>
<p>My son really didn't know what he wanted. As he looked, he saw some places he liked. When he looked at one school that was a bit unusual, that was it for him, though it was not anything on his original list. He was thinking something nearby, Catholic school. So things do change with these kids.</p>
<p>Just curious....what does your D have against U of Miami? </p>
<p>I think some kids judge schools on very little information. Not only is a visit necessary but there is more to choosing a school than the campus or the tour guide. Has your D sat in on classes? Has she had appointments with faculty? Appointments with those in her EC activity areas of interest? Met one on one with current students? Talked to the departments she is interested in? Once she's done all that, I'd like to hear her SPECIFIC opinions on each school. The reasons she gave for each school that you posted....are so on the surface as to not be all that meaningful in selecting a school. I don't get a sense that she truly KNOWS her schools. Has she written Why X College statements for her schools? I am working on countless such essays with my students and I insist that they give very very very specific reasons they have selected each school that they can't say about another school on their list or that another kid could not ALSO write about the school and how it fits them. If your D cannot come up with such an essay on EACH school on her list, she does not know her schools well enough. And for that matter, expressing specific interest in a school, when it is private and highly selective, is important on an application.</p>
<p>Well, if it makes your daughter happier, I've never even been to any of my matches or safeties, so I won't know whether or not I like them until I actually move in.</p>
<p>Ah, the perks of being poor.</p>
<p>Dad....I wanted so much to suggest Smith to the OP but she said her D said women's colleges are out. My D also thought that but then Smith matched so much of her other criteria and she really liked it on her two visits, that she applied and got in (with merit aid too). While it was one of her matches, she preferred it over a reach she got into (Penn) and was one of the final three schools under consideration in April of senior year out of her six acceptances and one waitlist (of 8 applications). That's how much she liked it. The OP's D likes the open curriculum I think at Brown. Smith also offers this. In the end, since my D was fortunate to have so many options in spring, she had to make a choice and ruled out Smith since she did prefer coed. But she liked Smith enough to attend. Great school.</p>
<p>I'm with jym. :) But it's amusing watching the ping-pong match.</p>
<p>Cindy,
Seems to me that there have been many schools suggested that weren't on your original list of 13 or so. I agree that if she has rejected a school, no need to keep bringing it up. But, there are many new ones to look at. However, its beginning to feel like you are doing to us what your dau is doing to you-- i.e. doing research into schools, making suggestions and then getting them rejected. Maybe it is time to just let her take ownership of this process and do her own research and make her own decisions so you arent the bad guy and you arent wasting your time and energy?? Just a thought.</p>
<p>***** Reiterating Post # 97.. that this feels like Goldilocks and the 3 bears at times..... and its a little frustrating...</p>
<p>I sympathize with cindy and I think she has been really nice and patient with her D. I also think many here (not me) have been incredibly nice and patient with cindy (and indirectly, her D). At some point, however, I wonder whether the D is abusing her mom's patience (and indirectly cindy this forum's generosity). </p>
<p>Of course, everyone contributing suggestions is doing it voluntarily, so I don't fault cindy for continuing this discussion. I just marvel at the kindness, patience and generosity of some of the people here.</p>
<p>I sympathize with cindy and I think she has been really nice and patient with her D. I also think many here (not me) have been incredibly nice and patient with cindy (and indirectly, her D). At some point, however, I wonder whether the D is abusing her mom's patience (and indirectly cindy this forum's generosity). </p>
<p>Of course, everyone contributing suggestions is doing it voluntarily, so I don't fault cindy for continuing this discussion. I just marvel at the kindness, patience and generosity of some of the people here.</p>
<p>vicariousparent
I guess that bears repeating :D (posts 210-211).. and I thank you for being a tad more diplomatic than I may have been in my post # 209. Time for me to get back to work!</p>
<p>Okay - one more plus for DePaul: If diversity is important (as it seems to be), then DePaul is known for its diverse student body. From its web site:</p>
<p>"minority students make up approximately 30 percent of the most recent freshman class. Nearly 12 percent of the class is Hispanic/Latino, nine percent is Asian/Pacific Islander and six percent is African-American"</p>
<p>Amd to emphasize (yet again) - although Catholic, the atmosphere is very different than, say, Loyola-Chicago. (Not that I'm saying that Loyola is "bad" - just much more overtly Catholic, if that makes sense.) After all, DePaul offers a minor in lesbian/gay/transgendered studies...</p>
<p>cindy you asked for entrance specifics re Willamette which are readily available at the college board site but I can give you the following real life example</p>
<p>My D was accepted to Willamette w/ the following stats:</p>
<p>GPA 3.86/3.97 rural public w/>500 students top 10% of class
Solid ECs and community service
SAT: 670 CR 580 M
Glowing rec and demonstrated interest (visit and interview)</p>
<p>Here is a thought - how many kids from ages 5-18 have a choice of what school to go to? What if they don't like the kids, school curriculum, social/economic mix, ECs, school parties? Nothing, they still get themselves up every morning and go to school. The problem here is maybe there are too many choices when it comes to college selection, and maybe we are just making too much out of it.</p>
<p>I don't think it really needs to be that difficult and let your kid drive you crazy. Look at her high reaches, then find a few reaches similar to high reach schools, 2 matches and 2 safeties similar to high reaches. Our daughter didn't apply to Brown, Penn, Chicago or NW (great schools, but not the right profile), so she didn't apply next tier down schools to mirror those schools. She applied to Stanford, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, Colgate and Trinity. You could see there is a common theme there(it wasn't location), we knew she could get into at least one of them. At the end, a school to go to is better than no school at all.</p>
<p>Well you know what folks? I've taken notes on this thread and am heading back to Satan, err, I mean D2, with some ideas. Lots of good information here.</p>
<p>"I hate to break the news to you, but unless your daughter is hooked in some way -- a recruited athlete or a heavily courted URM -- the lower end of the middle 50% range is a total pipe dream. For an average white (and probably Asian American) kid, I figure 75th percentile for a match school and even that 75th percentile number could still be a reach depending on the school."</p>
<p>While I generally agree with this sentiment, I would note that my d. was admitted to six of her seven schools with ACTs in the lower half of applicants, and attends one where she is the lowest 15% (and doing very, very well, I might add.)</p>
<p>But it's not safety school unless you would actually be happy to attend.</p>
<p>Somebody mentioned St. Mary's College of Maryland. She may think it's too small and is in a small town, but it does have some coolness factors--it is the state "honors college." Nice campus.</p>
<p>Aren't there places where you can do an extra year of high school? Might be a better threat than the basement.</p>
<p>This thread is getting exhausting. I empathize; my D went through some really terrible confusion while deciding where to apply. But my mistake was to try to "fix" it by taking on too much of the responsibility rather than let her grapple with it. I didn't do her any favors by doing that. At some point your daughter has to figure it out for herself. I get that the problem is, in part, that she is having a hard time doing that. But there's a freneticism here on your part that suggests that you may be taking on way too much of the process and in doing so it's possible that you are enabling her indecision and self-imposed limitations. I wish you luck; I know this is difficult.</p>