Planning a last minute road trip in 2 weeks to drop my D off at school in NC and to take my S22 to visit some colleges on the way back. At this point we are just beginning our search.
His stats:
3.8 UW, 4.15 W
top 20 public MA HS
1320 on SAT (retaking but will prob not go up much)
Normal EC’s, mostly just sports for 4 years
He thinks he wants 4-20k for size. (Big range I know!). Likes a sports culture, the outdoors, maybe Greek life but not a requirement. Thinks he wants out of New England. Probably some sort of business as a major.
So far we have as potential stops:
Appalachian State
James Madison
Virginia Tech (maybe too big?)
Catholic Univ
Univ of MD
Loyola MD
Univ of Delaware
St Joseph’s (Philly)
Any ideas for schools we may be missing? Would like to keep costs around 50k or under.
So part of it depends on your route - because Va Tech may be out of the way.
I believe in doing small, medium, and large - so they can see - so while a Va Tech may be too big (it’s massive - but it’s the nicest college campus you’ll ever step foot on) - I’d go. If he says it’s too big - great - that makes our list smaller.
JMU is easy - right off the freeway - actually the freeway runs through it. small town. Same iwth App state - but again, route wise it’s not optimal.
I like the idea of Catholic and I don’t know how urban it is but you might do a GW because it’s uber urban (hello NYU, BU) - just to see.
If you wanted to take a detour - depending on where in NC you will be - there’s College of Charleston.
You could (a bit out of the way) do a Dickinson or Franklin & Marshall to see smaller - just to rule it out (size wise). Or since you’re in Philly, add a Drexel.
If he ends up liking Va Tech, for a little detour you can hit Penn State.
@tsbna44 thanks for all the suggestions! He did see Penn State this past weekend. He loved it but thought it was just too big. Also saw Bucknell (thought that was too small) and Marist (liked it but didn’t think love the location).
He definitely wants a defined campus so I think GW is out. He saw Dickinson and Gettysburg with his sister and thinks they are too small. Drexel and Seton Hall I’ll have to do some research on. CofC is one I keep going back and forth on but don’t think we can fit it into this trip.
Catholic University is a beautiful campus with a smaller school feel. It’s situated in a very residential neighborhood, but has a totally different vibe than the neighborhood around American. There is a (what I’d call sort-of upscale) small commercial area very close to campus.
CU is not urban at all in the sense GWU is. The difference is almost 180 degrees. It’s in DC so it’s not far from urban. It’s just not smack dab in the middle of it like GWU. S20 and I enjoyed all 4 (including Georgetown) campuses very much.
Virginia Tech has a beautiful campus in a very nice area. One of my kids attended and he/we did not find it too big at all. It seems very manageable for a larger school. And the student population is not as huge as some other bigger schools. Good luck with your trip! Have fun!
University of Richmond? It’s a little under 4K students, but it has an attractive campus, and has D-1 sports, as well as good business programs on the academic side. Might be a bit pricey, however, without scholarships or financial aid.
Lehigh University might also be a possibility; but it could be a bit pricey, also.
There is Villanova University, also, outside Philadelphia.
I have to agree, as my daughter is headed there next week as a freshman. We found VT’s campus very walkable and well laid out (there’s a residence hall side and an academic building side, separated by a huge greenspace called the Drill Field, also easy to get to the sports fields.) On visits, it didn’t feel as big as UGA or UofSC and seemed easier to navigate (IMO) than UNC-CH, where my older daughter went. While they have Greek life there, it doesn’t overpower the campus, like an SEC school.
If he wants business, one huge plus at VT is they are admitted directly into that major and get to start with business classes on day one (vs having to wait until sophomore year to apply to the business school at other colleges). My freshman D has 3 business classes for her first semester freshman year.
Not a lot of merit for out of staters at VT (but they do give a little to some applicants). Also not a lot of merit for oos at JMU. App State may be a good option and give some merit. Also maybe UNC Wilmington or UNC Charlotte?
We toured JMU last week. Although not part of the tour, we stopped to look at their gym afterward. It is incredible, almost 500,000 square feet with multiple pools, rock climbing, indoor track, etc. and everything looks brand new. Just gorgeous. They also have robots that deliver food on campus, so that was cool. We also toured Elon. Does your D like it there? There were not many students there, unfortunately.
Villanova is great, but might be a reach with little to no merit (as would Wake).
Several students from our high school go to Catholic U and love it (we go to a Catholic HS). Also, not really south, but University of Dayton (either Catholic or Jesuit-based) - gives good merit.
The daughter of some friends of mine currently attends JMU; she has a major in the College of Business. She appears to be having a great experience there.
@gablesdad We have looked at PC and Fairfield but as of right now they are “too close to home”.
@tsbna44 that was exactly my impression of American as well but my D liked it on our first visit. On our second visit, we saw more of the campus that was not shown on the tour and she agreed with me that it was kind of run down. I don’t understand the GW dining hall situation at all.
@CollegeNerd67 Dayton is on the list. Trying to plan another trip to do Dayton, Miami OH, and Xavier. Dayton seems like it would be a great fit. I think you and @sevmom have convinced me to keep VT on the visit list.
@Mom270 My D does like Elon. She was a freshman during Covid so hard to get a read so I am curious to see how this year goes. She had really good professors and was definitely challenged in her classes…and as you know the campus is gorgeous.
@EconPop I did see the CU campus with my D but my son has never seen it. I think he would enjoy the proximity to DC without being right in the city. And I like the little shopping center they built right off of campus. Just not sure if its too small.
He’d be a good candidate for a scholarship at Rider in Trenton. While you’re there, you could check out The College of New Jersey. Not as much of a sports culture as Rider, but it’s a very good school. Over on the Jersey Shore in Long Branch is Monmouth where he’d also be a strong scholarship candidate.
If you’re going to visit App State you could swing wide and visit UT in Knoxville. Big time sports. I think my cousin’s son went there for business logistics. Good outdoors opportunities too.
Worth applying to Wake Forest as a reach. When you said “business” and “Greek” it was the school that sprang to my mind.
