I applied early action to 5 schools and got accepted into all of them. Before, I thought I had a very clear idea of which school was my top choice, but I also didn’t think I would get accepted into certain schools, so now I’m at a loss of which school to choose. Here is the list:
Christopher Newport University
Hollins University
University of Mary Washington
Virginia Commonwealth University
Longwood University
I really don’t want to go to VCU or Longwood, and right now I’m really choosing between CNU and Hollins. They are both VERY different schools (Hollins is an all girls, SUPER small (500 undergrads), private school, and I’d have to take out loans to go there most likely, whereas CNU is a small, public, co-ed school). I really have no idea how to go about choosing which school I want to go to, or which one is “better” in an employers eyes.
As for a profile of me, I’m a hard worker and I want to major in Political Science and/or International Relations. I’d like to be more involved in college than I have been in high school, with clubs and other activities on and off campus (such as internships, studying abroad, etcetera). I’m Catholic, and Republican, and I tend to voice my opinions no matter what people may think of me as a result. That being said, I really want to go to a school where most people are accepting of all views and beliefs.
Well, my parents signed me up for a college program where the program will pay the whole tuition for a public school, and for a private school, the program will pay the highest tuition of an instate school (so about 12K dollars). Hollins is a 32K tuition, and I’m getting 20K in grants if I go there, but room and board is 9K, and even if I get all the scholarships I need there is still about 4-5K left to pay (depending on if I can get any federal or state grants). I’m not sure if my parents will pay for that or if they will have me take out a loan. I’m not eligible for financial aid.
I’m in state for all the schools. Mary Washington is basically the same as CNU - I can go there, the tuition is affordable, but my parents would have to pay for room and board which is about 7K at UMW and the same if not a little more at CNU.
All in all, Hollins would actually be the least expensive out of all the schools, surprisingly.
My DS was just admitted to CNU on EA (along with George Mason & James Madison). We live 20 minutes from CNU so he giving it serious consideration. CNU is a rising state school with a reputation which is getting better every year. The campus is also very nice. My advice would be to pick your top schools, head over there, put your backpack on so that you blend in & walk around & maybe talk to some of the students. Doing that will give you a feel as where you fit in the best. My DS has GMU high on his radar too & I just saw that they’ve extended their RD deadline to Feb. You may want to look at throwing them into the mix. Good Luck!
I think you should choose based upon your own preferences here. Both of these schools are solid choices and are unlikely to have major differences in perception from employers.
Christopher Newport seems like a great choice - medium-sized; generally above-average students; Newport News is a cute town/small city (my grandparents used to live there).
You have to really KNOW that you want to be an environment as small as Hollins, IMO. I’m a big fan of women’s colleges - having went to one - but my college was about 2300 students and by junior year I felt like I knew everyone and there was nothing new to really do. 500 is smaller than my freshman class is, and that’s the entire student body. Seems like it would be more difficult to find your niche there. On the flip side, if you really do want a very small environment that feels like a large extended family, then Hollins is the place for you.
Safeties, maybe. OP, go back for another visit. Stay overnight if you can, eat in the cafeteria, attend a class, maybe meet with a professor in your proposed major. If there is no rush to decide, do this during their accepted student visit days. 24 hours on campus during those accepted student visits can be very revealing in good ways and bad.
If the two schools are pretty even in your mind I’d definitely go for the more affordable option. If you don’t have to take out loans, that would be a huge benefit. IIMO Hollins sounds a bit too small – having so few students would also impact the number/type of classes offered, the number of different professors you will have etc. – but that is just my opinion.
Use this calculator to get a better comparison of the costs, and talk the results over with your parents. Then visit the places that are still on your list. Remember, you don’t have to decide this tonight. You have until May 1.
I’d choose CNU or UMW - Hollins is a great school, but with only 500 students, you’re unlikely to have enough course choices and depth for IR. However, you should try and do an overnight at all three (CNU, Hollins, and UMW). All three are respectable and will provide you with a good education. Check out their career center (when you do your overnight, go and visit), sit on IR and Poli Sci classes for freshmen, eat in the cafeteria and try to join the conversations, read the campus paper. After the visits, you’ll have a clearer picture… and then, come back to this thread to let us know your impressions and how you’re making your decision, since it’ll be useful to other high school students making their decisions.
Why do you not want to even highly consider VCU? It’s actually a decent school. If I was picking out of your list I’d pick that. My second would be UMW probably. VCU would offer a lot of opportunities.
Thank you so much for all the replies. I appreciate it.
Longwood and VCU were my safety schools. I think they are great schools, just not for me.
Hollins is shaping up to be the most affordable option. My parents would only have to pay $5K for me to go there, whereas at the other schools, it would be about $10K.
I didn’t apply to GMU or JMU because both are extremely close to home and very similar to the environment I’ve grown up in. I already know so many people from my High School who are going there and I’m a bit apprehensive about those schools because I feel like they would just be a continuation of my HS experience.
Hollins is having an overnight in February, and I’m attending that for scholarship competition purposes already. I’ll look into spending the night at CNU and UMW.
Does anyone know what the area around CNU is really like? I only went to Newport News for the day to tour the school but my Mom and a few other people say it has a bad rap.
It’s not, it’s just that it’s a really big school and I kind of just applied to it for the sake of applying to it. I guess it was more of a target school than a safety school, i just don’t like it. I have toured it, and I’m not a big fan of the city environment, having grown up in a rural town.
Then they’re not true safeties. A safety is a school that you’re not only reasonably sure to be admitted to and can afford, but that you’d be happy to attend. However, it looks like you have some great options that will be affordable. Definitely attend overnights if the schools offer them and choose the one that’s the best fit for you.
FWIW, the DD of a close family friend took out loans to attend a college on the other side of our state for the same reasons you didn’t apply to GMU or JMU. She spent a year there and did well, but decided the debt wasn’t worth it and transferred to a state school within commuting distance of home and is very happy. I understand being concerned that attending a local college could feel like a continuation of high school, but unless the college is very small or you happen to choose the same major as your high school classmates, I doubt that you’d see a lot of them. But people are different. Visit the schools on your list and choose the one that’s the best fit for you.