Repeating for emphasis: Massachusetts public universities have a low tuition/high fees model, so that free tuition is practically meaningless - kids who win" free tuition" discover too late that they’re stuck with huge bills (15-20k).
Seconding Elon.
once again, thank you everyone! @ColdinMinny , I don’t think Elon is right for me, just based off of some people from my school that have gone there. I know that’s kind of a silly criterion, but, again, I do have too many choices. I should have clarified with schools like NYU and BU-- while they are obviously not small LACs, I think the strength in my areas of interest probably outweight the negatives of being in a city.
@porcupine98 , yeah, I think Wesleyan is pretty far out of my range based on my school’s naviance. Tulane isn’t quite the vibe I’m looking for. Where did your S/D end up choosing?
@insanedreamer , to be clear, I have absolutely no reservations about people on the West Coast-- I’d love to broaden my horizons. It’s just my parents that are a little xenophobic, for lack of a better term.
@gardenstategal , I guess I keep such a disparity because I could see myself enjoying both. My preference as of right now is a small LAC, but I would be flexible enough to be able to enjoy a city environment. I would love to apply to more reaches, but I think that’s already kind of the makeup of my list-- all reaches and safeties. I don’t really think I have any targets. I actually visited Vassar and loved it, but that would probably end up being the biggest reach on my list, and I do have to narrow down. Bard I was planning on visiting, but my father was very against it: “a school where rich kids go to slack off.” As you can maybe tell, I have some serious helicopter parenting going on.
@TomSrOfBoston I could be totally wrong about that. I thought I saw somewhere that that was “technically” the rule there. Obviously it’s not enforced particularly strongly (American University is also technically dry), but I figured those colleges may have slightly less of that scene. As for internships and jobs, I’m certainly interested in pursuing those, but (this could be somewhat of a cavalier attitude) I feel that any college worth its salt will offer those in some capacity, so it’s not my primary concern in my college search.
I don’t know if you plan to tour American and GW but American does have a campus, it is GW that does not.
Many of the schools on your list are small and in rural areas. Some are large and urban and not known for being generous with FA or merit money such as NYU, also no real campus, same as BU.
Some of the schools on your list that I toured with either or both of my daughters included Oberlin which I personally thought was remote, about 45 minutes from Cleveland. Even though tons to do on campus and vacation travel to the airport, hard to get to the airport if you need to get home for a weekend for any reason.
Older d was a candidate for a faculty assignment at Kenyon and was concerned about remoteness. Many rural and isolated schools have pronounced drinking cultures.
UBC, large beautiful campus, easy to get to downtown Vancouver on public transportation, outstanding climate, beautifully sited.
@bookmama22 I actually toured both over the summer. I guess you’re right, American does have a campus, just not like a LAC.
I should mention to all still following this post-- I have just about eliminated Oberlin (excessively liberal) and Kenyon (just such an extreme drinking culture, which is a shame, because I did really like the campus and some of the programs.)
On the other hand, Dickinson has been rising on my list the more I’ve read about it. Still certainly looking for input, though. You’ve all been great, keep it coming!
Are you sure Kenyon has an extreme drinking culture? I hadnt heard that. Check on the Kenyon board.
I think you’re going to find pockets of heavy drinking everywhere. Again, I wouldn’t eliminate an otherwise intellectually stimulating school on those grounds alone.
@citymama9 , Yeah, the Kenyon board especially, just about everything I’ve read has mentioned a very heavy amount of drinking, probably more so than any other school I’ve looked at. I think the complete isolation of the campus may lend itself to that kind of social scene.
@porcupine98 I totally get what you’re saying, but, again, I do have to eliminate some schools from a list of many intellectually stimulating schools. Given that I would already be way out of my comfort zone in a tiny Ohio town, I think there’s a good chance Kenyon could be too much for me if I didn’t feel like I was able to avoid the drinking culture. Still open-minded, though, but it looks like that could be one to go.
BU is not a dry campus. If you are over 21, you may have 1 litre of alcohol for each 21+ student in the dorm room/suite and/or 72 ounces of beer (ie: 6 pack). ie: a 4 person suite if all are over 21 can have 4 litres in the room, or up to 4 6 packs of beer. Anything above that is confiscated by staff and disciplinary action may follow. I was an RA–trust me, I know the alcohol policy haha. If you are under 21, BU enforces the law: usually the 1st time you get a warning, but repeat offenders may be kicked out of housing usually, possibly expelled, and/or face legal consequences. Regardless of age, if you are found to be extremely intoxicated, RAs/staff are required to call an EMT and if you are underage, you may face legal consequences. So yeah: there’s booze at BU but it’s not a party school, and alcohol policy is strictly enforced. RAs do room checks and respond to noise violations–so no partying in your dorm room if you’re under 21.
It sounds like you might be willing to compromise on location to fit your other needs, which is good. What you describe/what you want to go into describes Emerson and BU to a t. That said, with your GPA, BU is a reach. Emerson might be a match. BU is going to look closely at your course rigor and grade trends–an UW 3.2 will be tricky. Show interest, and you might strongly consider applying to CGS to increase your odds of getting in (or at least ticking the box for CGS as a backup option). COM Film & TV or COM broadcast journalism sounds like they might be ideal programs for you.
I’m not sure where you are getting your information @SilverHill. I have a daughter at Kenyon. She doesn’t drink, is not at all interested, and has not experienced any pressure to do so. She has found an abundance of evening and weekend opportunities for those who don’t drink. To name just a few, there are concerts, plays and dance performances, along with a wide variety of speakers, from authors to political figures. There is so much going on that she cannot possibly do it all. She does not feel “complete isolation”. Note that Columbus (a city larger than Boston), is only 45 miles away.
Definitely drop Kenyon if you feel it won’t be a “fit” for you. However, a close reading of the Kenyon forum will show you that there are other posters who state that their non-drinking children have thrived there.
@proudterrier Heh, I stand corrected I guess. As for fit, my guidance counselor also told me BU may be a reach (I had originally been thinking match, based on naviance graphs and everything.)
@apple23 , Huh, maybe I was wrong. I’ll definitely reconsider Kenyon, because there were certainly other aspects that I liked. Thank you for your post!
These articles pertain to your interest in creative writing:
http://college.usatoday.com/the-10-best-american-colleges-for-writers/
http://contently.net/2014/11/06/resources/10-best-colleges-creative-writers/
http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america
I can think of unserious schools for rich kids, but Bard isn’t one of them! If anything, I think Bard is more serious in its intellectual focus than many others. The writing faculty there is wow. If you like this one, get your parents additional info. If it’s not interesting to you, no worries.
Denison is in a small town/village, but 20 minutes from a huge outdoor mall, with high end shopping, and about 30 minutes from Columbus. So, for some, it can be a best of both worlds – small community with access to city. The student body is “balanced” in that there is no dominant type – there are preppie east coast lax kids, social justice kids, artists etc. The fact that there is not an overwhelming liberal vibe can make it feel more “moderate.” As with many LACs, there is a party/drinking/hook up scene, but there are also lots of kid not doing that. Greek life does not dominate social scene.
Dickinson has a very similar feel, as does St Lawrence (all schools my kid visited several times). All three might give good merit for that ACT score, though hard to predict how it would play out with the UW gpa.