<p>hello everyone, we've officially started the "list". Visited Wake Forest, Elon, Chapel Hill, Davidson, Furman and NC State. D hated NC State and concluded Davidson is "too small" and "too hard". Thinks UNC CH may be too big. Loves Wake Forest and Furman. Off to see University of Richmond and W & L in two weeks. Will also see Mary Washington and St. Mary's MD, and might make it to Gettysburg. Whew. Trying to balance the stretch schools with the safeties. We're having fun. I know the stress will come all too soon!</p>
<p>Our official visit list so far, </p>
<p>Boston College, Tufts, Brown, Amherst, Middlebury, Duke, Dartmouth</p>
<p>Going in July to Bowdoin, Colgate, Wesleyan, Hopkins, UVA, Franklin and Marshall. Also Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>This visit stories are fascinating! I feel like co-opting some of these itineraries for our upcoming (vacation) NC & midwest trips. </p>
<p>Could I ask....if anyone feels like it...when you are posting trip lists, could you throw in child's intended major or area of interest? Son is headed toward comp sci, so I'm always interested in those who've got kids in the same ballpark....</p>
<p>Well, let's see.....last year it was law school......this year it is political science. Who knows???? She is exploring, enjoying her classes (she is at boarding school) and changing like the wind!</p>
<p>Fang Jr will be studying history, or maybe political science. The SLACs he's looking at will be perfect for that.</p>
<p>But for computer science, Fang Jr's cousin will be at Stevens next year studying computer science. It's so cute to see him-- after living in the shadow of a high-achieving big sister who is now majoring in French at UVa, he feels like at Stevens he has finally found his own tribe.</p>
<p>Jolynne Smyth --My older daughter was looking at strong computer science schools a few years ago. We visited Rensselaer RPI (Troy, NY), Rochester Institute of Technology and Penn State. Rochester Institute of Technology seemed great except the weather and offered good academic aid. We had an very biased interview at RPI with an interviewer who told my daughter -- "you do know that you will need to take math and that Computer Science is a Science". He was a kind polite biased man....but that was enough to alienate my daughter and she wouldn't even apply to RPI. I liked the school and do intend to visit with my younger daughter. (My older daughter had taken both AP Computer Science tests and both AP calculus tests before her senior year of high school and had scored 4s and 5s so was quite disgusted at this attitude. There is definitely a high Male to female ratio at RPI. At any rate my older daughter ended up at Penn State that has an excellent IST program (Information Science and Technology). She already had some computer science and calculus AP credits and decided on this major instead of Computer Science because it allowed for more business and other electives that she's enjoyed. Also she is in her second year and is already completing a 6 month internship with a major pharmaceutical company who specifically looks for IST graduates. It was a great choice for her! </p>
<p>Other great computer science schools....of course...are UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon. Both are quite competitive.</p>
<p>I'm going to be responsible for a lot of the college planning experience, so I guess I might as well introduce myself. I plan on going to school for business, specifically finance. I work in an investment center that uses Raymond James as a broker, and I have been working since the age of 14. </p>
<p>I've saved every penny that I've earned, and I even trade stocks with the nice bank account I've saved for myself. I have a 3.96 gpa (unweighted) and am ranked 2nd out of a class of 230. My test scores are not quite as impressive. I recently got a 29 on the June ACT, which I'll be retaking in September.</p>
<p>I plan on applying to Washington University in St. Louis ED. It will be a reach, especially if I'm unable to improve my ACT score. However, I do have a backup plan in case things don't go as planned (which is highly possible). I'm worried about the costs, as I'm from a low-income family and the only money available to me is that that I've saved for myself.</p>
<p>252525 is your D an NCAA b-Ball fan by any chance or is her school choice just a coincidence? ;)</p>
<p>I have one D starting this fall at Pitzer and a S who will be starting his second year at the University of San Francisco. So, we have done a lot of traveling around California the past two years (we live overseas; I work for the government). To share some of our stories:
My D was accepted to UC Davis, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego; also Santa Clara, USF, USD, and Pitzer. Even if we had qualified for California in-state tuition (long story, but we didn't), she was turned off by the size of the UC schools. Berkeley had been her dream school when she was a junior, but when she visited Pitzer during her senior year she fell in love with the small size, the mission of the school, the 5C consortium, the dorms, and the students.
S went to USF mainly becasue they offered him a good scholarship, it is near family in the Bay Area, and he liked the idea of going to school in the city. The only other school to offer him more money was the U. of Puget Sound, which he might have gone to had it not been for the location. He could have gone to UCSD or Santa Clara, schools with better reputations than USF, but the money was too good to turn down.
So, apply to many and see what they offer. When we began this process two years ago, my children never even considered the schools to which they are or will be attending - keep your options open. See what financial aid is offered and after the April 1 acceptance notices come out, visit or revisit the schools again if you can. In mid-April, during our spring break, we flew all the way from Europe to visit the schools to which she was accepted (including her first look at Pitzer) and it was much better than going during the summer, when most campuses are dead. The trip was definitely worthwhile. Good luck!</p>
<p>Sarsfield -- We also have family in the Bay Area......and my daughter loves the idea of going to UC Berkeley. I think she has a chance of acceptance there but I don't think she would get academic aid since the school is so competitive. The out of state tuition, as you noted above, is prohibitively expensive. Does you son like USF. It's a Jesuit school -- right? I've encouraged her to add this to her list because she loves San Francisco and also likes the idea of going to a Jesuit school. (We're visiting Fordham next week.) I think she would get academic aid there but....not sure. </p>
<p>I like your advice -- "So, apply to many and see what they offer." That's our plan!</p>
<p>I also am going to encourage my daughter to apply as early as possible starting in August. She has excellent grades and good scores so there's no reason to wait.</p>
<p>Jolynne - my son intends to major in CompSci - see the list of colleges we'll be touring in post 258. Add UT-Dallas for his in-state safety. He wants a smaller college for undergrad. Colleges having active D&D groups will be a bonus!</p>
<p>Jolynne - my D doesn't have an intended major yet - like 252525's D it changes regularly, from psychology to Jewish studies to education. She called last week from infirmary duty at her camp job (yeah, I know, who puts healthy kids to work in an infirmary with sick kids?!) to say she wants to be a nurse!</p>
<p>Very important to her: an active Jewish student group and strong Jewish studies curriculum, even if that's not her major.</p>
<p>sarsfield - My D loved Pitzer so I'll be interested to hear about your D's experience this year.</p>
<p>guitarman89 - Welcome! If you are looking for parental advice, you've come to the right place :)</p>
<p>historymom----just a coincidence, although we are Carolina fans, true blue! Yesterday she spent the entire day filling out online inquiry forms for XC at DIII schools. She just got her rec letter from her XC coach and although she is not top of the heap, she is on Varsity and State Team every year, so she is seeing what interest the DIII schools might show. DI is out of the question. That is why we are looking at Gettysburg, W&L, Mary Washington, etc. Any advice? This is first child to go to college and it is a whole new game for us!</p>
<p>Thought I might seeks some advise from this group. D is interested in science, particularly biochem/tropical studies along with international economics as it relates to health care. (thinks she wants medicine)</p>
<p>Wants smaller university or LAC, will go as far south as NC, really loves New England.</p>
<p>Any thoughts would be appreciated</p>
<p>252525--We've looked at most of the same schools in NC and D also has St. Mary's and Richmond on her list, but she wants to major in Neuroscience. LIke your D, she has potential for DIII, but in swimming. This is also our first time around the block. Is XC a deal breaker for your D? That is, if she got into a DI dream school, would she pick that over a DIII where she could run? Have you looked into club sports? MY D would pick the school over the ability to swim--at least that's this week's plan.</p>
<p>No .... the school is far more impt to her than the running. If she gets in Wake or Richmond, that would be her dream. The other end of the spectrum is the DIII smaller schools, running, maybe doing honors program, etc.</p>
<p>Sarsfield, you said your daughter liked the mission of Pitzer. Just what is the focus of the school? What are its academic strengths, etc. I have a feel for the other consortium schools from posts I've read here, but not Pitzer. I'd love to learn more about it.</p>
<p>AdvicePlease, has your daughter considered Santa Clara? It's a Jesuit school in the SF Bay area. It's in the suburbs, so it's more of an enclave than USF.</p>
<p>AdvicePlease - You are correct in that academic aid from someplace like Berkeley is hard to get. My D was offered a little from UCB, but not much - with the award offer from Pitzer (need-based, not merit) the cost is about the same as in-state costs at UCB. My S was admitted to USF as a University Scholar which is worth $19,500/year. USF is a Jesuit school - my S likes it there. He is majoring in computer science. I would suggest your daughter apply there if she is interested. My D was also admitted to USF as a University Scholar, but felt like Pitzer was a better fit for her. My two children are quite different - my S is more athletic, conservative and likes math and computer science; my daughter is more liberal, detests math and science (despite taking AP Calculus this past year), and is looking for more of a true liberal arts education; hence, Pitzer. She is planning on majoring in either English, psychology, sociology or media studies. Who knows?</p>
<p>PRJ - I believe Pitzer has quite a strong Jewish population - see Pitzer</a> College. I see this as a real strength of the school (by the way, we are Catholic, but not terribly religous). I'll let you know how she likes Pitzer!</p>
<p>2blue - Pitzer's mission is "Pitzer College produces engaged, socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity." Read more at Pitzer</a> College - Report of Excellence 2007
It is the most liberal of the 5C schools, the social sciences being its biggest strength. By the way, Pitzer's acceptance rate this year was 22%, same as UCB.</p>
<p>sarsfield - thanks for the Hillel link. I think the Jewish group is for all 5 schools, another strength of the consortium from our point of view. </p>
<p>And yes, we heard about the 22% acceptance rate when we visited in March. There was a corresponding jump in avg GPA (don't know about test scores). As a result, Pitzer moved from match/safety to match for my D.</p>