Oh, Wise Ones- College in NJ, PA, Del area

<p>As an out of state male I think he has a shot at TCNJ. I graduated from the school many years ago and follow it quite closely. I believe the sat range is not quite as high for oos and also for students that live within a commutable distance. Also if they apply ED. I think they may fudge the sat range by excluding many types of students. This is based on at least 6 students I know that are in with below range stats. They were not athletes,urm or otherwise connected but all got in. 2 live in PA and all could commute to TCNJ.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for the responses. Tom, that is encouraging. He was beginning to get spooked by the posted SAT ranges. He will likely apply ED, and see what happens. He has a good GPA (around 3.8).
He liked the looks of Rowan from the website and will look at it. He really does want to stay within a couple hours of home (Collegeville).</p>

<p>MOWC, I don't know a lot about Rowan (and can't compare it to Bloomsburg), but quite a few bright, motivated kids from our HS go there and really seem to like it a lot.</p>

<p>Has he seen Bloomsburg? I did a campus tour with my daughter and neither of us found it very appealing although I know some kids do attend from her HS - graduating this spring. My favorite of the state colleges is Millersville with Kutztown coming in second. Indiana University of PA also has a good reputation, esp. the honors college. If he wants small and nurturing he might look at Moravian college in Bethlehem. It's across the river from Lehigh and is known locally as having a good reputation with merit aid available. If he wants to stay within two hours of home Allegheny, Grove City, IUP and Slippery Rock are all out.</p>

<p>I think they drove through Bloomsburg (it isn't far from their Poconos house) but are due to go visit. Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know what they think. One draw is that some pro football player went there (may be an Eagle).</p>

<p>From the Collegeville area the kids that go to the state schools probably attend West Chester, Millersville, Kutztown and Bloomsburg so he's probably most familiar with those schools. Hmmm, since you mentioned the Eagles - another school up my way is DeSales University. <a href="http://desales.edu/default.aspx?pageid=17%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://desales.edu/default.aspx?pageid=17&lt;/a> A friends daughter has interned with the Philadelphia Eagles for two summers - she is a business major at DeSales. The Eagles hold their Summer camp at Lehigh University which is five minutes from DeSales and draw students from the Lehigh area colleges for summer jobs. They have a good business program and includes sports management. It would be a comfortable drive from Collegeville - not too close but not too far. I drive through the campus (pretty but spread out) every day on my way to work and it's always hopping with kids going to and fro.</p>

<p>I would have him actually go an spend some time at schools like PSU and Udel before you rule them out. I know a lot of people that thought they wanted to go to a smaller school and are now regreting it. They may be big, but being big only offers more opprotunities?</p>

<p>naz - His sister is a freshman at PSU and he has spent a lot of time there and at UDel, too. He loves the schools, but he respects his disability (Tourette's/OCD) and knows what kind of environment he needs. The original "plan" was that he would play DI football, but this year, as a hs junior, he learned that he can not handle the pressure of screaming varsity coaches and the whole "you have to win" culture. It was a huge shock to the whole family, since the path he was on was clearly to UDel or Lehigh etc for football. He is a wise young man with parents who have worked carefully to help him manage himself, and he makes good choices. He was getting lots of "tics" and anxiety until he told his football coach he couldn't play anymore. He wants a "real" college environment, but needs something smaller and manageable.</p>

<p>Somebody mentioned fairfield university in connecticut. I would strongly vote this one down for the students we are discussing. My high school girlfriend goes there- it is a rigorous Jesuit curriculum and anything but welcoming. She is even considering transferring because the student body is so stuck-up and obnoxious.</p>

<p>There is a private LA college in Williamsport PA, I can't think of the name. YOu could find it easily. My son applied as a safety and I was struck by the friendliness and helpfulness of the students who called and wrote. So it may not be top notch but it certainly was strong on provideing a supportive atmosphere. I know a friend who's son has Torrets (sp) and he went to West Chester and found a job in his field after graduation easily.
Rider U. in New Jersey is good too.They may even give him some merit aid.</p>

<p>Was it Lycoming College?</p>

<p>scratch off LaSalle, my son's high school is next door to its campus in Philly on Olney Ave. I wouldn't board a pet in that neighborhood....</p>

<p>McDaniel, in Maryland?</p>

<p>I second McDaniel...a beautiful campus, only about 2 hrs from Collegeville, featured in Loren Pope's book and gives good merit money. With his SATs he would easily get in. My D's boyfriend is a "gentle giant" also; your nephew must be a wonderful boy and very wise about handling his disability...</p>

<p>Rowan vs Bloomsburg</p>

<p>Rowan: -suburban location in South Jersey, one hour from the beach, half
hour to Philly, maybe 2 to NYC
-Growing campus (physically)...plans for a huge expansion, just read about this in our paper recently
- Has engineering school, can get masters in engineering, I don't
think phd is possible yet but unsure
-Many education majors
-Lots of kids go home on weekends</p>

<p>Bloomsburg: -small town location
-beautiful setting just west of the Poconos
-attractive campus imo (surrounded by mountains, well Pa style mountains, still pretty. Good skiing within half hour
-lots of education majors
-party school, active weekend scene involving drinking
-not near any metropolitan area (over an hour to Lehigh Valley)
-kids are more "country" types (small town PA kids altho smaller # from Phila area) vs more suburban, more "stylish" Jersey kids at Rowan.</p>

<p>I would add that Bloomsburg can also be a suitcase school. As all of the PA state schools, 90% are not only from Pennsylvania, but the majority also come from two hours from the college. My daughter and I thought the campus was unattractive but that perception might have been tainted because we visited it on the way back from seeing Penn State. Also, I live in these PA hills so just being in the hills doesn't make a mass of red brick buildings look good to me. The campus is also very small compared to Kutztown, Millersville and West Chester. </p>

<p>I've driven through Rowan college many times on my way to my parents house in South Jersey. I have cousins that graduated from there when it was Glassboro State. All have successful professional careers but none encouraged their kids to go there. </p>

<p>My guess is that both Bloomsburg and Rowan have many local kids but are large enough that even though some kids go home on weekends there is still enough to do on campus if one is willing to look for it.</p>

<p>If he is truely interested in business, think about St. Joe's inPhilly. Their business programs are AACSB accredited. His stats could very well get him merit $$.</p>

<p>Thanks, guys. He has agreed to look at Rowan and Bloomsburg. Remember-the OCD and anxiety make this a tough process. I really appreciate the help and so does my sister.</p>

<p>Centenary College in New Jersey???</p>

<p>Directory of New Jersey Colleges and Universities:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nj.gov/highereducation/colleges/schools_sector.htm#i4%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nj.gov/highereducation/colleges/schools_sector.htm#i4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>In a suburb of Philadelphia, look into Arcadia University.</p>