My daughter just did a 180 and decided not to go to university in Europe as she had planned her whole life. We are looking for an urban school, tuition not more that 33000, room and board no included, not in the south, it has to be a public university as we live in DC and get tuition assistance from the government, 10 000 per year to a public college. It can not be a commuter school nor a party school. She is interested in International relations, political science. Her ACT has been cancelled 3 times now so she is not planning to take it. She did poorly in 9th grade, was diagnosed with ADD, depression and anxiety at end of 9th grade and started medication in the summer. Her grades in 10th and 11 are great. She took 2 APs last year and are taking 3 her senior year. One school she has decided on is Penn state, we also looked at University of Illinois at Chicago but decided that it was too much of a commuter school. Michigan is way to expensive. if you have any ideas that would be greatly appreciated. Price is very important.
William & Mary seems like it may meet some substantive priorities, though is in the south and not exactly urban. University of Wisconsin is great for politics/international relations, is in the state capital so great for internships, and a small city. Out of state tuition is over $33k, at about $38k, don’t know it that is too much. IUPUI (Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis) might be another one to consider – urban, state capital, not sure about out of state tuition. It is not the state flagship, IU Bloomington is, but it attracts a lot of students who want the urban experience of Indy over the smaller town of either Bloomington, Indiana or West Lafayette, where IU and Purdue are, respectively.
The midwest is the home of great public flagship. Ohio State is another one to look at, Columbus, Ohio is the state capital and an easy flight from most east coast cities. OSU campus is not right next to the capital but it is in a fun, urban, student-oriented part of the city.
While many of these public flagships will have Big 10 football and a party scene for those interested, they are large enough schools that it can be avoided (though home football at either UW or OSU is pretty hard to ignore).
What is your total cost price point including everything? Room and board costs can very a lot. Also what is her GPA?
Did you look at Pitt? Not sure how the numbers work, but it seems to fit otherwise.
Temple U. Good Poli Sci department and Honors college. Good out of state merit aid.
W&M sounds like just the ticket (not urban, but in town)- but OOS with a rocky record is going to be tough. Agree that OSU is a good option. Is she open to going to Canada?
I wouldn’t rule out private schools. You wouldn’t be able to use the DC TAP, but she might get more in merit aid to make the bottom line the same.
I love William and Mary but it is way to expensive. Wisconsin has decided to keep the Act and SAT. She will apply there if they become test optional for next year. I will look at Indiana and Purdue. Financially we are thinking about 12 to 15 for room and board. it depends on the city how much housing actually costs.I will take a look at Pitt. Temple University, will check that out too. Her GPA was probably a 2.75 in 9th grade, a 3.9 in 10th grade and a 4.2 in 11th grade. She does not have that many extra curricular that make her stand out in anyway. We have tried to lure her to Canada as well but no.
I find it a bit incongruous that you say you don’t want a party school but Penn State is on your daughter’s list. Most of the students I know who go to Penn State go there because they want a party school. Of course, it also has very good academics, and there are plenty of Penn State students that aren’t partiers., but if you and your daughter don’t want a party school, I’d look elsewhere. On the other hand, many if not most large public flagships (and many directionals) would be considered “party schools”. So it may not be something you can avoid.
Agree about Temple. What about Delaware, Rutgers or UMD?
A second for Ohio State. Also, University of Cincinnati might work. Definitely urban, not in the south, OOS tuition in your budget, large enough to have both serious students and some partiers, prides itself on student support if student makes them aware of their needs, 25% live on campus and many more students live in neighborhood surrounding campus (as most college housing is moving towards these days). Cincinnati was also recently named one of the top 10 cities to start a career (internships, HQs of large, multinationalcompanies, COL, etc).
Will take a look at Cincinnati. Temple looked really appealing. Liked what I read. UMD is too close. Delaware came up as a party school or it was too expensive, I cannot remember why we took it off the list. I will double-check and try to figure that out. Neither my husband nor I went to university in the US. We simply googled party schools in the US and Penn state did not come up on any of the top twenty lists we found. Our daughter will only be 17 when she starts university and she will be on medication so we would like to keep her away from known party schools. College guidance at our small school did not mention Penn state as a party school when we talked two days ago. Rutgers has gotten so much hate from her cousins who all live in New Jersey. Sorry, I’m sue its a good place to be. thanks you all for being so helpful
A public school would include UNC Asheville, which is more of a small college size than a large public university. Asheville is a lovely, smaller city, in a gorgeous part of NC. I don’t know how the departments are in your daughter’s area of interest.
I would rethink “too close” for a 17 year old on medication. You don’t have to pop in once a week to do her laundry (and you need to reassure her that you won’t) but being able to get to her in an hour/two hours by jumping in your car is going to be huge if there’s an emergency.
If I read your post correctly, she has been managing her meds for less than two years, correct? College is a huge adjustment. I’d be looking at schools within a two hour drive. What does her therapist say?
Not sure how you get merit at a public univ. without test scores.
Might compare big flagships to regional publics like Towson Univ honors college, has new dorm;
or Univ. Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA, or
The College of New Jersey in Ewing NJ. Or George Mason.
I will check out UNC Ashville as well. But it is south. Not sure. I’m not sure I have to discuss all her private medication issues on this post but she has used medication since March in 9th grade with is about 2,5 years now. Her two doctors approve her going to Europe if she wants to.
You need to look for school such as the University of California system that only take 10th and 11th grade GPA into account. Unfortunately these will still be too expensive for you but maybe there are others out there?
My D is at Purdue…not urban at all.
D’s freshman year roommate battled with some mental health issues (similar to your D that she was diagnosed and medicated while still in HS) and there were lots of complaints about accessing services on campus and lack of support.
Be sure that your D signs the HIPPA waiver so that the school health center can talk to you if the need arises.
I second looking into Cincinnati and Pitt.
For public urban schools definitely look into Pitt and Temple.
Perhaps some SUNY schools (which have good OOS rates) such as SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Albany and for a smaller town SUNY New Paltz.
Lots of Jesuit schools are mid-sized urban – if a Catholic school is OK, you’d have to check out the net price calculators. https://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions
I will check out the Suny schools and see if something is of interest .