<p>I regret my comment about women’s schools and wish I could delete it. I don’t know enough about them to comment on their culture. D’s HS is filled with many like-minded students because it is a very artsy magnet school. She wants a larger school to meet different people with different perspectives and experiences. Most women’s schools are smaller and don’t offer her the size she wants. Thank you for not calling me out me for my ignorance and insensitivity. :)</p>
<p>Actually, I got exactly what you meant. She doesn’t want an echo chamber. She wants to continue to learn by hearing other perspectives. I think that’s great and a very mature insight from someone still in high school. There are many adults who only want to hear opinions that match their own - and as a result, their absolute certainty lends them a certain harshness and my way or the highway tone. </p>
<p>I think a sign of being confident and secure in your opinions and beliefs is that you ARE willing to hear the other side. Or even someone who agrees with you mostly, but may have a different way of expressing themselves. </p>
<p>Ways to cut your cultural budget?</p>
<p>Many arts organizations use volunteers, especially for ushering. Volunteers get free admission. Others offer members unlimited admission, so joining is worthwhile. There are special pay-what-you-will days and performances. Students with ID often get discounts, sometimes for two tickets on one ID. The cultural alliance in Philadelphia has a weekly email offer for half-price tickets for the upcoming week.</p>
<p>Check matinees and special showings for movies; see whether your husband qualifies for a senior discount anywhere (and choose those theaters when possible).</p>
<p>Restaurants here also have several Dining Days weeks during the year, with special items at reduced prices.</p>
<p>If you’re giving a party, shop at your local dollar store. Some have better merchandise than others, so get familiar with several before you need one.</p>
<p>If you have a special anniversary or birthday or graduation, could you ask for a gift of a subscription?</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke and Scripps would still be options to consider since they’re not so radical and are part of a consortium. The least “vocal” women’s college may be Wellesley but its consortium (Olin and Babson, I think) still keeps things quite small I think.</p>
<p>Hi again OP, no worry about your comments re women’s colleges, as parents we are all figuring out how to best support our kids and part of that is figuring out the environment(s) where they thrive. I loved my women’s college and wished D1 would have considered one…but I still have two lovely girls to convince :)</p>
<p>I actually took your comments (I think) the way they were meant, to say that she wants a “big” environment as opposed to a more homogenous, intimate one. Which is a very important thing to identify. </p>
<p>One last thought, as pointed out ^ there are women’s colleges within consortia in case your D would see that as enlarging her possibilities.</p>
<p>Keep us posted!</p>
<p>If she’s looking at Emory in Atlanta, and she’s willing to consider women’s colleges, she should also look at Agnes Scott. It’s in Decatur but still urban, and I had a similar profile to your daughter academically - fewer ECs though - and got a full tuition scholarship there. They have pretty good financial aid. Also, what about Occidental and Mills College? She might get some aid from Oxy, and would probably get offered some by Mills. Both are in CA, warm places. Also, what about Furman and Elon? She might get offered some aid, especially at Furman.</p>
<p>Davidson is a bit more competitive but will have the financial aid. Duke has a competitive scholarship; it is, of course, very competitive but no reason not to throw her hat in the ring. I think someone else might have already suggested Wake Forest.</p>
<p>Also, I know it’s not urban, but with her test scores she should get some merit aid from University of Alabama. Might also be eligible for the Foundation Fellows scholarship at UGA - also not urban, but Athens is a cute college town and it’s warm down there.</p>
<p>Also, OP, I went to a women’s college and I’m not offended at all by your comment - I know what you mean. They can be pretty radical places. But it really depends. My women’s college was actually a relatively moderate place; I think Agnes Scott, which I recommended above, is also more moderate - they’re both in the South, and Southern women’s colleges are a bit different. Some are much more liberal/radical than others. Barnard, IMO, is somewhat tempered by its proximity to Columbia. MHC and Scripps, I agree, are less liberal/radical. (Mills, however, is a super radical place and very tiny, so that may not be ideal for her.)</p>
<p>Haven’t read every post so sorry if repeating. I do agree with suggestion to look at University of SC. Lots of Maryland kids here. Not sure how her GPA will look but scores are competitive for honors college (top rated public honors). The application has lots of essays which is pain, but they are read carefully and seems like your D has interesting set of interests. In the honors college, you can even create your own major. D’s friend has focused on women/gender studies and business and has had grants to study abroad in Thailand, India and Ghana. Scores would likely at least waive OOS tuition rates and give her some additional scholarship $.</p>
<p>With two Ds we applied to Duke, Davidson and Wake. Got in all. Our finances similar to yours. No merit money (stats equal, GPA higher). Furman is very nice but still pricey. Love Greenville. Not huge urban city but neat town and close to mountains (and home to state public HS magnet for arts).</p>
<p>Interesting @scmom12! 
Coincidentally, we are heading to SC in a few hours to visit family. They are all mostly Clemson graduates and would have something to say about Univ o SC. ha ha I don’t care, though if he fit is right for D.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your continued support and ideas!</p>
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<p>I would include it. ECs and jobs start to be very repetitive for readers, something like this helps to make your daughter come alive to the reader a little more. It’s a positive, not a negative.</p>
<p>@electronblue - interesting - good point!</p>
<p>Little update here. :)</p>
<p>We went to:
UPenn - all good but it was cold and rainy that weekend. Seems silly to many, but warm weather vs cold really makes a difference to some people’s contentment. It was dark and dreary. How I wish it had been a sunny weekend… But, winter would eventually come and her winter blues would set in so…must move on. It was a reach anyway. ;)</p>
<p>Emory - she liked it, beautiful campus and she bumped into a friend while there. After living in funky Baltimore, the city seemed a bit generic to her which was not a plus.</p>
<p>Tulane - She lost her mind there. Loved it!! Our tour guide was great and boy does that make a difference. My gut has always told me this would be her first choice and it is by a mile. Oh, so expensive, though. She’s deep into the merit page and writing drafts for scholarship prompts, so…fingers crossed. A little worried that she doesn’t have as much community service as Tulane would like, though.</p>
<p>Rice - She likes their Women’s Center and their gender/economics program but we visited it the day after Tulane and let’s face it, Tulane/New Orleans are a tough acts to follow.</p>
<p>We are visiting American and UMD in a week and then Rhodes in a couple of weeks. She’s directing a school play now so time is tight and deadlines are looming… </p>
<p>Will continue to post here. Thanks all and GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>thanks for the update, OP. Tulane was one of D’s interests, too. They are very generous and want to get the ones that want them. However, you may max out at about 30K; I hope not. I hope she gets into the full tuition round because it’s a fine school for someone with her interests. The 3.71 now makes the 2300 a bit more understandable and reinforces it a bit. Good. It’s going to be hard to beat UMD’s price, which is going to include about 5K in merit, probably. American probably won’t come close. Too bad about Penn. If I had it to do again I’d recommend that D apply there because I keep bumping into happy Penn kids with stats like yours and mine and with more aid than I’d anticipated and in at least one case additional, un-asked-for aid their second year. </p>
<p>Another vote for Mount Holyoke as a women’s college that is fairly tempered (not too radical/out there). Has the benefits of the consortium, and gives some good merit aid.</p>
<p>@intparent, you been hangin’ with par? 
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<p>Yes, the 3.71 UW is helped a bit by the 2300 @jkeil911 but as far as I can tell GPA seems to be what merit aid people look at first. 
It seems unlikely, I’m guessing, that Tulane would give a big scholarship to 3.71… She’s in the 10 % and rigor is there, but I’m guessing again that the rigor is there for many 4.0 kids. </p>
<p>Daughter definitely looked into and liked Mount Holyoke. Worried about the cold weather. She sits in front of full spectrum lights in the winter here and has trouble staying awake…slips into hibernation mode. She doesn’t even like the AC when it is 95 degrees out - wears sweatpants and a sweatshirt indoors to survive the AC. Her thyroid is fine. ;)</p>
<p>The good thing about those sun boxes (after all, I think they were invented in MD) is that they’re portable, OP! I’ve a friend using one in socal. Lots of teens have trouble staying awake who don’t require synthroid. You might want to put her cell phone under YOUR pillow at night I-) But I know what you mean. Three boston winters was all I could take. Emily Dickinson wrote that MA winters had the “Heft of Cathedral Tunes,” and I think that’s probably true of any winters that abut the Great Lakes or lie due east of them. </p>
<p>Maybe you need to encourage that freshman five-to-fifteen, OP! A little adipose can go a long way.</p>
<p>Not too proud to say that I had to google adipose @jkeil911. lol Oh, I have no doubt that the freshman 15 will find her. She loves to eat and her rigorous dancing schedule has so far kept her slim and fit. She seemed interested in the fitness centers, though…</p>
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<p>Nope. I can recommend more than one college, depending on the circumstances. I do think MHC is overlooked initially by a lot of students/parents because it is a women’s college. My kids were both reluctant because of that, but visited, and loved it. Both applied and were accepted, and D2 got great merit aid. Neither attended for various reasons, but I think it is a strong school that more female students should look at. But I can expound equally enthusiastically about Dickinson or Harvey Mudd if you like. :)</p>
<p>I know you can. I’ve heard you on Mudd and D2. Is Mount Holyoke a meets 100% need school? and am I right in thinking that they also offer merit? what’s their record with URMs? </p>