<p>My S is trying to decide which college to attend next year and we would really appreciate any opinions or advice that CC can offer. Here are the choices and stats:</p>
<p>Colleges:</p>
<p>College of Charleston
Elon University
Roanoke College
Longwood University
Lynchburg College
Emory and Henry College
Christopher Newport University
UNC - Asheville</p>
<p>S is VA resident with weighted GPA of 4.17, SAT of 1240 R/M. He is introverted, creative and intelligent. Loves PC gaming and creative writing. Has applied as an English major and may get teaching certification. He has ADHD and will need accommodations. He is not a partier. He says that he wants a school where the students are happy to be there. He likes a small, welcoming, friendly atmosphere. Likes historical locations, hence Charleston.</p>
<p>He has received large merit $ from Roanoke, Lynchburg and Emory and Henry. More $ may be coming. Probably won't receive anything from Elon or Charleston. We don't qualify for need based aid. He is in the process of applying to honors colleges (accepted at Lynchburg Westover Honors College) and he is attending on campus scholarship competitions.</p>
<p>Bottom line is we all loved Elon when we visited. However, no merit $$ and the cost is $37K per year. We can afford it, but it may be foolish when he could get such huge discounts at some of the other schools. Also, at the other smaller schools he might be big fish in a little pond, which I do think he would like. </p>
<p>Where do you think he should go?</p>
<p>Especially at the smaller schools, check carefully whether they have decent degree programs in whatever he might major in.</p>
<p>That’s a good point, but they all have English majors. How to determine if they are good?</p>
<p>How does he feel about fraternities? For better or worse, depending on your perspective, Roanoke and Elon have a large Greek presence. Others may as well. But, those are just the 2 I know about.</p>
<p>Did you run the NPC for C of C? I was pleasantly surprised that S might receive some merit aid from them although his score is above 1300. They need males at that school so it might be worth a try.</p>
<p>DougBetsy: He doesn’t really have an opinion for or against fraternities. I guess if he got involved with a good group of kids it would be a positive.</p>
<p>Haystack: I haven’t run the figures for Charleston, but I do know his SAT is hurting him with regards to merit $$ from the more competitive schools.</p>
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<p>Generally speaking, a motivated student can get a high quality education at any school, and there is no educational reason to spend more to send a kid to a pricier school. (Yes, ucb, provided they offer the major).</p>
<p>However, in the case of a kid who needs special accommodations, it might be wise to investigate the availability (and quality, if you can) of the needed types of support at the schools you are considering.</p>
<p>annasdad: His accommodations are pretty standard - extended time, typed notes, etc. I’m sure some of these schools have better disability departments than others. I guess I will have to call each school and see if I can determine how good they are.</p>
<p>Also, I’ll probably get some backlash here, but what about the reputation of the school? I think he is motivated and would get a good education at any of these schools, but what about the value of reputation. That’s harder to quantify.</p>
<p>The available research* shows that reputation matters mostly for the top 1% to 2% of schools on the selectivity distribution, and for those mostly in a few very prestige-conscious fields (e.g., medicine and law) - and even there, it doesn’t matter nearly as much as some people think it does. Once you get down past those very selective schools, it matters very little, at least in terms of career income or advancement. If having a more prestigious decal for the back window of the mini-van matters to a parent, then hey, people throw their money away on far more destructive things - but be aware that nobody much else will care.</p>
<ul>
<li>- Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, “How College Affects Students, Volume 2: A Third Decade of Research.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005, pp. 468-475</li>
</ul>
<p>Very true. I don’t think this school selection will have any impact on his earning potential. he may even go to grad school. However, I think the school spirit and being proud of your school is important to him.</p>
<p>If he wants to be a teacher, national reputation does not matter. Regional reputation is all that matters, check each school’s teacher placement record.</p>
<p>As far as English, my FIL always recommends UNC-A and is trying to talk my S into applying there. FIL is a retired English prof and he thinks very highly of their undergrad program. Ask each English department for a list of recent grad school and job placements. This will give you an idea of the ‘prestige’ for each. What grad schools are their top graduates attending?</p>
<p>In general, I would say that Elon, C of C, and UNC-A are the most ‘prestigious’.</p>
<p>We’ve heard good things about UNC Asheville too. I agree with your assessment of prestige. I don’t think I really used the right term there…he’s not interested in prestige…more school spirit.</p>
<p>English literature is a reasonably common major; you and he may want to check course catalogs of each school to see which subareas of English literature are best represented at each school, if he has a particular subarea of interest. If not, perhaps check for whether the department has faculty and courses covering a relatively broad range of English literature subareas.</p>
<p>If teaching English is a goal, check the teacher credentialing requirements in the geographic area where he may want to teach in, and see if there are any special requirements or recommendations that some schools may do better than others.</p>
<p>Thanks. We do need to take another look through the catalogs.</p>
<p>Here is a handy tool that will help him compare the bottom line after the aid packages come in. [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) If some kind of grad school might be in his future (or a 5th year to finish up the teaching certification requirements), he might like to keep his costs low for the Bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>How wonderful that he has such a nice set of places to choose from. Wow! Congratulations!</p>
<p>Happy mom: Thanks for reminding me of how fortunate he is to have such great options. We are stressing over this decision and losing sight of the big picture. I’ll check out the comparison tool. Thanks!</p>