Ideas? Beginning the search..

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi I'm new here. I'm looking for a list of potential colleges for a HS junior who has a stellar GPA (4.0 so far in honors/AP), really good test scores (math is lowest--don't have PSATs yet but sophomore scores were 95th percentile overall), who is active in school (NHS, cross country, track, newspaper) but isn't really a leader. She's extremely reserved and she had a major setback at the end of freshman year (her dad passed away) that derailed her from getting set up to take leadership positions in high school clubs, etc. Sophomore year was a black hole in terms of ECS--she kept her grades up but that was it.</p>

<p>I have suggested internships/ trips in the summer but she's reluctant to get too far from home, although she cloaks it in some very practical excuse, but the bottom line is she's more of a homebody than she will admit to anyone. </p>

<p>Academically she's very strong--she took Spanish at the University this summer and got the second highest grade in the class even though she was the only high school student. She's in 4 APs as a junior (including Calc and Physics) and is getting As. </p>

<p>She's also socially very conservative. We are in the Pacific NW and the brainiac school here is Reed, but Reed also has a pretty "out there" social environment and she doesn't have much patience with that. She's pretty traditional, somewhat religious (Catholic) and interested in almost everything: loves math and science but tests better in language and writing. Loves learning foreign languages. Loves arguing. Loves playing piano (alone--not involved in that at school).</p>

<p>She's serious,practical yet screamingly funny. She hates intellectual pretensions and misunderstood geniuses, but she's also more interested in learning than in grades. </p>

<p>I am looking for a list of schools that would be a good fit. Not too intense and intellectual, but competitive and academically rigorous.</p>

<p>We visited JHU, Penn and MIT last spring, and she hated JHU--there was a vibe there that she loathed. Penn was OK but kind of preppy--in her mind not worth the hype. She loved MIT--something about it just grabbed her. She doesn't have the math scores to be competitive there.</p>

<p>I am looking for schools that offer the unique combination of quirky and practical that MIT offered, but a notch or two down in terms of the competition. She won't get any need based aid since she has a trust from her dad, so a place with generous merit aid would be good too.</p>

<p>Sorry to ramble on like this, but I have been in forums before and know that the collective wisdom can be a powerful thing!</p>

2

<p>What size school, University or LAC, and what location? Does it matter?</p>

3

<p>Welcome, Mombot! I know you'll find a warm reception here, and I hope you'll find some of the answers you seek and many useful sources of information (including the people who hang out here!)</p>

<p>Regarding your post above: Don't count MIT out if she loved it. Do <em>not</em> make the mistake of assuming you have to be an across-the-board 800 scorer to be accepted there: it isn't like that (anymore). What math scores <em>does</em> she have?</p>

<p>Although MIT is a reach for <em>everyone</em>, I'd encourage you (and she) not to rule it out. (My older son is now a freshman there. And as a JHU alum, I promise not to take the loathing personally. ;) )</p>

4

<p>Tell us a bit more about her. Does she have any preferences about parts of the country? Would she prefer a small (say under 2,000), a medium (under 10,000) or large school? Would she tolerate frats and sororities or prefer to avoid that scene if possible? How would her best friend describe her? Is she open to Catholic schools? Would she consider an all female school?</p>

<p>That said, one school in the PNW that immediately came to my mind was Whitman College in eastern Washington State. Other liberal arts schools for her to check out might include: Carleton, Holy Cross, St. Olaf, Grinnell, Middlebury, Dickinson (on preppy side though), Furman U in SC, and, if she's open to all female schools, Smith, Wellesley, Scripps, Mt. Holyoke. In terms of mid-sized universities, she might like Rice, Georgetown, Santa Clara U, University of San Diego, U of Notre Dame, Boston College.</p>

5

<p>Why not visit a cluster of small liberal arts schools to see how she reacts? </p>

<p>Here are some easy visit combinations, with potential add-ons in (parentheses):</p>

<p>Cali/LA: Scripps, Pomona and Occidental
Upper Midwest: Carleton and St. Olaf College (Lawrence U or Grinnell)
Ohio: Kenyon, Denison and College of Wooster (Oberlin)</p>

6

<p>I was thinking Whitman as I was reading your post. They have a generous merit scholarship program for such an excellent school. The student needn't apply for the scholarship. All applicants are considered.</p>

<p>Occidental also has the kind of atmosphere I think she is seeking with a very generous merit program.</p>

<p>I believe Smith has some merit scholarships, and their college Republican club has finally renewed their web site.</p>

7

<p>It's too early in the process to do anything but throw out general suggestions.</p>

<p>However, based on everything you have described, I would recommend throwing a healthy number of small liberal arts colleges on her list for consideration. I think these colleges would be most likely to make her feel comfortable in getting involved with activities, making friends, etc. </p>

<p>Among those I would consider would be:</p>

<p>Swarthmore (brainiac like MIT, but much more warm and fuzzy; liberal but not "far out" like Reed), Pomona, Grinnell, Carleton, Davidson and many of the women's colleges including Smith, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, and Mt. Holyoke. There are many more.</p>

<p>Among smaller universities, I would add UChicago and Rice. Also, both quite brainiac. Chicago might not have quite the community to sweep your daughter up in a circle of friends socially. It's a bit more of a "sink or swim" place like MIT. Rice might be a little too science oriented, but a great school and certainly worth considering.</p>

<p>All of these schools are on the milder end of the college party scene (drinking, etc.). All tend to be pretty serious academically.</p>

<p>I see others have made some good suggestions a little further down the selectivity ladder. As I say, focusing on that really can't happen until SAT scores are in hand.</p>

8

<p>INTERESTEDDAD HAS GREAT IDEAS.</p>

<p>It would help to know what "too far from home" means (where is your home?)</p>

<p>Your daughter sounds like a great kid and a survivor. That's wonderful. Congratulations on raising a wonderful kid.</p>

9

<p>What seems like far now may not seem that way in 2 years! If you apply to some distance and some close to home you can choose just prior to the end of senior year.....when more is known about her feelings. One thing is certain if you don't apply you won't have the option. Good luck, the looking part can be very fun and informative.</p>

10

<p>mombot, everyone else has the basic stuff covered. </p>

<p>Let's move on to the cash. Get a pen and paper and write down RPI Medal $15k , Furman Scholar $4k, Centre Fellow $6k . These are per year for 4 years. All are school specific but all are great schools . Get the GC to nominate her if she has interest in those schools. These scholarships are awarded in their JUNIOR year. There are others who have similar nomination type scholarships for kids with her stats. Good luck. Have some fun with it. I have.:)</p>

<p>Oh, and when CTCL (Colleges That Change Lives ) comes around -go to their fair. 4 of the schools my daughter is applying to were found at a CTCL program.</p>

11

<p>When I first read that she liked MIT, but may not be a competitive applicant there, I thought you should look at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). But then as I read on, I was thinking she needs to look at a few more liberal arts colleges. That may be a better overall fit.</p>

12

<p>I would really encourage following through on your original plan to look for a summer program on a college campus. Even a week or two would be helpful. This can be a big help in getting an idea of what to look for in a campus environment. Some previous experiences can make it much easier to adapt once she does go to college.</p>

13

<p>Mombot, </p>

<p>I heartily concur with many of these ideas. Son attended U Chicago last summer as a rising senior, and it did him an enormous amount of good, both academically and socially. He's also getting a reference from the instructor. </p>

<p>Another school to consider might be U Rochester, if your daughter is looking for something in the medium range.</p>

<p>Good for you starting to think about these things this early. The time will fly by!</p>

14

<p>Rensselaer (RPI), Carnegie Mellon, University of Kansas, Cornell College, Southwestern University, Creighton, Benedictine College, University of St. Mary (Leavenworth, KS), Washington Univ. in St. Louis, University of Chicago, St. Louis University (SLU), Samford (in Alabama), Baylor, Elmhurst </p>

<p>Baylor has an on-line financial aid estimator - check it out. </p>

<p>Since she liked the MIT type schools - check some of these too.................University of Missouri-Rolla, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Colorado School of Mines, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Cal-Poly, Cal-Tech</p>

<p>If she decides to major in Engineering..........as a female.........there may be scholly dollars out there for that.......check Kansas State and University of Kansas</p>

15

<p>"She's also socially very conservative. We are in the Pacific NW and the brainiac school here is Reed, but Reed also has a pretty "out there" social environment and she doesn't have much patience with that."</p>

<p>I'm not sure how the above could match some of the recommendations in this thread. Having gone to a primary selection for someone who has a similar "social" position to the OP's daughter, I have no idea how the all-girls schools could possibly provide good fit, especially considering the "socially" conservatives' of Smith and Mt Holyoke. Further, for someone who has little patience with THAT, you could also scratch schools such as Pomona and Swarthmore -s0rry I-Dad- and most definitely Amherst which crows about its conservative not welcome status. </p>

<p>For students who value conservative positions AND are not prepared to fight tooth and nail in a very vocal way, the schools that offer a good fit are alas much rarer than for liberal-minded students. It is one thing to be subject to liberal infested faculty, but it is quite a different ordeal when the same spirit permeates the entire student body. I agree that LAC's should provide a wonderful match to the OP's daughter, but the overwhelming majority of what has been suggested does not seem to fit the criteria of the OP. </p>

<p>My suggestion is to read the ISI guide to the RIGHT college - no pun intended.</p>

16

<p>Mombot, I have little to add to the excellent advice you are getting. I would push her to go to some sort of summer program this year - not to improve her college admission chances, but to "push her out of the nest" a little. Something not too long and not too far from home - just give her some feel for living in a dorm. Does your state have a Governor's School? A three-four week program would be perfect.
As far as looking at schools, Whitman was also the first one I thought of, although I know little about it except what I have learned from this board. I agree that LACs might be a good choice for her, but keeping in mind a LAC might not work if she is interested in engineering. She should be keeping a very open mind at this point, but as a Mom, I would be very neutral about location.
Posters on this site are generally big on kids going to the best fit school, even if it is far away, sometimes especially because it is far away, BUT for her, part of best fit may be a school closer to home. I would discuss pros and cons of both size and location, very neutrally.
For example, far away schools might be more comfortable if they are smaller and more nurturing (nurturing is not and adjective for MIT), or she may want some of the anonymity and wide choice of a big school, but need to be close to home to make up for the huge school. How she feels about location may change as she changes over the next year - that's the point of looking close to home and far away and being neutral with feedback. Sometimes on thsi forum, in the enthusiasm to get kids in to the best possible school for them, we lose sight of the idea that "being away from home" is a state of mind - they can have flown the nest and only be 3 hours from home.</p>

17

<p>As a liberal, I second Xiggi's post. Some of these schools, good as they are, probably are not a good fit at all for someone looking for a socially conservative campus scene. It's one thing to enjoy spirited debate; it's quite another to feel unwelcome on a regular basis. The ISI guide is a good starting point, but take some of its sweeping statements with a grain of salt.</p>

18

<p>"I am looking for schools that offer the unique combination of quirky and practical that MIT offered, but a notch or two down in terms of the competition"...."competitive and intellectually rigorous"</p>

<p>good description of Carnegie Mellon.</p>

19

<p>good point cangel - some of my d's friends from class of 2005 have stayed very near home for school..........but they moved into dorms on campus. one says it's great........she can go home for a meal, see extended family when they visit, do her laundry, etc.<br>
would say not many kids from my d's school go out of state to college........many stay in-state, some in the same town..........some go about 2 hours away or usually less. some do attend schools in bordering states.
mombot - the public library has guide books - fiske and others.....or you can buy guide books at bookstores..........there are on-line website like peterson's search. all very helpful.<br>
something to check into...............how easy is it to travel to the school ...........are there non-stop flights? nearby airports? would each trip require plane changes? what is actual travel time...........even if by air?</p>

20

<p>xiggi, we are reading her differently. I read "socially conservative" and see tee-totaler, non-druggie, not into "hook-ups" , conservative in attire and body art. I don't see religious right, anti-choice, anti-evolution, pro-Republican. Maybe I'm wrong. It has happened before.;) </p>

<p>My D is also socially conservative, but politically liberal (as that term is mis-defined in our shared state). Maybe the OP's kid is the same? That is, IF we haven't sent the OP screaming into the woods by now . LOL.</p>