Help me choose schools for my Homeschool Senior

[Halcyon24]

sorry connecticut college is more of a reach school.

@aquapt

How about Earlham, which shares the Quaker heritage and value system of Haverford and Swarthmore but might give merit? The International Studies program might be of interest, and there could be merit possibilities.

I know your ex’s thinking is out of your hands, but I don’t understand (at all!) the thinking behind insisting on reach and high-reach applications while being unwilling to contribute to the costs if he should happen to get in. There’s no real rationale for a parent to have authority over college choice, and yet for that parent’s financials to be ignored in the FA calculation.

The risk here is that your son could end up with no affordable option. You’re basically saying that his college savings plus direct loans would cover about half the cost of a private college education. Aiming high and expecting a 50% merit discount are incompatible goals.

Why not some public options? There are high-quality smaller SUNY schools (Geneseo, New Paltz, and others) whose OOS sticker price would be in range. UVM is very popular with students who like a private-college ambience (Burlington is a great college town) - a bit expensive for OOS but he might get merit… and U of Maine (less high-profile but similar in size and vibe) would be guaranteed to be affordable because of their Flagship Match program. UNC Asheville is in a southern state, but doesn’t have a typical southern vibe (or weather).

Have you visited Eckerd? There are many stories of FL kids who are determined to leave the state but then love Eckerd when they visit - and it could be quite affordable with merit and/or Bright Futures. (I’m not clear on whether homeschooling changes anything about BF eligibility?)

yes we have visited eckerd. he liked it well enough for an in-state school and my understanding is they’re generous with merit.

[Halcyon24]

[quote=“pluckyrna, post:60, topic:2077004”]

@Halcyon24;d-2167918

Have you considered Franklin & Marshall College? I’m a current undergraduate student there, and I applied with similar SAT scores and GPA that your son has. The school is located in Lancaster, PA (so a small city) and is about an hour away from Philadelphia and an hour or two train ride from NYC. The school has about 2,400 students, so it’s a fairly small liberal arts college. The atmosphere of the school is challenging but not competitive. Students are often willing to help each other out, and most people are there because they wanted an academic challenge. I also know F&M has great accessibility services for people with ADHD/ADD. Quite a few of my friends have accommodations, and they do very well. F&M, being a liberal arts college, is also a good school if your son doesn’t know what he wants to major in yet. Students don’t pick a major until their second semester of their sophomore year. The school also requires that you take classes in various fields to explore different possibilities.

The school has also made a commitment to meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need, which was a big stress relief for me and my family.

Yes–he really likes the look of this school and is applying.