He’s not particularly interested in a party school, if anything that’s a negative for Arizona. If there are sports games to go to then that’s fine but it’s not a strong reason to choose one school over another. He’d be happy spending time with some nerdy online gamers.
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Not everyone is a partier at every school.
UCSC may lead to a future housing crunch and the stress it causes.
Is he in Honors at Arizona? The dorm and adjacent counseling center are really nice.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
He finally decided on UCSC! My bank account feels better already. Now to see what U of Az merchandise we can get a refund on…
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Checking in, especially for the class of 2024. I can’t believe we’re up!
D24 finished her year strong, with an overall 3.7/4.07 GPA going into application season.
Testing did not go so well, and she will go test optional for most schools.
She has a tentative list of 9 schools, but she’s not sure she loves them. Part of the problem is these college students making these #%$&@ tik toks about the worst parts of their colleges.
How is everyone doing?
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Good to check in! D24 finished strong too, with an upward trajectory and a 3.91 junior year - a 3.79 overall GPA (9th grade was online only which was tough for her; school doesn’t do weighted GPA or rank).
She has a preliminary list of 9 schools, we have visited 5 and she is doing virtual info sessions this week for 3 more of them which are across the country. The 9th is on our coast but a flight away. We are not sure if we’ll visit those we haven’t seen yet, or if she will apply, see where she gets in, then visit in April, which seems like the best use of time and money, since she has a busy summer ahead.
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I agree about the social media presence being potentially not a good influence. She liked a school we visited last week well enough, but was turned off after seeing a few students’ YouTube videos about life on campus. She knows to take social media lightly, but I have to admit we cringed a little at those videos.
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S24 hanging right around a 3.7uw, 4.2w 30 ACT (single sitting and isn’t doing it again) after finishing up junior year. He has a list of 4 colleges he will definitely apply to and I must admit I’m glad he doesn’t seem to be following tik tok and youtube video complaints about schools - who knew we’d find the silver lining of a somewhat checked out college applicant? 
I was just happy when he came to talk to me this morning about starting his common app essay. He is an excellent writer but doesn’t love the process all that much so wants to get started early to reduce stress. Could this be a sign of maturity? Or have I just cursed the process writing that down?
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We are looking like it will be 3.78UW/4.4W and 1540 SAT single sitting, which moved up from 1470. Taken twice now and that’s plenty, Def going to submit. Pretty well rounded list at this point, with multiple safeties and in state flagship plus a bunch of hard targets and reaches. Lots of visits planned this summer to hopefully narrow down the list of schools that require extra essays.
I would add - this board has been super enlightening. Before coming here, I probably would have neglected the focus on making sure he visits and loves the carefully selected safeties that check the important boxes rather than adding 1-2 on as an afterthought.
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Brand new to CC but wanted to jump in and join this one as we navigate this process.
S24 just finished junior year with his best GPA yet. School only does UW GPA, no rank - GPA is out of 100 (still waiting on final grades but looking like a 96.5 for the year).
Early HS grades were lower so overall UW GPA is right around a 93 but has trended up each year. Assuming I’m doing the translation correctly, he’s sitting on an overall 3.7-3.8 UW GPA and roughly 4.0-4.2 weighted. School does not offer Honors but offers “Enriched” which I believe would be treated the same? Will have 3 APs by the end of next year and has been in the Enriched versions of Math and Spanish all 4 years of HS.
SAT: 1230, ACT: 27 - no prep for either and very resistant to taking either test again unless I can make a compelling argument for him to do so. 
Will probably go test optional but it might depend on the individual schools.
Few ECs but will be starting a job at the local library next week. He’s a bright kid but very introverted and the idea of joining activities (let alone seeking out opportunities) has put him off from a lot of ECs, so not a lot to show on paper here.
Considering English or Psych, but definitely interested in schools with strong support for Undecided kids and especially those that encourage or even require exploratory programs.
The college search got off to a slow start, mainly because he had no idea what he wanted for school characteristics, but we’re slowly refining:
- General Northeast region (we’re in Western NY so basically any states that touch NY, plus NH and RI). Exceptions to this: No NYC, no Philly, no NJ.
- Medium size (this is flexible but ideally 3k-10k, which is down from his initial “anything over 6k”)
- Financial aid is going to be a big piece here - divorced mom here, hardly anything in savings thanks to life curveballs. SUNY is a very attractive option (income qualifies for Excelsior so full tuition coverage would be great) but am encouraging him to apply anywhere with the understanding that FA offers may be a deciding factor.
The current list:
- University of Buffalo
- UNH - Durham campus
- BU (definitely a reach but I’m an alum so he wanted to include it anyway)
- Syracuse
- SUNY Geneseo
- SUNY Oneonta
- Marist
- Siena College
- URI
- Ithaca College
- UVM
- Quinnipiac
- SUNY New Paltz
- SUNY Brockport
- Slippery Rock
Originally on the list but now out of the running:
- UConn
- Ohio University
- SUNY Plattsburgh
- SUNY Albany
Looking forward to this next year (and also a little terrified) - I’ve lurked a bit before officially signing up today, and am already learning so much from everyone here!
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Most these privates won’t be full need met. . You might look at Bryant. Some - like an Arizona have tremendous merit. Gpa only. Miami Ohio too. But too big and don’t meet your geography.
Calc the gpa on a 4 point scale. Sounds like will be 4 or close. A = 4, B = 3
Maybe a UMaine type.
But given cost, location and the desire for full tuition coverage likely you’re not going to beat SUNY.
You can run net price calculators at schools not too far but 3k kids is tough. Like Allegheny. Wooster. Depauw. A bit far but maybe they’ll come through with aid. Or a Lafayette or Richmond - a bit bigger - TO. BU, NEU, trinity, Connecticut College etc meet need. Have much bigger test optional than submitted profiles so might be possible.
Run their net price calcs. One issue will be if there’s a second parent. Even if not contributing will be held against you financially.
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Thanks so much for all the info. Will definitely look into some of the others you mentioned - his criteria right now for choosing schools to look at is still very flexible. I think at this point we are still putting anything that MIGHT be a potential fit on his list just so he has things to compare. The hope is that we can continue to refine over the summer and then plan additional visits accordingly.
His thoughts on the 3 we’ve visited so far:
- UB (small physical size + large student body = very dense population - might feel too big for that reason; location was not a selling point)
- UNH (loved Durham, loved the classic New England feeling of the campus, likes the academic offerings, but felt the physical size was a bit more than he wants and it’s right at the max in terms of distance from home)
- UConn (didn’t like the “middle of nowhere” location, thought the physical campus size was overwhelming, definitely got the sense that if you’re not an athlete this might not be the right place)
I know that’s true for any of the schools that use CSS Profile. I think if they don’t use CSS we might not have to worry about 2nd parent? This definitely complicates things, especially for some of the schools on that list (BU and Syracuse for sure). His father decided to get remarried recently (last month) - not sure how that impacts the financials since they were not married when taxes were filed in 2022…so much to think about!
Schools that don’t use css are likely OOS public and so aide won’t factor in anyway. Check UMaine. They may have reciprocal tuition, and it’s a bit smaller.
Nothing wrong with the smaller SUNY though.
ESF gets you the best of both SUNY and Syracuse U at the SUNY price. But the majors are opposite of his interests. Bummer. That’s the way to snake SU on the cheap.
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SUNY with free tuition is an amazing option. Feeling jealous!
These are some other schools that you might want to consider:
- SUNY Cortland: About 3500 undergrads. The English department offers a major in Professional Writing, as well as the standard English.
- SUNY Oswego: About 6100 undergrads and has some interesting programs like the Living Writers Series where a different author visits weekly.
- SUNY Potsdam: About 2400 undergrads, which is smaller than 3k, but it offers cross-registration with neighboring Clarkson, which increases the student population in the area. Its English department also offers a BFA in creative writing, in case that appeals.
Some private schools where you might to investigate and run the Net Price Calculators (which seem to be more generous based on net price than some others, as I was browsing):
- Clark (MA): About 2300 undergrads
- Gettysburg (PA ): About 2400 undergrads
- Muhlenberg (PA ): About 2100 undergrads
- Siena (NY): About 3500 undergrads
- St. Lawrence (NY): About 2200 undergrads
Just outside the geographic boundaries is a school in northeastern Ohio that might be of interest:
- John Carroll (OH): A Jesuit university of about 2700 undergrads. In English there are separate BA degrees for Creative Writing, Literature, and Professional Writing. Within psychology, it offers concentrations in Child and Family Studies, Forensic, Industrial/Organizational, Interdisciplinary Neuroscience, and Mental Health Services.
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Another vote for SUNY Potsdam. Clarkson is an amazing hidden gem of a school. They give excellent merit aid too with COA around $32K for many kids. We looked into Clarkson and discovered the arrangement with Potsdam. Excelsior is a great program if you qualify. Why look anywhere else? Especially, if you son wants to explore then I would strongly suggest saving as much money as possible.
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This was my D20. She attended a selective/rigorous private school and graduated with an A-/B+ average (her HS used a 100 point scale and she graduated in the low 90s, which I think they calculated to around a 3.7 or 3.75; no weighted GPAs) and mid-1400s SAT. She took a handful of APs and got 4s/5s on the exams, overall strong but not top-of-class course rigor. She had some interesting and long-standing ECs, but nothing amazing. Well-rounded with an active social life, she wanted to be on the West Coast and attend a mid-sized school of no fewer than about 5K undergrads. This fits the profile of a lot of Jesuit schools and she added a few larger schools to the list, mostly as safeties (except USC which was a reach and UW which was our in-state option).
She applied to:
Loyola Marymount University (accepted with merit)
University of San Diego (waitlisted)
University of San Francisco (accepted with merit)
Santa Clara University (accepted with merit)
Chapman University (accepted with merit)
San Diego State University (accepted)
University of Colorado Boulder (accepted)
University of Washington (in-state; accepted)
University of Southern CA (reach; rejected)
She attends Santa Clara (now a rising senior) and loves it. She thinks it’s a great blend of strong academics, great opportunities and an active social environment.
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YUP … UMaine basically matched SUNY for my D22!
It’s fantastic and def worth a look. 
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Sorry for the late reply. Because it ranking is binding and we couldn’t afford to tour that many other schools and those two she loved equally. The plan was if she didn’t match she would do go through questbridge list and do rd through them for as many as she could aee as a fit. When you RD thru questbridge most of those schools finacial aid policy give a almost full ride anyway based on income. Many questbridge scholars get in this way. I definitely advise only rank if you can see yourself there 100 percent.
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She only ranked 2 because ranking in March is Binding. Those 2 were the 2 she could really see herself at. We were not able to your any others on the list. The plan was if she didn’t get in thru match she can apply to all the other schools on the list rd for free and if she got in to any then we would tour. Alot of people dont rank and just do rd amd use the qb finalist as a award and it helps.
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There are a lot of private schools that don’t use CSS. Most are not ‘meets full need’ schools, but there are still a lot that don’t require CSS
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Agreed. The vast majority of private universities/colleges do not use the CSS profile. It is not difficult to create a college target list that includes none (or very few) CSS institutions.
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