FSU requires a test. Any Florida public does.
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Not a school suggestion, but seeing that Trinity University was on your list made me think of Early Action. My son applied to Trinity EA a couple of years ago and was accepted with a very nice merit award. At least at that time, applying EA also bumped up the chance of admission, so it’s definitely worth trying. It’s a really nice school, close to an interesting city and perfect. for a sporty kid. He ultimately chose a different school, but Trinity was probably his No. 2 choice, and it was great to have that acceptance in hand before Christmas. (He did not apply anywhere ED, so it was just a couple of EA schools and the rest RD - we were happy with how that strategy worked out.) I think a couple of the other schools on your current list also offer Early Action (Sewanee for one). Unless you think she really needs the additional GPA boost from her first-semester senior year grades, I strong recommend applying EA where it is available. In addition to relieving a lot of pressure, being accepted EA to a school that she likes would give her the option of either stopping there or taking a more aggressive approach with her RD applications.
I wondered if Sewanee was still that way. I went to W&L and both schools were pretty similar in the 90s. Good to know. I did SMU’s net price calculator and I think it’s just too expensive for us, Baylor comes out at a still pricey but not insane number.
It looks like Trinity really recommends EA. She will definitely do it if she likes the school as I think it’s a reach for her anyway.
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A friend of my daughters went to Baylor from her high school. She’s having a great time and really loves it. Basketball is big here and everyone saw Gonzaga lose to Baylor last year and it kind of peaked our interest even before the friend went. D was following them on Instagram and thought it looked like a happy place and it seems well respected in Texas, and she would like to stay in the SE or SW after school. She’s done with the rain.
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Davidson is probably out. Would be a big reach not sure why it was suggested. It’s super selective.
Elon seems like it would be a great choice.
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Wow! Our daughters sound so eerily similar. Varsity Cheer/Captain, Track, good at English and not math, with similar GPA. (Test Optional). Move during high school. Wants a fun school with team spirit.
Schools thus far (that your daughter has a good shot at)
- Arkansas - Accepted
- U of Houston - Accepted
- Arizona State - Accepted (10,000 scholarship)
- Ole Miss - Accepted
- Penn State (2+2) - Accepted
- Oklahoma - Accepted
- Auburn - Deferred
- Ohio State - Deferred
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There have been a lot of private colleges suggested on this thread. To meet this family’s budget, there’s going to have to be substantial scholarship money available. Is Elon, for example, or any of the other privates suggested here going to provide the kind of money she’ll need to meet their budget?
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$50k a year is a fairly generous budget
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Good point. The private colleges seem to come in a little better than the out of state publics in some cases. If the net price calculators are correct, Elon and Baylor are around 50k-55k, Furman, Sewanee and Gonzaga closer to 45k, and Berry, Samford, Wofford and Creighton 40k or less. TCU and SMU are around 60k which is likely too much. We have another child who is 2 years younger that we need to be ready for as well.
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I do think Davidson would definitely be out of her reach and probably too academic anyway.
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Thanks! This is super helpful!
Elon’s COA for 2022-23 is $56k…their starting price point is significantly lower than many private colleges, and if the NPC looks good it should definitely stay on the list.
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Thanks. Good to know.
Just coming on here to second Loyola New Orleans. They have some interesting majors that seem as though they might peak your daughter’s interest. There’s a major in Design with a concentration in Graphic Design, and the Mass Communication/Strategic Communication major with concentrations in Advertising, Public Relations, and Visual Communication (those are 3 separate concentrations). The mass communications department at Loyola is considered to be very strong. It’s an NAIA D1 school that offers competitive cheerleading and competitive dance. There’s no football team, but there are other sports, and as @Bill_Marsh mentioned it is literally next to Tulane. It’s COA is $59,502 living on-campus, but I’d run the NPC and see what happens, as my guess is that the price will drop substantially.
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Thanks! I’ll look into it. I’d worry a little about her running around New Orleans, but that’s probably my issue and not hers.
yep, the net price calculator cut it down to 40K. Thanks for the info!
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Loyola has cross registration with Tulane - so you can even sample classes there. People love Tulane…not sure why as it’s sort of…not nice…but they do. Perhaps it’s New Orleans. My daughter loved the French Quarter…but not the campus and didn’t apply.
There is a trolley to get you into the city - but the campuses themselves are far from the “worry zone”…but yes it’s accessible.
I still worry about her choice of major - and think some of the bigger publics will be better choices - although I know that’s also one of your concerns - the bigger, partier schools, etc.
Yes, it’s not the partying so much. I went to a LAC and there was plenty of partying. It’s more that I think she may need a smaller environment to be properly engaged and not feel lost. We just found that a large public high school wasn’t nearly as positive an environment for her as a smaller private school. It is entirely possible that I’m underestimating her, probable even. I also think that my husband and I attended a small college so we’re more comfortable with it in general, fair or not.
Speaking as a Baylor alum whose sister went to TCU and who knows lots of SMU alumni (and a current faculty member), I think you are on the right track in Texas. It sounds like Trinity and Southwestern may be a little small and lacking in the sports/spirit side, but definitely worth a visit. My D22 liked Trinity on paper but found it just too small in person - “smaller than my high school.” I tend to agree that Baylor sounds like a great fit for your daughter on paper. Active Greek life, lots of school spirit and sports culture esp. after recent nat’l titles in men’s and women’s basketball, smaller than state flagship schools, and less expensive than TCU/SMU.
Also, I believe it was mentioned upthread, but you may want to think through whether your daughter has preferences as to the religious atmosphere on campus. Baylor will have a noticeable Christian culture on campus, though it’s pretty diverse within Christianity (including a significant Catholic contingent) and there are definitely students of other faiths and no faith at all. The school takes its Christian heritage pretty seriously and makes a concerted effort to consider how religious faith impacts various other academic areas. Samford, even moreso - they have recruited heavily from evangelical private high schools over the last several years, and the student body is now pretty conservative politically and religiously. I know a couple of devoutly religious families who chose to send their kids to Samford because Baylor is “too liberal.” Conversely, TCU and SMU are effectively secular schools that happen to have religious words in their names. Not saying one is better than the other, just noting a meaningful difference between otherwise comparable schools.
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