<p>My B average rising junior Hispanic son (adopted from Colombia) and our NJ family will be taking a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains this summer and plan to visit some good colleges on the way there.</p>
<p>He is interested in Education and the sciences. Average soccer and lacrosse player. Sings in the chorus. Does lots of community service. He is very social among close groups of friends. Don't know if he'd like a big or small school -- we visited the 10,000-strong U of Miami this summer and he loved it. I definitely don't want a party school.</p>
<p>Which schools in SC, NC or TN would you recommend for a great all-around experience, strong in education or science? Any of these to stay away from?</p>
<p>We are considering:
USC
NC State
UNC Chapel Hill
U of T - Knoxville
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Clemson
Furman
College of Charleston</p>
<p>Of course, other areas of the country are not out of the question -- we are just beginning our search -- but will be vacationing there anyway.</p>
<p>Definitely check out Wake Forest because they are a liberal arts school and are strong in education. Wake has a liberal arts core where you are required to take a certain amount of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, an art/dance/theater class, etc. There are just over 4,000 undergraduates at Wake and their motto is pro humanitate (for humanity) so community service is something they put focus on. I'm going to be a freshman at Wake in a few weeks and another aspect of it that stood out to me was the division 1 athletics which means that school spirit is something really big there (and something I wanted) even though the school isn't that big.<br>
Something that may turn you off about Wake is the lack of diversity. Now this could work to your advantage because there is definetly a hispanic presence lacking there, so your son would have a good shot getting in and possibly get money (there are specific scholarships for URMs at Wake). I don't know about your area in NJ but where I'm from (Brielle which is in southern monmouth county) our school isn't diverse at all (Manasquan High School) and I know that Wake will seem pretty diverse to me! If you have any questions about Wake feel free to PM me :)</p>
<p>I don't know a ton about the other schools, but I have visited a few. Chapel Hill will be extremely difficult to get into, because only 19% of the kids are from out of state. You really need ivy league credentials to get in. However, if its his dream school apply :) if you don't apply you won't get in :)</p>
<p>Charleston is a nice school in the city of Charleston. However, I found it too southern for my liking. Wake is in the south by many of the people are from the Northeast. Even while visiting I found myself in a bit of a cultural shock :P It was a very nice school though.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Furman are similar to Wake (I considered both but never visited). Vandy is on the smaller side and has the D-1 athletics but is in the city of Nashville (Winston-Salem is nice, but no one would confuse it with a big city :) ) Furman is easier to get into than Wake or Vandy but all of these schools are not considered the most diverse. </p>
<p>The only school I'm 100% familiar with is the University of Tennesse in Knoxville, because that where I am a student.</p>
<p>UT has a reputation of being a so called 'party school.' Sure, there is partying that goes on, but there will be some degree of partying at any institution. Honestly though, if you want to stay away from it, there is no problem in doing so. There is diversity, all sorts of people into all different things. That is also why there are over 300+ student organizations. They have something for everyone to get involved in.</p>
<p>UT is a school of deep tradition. Being the 'Volunteers' there is a sense of always wanted to reach out and be a part of the Knoxville community. There are various student organization dedicated just to volunteering and community service. Knoxville and the state of Tennessee recognize UT as an asset to the community.</p>
<p>I dont know much about the education program, but they have lots of opportunities in the science department. UT has a partnership with the Oak Ridge Laboratory and students can work on research with them. They do some really important things that will not only effect the Knoxville and Tennessee community, but the whole country and the worldThere are are so many other great opportunities available. </p>
<p>The campus in my opinion great. It has rolling hills, trees everywhere. It right next to the Tennessee river. Some may say it's hideous, but I take pride in my school and really like it. </p>
<p>I was also an out of state applicant, so it's not as if I have grown up knowing that UT was where I would go. I fell in love when I went and took a tour during the summer. If nothing else, I would say go to the website and register for a tour.</p>
<p>If you have any other question about UT, feel free to ask. I'd be more than happy to answer. Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>Since you will be in the mountains you might want to go by Western Carolina University. It is a good school for a B student. It is a small state university and reasonably priced. </p>
<p>Re:NC State, my S goes there and loves it. If you apply there, you must apply directly to the department of your major. Some majors are much harder to be accepted to than others. For instance a B student from out of state might have a difficult time getting into the college of engineering or architecture but should have no problem at all getting into the education department. </p>