<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I am a mom. I have a junior high daughter. we need to chose colleges. we would like to chose middle/small sized liberal art colleges/universities. any suggestions?</p>
<p>my daughter would like to live in the city, like ski and food, outdoor activity. she is currently a boarding student. she loves her current school.</p>
<p>Many thanks.</p>
<p>h</p>
<p>Living in a city will really limit your options, since the great majority of liberal arts colleges and smaller universities are in smaller places.</p>
<p>Here’s the strategy I’d use:
<p>Some people here would no doubt add a question about money somewhere before step 7. In our experience, however, you really can’t know what a school will cost until you have the acceptances and financial aid packages in hand. In some cases, we were pleasantly surprised; in others, disappointed.</p>
<p>In junior high school (7th-8th grade)? Or a junior in high school (11th grade)? If she is in junior high school, it may be way to early to plan for colleges other than choosing rigorous courses and doing well in them.</p>
<p>The first screens should be:</p>
<ul>
<li>Admission chances: based on her grades and test scores, which schools would she have realistic chances of admission for?</li>
<li>Net cost after non-loan financial aid: which schools are affordable? (check the net price calculator on each school’s web site)</li>
<li>Academic offerings: which schools have good departments in the subjects that she is interested in studying, or good departments in the several subjects she may study if she is undecided?</li>
</ul>
<p>At least one safety must be found that is:</p>
<ul>
<li>Assured admission.</li>
<li>Assured affordable.</li>
<li>Academically suitable for the student.</li>
<li>A place that the student would be happy to attend.</li>
</ul>
<p>Thank you for your help! She is 11th grader in high school. How do we find which school have strong departments in the subject she is interested in? thanks! h</p>
<p>thank you for your help! Would you please specify what is the realistic picture she can be accepted or not by the college she applied for? we have SAT. PSSA, and GPA, and leadership, hobby info, how to match this to a university? thanks! h</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It depends on the subject(s).</p>
<p>In some cases, such as engineering and chemistry, there is accreditation or certification (ABET for engineering, ACS for chemistry) that indicates meeting a decent baseline quality, though some schools’ programs may be better in some respects (which may depend on the student).</p>
<p>In other cases, becoming familiar with the course offerings typical of strong departments in the subject can help evaluate the offerings at a given school.</p>
<p>
Rugg’s Recommendations is a good starting point. Your local library probably has a copy.</p>
<p>Former poster Carolyn had excellent advice about doing your own research.</p>
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<p>It’s an art, not a science, and depends in part on what level of school she’s competitive for. If she’s a legitimate candidate for the more selective schools - say, has a SAT of 2100+, an unweighted GPA at or near 4, and has taken the most rigorous program of study available at her high school - then you basically cast a broad net, because it’s impossible to predict what schools she will get into. (These schools practice so-called “holistic” admissions, and no one can tell from year to year exactly what they’re looking for.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, if she’s one of the 95% of kids who stand no real chance for the most selective schools, things get a big easier. For high-probability admissions, look for schools where she falls somewhere around the 75th percentile of SAT scores (the 25th-to-75th percentile range is available for almost all schools) and has a GPA or class rank that is at least as good as the average for that school. For schools where she is not a lock to get in but still stands a reasonable chance, look for colleges where she falls within that 25th-to-75th percentile range and has a GPA or class rank that’s better than the low end of their admitted students.</p>
<p>And oh, did I mention - make sure you have at least one financial safety, a school (1) she’d like to attend, (2) can for sure get in, and (3) you can afford even with the most pessimistic financial aid picture.</p>
<p>If she goes to a good boarding school, the counselors there will know the schools and be ble to help a lot.</p>
<p>hc, start with the money. If you intend to pay full tuition, then proceed without restrictions. If you need or want financial aid, first determine if you are eligible for need based aid. You can do this by using an on-line calculator. If that works for you, your daughter will have a fairly wide list. If need based aid doesn’t work, then she’ll have to concentrate on colleges that offer merit aid.</p>
<p>Second, round out her “wishlist.” I wouldn’t concentrate too much on her academic area of interest as this is likely to change. I would instead focus on atmosphere and personality. </p>
<p>There are small liberal arts colleges and medium sized privates that are located in cities, but they don’t have easy access to skiing and outdoors activity. The schools that are known to be ski and outdoors-friendly are not in cities. At this point she may pursue both directions but she’s unlikely to find one that offers both.</p>
<p>Other factors to consider are geography, Greek (sorority) presence, political activism, arts, sports. Would she consider an all women’s school? </p>
<p>After she’s narrowed in on two or three that sound good she can expand her list to include a range of selectivity. In other words, reach, match, safety schools with similar personalities.</p>
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<p>If she is likely to change or is undecided, then the school needs to be strong in enough of the subjects that she may change into. A narrowly focused school like Sarah Lawrence or Harvey Mudd would not be a good choice for someone likely to change academic interest to a subject out of their focus areas.</p>
<p>Similarly, if you know that she is likely to stay within a particular area (e.g. arts, humanities, social studies, or science), then you can avoid schools weak in that general area. For example, Sarah Lawrence would be a poor choice for a student focused on science, and Harvey Mudd would be a poor choice for a student focused on arts and humanities.</p>