Input please on several possible colleges

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi</p>

<p>My daughter has a shortened list of colleges and money is definitely a factor. She is both a National Merit SemiFinalist and a National Hispanic Scholar, so the opportunities have been awesome. There have been many "full ride plus" offers but they have almost all come from the south or more rural states. I just can't get her to be interested in those locations, so we have pursued a few of the other opportunities and have come up with a short list and I would love the feedback of anyone that has any advice or experience with any of these colleges. We are in northern Indiana. Her personality is non-preppy, kind of alternative, vegan, enviro conscious, not super liberal really but then again not conservative either. No specific religious beliefs, coming from a Catholic high school and looking for more diversity. Loves biking and is interested in Communications, documentary, international studies, political science, journalism, that sort of thing.</p>

<p>1) Lewis and Clark - this is ONLY a possibility if she earns something called a Neely scholarship, which would provide full tuition. From the info available on the web site, this is a very long shot, but one which I fully support her trying for. Drawback is for me, the mom, I have NO idea about this college or about Portland. Any feedback? </p>

<p>2) Ithaca College - this is ONLY a possibility if she earns something called a Park Scholarship. Also a long shot, but again I encourage her to try her best. My concern with this college is that it seems pretty far from anything other than the college - I am thinking it would be difficult to be involved in anything outside of the campus but that is just what I have heard. Also it seems this is a party school? Am I misled? Upside is they seem to have a really great and solid Communications program/department.</p>

<p>3) Fordham Rose Hill - this is a possibility if they accept her and award her full tuition. It would be difficult, but we probably could somehow manage room and board, though very expensive. We are going to fly to NYC Dec 1 and 2 to visit the Rose Hill campus and both she and I are very interested in the "feel" of the campus. I just don't know if she is going to really get a feel in the short time we are there, although I am sure it will help to visit. They seem to have a great school - but my concern here is cost of living even over and above room and board, and the student body. I am concerned that it might be too conservative for her, but the upside of course is NYC and the huge opportunities for her to do things she has always dreamed of - massive bike rides and involvement in something called Food not Bombs. Any thoughts?</p>

<p>4) Westminster College, Salt Lake City Utah - they have an automatic tuition scholarship, so all we would pay is room and board. The upside is that it is urban, but a small town. She has done a little research on Salt Lake City and they city has a lot of things she is looking for - vegan friendly, an active bike community, and the campus and surrounding areas just look beautiful. What I don't seem to be able to find is any real information on the students and quality of academics. I have looked at some rankings, but not nearly enough for me to feel confident. I hope to fly out there with her in the spring, if we are still undecided. Does anyone have any information about this school? Students? City life in SLC?</p>

<p>5) Last but not least, where it all started before the National Merit thing, IU-Bloomington. This was the only option a few months ago, and it is starting to seem simpler had it been the only option. I think this would be a great school for her, but she is wanting to see something different, so while she agrees that academically this is a good option, she is still interested in the others. We have of course visited IU, as Indiana residents, and it is affordable, close, beautiful, and academically sufficient. Any thoughts on IU?</p>

<p>THANK YOU for any input - parents, current students, or anyone that has two cents to toss in!!</p>

<p>Wendy</p>

2

<p>Have you looked at St. Olaf? They have some nice merit awards. If awarded all of these, they can be stacked:President’s, Leadership, NM. I think she can get the NM as a NMHS.</p>

<p>I think deadlines are coming soon for the first 2 scholarships, so she should check them out soon, as in yesterday. PM me if you have any ? I’m a Hoosier, too.</p>

3

<p>Is it essential that all her options be full rides? While full rides have obvious benefits, they’re always awarded to the types of students who the college could not otherwise hope to attract. Accordingly, while all these institutions are fine schools, your D would not find at them many other NMF-level students to inspire and challenge her. Her job, in return for the full ride, would be to serve as the inspiration and challenge for other students.</p>

<p>Of these five, IU would draw a range of students that would include some number of very high-achieving students. Of course, it will also have a larger cluster of relatively average students too. And in terms of campus climate, it’s going to be quite different from the other four, more intimate campuses you mentioned. FWIW, the fine arts at IU are comparable to those at Juilliard, and if excellence in chosen pursuits is a source of inspiration for your D, it’s certainly apparent in IU’s performing arts programs.</p>

<p>Our Ds bypassed a number of generous scholarships to go to a highly selective campus at which the cost isn’t free, but is reasonable after financial aid. For them it was definitely the right choice, but they’d been raised in a small community in which they’d never had peers who shared their intellectual passions. Being a part of a campus culture in which they could feel they’d finally found their own “tribe” was very important to them. Your D may not have that need as greatly.</p>

4

<p>Agree with gadad. Can we assume you don’t qualify for need based aid? </p>

<p>Sarah Lawrence may be a good fit and Bard–you might see both while you’re in NY. I could see Vassar too but don’t think there is merit aid there.</p>

5

<p>Hi
We will not qualify for need based aid, based on our EFC calculations that we did in a workshop last year. I still have a mountain of my own student loan debt, and will NOT be taking on debt for her college attendance. Just a decision I intend to stick with. At this point I am not really wanting to add yet more colleges to the list, just wanting to get an idea of what the “word on the street” was about some of our possibilities. I have to think that Fordham does not have trouble attracting qualified students, and I am interested to see what their campus feels like as far as the student body. It’s not a given that she will be awarded anything (by Fordham), or even accepted, but I think she has a good shot. IU is still probably the strong second - they DO have great academics and a wide range of foreign languages, as the first reply pointed out. Westminster is an interesting college, I think, I just can’t seem to get any good grasp on the quality of the programs - she should be challenged with her programs and around students that are intellectually matched, that is a very good point that I will keep in mind. I don’t think she’d be satisfied just hanging out for four years.<br>
:slight_smile:
Thanks for the opinions, does anyone know anything about these colleges, besides the fancy marketing materials?<br>
Wendy</p>

6

<p>Lewis and Clark is a very popular school with us Northern Californians. Portland is a fun city–very green with a thriving “young” scene. L&C is a beautiful campus with lots of outdoor opportunities nearby as well. They also have a strong emphasis on study abroad. My cousin’s kid is currently in Zambia. She has found many of the standard LAC positives about L&C: Small classes, and personal attention from professors.</p>

7

<p>Agree with qialah about L&C and Portland. DD2 is a freshman there and loves it. But you are right that the Neely is tough to get. I would suggest Denison as an alternative. DD1 attends there as a junior and NMFs get full tuition scholarships. It’s a beautiful campus.</p>

8

<p>Hi Erin’s Dad,
Funny you should mention that. I am re-reviewing their brochures right now. I think a visit to campus would be do-able since it is a neighboring state and we might be able to just drive. My travel budget is pretty squeezed by our trip to NY. We are pretty close to the Ohio border. What, just curious is your daughter’s major at Denison? What is the campus “feel”? Is it preppy? Conservative? Liberal? Remote? Rigorous? Where do you hail from?<br>
Yes I agree the Neely would be quite a surprise - but she is intent on trying for it and I applaud her in that effort. Her stats are: SAT 1440 (M+CR) good but not excellent, and she is in a school that doesn’t officially rank but I was told that she is in the top 14% of her class, so not at the very top of that either. She happens to test really well and be very strong in the areas of reading, writing, literature, and communication in general.<br>
Looking more into Denison and will post again.
Wendy</p>

9

<p>Hello again,
Replying to my own reply - I reviewed the Denison web site and visit reports and I have to say as good a college as it sounds, I don’t think my D would be happy there. She is not into remote, preppy, greek life type schools. It sounds academically strong and would be a good fit if she were less non-traditional, but I just know her style and Denison isn’t it. I worry to a lesser degree about Ithaca for the same reasons - a larger student body but a remote campus. She is attending a high school that is more preppy/jock/sports dominated and she is looking forward to something different, to getting away from that and it sounds like she would be trapped at Denison. Please disagree with me if I am wrong! I am basing a lot of this on other people’s reviews, web site info, etc.
Wendy</p>

10

<p>If merit aid is the issue I’ll mention Sarah Lawrence again, they are very generous with the kids they want and it sound like what you’re daughter is looking for in terms of student body.</p>

11

<p>Would the U. of Arizona be more welcoming for non-preppy, kind of alternative students? OOS tuition, room, and board there runs around $31,000 a year, and NMFs get $25,000 per year scholarships. Tucson’s kind of a quasi-urban setting.</p>

12

<p>A little word on Ithaca. Having actually visited there, I would not want to go there. It is above the rather nice town of Ithaca, but I mean really above - up a big hill out of town, and then once inside the campus gates, up another long steep hill to the campus buildings. The effect to me is one of extreme isolation, a trip to town on foot would be more like an expedition. Also, the campus itself to me is not that impressive. I’ve heard stories about heavy partying there also, but really this aspect of any campus is very difficult to characterize; every place has its stories, many of which are of questionable value.</p>

13

<p>Hi,
I visited the Sarah Lawrence website. It looks pretty liberal, which probably would be okay with her. I emailed them for more info so hopefully we will get something back soon. I have never heard of it (not surprising to me I am not too college savvy) at first I thought it would be a women’s college by it’s name (she is not interested in a women’s college) but it looks co ed. We’ll see what they say I guess. University of Arizona I don’t know much about - my D was actually born in Phoenix and I have been to Tucson several times but I am not sure if it is going to have much benefit over our IU here in Indiana, other than it is “anywhere but Indiana”. I will talk about both of those with her later when she gets home.<br>
Thanks - and specifically thanks for the Ithaca comment, that is what I suspected might be the case. I don’t really think that remote-ness would appeal to her. A full ride, if she got the Park Scholarship (long shot) would still not be a good deal if the college was not a good fit.<br>
Grateful for all the comments and feedback!! Has been very helpful and am anxious to hear more!
Wendy</p>

14

<p>What about Ohio Wesleyan as a safety? I know they give 70% of students merit aid,and I believe you can get a nice amount. I don’t know much about it though, but it is one of the colleges in the “colleges that change lives” book.</p>

15

<p>If these 5 are truly the only choices, I’d strongly prefer IU or Lewis and Clark, depending on money and whether you prefer a University or a LAC. Fordham appears to have issues of cost and fit (how likely is it she would get a full tuition grant?) The other 2 don’t seem to have much of a following on College Confidential; I would think IU has more to offer.</p>

<p>But this fine kid is a NM semifinalist, National Hispanic Scholar, and ranks in the top 15%. You need to dig a little more for options. L&C sounds like a very good choice; if the financing is dicey then you ought to seek more schools like that, or slightly less selective ones, with your in-state public university as a safety. Sara Lawrence and St. Olaf are good suggestions. There are other nice schools, more or less similar to L&C and that do give merit grants, among the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Closer than Portland, too. Consider Lawrence, Colorado College, Beloit, Knox, etc. (in addition to St. Olaf). It is possible you’d get a large enough merit grant from one of these schools to bring the COA reasonably close to Indiana’s. But it’s not a sure thing; apply to several to increase the chances (after dropping 2 or 3 from your current list).</p>

16

<p>Regarding Westminster College in Salt Lake City, there is a mom on cc who knows quite about it. Her name is Bengalmom. Why don’t you PM her? </p>

<p>Good luck to you and your D.</p>

17

<p>Thanks for the reply on Westminster! I am reviewing the list of Colleges That Change Lives - wish I had reviewed this earlier in the year, but better late than never. Will have my D review this set of colleges. The one from the south - Birmingham Southern, already sent a full ride offer which I was very excited about, but she just isn’t interested in the South. :frowning: I will definitely email Bengalmom. Thanks again! Keep any thoughts coming - they are all helpful.
Wendy</p>

18

<p>Sarah Lawrence is an elite little college with a very liberal/alternative slant in a really nice suburb of NYC. I know many kids who sound a lot like your daughter who have loved it. I’ve also seen them give free merit rides to top URM students. It’s about a half hour by commuter train from Manhattan, if you have the time go look.</p>

19

<p>Birmingham Southern also has the highest population of Greek life in the country. For that reason, it never made the list for my D. Good school though. If she is interested in Communications, I would recommend Ohio University, one of the tops in the country. Also great for outdoors lovers. A larger school, but there would be many kids in the same niche as her. My D is a little alternative (also hispanic), but she felt very comfortable at Denison. There are definitely the preppy kids there, but I think there are plenty of alternative kids there also and the school is actively trying to recruit URM, so I think your D would have a great shot at large merit there. Greek life is not as prominent as it used to be. There is also a fabulous bike trail that goes through Granville, goes the whole up to Kenyon and then maybe further. Oberlin and Grinnell might be good fits. Have not seen Oberlin but D loved Grinnell.</p>

20

<p>Both the good (strong communications) and bad (hill, some partying) comments re Ithaca are accurate
Have you considered Clark?</p>