<p>@jkiwmom - Austin College is apparently 60 miles north of Dallas. She’s looking at St. Edward’s University, which is actually in Austin. I hope it’s not so hot in mid June that it dissuades her.</p>
<p>Mamaduck - since you’re looking in Austin, have you considered Southwestern? It’s a CTCL school.</p>
<p>Really like Southwestern, but it doesn’t have a major she’s interested in. She really like St. Ed’s Digital Media Management program. The only other truly similar programs she can find are at Duquesne and Champlain.</p>
<p>Mamaduck - That sounds like such a fun and interesting major. I wouldn’t want to have to compromise much in that area either. My son is at Champlain this weekend at a writing workshop. I begged him to take some pics but I doubt he will even though it’s a college on the list.</p>
<p>Mamaduck, have you seen this program [Emerging</a> Media (B.S.) - Academics - Ithaca College](<a href=“Emerging Media (B.S.) | Ithaca College”>Emerging Media (B.S.) | Ithaca College)</p>
<p>Ithaca would be a great choice, but Duckling is eligible for Tuition Exchange, and Ithaca’s not on the reciprocal list.</p>
<p>Regarding Austin College in Sherman, TX… </p>
<p>It’s less than an hour from us and is the first campus visit my D went on that finally really grabbed her. It’s a CTCL school and they seemed very caring when we visited. They created a very customized schedule for her for her visit, got her into the classes she wanted to sit in on without restrictions, and set up meetings with the dept chairs for the degree programs she wanted. (double major kid) </p>
<p>They have an awesome language house program. It used to be in a house donated for that purpose but they eventually built a large building especially for the language house instead of shoehorning the program into it’s previous existing space. It’s not really a house now but more like a big one-story dorm building with different sections and common living areas for each of the experiential language programs housed there. Jkiwmom, your D would probably love that part of this college. 
Their Japanese language program is pretty strong and they have students hired for JET every year. </p>
<p>The professor that supervises the language house met with us there for about 90 minutes for a long chat about the program, the language D is most interested in, and a related area studies program. (he’s head of all those) </p>
<p>They brag that something like 70% of their students study abroad, one of the highest in the country. The girl who led our tour was going to have done either 3-4 study abroad trips by the time she graduated, some being short January term or summer study trips. I can’t remember exactly but she said something like she was only paying maybe a few hundred overall for all her study trips due to various scholarships and grants. </p>
<p>I can’t remember now if they accept a good number of 3.0-3.3 students or not. If they do, it’s a place where they’d be well taken care of. The faculty seemed very conscientious about that and the students we spoke with all seemed happy there. </p>
<p>Also, this is one college that I know for sure called our school GC to ask for more details about my kid.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I’ve been lurking, looking for additional colleges to check for DS. As I’ve described in other threads, my very bright son definitely performs below his potential and is hovering at a 3.0 GPA, waiting for final grades for this year. He tests well (ACT 31, with a 34 in math and a 35 in science). He works, but not that hard. Maybe he gets the point and can’t bear to do Homework because, well, he already gets it; I’m still not sure how he rationalizes. </p>
<p>Anyway, I want him to apply to LAC so he doesn’t slip thru cracks. Has anyone’s similarly wired kids majored in science (physics?) and then studied engineering as a grad student? In other words, do kids that struggle in HS choke if they major in engineering? Also, engineering schools tend tone larger than LAC, which I don’t favor. Any thoughts or school suggestions fora kid like him? Thanks!!!</p>
<p>
As with many things, it may depend to a degree on who the adviser is. My D got an old timer who gets how the rules work and is great about helping her accomplish what she wants. For the first semester, the school assigns the classes (including tutorial) based on the list of preferences (in order) submitted by the student. Picking the right tutorial makes a huge difference as you are put with like minded students and go through orientation with that group, too.</p>
<p>On paper the requirements sound so much more complicated than in reality. The teacher of the tutorial is the adviser for the first year , and in my D’s case was great at indicating how she needed to meet the initial Div 1 requirements (basically pass at least 7 classes and complete the community service/learning requirement). If the student and the adviser are not “kindred spirits” the student can change after the first semester (highly recommended if the two do not get on as the school relies on these close relationships for the student to learn autonomy).</p>
<p>There are two weeks each semester that are advising weeks where the students meet with their adviser to determine what needs to be done that semester, plan a course of study for the next semester and report in on any big project. First year portfolios were a non-issue for D as the work is already done and merely requires one additional reflection essay. <a href=“https://hampedia.org/wiki/Division_I[/url]”>https://hampedia.org/wiki/Division_I</a> In addition, there are a number of automated email reminders about deadlines (e.g. the community service requirement documentation- that D STILL hasn’t completed. 
)</p>
<p>For first year students, there is also midterm reporting from all teachers to the adviser to make sure the first year student is not falling behind, failing to come to class, or anything else that puts them on the path to “no eval” (which means an F in Hampshire speak).</p>
<p>@Woody, great visit report on Austin College. I just looked up the GPA avg., and it’s a possible contender for 3.0-3.3 students (avg. GPA is 3.5, ACT is 24-28). In the Best 376 book, it mentions, “applicants that look at Austin also look at Southwestern U”. </p>
<p>@catpb, I think a lot can change actually. My nephew sounds very much like your S. He had a 3.0 and was a NMF. Ended up taking a full ride to Ohio U. He’s in his 3rd year there and has a 3.9 GPA! He’s planning to head to Law School. I’ve seen a complete turn around in him anyway.</p>
<p>@kinderny, great info. on Hampshire!</p>
<p>Forgot to mention something about Austin College in Sherman, TX… they have a local shuttle bus that stops at the college so students can use it to get around to certain parts of the town if they don’t have a vehicle. I remember it stops near certain stoand restaurants) There’s also a regular shuttle to Dallas that’s available but I can’t remember the particulars about that. Sherman is located about halfway between Dallas and the Oklahoma border, maybe a tad closer to OK.</p>
<p>For students interested in working for the JET program after college (get paid to teach English in Japan for 1-2 years; do not need to already know Japanese or major in anything related to it), Austin College had more of their graduating students hired to that program a couple years back than any other college in Texas.</p>
<p>Thinking about adding TCU and Trinity to our Texas roadtrip. Does anyone have experience/knowledge regarding these?</p>
<p>Trying to plan ahead-- DS has a 4 day weekend in Sept which might be his last chance to visit colleges before submitting applications. He is interested in 3 colleges in LA area and I was wondering if this schedule looks reasonable. I am thinking of having him take an extra day off school to fit everything in</p>
<p>If anyone is from the area or has visited the area let me know any suggestions you have in terms of travel, hotels, etc </p>
<p>Tuesday night fly into LAX and stay at airport hotel</p>
<p>Wednesday visit Loyola Marymount. Wednesday late afternoon drive to Whittier and stay overnight there</p>
<p>Thursday visit Whittier. Late Thursday afternoon drive to Redlands and stay overnight there</p>
<p>Friday visit Redlands. Stay overnight there or else drive back to LAX?</p>
<p>Saturday fly out of LAX probably afternoon flight (especially if we are driving back there on Sat morning)</p>
<p>I know traffic is bad around there late afternoons so not sure if this driving plan is good or if there is a better way to arrange the visit. We would rent a car at LAX</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>I have a child at Redlands, so that drive to LAX is familiar. Add a minimum of an hour to the time googlemaps gives you for the trip. There will most likely be construction or delays of one kind or another.</p>
<p>Your plan looks reasonable. If you do decide to stay overnight In Redlands, I recommend the Country Inn and Suites. Very nice, quiet, close to campus and breakfast is included.</p>
<p>idahomom, our daughter will start at Redlands in the fall. We did a college roadtrip to Southern Calif last year and visited two colleges per day. We would do the morning tour at one, then drive to the other and do the afternoon tour, then drive to the city where the next morning’s tour would be.</p>
<p>We saw Concordia, Whittier, LMU, Pepperdine and Cal Lutheran, having visited Cal Poly Pomona and Redlands at an earlier trip in the summer. So your plan sounds very doable. I was surprised at the traffic in LA during our trip last August. It was far better than I thought, but maybe we just got lucky.</p>
<p>My son is through with testing I think. He’s ok with his scores and so am I although I wouldn’t fight him if he wanted a second try at the ACT He has only 2 more weeks of school left but they are still teaching and quizzing. He also still has a couple of projects due. I’m going to remind him to start bringing his stuff home. I saw that some colleges would accept a graded paper in lieu of an essay. It would be nice if he had one. He’s taking Psych101 at community college this summer. I’m excited about that. He’ll get a taste of what college work is actually like.</p>
<p>DS had his last day of school Wednesday (:D). Returned books yesterday. Second attempt at SATs tomorrow, which we’re hoping is the last. Then he can really breathe the air.</p>
<p>Re: college stuff, I’ve pencilled in a trip for late August (after the colleges start, before his school starts) but am not talking about it yet with him. He needs to not think about school for a while. I’m trying to do Guilford, Appy State, and possibly UNC-Asheville on that trip. Re: LORs–I bugged him yesterday about e-mailing the teachers he’s planning on asking. I know the college counselors sent out reminders this week for the juniors to do that pronto. Re: the Big Essay–will definitely hold off bringing up that subject. In my experience kids do this at their own pace. DS#1 didn’t really finish his or send off any applications until mid-January of his senior year. DS#2 sent his first round of applications off in early September; second round in early November. He really just wanted to be done. Hoping DS#3 will want to do it sooner rather than later. Love those rolling/early admissions schools!</p>
<p>@HeavyLidded - I went back and found your D’s scores. I’d be jumping up and down. I would put those on any of the schools my D is applying too.</p>
<p>The Duckling is at about 25% level of all the schools she’s interested in. I decided to go ahead and send them to most of her schools, holding off on the test optional.</p>
<p>I’m hoping for a big improvement tomorrow and on next week’s ACT. The Duckling just finished Algebra II and met with her tutor lots to prepare for end of grade testing - she also studied a lot for AP English test. I figure that’s a great review. </p>
<p>She’s also requested a LOR from her math tutor, who adores her. I hope it will be good to have a positive LOR in her weakest subject.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses-- glad to hear the plan sounds reasonable. We did a similar trip to Nashville area in March, but I wasn’t sure how traffic would compare in LA area</p>
<p>Kellie-- Do you have a student at Willamette as well? DD just graduated from Willamette on Mothers day! She starts work in Portland Monday-- so one down, 2 to go</p>
<p>DS is taking SAT tomorrow as well. Not expecting any great improvement and he is NOT HAPPY about taking it again. Next week is his last week of school and I think he is tired of it all. He is also looking for a job, which is not going well either. I am hoping his grades are reasonable-- he is saying all A and B grades at the moment, so hope that is true</p>
<p>I have been reminding him to ask teachers about LOR but he is ignoring me-- the emailing idea is good. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone on surviving the rest of the semester and SAT!</p>
<p>kellie and campbellmom</p>
<p>More info please!</p>
<p>We did a trip to LA area last summer, but Redlands wasn’t on our radar until after we returned thanks to some CC recommendations. </p>
<p>My concerns - FA and merit. We’re on the East Coast, so travel costs are a concern.</p>
<p>Son’s concerns - Johnston Center – He can’t decide if it is the best thing ever or too far out for his tastes. He wants discussion based classes.</p>