<p>Actually, American University seems easier to get admitted to, at least from our high school, then Towson University.</p>
<p>Check out our Naviance software:
<a href="https://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton%5B/url%5D">https://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=wootton</a></p>
<p>It looks like the odds are not there for admission to AU and from what I understand, there would not be any merit $.</p>
<p>Csdad, I wonder: Has your daughter looked at Drew U in New Jersey? They have some interesting international relations programs, including a neat "semester at the UN" program that may be of interest.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, Thanks for posting the stats -- very interesting. I wish we could all get together and compile a list of ACCEPTED/REJECTED stats for high schools across the country. I sometimes wonder about the validity of the "medians" provided in the guidebooks and on the college websites themselves as they are all based on ENROLLED students, not accepted students. Obviously, if a school has a 30% yield, there's a decent chance that enrolled stats may be off but there's no way of knowing by how much.</p>
<p>Taxguy, Thanks for your insights on Towson. We didn't tour but did drive by while we were visiting Goucher and it looked nice.</p>
<p>CSdad, Don't know if she's looked at any of these schools, but my list shows they all have international relations (double check) and probably could be considered matches for her: Washington College in Maryland, Ohio Wesleyan, Juniata in PA, Arcadia College in PA. Also, I don't know if it is too close to home but Hartwick College in Oneonta may be worth a close look, even if they don't specifically have international relations. They can be generous with merit money and her stats are solidly in their range.</p>
<p>Try Lynchburg College. </p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions! Yes Lynchburg is one we will definitely look closer at although their Fresh-to-soph retention and 4 year graduation rates are a little lower than most of the other schools we've looked at.</p>
<p>csdad - A thought about soph retention and 4-yr graduation rates. They are certainly of interest and worth checking into, but the stats can mask various phenomena. The gut reaction is to think it means kids don't like the place or can't get the coursework done in 4 years.</p>
<p>However, I've given this some thought since S will be going to Tulane, which has lower 4-yr grad rates (and I think soph retention) than others he was accepted to. My hypothesis is that some schools, like Tulane, attract a couple of different cohorts of kids - the "party hearty" crowd and the serious students. I'm thinking that the party hearty group moves on out pretty quickly, affecting the statistics, but not affecting the experience for the serious student. Just a thought, so I would look closer at a school which might appeal, despite those statistics.</p>
<p>I consider soph retention rates and 4 year grad rates very important. We don't want to waste our money or have S in school forever. One thing to look at is the % of part time students. If that % is high you will have a lower a 4 year graduation rate.</p>
<p>You might also want to check out the University of Hartford. I believe it is within the range of possibilities for your daughter...although I don't know about the majors she is interested in pursuing. They are trying to "broaden their net" of acceptees. It's worth checking the website. Also, Western New England is a small school and I believe they do have some international relations programs. My understanding is that they can be fairly generous with merit aid and not only for applicants who have higher stats.</p>
<p>This is a link to colleges that have international relations programs.</p>
<p>jmmom' s advice about looking at fairtest.org is great advice. I would look there.</p>
<p>Marymount Manhattan has a small but active IS department and places its students in some pretty interesting internships, including the UN.</p>
<p>Hmmm
New Paltz is not in the metropolitan NYC area,its at least 1 1/2 hrs outside of the 5 boro edge of town (Bronx border).Not the greatest transportation system there either.
Perhaps the selectivity # has to do with the amount of students applying in that GPA/SAT range,less highs and lows in the range of scores?</p>
<p>Towson is good but I'm not sure if it is big into International Relations, and if she is looking more towards the Washington area, Towson is a good hour, hour and a half away depending on traffic...</p>
<p>Hi csdad. We're in similar situation. We're also NY state residents and my d has similar stats to your kid. We're going to take full advantage of SUNY application and apply to at least 3-4 SUNY schools. Our GC on Long Island tells us the "horror story" of the kid with a B+ average and 1090 SAT's who gets rejected from Cortland. It may help that you are from upstate NY, but we downstaters have so many kids to compete with. One of the schools my d will apply to is Brockport, because its student population is basically from upstate. Being from Long Island may actually help her gain admission to Brockport. As New Paltz has a heavy downstate student body, that too may help your child as the colleges may like geographic diversity within the state. We're also looking at Towson and George Mason. My d seemed to really like GMU and it is one of her top choices. GMU will be sending their admission staff to the Empire State. Check out their website to see if they will be in your area-- but they will be touring both the upstate and metro NY area. I don't want to be overly optimistic, but they may be trying to get more NY and other OOS kids in GMU --anyway I am hoping that is the case. Good luck with the college process.</p>
<p>Marny, Getting oos students at GMU may be the case. I read about the school on line. I never followed through bcs the fact that there are so many commuters there came up several times. Is this the case? It seems to have a reputation as a commuter school.</p>
<p>Marny, According to nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool the part time enrollment is 25% and the 4 year graduation rate is 22.6% at George Mason.</p>
<p>I live near GMU and it has been, and probably still is, considered a commuter school BUT that is changing with the new residence halls they have opened in the last couple of years. My DS just graduated from there and did live on campus, despite home being nearby (both of us wanted it that way). There is definitely campus life at night there now days, plus a lot of students go into D.C. and Arlington for actitivies/night life. etc. There is a commuter bus that is either $.25 or free (heard it just changed to free) that connects the campus to the metrorail system so it's easy to get in even without a car. The upper grad residence halls are very nice, really they're apartments, some with 12 month leases, that are not only passcoded for the building, but also the room as well as the individual bedroom in the apartment. The school's reputation is growing so I would still check it out, despite the number of commuters. Hope that helps a little.</p>
<p>Just saw the last post. I think the commuter aspect of the campus is the force behind the lower four year grad rate and higher part time rate. Many students are working full time, and do take longer to graduate. I think the average age of students is most likely higher than other colleges, again due to those who go part time and are working. OTOH, it doesn't have to be that way. My DS just graduated a full year early by going to summer school and at the same time working a part time internship. I think the "typical" four year experience (whatever that may be!) is still possible.</p>
<p>I do have some reservations about GMU. I also hear it's a big commuter school and it may be more politically conservative than I am used to. (But then again I am from NY, so most schools around the country are probably more conservative than what I am used to.) My d is totally apolitical- so campus politics shouldn't be an issue for her. I believe GMU has residence halls to accomodate 4000 students, so not everyone is commuting. Of course, many of the kids may go home on the week-ends so our plan is to visit GMU over a week-end if she gets accepted to see what campus life is like on Sat. & Sun. A plus for GMU is that it is very accessible to DC. It's a quick bus ride to the Vienna (?) Metro station. As I am assuming my d will have HS friends at U. of Md. or GW or other DC schools, I am assuming she will know other kids in the DC area. We are proceeding with caution re: GMU but my daughter seems to like it so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the info Choff- we must have been posting at the same time.</p>
<p>Regarding SUNY New Paltz:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Someone speculated that it is because they have so many students use it as a safety but don't go there. This still wouldn't account for the low acceptence rate.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Here is the Commons Data Set for Suny New Paltz, hopefully it will help put some things in perspective.</p>
<p>I think that the fact that New Paltz is one of the smaller SUNY schools that could also account for the small percentage of admitted students.</p>
<p>Freshman Admissions</p>
<p>11,359 students applied</p>
<p>4500 were admitted (39.61 %)</p>
<p>Total of 833 enrolled. (18.51%)</p>
<p>Because admissions can be so carpricious and arbitrary I agree with those that stated that many students do aply to some of the SUNY schools because it is rolling admissions and to ensure that they do have a school to attend if everything else falls apart. The office of admissions and enrollment mangement are probably very familiar with the trends and know that they need to admit "X" amount of students to get an admitted class of 800 as students do apply to multiple schools. </p>
<p>Since it is rolling admissions, her chances would probably be better if she applied at the beginning of the process, getting her application in probably sometime in mid-October.</p>