<p>My S is interested in Oberlin, NYU, & Vassar. He's wondering which one to apply ED. He loves all 3. Any ideas? </p>
<p>3.75 GPA weighted (many honors & APs)
jazz guitar 7 years
jazz band 2 years
volunteer 25 - 50 hours
stock club
french club
photography club
track 1 year
part-time job</p>
<p>SAT 2040 m680 cr 650 w710
ACT 28</p>
<p>NYU seems like the odd one out there, or the obvious choice. What exactly does he want to study? NYU is a large private school, while Oberlin & Vassar are small liberal arts colleges. Whichever kind of school he wants to attend depends on what kind of environment he likes.</p>
<p>He’s a liberal arts major, although he’s interested in music & photography. The problem is he doesn’t know if he wants a big or small school at this point.</p>
<p>If he can’t choose, don’t apply ED. The only reason to apply ED is if you absolute are sure you want to go to a school and know that you won’t accept any other options. Apply to all three RD and keep the options open</p>
<p>He would be thrilled to be at any of them. Which one is the best option for ED (which college is the most realistic)?</p>
<p>I would appreciate any comments about these schools - Thank you!</p>
<p>Your son should opt for NYU only if he wants and is prepared for a large impersonal university environment without a traditional campus, willing to deal with large classes, is proactive about seeking out information about major/distribution requirements himself as I’ve heard from dozens of NYU graduates that their advising system tends to be spotty and people fall through the cracks, he’s willing to take advantage of all NYC has to offer without being too distracted…including networking, and you’re both willing to assume high amounts of debt as NYU’s financial aid/scholarships tends to be on the miserly side. </p>
<p>If he’s not prepared/willing for the above and/or he wants a more traditional college experience, smaller class sizes, and IMO…a more intellectually engaging environment, he’d be better off applying to small liberal arts colleges like Oberlin and Vassar. </p>
<p>Moreover, considering his strong musical interests, he should definitely give Oberlin a serious consideration considering they have a world-class conservatory where he can continue to nurture those interests even if he does not enroll in the con. Be aware, however, that Oberlin students…mainly in the college tend to have a long tradition of progressive/far-left political orientation and are politically active and proud of it…much more so than Vassar or even NYU. In addition, Oberlin students tend to be deeply interested and engaged in academic matters in and out of class. IME often continuing engaging class or other intellectual discussions well into the early morning hours. Don’t know if those would be positive or a negatives factor for your son. </p>
<p>Oberlin is good about giving great scholarships to students with excellent academic records and demonstrated financial need…and I do speak from firsthand experience. Can’t speak too much from Vassar except to relay that the environment is largely similar from what I heard from friends who graduated from there…though the students do tend to be far more mainstream in their politics and political/campus activism.</p>
<p>Oberlin and Vassar, as LACs, offer a different educational experience from NYU, as cobrat pointed out. Assuming your S is keen on a LAC, I would also lean towards Oberlin for the musically inclined. Neighbor’s son (a capella, but not in the conservatory) says the question students ask on move in day is “What instrument do you play?” and not “Do you play an instrument?” With a different music performance every night of the school year, he will get exposure to a lot of great music-and small classes with accessible faculty. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there is a cultural fit issue: Vassar is definitely ‘east coast’ - which is somewhat more aggressive and self-promoting than midwestern Oberlin and a little more to the center politically. It’s also a bit more urban. The midwestern schools seem to share a certain understated, unpretentious quality to greater or lesser degrees, and they are more isolated, and therefore inwardly focused. Both schools are academically comparable, so I wouldn’t make that an issue-but Vassar has a gender imbalance which gives your son an advantage.</p>
<p>"Both schools are academically comparable, so I wouldn’t make that an issue-but Vassar has a gender imbalance which gives your son an advantage. "</p>
<p>Though Vassar has a greater gender imbalance as a legacy of once being a women’s college, LAC’s overall have a slight gender balance in favor of heterosexual males…including Oberlin. </p>
<p>Moreover, those numbers need to be taken with a barrel of salt for two reason:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Both schools have sizable GBLT populations from my own experiences at Oberlin and several Vassar graduate friends’ experience. This may or may not have a serious impact depending on your son. </p></li>
<li><p>The academic/co-curricular/extracurricular load may be such that your son may not have time to devote to much more than extremely casual dating once in an extreme long blue moon. Speaking about Oberlin, it doesn’t help that students here are so engaged and interested in their diverse academic and non-academic activities that some end up overwhelming themselves through overcommitment. Finding heterosexual mates wasn’t considered a big priority by most of our student body…and some may look askance on a student who does prioritize this as a sign his “priorities are misplaced” or that he may be happier at a “party school”.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you cobrat & Ms mom. Does he have a chance if he applies ED @ Vassar or Oberlin? He’s concerned that both are too much of a reach. (NYU would be more of a target ED & he thinks he would be happy there.) His favorite school is Vassar.</p>
<p>You know, quite a few small liberal arts colleges are less selective than Vassar or Oberlin. He may prefer some of them to NYU.</p>
<p>Consider Macalester College, for example. It’s a little less selective than Oberlin or Vassar … and about as competitive as NYU. If he’s drawn to an urban environment, he might even prefer Macalester to Oberlin or Vassar. Other possibilities: Bates, Colorado College, or Whitman. A little less selective still is Lawrence University, a small college with a music conservatory (like Oberlin).</p>
<p>If his favorite is Vassar then Vassar is where he should apply ED. The purpose of ED is to give students an opportunity to get in early to their top choice school. And if you’re applying for the supposed admissions boost, the whole point is to apply ED to a reach school for the boost - doesn’t make much sense to apply to a target/match school ED for the “boost” unless you’re seeking scholarship monies.</p>
<p>Excellent advice from tk in post #11. Vassar seems very reachy for your S. (Given his weighted GPA, is it safe to say that most of his grades have been some kind of B? What is his class rank, or if the school doesn’t officially rank, where roughly would that GPA put him?) The fact that he is male definitely helps, although I know a girl with better stats who was waitlisted and a guy with better stats who was rejected.</p>
<p>I also agree with juillet. If he would really prefer a reachy school, ED is the time to give it the old college try. But only if he really wants that school.</p>
<p>BTW, I don’t know if you need FA, but you should keep in mind that NYU’s FA is notoriously poor.</p>
<p>If Vassar is his favorite, he should apply there ED and see how it goes as Julliet said. I’d also apply to Oberlin, NYU, and other suggested LACs that others have suggested. </p>
<p>I’m sorry I can’t really chance him at Oberlin as attended in the mid-late 1990’s as a transfer student and their admissions standards were not nearly as competitive as today. I must say that if he had applied with those stats back in my day, he’d not only be a shoo-in for Oberlin, Vassar, and NYU…he’d definitely get sizable scholarships from the first two schools. </p>
<p>Though they may both be reaches…he should still apply along with some safeties. If he gets into Oberlin and Vassar, he’d not only be deciding between two fine schools…but also possibly get far better financial aid packages/scholarships than NYU. That was the certainly my experience when I was admitted to Oberlin and NYU…and decided on Oberlin not only for financial reasons, but also because it was stronger for my field of study(Modern Chinese History). </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, does your son know which major/department he is gravitating towards?</p>
<p>He is undecided (liberal arts).</p>
<p>I agree that if he loves Vassar, he should ED there. How much of a reach will depend on, among other things, how they view his transcript (which usually counts for around half of the decision at LACs). Is that 3.75 weighted the result of an upward trend (ie, he had a weak 9th grade-lots of less mature students do), so his recent grades are his strongest? Does he show overall academic strength (mostly As) with a weakness in a specific area or is his record a mix of As and Bs generally? And will his teachers really be able to talk about what he adds to the class? Urge him, if he hasn’t already, to make clear to his recommenders why he is keen on his ED school so they can address that specifically in their letters rather than writing a single generic letter that goes to every school-some teachers are willing to do that, while others have too big a work load to customize.</p>
<p>It is not too late for your son to have an overnight visit so your son can see for himself. I agree w/the comment about GBLT populations at Oberlin (I don’t know about Vassar) and the fact that that factor may or may not have a serious impact depending on your son.</p>
<p>NYU does not guarantee to meet 100% of financial need, and is known for lowballing financial aid, so if you apply ED, be prepared to pay full-fare. There are many threads on cc to read; here’s one of them: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/519576-nyu-financial-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/519576-nyu-financial-aid.html</a></p>
<p>Coming from an NYU student: if your son is undecided, I would probably not commit to applying to NYU ED. His GPA (assuming that his unweighted is lower) and SAT score are a tiny bit below CAS average, so even if he got accepted (which he should), he would get little to no financial aid.</p>
<p>I won’t agree that NYU is necessarily less “intellectual” than Vassar or Oberlin, but I will say it is the odd one out in your son’s list and believe Oberlin/Vassar would be a more sensible choice with regard to his situation. A smaller environment may help him better develop and define his academic interests.</p>
<p>Doesn’t NYU have more resources, classes, & opportunities than a small LAC? He & I always thought he would get more personal attention @ a small LAC, however, S loves the city, especially the village. We’re unsure if he would become bored in a rural location like Oberlin. While he loved Vassar, Oberlin has a similar vibe but is somewhat less of a reach…, which is why it’s on his list.
I’m aware we will probably get zero financial aid @ any of these schools.</p>