Hi everyone, I started a college list and I can use some help editing. What would you cut? Any others I should look at? I know I still have a lot of time but it suddenly feels like time is moving a lot faster. I have no desire to apply to 30+ schools so I could use some help. Are these categorized appropriately? Are my reaches too reach-y?
About me
High school junior
Female
Mixed race - Filipino/Hawaiian/Caucasian
Large CA public high school
Major
Undecided, likely humanities or social science
Budget
Per mom, $50,000 per year max. NPC is all over the place because my parents are divorced but it looks like most should meet that.
Stats
GPA - 3.4 unweighted, 3.7 weighted, 3.8 CSU/UC
SAT - taking Saturday, practice tests as high as 1400 but we’ll see.
School Activities
Varsity cheer x 3, continuing next year & will try for captain
Dance x 3, continuing next year
Theater x 2, continuing next year (have been choreographing as well as performing in shows)
Choir x 1, continuing next year
School ambassador - Show new students around school, help them get involved in activities & clubs, introduce them to people. Also reach out to students who seem isolated
French club
Art club
LGBTQ+ alliance
Outside of school
Competitive dancer
Work at dance studio as TA and substitute teacher
Volunteer teaching a dance class at my town’s senior center
Wishlist
Small to medium sized (1,000-10,000 students)
Vibrant arts community
Opportunity to participate in theater & dance (school department or club)
Strong academic advising
Residential campus (guaranteed housing a plus)
Northeast location or 4 seasons of weather preferred.
LGBTQ+ friendly
Minimal Greek life
Proximity to airport is a plus
Offering ASL is a plus (local CC only offers it online)
My List
Safety
Sonoma State -in-state
Chico State -in-state
Southern Oregon -guaranteed WUE
Target
Western Washington
University of Maine
SUNY Geneseo -match CA flagship (Cal)
University of New Hampshire
Susquehanna University
Seton Hall University
Willamette University
Lewis & Clark College
Ithaca College
Quinnipiac University
Hobart William Smith College
Muhlenberg College
Marist College
Drew University
Bard College
Roger Williams University
Salve Regina University
Allegheny College
Lawrence University
Clark University
Agnes Scott College (I know this is not my desired location but I love the idea of attending a women’s college)
I can see what you’re looking for in a college in general, but what are the small things that matter to you? You have a wide range of sizes, but is their a smaller range? What about geography? Urban/suburban/rural?
What are your financial restrictions?
I’ll get back to your list tomorrow, and hopefully there will be others who can also help.
I think the problem is that I can see myself being happy in a lot of different places. It’s a blessing and a curse.
Ideally I would like somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 students and far enough away from the city that students will be very involved on campus (and come to my shows haha).
St Olaf, Ithaca, Muhlenberg, Quinnipiac, and WWU will all stay on the list because they have active clubs for my favorite style of dance although if I go somewhere else I will just start one.
My budget is $50,000 per year but lower would be better. I feel guilty asking my parents to pay that much.
I am a confident traveler but some of the schools that are very far from an airport (like Bard) give me pause because it seems like a hassle but it’s only a few times per year. I know I could manage. I’m not too worried about the travel expense. We have tons of miles. My dad practically lives on planes.
Living in California I would love to go somewhere with 4 seasons. I have visions of fall leaves and old buildings and sliding down snowy hills on makeshift sleds. I wanted to go east but I also think it’s a good idea to keep some west coast schools on the list.
I’m glad to see Southern Oregon on your list - that’s where my mind went when I read your list of criteria. Ashland does have seasons - even snow at times, and if it’s not enough snow for you, there are mountains not far away where you can slide down snowy hills It’s a great deal with WUE, and everyone I know who has gone there has loved it.
You’re already looking at the SUNY flagship match program - take a look at SUNY Purchase, which has the “artsy” (and LGBTQ+ friendly) vibe that you like. (Pretty close to the NY metro airports too)
Have you already eliminated schools where the NPC result is above your price point?
What style of dance? A university that might be a sleeper would be Ohio University in Athens Ohio. It has a BFA, a BA and three minors in dance. It’s a state school but feels very liberal arts. It’s the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains so it’s not at all what you would expect Ohio to be like. The surrounding area is beautiful and it definitely has 4 season. It is the oldest university in the “Northwest territory” founded in 1804. It’s oldest building date from the 1820’s and the rest of the architecture stays true to that feel. It’s tongue in cheek called the “Harvard on the Hocking”. It would cost well below what your maximum would be and you’d likely be eligible for scholarships. It is larger than what you want (around 18k undergrads) but feels smaller than that but with the opportunities a larger campus affords. I believe living on campus is required for freshman and sophomores.
My D was an excellent HS student and ended up choosing this above other schools. She majored in Dance but is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy student. People tend to love the university. Good luck in your choices.
I’m not familiar with the dance/arts world (our house is mostly STEM), so these are just thoughts.
My niece is loving Skidmore (sophomore), no Greek life, great arts/dance options, 4 seasons weather. Not sure how the airports stuff are, since she drives from MA.
Have you visited/tour a lot of these colleges?
Clark in Worcester is a TINY college. While nice, it felt like there were only 10-15 buildings on the entire campus.
Research Sarah Lawrence endowment. At $113M, it’s concerning with so many colleges shuttering.
If not closing, what are they cutting back on?
SLC was on that ?consultant grid as financial risk
(can anyone remember that grid? I will update if/when I can locate this consultant/grid).
Point Park is a serious dance program. I know your competitive but you’ll be up against national champions. Not saying you can’t but it’s different from the others you mentioned. I like Mulenburg. Great scene there.
Hi. My oldest is at Oberlin and very happy there. Their two safeties were Kalamazoo College and Dickinson College. We were very impressed with both. Visited Kalamazoo but didn’t visit Dickinson. Given what you are looking for I think Dickinson could be a great addition.
Also, while not 4-seasons, Occidental would seem to be a good local option - maybe a reach though?
Yes. PP dance is very competitive. I was thinking more of club dance. Plus being surrounded by artsy students and having access to the cultural district. It’s amazing how much Point Park has bought and developed downtown or dahntahn in Pittsburghese.
If willing to add a college, look at Washington college in Maryland. It has everything you listed in original list, plus the east coast brick campus with lots of trees and 4 seasons and is isolated enough that the activities happen in campus (vs city, where the city is the camous) that you listed later. Don’t look at sticker price, they give great merit.
I think you have made an excellent initial list. I can tell a lot of thought went into it. I think you have characterized each category correctly and I do not think your reaches are “too reachy.”
This is what I would do next to try to prune the list: Start comparing 2 schools against each other in your mind. Which seems to win? Don’t over think it too much. Then if the losing school is either more expensive or reachier than the winning school, eliminate it. If you can’t make up your mind, then leave them both on the list for now.
Here’s an example of how it would look in MY case (note, these are based on my OWN preferences, and yours may differ)
Comparing Agnes Scott and Trinity in my mind, personally, Agnes Scott seems cooler to me (I like women’s college and Trinity tends to be preppy which is not me.) Ok I can eliminate Trinity because it is both “reachier” and more expensive than Agnes Scott.
Comparing Bard and St. Olaf in my mind, personally I like St. Olaf better (shorter plane ride, gorgeous campus, lots of sledding and theater, super supportive.) Ok I can eliminate Bard because it is reachier and more expensive than St. Olaf.
Maybe do this until you have eliminated 10+ schools.
ETA: Also choose your favorite school of your safeties (don’t overthink it.) Eliminate every school on the list that you like LESS than this safety (again, don’t overthink it.)
Also, if you end up at one of your safeties due to price, don’t forget about National Student Exchange! NSE is a program that allows a student to do up to a year of exchange at any of the other participating ~200 schools. Most of the schools are in the US, but a few are in Canada or the Caribbean. Some really cool schools participate, including all your safeties! Your credits transfer automatically, and best of all, you only pay what you are paying already at your home institution!
So for example, let’s say you decide on Sonoma State, but are still slightly bummed because you want to experience 4 seasons, old buildings and sledding. You can do up to a year of exchange at St. Olaf, paying only Sonoma tuition! https://nse.org/exchange/colleges-universities/alpha-location/
People, the posts on whether specific colleges will survive belong in the Rest in Peace thread, where they will be appreciated. However, here they are derailing the thread.
I have visited only a handful of these schools but I met a ton of admissions reps at local college fairs. I love college fairs. I make a point to talk to every college I never heard of and it is so interesting. One thing I didn’t understand - the line for the UCLA table was always out the door. Why? It’s not that far and I can easily get in my car and drive there and see it in person. (Sorry about the side rant)
I have a google sheet where I am tracking all of my college info. I have my mom helping with the NPC calculators. She is running the calculator with both her tax return info from this year and my parents’ joint return last year so we have two columns for that. I also have marked all of the colleges that require the CSS from the non-custodial parent. I also added a column with the financial grade for each institution from the link you provided. If I eliminate all of the D grades, that removes 3 schools - Sarah Lawrence, Roger Williams, and Drew.
I like the idea of choosing two colleges and comparing them directly and eliminating the loser. It’s sort of like March Madness for choosing where I will apply.
I started dancing at 5 and danced 15-20 hours a week through all of middle school and my first year of high school. That was a rough year, training and competing in masks, but it was the only way I was able to be around other people. My grades suffered horribly (for a lot of reasons) so I cut back as a sophomore. I dance all styles - ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, hip hop. I have even taken classes in ballroom, flamenco, and break dance. I also dance hula. Tap is my favorite. I love to dance and make music at the same time. It’s also the style I teach at the senior center.
If you are interested in a women’s college and 4 seasons and historic buildings and sledding down the hills when it snows, consider Hollins University in Roanoke VA. It’s got all that — supportive environment, healthy endowment (an anonymous alumna recently gave $75mil), beautiful campus and location in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Your grades and scores should be fine. They have dance and theater. Definitely worth checking out. Very LGBTQ friendly as are most women’s colleges. Sticker price is around $50k, but they usually give out generous aid to most students to bring it down to around $30-35K.
It’s a great deal with WUE, and everyone I know who has gone there has loved it.
