Hello all, Just an update on my firstborn at Rice! I went to Owl Together last month and had a great time and it was good to see my son thriving in this environment! He loves the challenge and supportive environment at Rice and I could see he is very happy. I am now hunkering down to get ready for next year when my second son dives into the application cycle. What this has taught me is that you will end up at a school that works for you and I am less stressed for this next son’s admission prospects. My firstborn says he absolutely loves the Rice Residential College system and that O-Week was amazing and he has dinner with his O-Week family quite often which has made him feel at home. My second son is interested in the arts and business, loves the outdoors and heading to Nepal this to do some hiking and such. He chose not to do the IB program because he didn’t want to give up his love of this amazing outdoor leadership program. Looking for schools that offer a great outdoor ed program, drama and business entrepreneurship programs. If any of you know of great programs, let me know. I have learned so much from this CC community over the years and if anyone has any questions for me about Rice, I can try to answer from my own experience as a Rice mom.
Glad to hear your son loves Rice. My daughter is a senior now and I remember how great it was to see her on campus that first parent’s weekend. She was so happy and loved showing us around. This year when we dropped her off I commented to my husband that she seems so comfortable and confident on campus. She also LOVED O-Week and her best friends (and 2 roommates) are still her O-Week siblings. She loved O-Week so much she advised sophomore - senior year. For my daughter Rice was also a great fit. She has had so many opportunities and the collaborative environment fits her perfectly. She’s applying to grad schools now and I can see she is attracted to programs where the students seem friendly and engaged, similar to what she experienced at Rice.
Good luck to your son as you go through the process again. And I love that he stuck with that program. Exploring passions is important!
Thank you for your response and congrats to your daughter! That Rice Ring will look great on her, I’m sure! I am just gently trying to get my son to see if he could work the Rice Alumni network to get an internship close to home. If you have any tips, I would love to hear them. Thanks again.
Sent you a pm.
And yes, she’s wearing her ring proudly!
Does your EFC match up with your budget? If not, what is your budget? Size of school? What kind of academic background does your second born have, apart from not being IB? Any geographic desires/avoidances? Also, is your son interesting in majoring in drama or outdoor stuff, or just participating in them as an extracurricular?
He’s interested in Business Entrepreneurship as a major with a minor in Drama at this point. GPA 3.84 strong math and sciences. Midwest is an avoidance. He would like to continue with the outdoor ed as an extracurricular. His ECs are work, volunteers with kids and marginalized youth(he’s indigenous as well) and plays piano. Drama is a passion. Multiple plays, roles etc. No state awards of any kind but will be a Duke of Ed Silver Medalist after this year.
These are some schools your family may want to look into:
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Bucknell (PA ): There are various opportunities available in the business program, including several entrepreneurial-related ones. I think that all business majors in their first or second year end up starting a business with all the profits going to charities, too. And here’s some info on the outdoor opportunities.
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Hampden-Sydney (VA): Men’s college. Your son may want to check out what the Flemming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has to offer, and there are opportunities for majors and non-majors to participate in theater, as well. And there are lots of outdoor opportunities, too.
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Lehigh (PA ): There are a variety of business majors offered here, but they also tout the entrepreneurial mindset they try to develop across the campus. And there are outdoor adventure clubs, too.
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Muhlenberg (PA ): This school is really known for its strong arts programming, but it offers a number of business majors as well. Interestingly, two of the articles on the business school’s home page are about a business grad touring in My Fair Lady and an internship that a theater major had. There’s an Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor. There’s also an outdoors club and a rock climbing club.
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U. of Virginia: Though McIntire has secondary admission requirements (so not guarantee of acceptance after getting into UVA), there is an entrepreneurship minor available to UVA students of any major/college, though it appears it too has an application process. The Galant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as the PwC Center for Innovation in Professional Services may also be attractions for your son. And here’s just a bit about some of the outdoor opportunities available.
Not going as in depth with these, but I’d also check out:
- Syracuse (NY)
- U. of Denver (CO)
- U. of Vermont
- Wake Forest (NC)
- Washington & Lee (VA)
- William & Mary (VA)
Thank you @AustenNut! I will look at these schools with my son! He’s really wide open and doesn’t have his heart set on one school or anything. I’ve told him it is about HIS interests and learning needs. I am hopeful of a very good fit and him being able to adjust and thrive in the college of his choice. This list looks great! I really had no place to start looking and this is a very good list! My thanks to you!
Hello @AustenNut , just followed up with my son and he is interested in schools on the West Coast or somewhere warm. Also thinking about HKin interests. Any Ideas?
Can you help me out about HKin? Is that Hong Kong? Or…?
This is certainly not my area of expertise, and hopefully others will comment on this thread and provide additional suggestions. But if this was my kid, these are some schools that I’d investigate further (especially if only to get a better sense of size preferences, rural/suburban/urban, etc). This is really quite a large list, but I also bolded the ones that offer some of the largest number of majors in an entrepreneurship program. There are many other ways to learn all the skills to become an entrepreneur without a major labeled that (and many colleges may have a concentration within a regular business major with that as a focus), but this is just a way to highlight a few of the programs.
I would urge you to have your son visit a small college, medium-sized, and a large one to see if he starts having any size preferences. Also, try to do the same with rural/suburban/urban campuses.
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California Lutheran
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Chapman (CA)
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Colorado Mesa
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Colorado State
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Gonzaga (WA)
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Loyola Marymount (CA)
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Pacific Lutheran (WA)
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Rollins (FL)
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San Diego State (CA)
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Santa Clara (CA)
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Seattle (WA)
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Southern Methodist (TX)
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St. Edward’s (TX)
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Stetson (FL)
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Texas Christian
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Trinity (TX)
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U. of Dallas (TX)
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U. of Tampa (FL)
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U. of Nevada – Las Vegas
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U. of Nevada – Reno
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U. of the Pacific (CA)
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U. of Puget Sound (WA)
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U. of Redlands (CA)
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U. of San Diego (CA)
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U. of San Francisco (CA)
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U. of South Carolina
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U. of Utah
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Whittier (CA)
You can search colleges by major here:
Hkin is Human Kinesiology. 