<p>My son is very ambivalent during this college search. He has no idea what he wants to study, where he wants to go. The only real feedback is that he wants a campus. I am advising him to study Business, hopefully accounting. I do not want to push him into something he is not really interested in. He has fairly good grades -top 10% of graduating class with 3.7 unweighted and 4.0 weighted average, many AP's and honors, SAT 1370 on 2 tests and 1990 overall, has decent extra curricular activities. He is applying to the following schools:</p>
<p>Rutgers
TCNJ
U of Delaware
Binghamton
Drexel U (not much of a campus, probably not really interested but no fee to apply)</p>
<p>We probably will not qualify for any financial aide, and not willing to pay $50,000 plus per year. So if he doesn't get merit aide from private schools, he will go public. I think we need to apply to more schools, and would like to have some reach schools. I don't think he wants to travel too far from home (3-4 hrs max). We live in Central NJ near Rutgers. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Does he really want to go to college right away, or would a year off provide him more clarity? Do any of his ECs provide clues as to his interests or talents?</p>
<p>If her really doesn’t know what he wants to do, it might not be the best use of money to go to a 4 year college right away. Maybe a year at a CC.</p>
<p>It sounds like he is a very bright person, maybe just burned out a bit?</p>
<p>He definitely wants to go to college and says he wants to go away. I just think he s very apprehensive about this huge change of life. He is somewhat shy and quiet and not so easy to know what is going in his mind. One of his EC’S is a Science Club and I think his interests really do lie in science, but we are looking at business since it may be the most marketable degree. You really don’t have to commit to a major as a freshman, so he can always change. My older son, already a college graduate, was also undecided, finally made a decision and is doing well now.</p>
<p>With his stats, Rutgers and TCNJ are pretty safe bets. </p>
<p>You want some reach schools, yet you want merit aid at a private school. Those two goals are conflicting - generally you can only get merit aid at “safety” type schools, where your S would be near the top of the students. Do you want suggestions for private schools where your S would likely get merit scholarships? Or do you want suggestions for reach schools where you S may be able to get admitted? Those will be two different lists, probably without any overlap.</p>
<p>What is he looking for in a school - size, urban vs. suburban vs. rural, etc.?</p>
<p>Based on your existing list, one that occurs to me is SUNY Geneseo - a public LAC. It isn’t a candidate for merit aid, but the SUNY schools have low OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Although it’s a bit of a reach for an out-of-stater with his credentials, he might want to take a shot at the University of Maryland at College Park if you can afford the out-of-state tuition (which you would also pay at Delaware or Binghamton).</p>
<p>UMCP has a well-respected business school and a unique appeal in that it’s a flagship state university with big-time sports but also within very easy reach of an interesting city (Washington, DC). There are few other examples of this in the East. </p>
<p>And he would not feel out of place. Most of the out-of-staters are from NJ or NY.</p>
<p>Unrelated thought: A business major may be a good idea – it can lead in lots of directions. But accounting can be hell on earth unless you truly like it.</p>
<p>Yes I understand I may have stated conflicting goals. We want to apply to one or 2 reaches and assess if he wants to go there, knowing the cost situation. And some private schools where he could get some merit aide that would be a good fit. He does not want an urban school with no campus and would rather a smaller in size near urban areas. TCNJ is perfect me me, but it has to be perfect for him. I hope he makes that school and wants to go there. SUNY Geneseo is probably too far and too cold for his him.</p>
<p>He does not want to apply to U of Maryland. His brother applied there and got in, with lesser grades and SAT’s. We did go see it and I liked it. I think it may be too far for him, although Binghamton is the same distance in the other direction. I am suggesting accounting to him, but it will be up to him. You don’t have to commit to a major as a freshman.</p>
<p>Don’t push your son away from science (and engineering) if that is an interest area for him. Success in the work-a-day world is, IMHO, more dependant on one’s knowledge, excitement and drive than a particular degree area. An interest in a subject is therefore a very good thing when deciding on a major.</p>
<p>Accounting can certainly be a good field (but not my cup of tea). Both my brother and sister are accountants. However, while my sister has worked continuously since getting her degree many moons ago, my brother has, at times, found it hard to find work. So, you never know with ANY degree.</p>
<p>My son just graduated with a degree in engineering, an area he has always found interesting. He didn’t start his job search in earnest until after graduating as his senior project was taking up much of his time. He found a very good paying job and started within about 2 months. Again, you never know.</p>
<p>A college that doesn’t force you to select a major going in would be best for him. Just keep up with the sceince and math his freshman year to keep his options open.</p>
<p>Why not look at some smaller privates? You are much more likely to get merit aid from a private school then an out of state public like Binghamton or Delaware. Have you considered a college like Marist or Drew? These are two colleges fairly close to you that have beautiful campuses and give merit aid and have many NJ students.</p>
<p>Seton Hall University just announced a plan to match Rutgers tuition for top students. You might want to look into that if you think he’d enjoy a smaller, Catholic college.
Here’s a link about it:</p>
<p>He likes science and you want him to be employable…consider Geographical Information Science (GIS).</p>
<p>Lots of jobs and generally combines the social sciences (Human Geography) with computer science and some hard sciences (Geology, Hydrology, Chemistry).</p>
<p>I teach at a college of business and I talk to way too many miserable students majoring in business just so they can get a job.</p>
<p>There are a ton of private colleges in PA that aren’t too far from NJ, in roughly decreasing selectivity: Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette, Gettysburg, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg, Susquehanna, Ursinus. </p>
<p>Lehigh, Bucknell, and Lafayette are probably reaches. Gettysburg & Dickinson matches. The rest safeties/merit aid possibilities, although I don’t know how good the merit aid is at those schools.</p>
<p>Binghamton doesn’t feel as far because it’s in New York State. I can understand that. And the UMCP campus looks Southern and therefore a bit foreign to someone from New Jersey (although the cultural feel of the place is not noticeably Southern).</p>
<p>I have no idea really how Rider Uni stacks up anymore, but when I went there back in the 1980’s, almost everyone was a business major, lots of accounting majors (I dated one!).</p>
<p>I second the LAC route. I believe there are quite a few in an easy drive from you who would give merit. It would allow him to explore options for a major as well. With his stats, Ursinus, Moravian, Albright and Susquehanna are all a good bet for large merit. If he likes TCNJ campus then he would mst likely like many PA LACs. Can you take him for some visits? Even a Saturday drive by may be worthwhile.</p>
<p>Be careful in that some majors (including science, engineering, art, and music) tend to have long prerequisite chains, so an undecided student who is considering such a major needs to start taking the prerequisites early to avoid delaying graduation if s/he does choose such a major.</p>
<p>As far as marketability of various majors goes, you may want to check the career surveys at some universities (Berkeley, Cal Poly SLO, and Virginia Tech have particularly detailed surveys). Among sciences, math and statistics majors appear to have decent opportunities in finance and actuarial jobs; some physics majors go there also, as they are desired for their math skills. Biology and chemistry majors tend to do much worse in the job market.</p>
<p>Regarding public versus private – many public schools are expensive for out of state students, and do not give much financial aid for out of state students. The cheaper choices among out of state public schools are usually the in-state public schools, those with low list prices (e.g. Minnesota, Virginia Tech, CSUs including Cal Polys (but not UCs), public schools in the Dakotas), and those with generous merit scholarships if the student qualifies (e.g. Alabama Presidential Scholarship, UAB Blazer Elite Scholarship). Some private schools may be less expensive after non-loan financial aid than the more expensive out of state public schools.</p>
<p>Years ago when S was looking at schools, Lehigh came up as being a good value for the money. It has an excellent accounting program, a brand new business major, and would be only about 50 min. away for you. Obviously it has a strong engineering program too, but he’d have to decide on that major pretty early on.</p>
<p>Lafayette gives a Marquis Scholarship worth about $20,000 to top applicants. Don’t think he’s quite strong enough to qualify for that, but he could certainly try. It’s a wonderful school which gets less press than Lehigh in Central NJ (draws from northern NJ more) but is just as good IMO, and some would say better. (Lafalum and I would.)</p>
<p>Ursinus is very good for the sciences. Both my sisters went there for chemistry and did extremely well after graduation. One went on to a top med school, and the other did some nice undergrad research while there and now is a VP in a pharmaceutical company. He might indeed get some merit aid there. It’s rural though.</p>
<p>Susquehanna would be a hike, though we know kids who are happy there.</p>
<p>My impression is that an undergrad business major can be limiting. Others may disagree, but that is what I have heard and read. (Many top schools don’t even offer business at the undergrad level.) If your son is interested in science, or possibly in other areas, I think it is fine to choose a school that fits him well, and then he can explore a little when he first gets on campus. Many students go to college “undecided” and many also change majors, sometimes more than once. Also, many careers are not tied to college major, though that seems to be changing some in recent years.</p>