<p>We have encouraged our DD to have only first choice schools in a range from super reach to match. The top reach on her list is Holy Cross - I suspect very little chance. She had been unsure about even trying but did send out the app.
To even be considered I'd need to get her up to HC for an interview. Should I call and try to get some "what are her chances" feedback or just take her up there next week? I kind of hate to set up the whole process if it's going to be a letdown.
She's never had a real interview and is super shy. She met three dept. reps at the Fordham open house and only spoke to the very kind priest representing Medieval Studies.</p>
<p>Take her up there because whatever happens, she needs the interview experience since to get jobs, into graduate school, etc., she'll need to know how to handle interviews.</p>
<p>Don't call because your calling about her chances could make it seem to admissions officers that you are either more interested in your daughter's admissions than she is or your D is so dependent that she can't make calls for herself. I also doubt that HC will give chances estimates, but if they would, they are more likely to do that for your D or her GC than in response to a call from a parent.</p>
<p>I realize time is short, but I'd suggest that, because your daughter has never had an interview, a little practice with less-critical colleges would be helpful if it's feasible to set up local interviews.</p>
<p>No. don't call. Northstarmom is right. Tell your D that if she doesn't give HC a full chance, she will never know what might have been. Accept it as a long shot and then give it your best try. Have attractive safety schools to fall back on.
Fordham with the very kind priest doesn't sound like a bad alternative. What about Marymount College?</p>
<p>find some close adult friends to help her practice...come up with some "stock" answers, go over the HC website, etc</p>
<p>the more interviews a person has, the more comfortable they will get at them</p>
<p>the interviewers aren't there to trick an applicant, they WANT an interview to go well, it is not a "test" but a chance for two people to get to know each other and the student get to now the school better</p>
<p>it is impertative for shy kids to break out of comfort zones and learn to talk to people that can answer questions and help them</p>
<p>and mom, yo should step back and not help D practice, she will depend too much on you, other people are best to help her get used to interviews</p>
<p>this is HER process, and if she doesn't get in, the benefit from the interview will help her with other interviews</p>
<p>sometimes the process is as important as the result</p>
<p>pyewacket, Marymount College is a campus at Fordham University, just like Rose Hill and Lincoln Center</p>
<p>If I may ask, why did you discourage your daughter from applying to any safety schools?</p>
<p>I don't mean to detract from the main focus of the thread, but what's the point in her applying to a "super reach" anyway? If she did get admitted, wouldn't she be uncomfortable about going to a college where her classmates would be far more qualified than she is?</p>
<p>^ Actually the real problem in my mind with the "super reach" is the likelihood of no scholarship money, but then, HC doesn't give out much (any?) anyway. </p>
<p>Even on a super reach, they wouldn't let her in if she wasn't capable of doing the work.</p>
<p>Now, why there is no safety, I can't imagine. Fordham is pretty easy to get into though.</p>
<p>howdy Old in NJ, any chance you are Old in South Jersey?</p>
<p>Your post caught my eye, because anyone not considering Safety schools in this climate, are really taking a gamble. (perhaps we live too close to AC, but as you research some CC history, you will see this can lead to Heartbreak)</p>
<p>After glancing through several of your posts, and getting an idea about your daughter, you might want to look at Marist College.</p>
<p>I know a VERY similar applicant who is very happy there, she also is LD, musical, and benefiting from the small, nurturing environment. She had a family member attend there years ago, so that is how she ended up at Marist, with Merit Money. Her stats were similar to your D's.</p>
<p>The anthropology major may be an obstacle, but you might want to rethink the GC advice regarding the intended major. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM if you are interested in more details.</p>
<p>DSoke--I was thinking of Marymount Manhattan College:
<<mmc consists="" of="" two="" buildings="" on="" 71st="" street="" in="" manhattan="" between="" second="" and="" third="" avenues,="" filled="" with="" study="" lounges,="" science="" labs,="" classrooms,="" studios,="" galleries,="" computer="" club="" meeting="" rooms,="" performance="" venues="" -="" the="" works.="" think="" it="" as="" a="" vertical="" approach="" to="" college.="">></mmc></p>
<p>Also Manhattanville College might be worth looking into.</p>
<p>I want to echo some other advice here: arrange for an on-campus interview and take her there. If HC is a "super reach," then the interview will be a crucial part of the application.</p>
<p>All she needs to do is be herself. Especially if HC is her dream school, a little prep might be in order. My d. interviewed at twelve colleges, and she found that handing them a "resum?" (also known as a brag sheet) that listed her activities and interests prompted good interviews since the interviewer could just look down and ask her about anything there. If your d. balks at this, have her jot down a few points for her own use, so her own achievements/activities are fresh in her mind. (It's difficult to remember when you're under strees.) Also make sure she mentally prepares a few questions to ask the interviewer - even if she already knows the answers - to indicate her interest. These questions should not be basic ones that anyone could find online since that would indicated a lack of research, but ones that show she is already imagining herself on campus. </p>
<p>BTW, if she is accepted to Holy Cross (or any of the other schools), it will be because they are confident she can do the work.</p>
<p>First off, does Holy Cross conduct interviews? Are they evaluative or merely informative? If they're merely informative, I would skip it. If they're evaluative and your daughter can present herself in a positive light, have your daughter (not you) contact HC to set it up. Prep her beforehand, as other posters have suggested. Make sure she has prepared answers to standard questions like, "Tell me about yourself," "What do you like to do after school?" etc., and is comfortable with them.</p>
<p>I hear that Fordham, like many other colleges this year, is getting much harder to get into. For all kids, it's essential to have a safety or two. How about Manhattan College? I don't know too much about Catholic colleges, but Manhattan has a nice campus and location and a decent reputation. Also, I visited Marist a few weeks ago and it was lovely. It's not Catholic officially but has that flavor. Best of luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>My D was accepted ED to HC. They are all about the interview. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. D was interviewed by a senior in a very relaxed atmosphere. She was a nervous wreck going in and came out wondering why she had worked herself into such a frenzy in the first place. </p>
<p>Let me know if you need any info.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a Catholic college, and it's not too late, my oldest son is a junior at St. Michael's College in Vermont. He absolutely loves it. They have a similar teaching philosophy as HC: small classes, low teacher/student ratio, classes taught by professors only who are extremely accessible to the students. My S describes the atmosphere as one in which the professors "just get you excited about everything that you're learning".</p>
<p>oops. I wasn't clear about "safety". I don't like the concept. My dd applied to schools within a large range of I guess reach-match-safety but not for HER. For her they are all #1 schools she would like to attend. Only one - William Paterson U., is not thrilling but still has Ruggs rated anthropology.
The point was to find a range of schools that excited her.
She has loved all of them for different reasons. She is also not letting herself be frantic over one school. We are semi-broke and already pay 400 per month in student loans for DS and other DD. The schools that most fit her vision AND are a match give the least $. As I've posted elsewhere we'd like her to be able to explore her dream subjects..Anthropology major, biology minor (or BS in anthro) plus classes in medieval history, Latin, and if available Celtic studies. St. Patrick's Day as a Big Deal, just like at home. possibly students who has heard of the Wolfe Tones, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphy.
My concern is that HC is going to be a bit tooo thrilling and out of her league. If I wanted her to go to a school that she could not succeed at, I'd have hired tutors/had her do SAT prep courses and made her do EC she didn't care about. What they see on app is 100% the kid.
here is the actual list
W. Paterson U. - accepted Presidential scholar
Rutgers U. - accepted - will apply to live at Douglass College
Holy Cross
Fordham
College of Wooster
Dickinson
Eckerd
St. Michael's -Vt
St. Mary's College of MD
LeMoyne</p>
<p>After hearing the president of Fordham talk *I want a Jesuit education, but each one of these schools is a wonderful match in most ways.</p>
<p>I wanted to clarify even more, perhaps, my views on saftety match reach. The safety should be a great place for the student and one they'd love to attend. The reach should be a great place for the student and one where they could succeed, or what's the point of all this?
The entire list is based on who teaches the classes, how they teach them and how the students treat each other-as best as we can figure out. This DD wants a school that will help her become the best person she can be as a young adult.</p>
<p>I recently talked with a mom who has two daughters who are at Eckerd,. and she said that her daughters love Eckerd. They were honors students at a highly ranked competitive public school in my city, and they had wanted to go to a relatively small college without a heavy drinking culture. They looked at many colleges before finding Eckerd. They are very involved in extracurriculars at Eckerd, and have roommates who come from California and, I think, Alabama. While Eckerd is in Florida, it attacts lots of students from around the country.</p>
<p>I am hoping that my S will consider applying for it because it also sounds like a good college for him since he likes many of the same things that the mom's D's like.</p>
<p>Dickinson is more competitive than Holy Cross. If she wants to get into Dickinson, she should interview there as well; an admissions officer came to my daughter's school a couple of years ago and said that they give weight to on-campus interviews. Dickinson's merit aid is limited to 1360 (CR+M) SATs AND top 10% of class.</p>
<p>If she got into Rutgers, then she should get into many of her other choices. Getting financial aid is another matter entirely.</p>
<p>How about Loyola Maryland? Big Irish presence, Irish American Cultural Club. Lots of Irish dancers go there. Baltimore has a big Irish Festival & plenty of top traditional musicians make their home there & are always performing. They also have medieval studies as a minor.</p>