I’m from Connecticut. Locals typically don’t consider the University of New Haven to be an especially desirable choice, primarily because of location. And those who do attend are likely to be commuters.
The University of Delaware has a very nice campus, and about half the students are from out of state because, basically, not very many people live in Delaware.
The 75% ile ACT at U Delaware is 29, so roughly 25% of students will have stats similar to or higher than your D. UD has a nice honors program, too. We have 2 family friends who were premed students at UD who loved attending, did very well, and are now in med school.
Having stats in the top 25 %ile of applicants would give your D a shot at some merit aid at UD, but not likely one of the larger full tuition/full ride merit awards.
In my recent experience with 3 kids, to have a good chance of larger merit awards, your D should apply to colleges where her stats are in the top 5 -10% applicants.
I don’t know much about Temple University’s Band, other than they look and sound awesome at football games, but since you are in state, it would be worth a look. My youngest is a current sophomore in the honors program and loves it. Most of her classes have been small, and she has liked all of her professors so far. She had a 3.8 u/w HS gpa, 1450 SAT, 32 ACT. She was recently offered a paid summer internship with a Pharmaceutical company, and turned down interviews with other several other companies. A high stats pre-med student certainly will have good opportunies at solid, public, state Unis schools like Temple, UD, etc., and will find academic peers.
Match and reach schools will not offer your D merit, so you will need to decide how important that is as you build a list for your D.
I think your D should think very hard about how important to her the band thing is. It’s definitely not something that continues past college, right? So maybe she should find the right school that will allow her to fulfill her passion for band involvement without it being a super competitive, overly time consuming commitment. I think you’ll need to reach out to the band directors to find out what that commitment looks like before getting too attached to a place that could jeopardize her career goals or add an element of stress she doesn’t need.
We spent today with one twin D at Moravian’s accepted students day. Like the other small LACs in the area, there’s a lot of focus on athletics. I assume the demands on the band are reasonable and might make your D happy. The visit put Moravian at the top of my Ds list - they said all the right things and are clearly committed to making every student’s time there personalized and productive. While my D will probably major in graphic design and perhaps English, they hearded away a slew of neuroscience prospects for classroom visits. Moravian isn’t particularly selective and doesn’t get nearly the attention of nearby Lehigh, Lafayette, or even Muhlenberg - but merit of $25k+ on a cost that starts out a bit less than the others in a place where your daughter (or mine) will shine is worth strong consideration.
One of my kids was in her college orchestra all the way through undergrad school. This did NOT end after she graduated college. She still plays her instruments, and plays in community orchestras when she has the time.
While marching band might end when this student graduates from college…playing in a wind ensemble could very well continue. We know a lot of marching band alums who now play in adult civic ensembles.
Fair enough. In any case OP and her D should carefully balance scholastics and outside interests, like everyone should.
West Chester is a good school for your needs. I know one grad who is in vet school and a current pre-med student. It’s definitely the most rigorous PASSHE school and it also has a great music department.
@RandyErika : is Moravian religious ?
Moravian appears to be very accepting of any/all religious pursuits. Both times we visited the campus we felt very good about the vibe in that regard. If it appeared to have an overriding religious feeling of any kind, we would not be considering it.
I’m not sure I understand the problem. I’ve read the thread and unless I missed something the daughter loves West Chester and has made her decision.
Why is everyone including her parent trying to get her to do something else. Let her choose and let her be happy with her choice. I have a fear that she is going to feel she is disappointing someone if she chooses West Chester and that’s not going to be a good thing.
I’m fine with her going to West Chester if that’s what she chooses. I’m not fine with her picking it without at least exploring some other options. “Sarah goes there and she loves it” is not a good enough reason to pick a college.
It’s funny - D19 can be very ambitious about some things, but she has been so laid back about the college search. I just want her to know what her options are before she picks something - trying to minimize the chances of regrets.
It’s always good to have choices in teenagers change. For instance, she should have a college she likes even without band. She should have a variety of choices with band. She may well choose WCU but she may also realize that she likes A better.
My oldest graduated from Christopher Newport. Love the school. Definitley has the private LAC feel though it’s a public. Facilities are new and the President is incredible. It’s definitely worth a look. Also has an honors program as well as a premed scholars program. About 75 miles SE of Richmond.
http://cnu.edu/academics/departments/music/ensembles/marchingband/
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I agree that most kids like to have a choice, but I have one who doesn’t do well with choices. She does better finding the one she likes and going with that. For college, she only applied to one school and she understood that if things didn’t work out financially, she’d most likely be taking a gap year. She was okay with that but things did work out. She did look at more schools but knew almost immediately if some place was for her or not.
She just accepted her first job offer too. She had one interview, one offer, and is good with it. Could there be a better job out there that pays more or has better benefits? I’m sure there is but she’s happy with this one.
We just visited Ohio Wesleyan and they’re starting a marching band in the fall - I think that would be a lot of fun to be a part of the start. We loved OWU - the campus, town, faculty and students - it appears their strength is pre-professional, including pre-med. Good luck with the decision!
Your daughter should visit Miami of Ohio on Sept 1. Make it an official school visit and attend the football game. She will really experience Miami. You should research how well Miami prepares students for med school. They have a very high med school acceptance rate. And. Robert Frost said of Miami (OH), that it’s “the most beautiful place that ever there was.”
Your daughter should visit Miami of Ohio on Sept 1. Make it an official school visit and attend the football game. She will really experience Miami. You should research how well Miami prepares students for med school. They have a very high med school acceptance rate. And. Robert Frost said of Miami (OH), that it’s “the most beautiful place that ever there was.”
I haven’t read the whole thread but a student can major in anything and go to med school. In fact, I have read that music majors, as a group, have the highest admit rate to med school.
Yes prerequisites need to be done, either during undergrad or in a post-baccalaureate program (see Goucher’s for an example). Not that many schools have actual premed programs. Some of the schools mentioned in the OP don’t .
I think it is risky to plan ahead and choose colleges based on an assumption that a student will go to med school. Many many high schoolers think they want to be a doctor but end up changing their minds.
After graduation I know kids who have gone into an accelerate nursing program, and kids who have done a physician’s assistant program so there are those options too, as well as paramedic.
I would choose a school that the student would want regardless of med school plans because the undergrad experience is important in and of itself 
Hey there again. So D19 has suddenly become very interested in Miami of Ohio – other than the distance from home (10 hours - ugh!) it seems to check all her boxes (including the recently added “must have neuroscience program”). Has anyone visited there recently? I know it’s been mentioned on this thread before but other than that, I don’t know much about it. When I consult the google for information, I see opinions ranging from “prestigious public ivy” to “party school for kids who can’t get into Ohio State”. Would love some feedback from people whose kids are there or have visited recently before we plan on making the 10 hour drive to see it for ourselves. Thanks again!!!
“I see opinions ranging from “prestigious public ivy” to “party school for kids who can’t get into Ohio State””
I think both of those things are true…though here in the Chicago area, the school they can’t get into is often Wisconsin or Illinois.
Our neighbor’s daughter is graduating from there this month. She had amazing internships and had a full time job offer lined up last fall before she even started senior year. Great school with a solid reputation. I think the “party” thing is more about the child than the school.
Living from OH, Miami is definitely does NOT have the reputation for the school for kids who couldn’t get into OSU. They attract a very different kind of student. The campuses are totally different sizes, location, and feel.