<p>smythic – S did a summer program at Rider and find the dorms to be disgusting - which if you know my kid has to be extremely bad since he is a slob and rarely notices building disrepair. He said none of the screens fit the windows, large bugs everywhere…Now, mind you it was summer.</p>
<p>On the plus side for Rider, it is close enough to Princeton, Philly and NYC to get off campus once in a while.</p>
<p>We are also struggling with who makes the ultimate choice. I chose my own college strictly based on feel. Looks is definitely a large part of the equation to me and my son is same. For us, if finances are same, it will be up to son with lots of parent lobbying. I want S to be very aware, transferring is NOT an option due to finances.</p>
<p>Just popping in to say a big congrats to everyone! What a wonderful selection of schools. I have been lurking lately, as ds15 will be among this crowd. </p>
<p>And I have to agree on first impressions of Kenyon. I visited with my oldest and definitely got the cigarette-smoking, artsy, dripping with money vibe. Don’t get me wrong. Ds loved it and it would have been his second or third choice. Other than Swarthmore, it was my favorite campus. This was my first impression, by the way, not his!</p>
<p>On the question of who decides:
DS made his choice from the schools I selected for him to visit. His first choice was not my first choice, but he will attend the school that he chose. I must trust that he is picking the school where he will be comfortable and will do well-and he is the best judge of that.</p>
<p>My parents took little interest in my college selection and I made the worst possible choice for myself, left school after two years and it wasted years before I went back to another school and finally graduated.</p>
<p>Smythic - I think the decision has to be the student’s. While it would be rotten for a kid to be unhappy with the school they’re attending, it would be even worse for a kid to be unhappy at a school they felt their parents made them attend. However, I think it’s appropriate for you to encourage him to consider a school that you feel is a good fit. How you do this depends on your kid and your relationship. I know with my D, she knew my “favorite” school early on (Dickinson) and I think my preference kept it low on her list lol! Attending an accepted students day or an overnight visit can definitely improve a kid’s impression of a school. If he has difficulty expressing his preferences, maybe a pro and con list for each school including factors like academic support, class size, etc. could help. I’m a big believer in the importance of that “gut” feeling when a school just feels right, but that can’t outweigh all the other factors. </p>
<p>I really liked Susquehanna when we visited (I think I heard of it on this thread too). As I recall, they offered a lot of academic support. Maybe a return visit will bump it up the list. </p>
<p>Coralbrook - your comment on your mom’s selection of your school based on male/female ratio made me laugh and think of how I have been teasing all my d’s friends about “makin’ sure they git into college so they can git themselves a husband!”</p>
<p>I took kind of a middle of the road position on the Who Decides question with my D. I researched and came up with a list of 5 LAC’s that met my criteria (ratings, geography, merit $, personal preference…) and told her that as long as she got at least a stated amount of merit money, she could choose to attend any one of them. It was a pretty nice list, and she didn’t push back. The one she chose was not the one I thought she would, but because I had done lots of pre-screening, I was fine with her choice (which has worked out really well for her). Not an issue with my S (for whom I’m on this thread) since he wanted a large school and the one that clearly appears to be the best one for him was one he fell in love with on our campus visit, and he was just about one and done.</p>
<p>Umass Undeclared update - my DS talked to the admissions rep today and she told him that basically he just gets put in the RD pile. I’m not sure how I feel about that. So basically it was almost like he was deferred rather than accepted Undeclared. So, now we have more waiting. Have to go check Umass’s website and find out when RD will be coming out.</p>
<p>Haven’t checked in for a while…College selection discussion has been quite interesting</p>
<p>In 1983, I decided for myself…a nice little LAC in Texas. But I was in the fortunate position back then that my dad could afford to pick up 2/3 of the tab (the rest was from my savings and a very small student loan). College was so much more affordable back then, it seems.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2013. I’ve been much more involved in the process with DS–for many reasons. For one thing, we don’t have the luxury of just writing a blank check to wherever, so it was crucial he cast a fairly wide net. </p>
<p>In the end, it will be his choice, but he clearly knows our financial situation and the parameters we have to work with. He is taking a Gap Year to do service work (and earn a small educational award for it) and that was his first choice for post-high school. </p>
<p>I’m sure we will sit down as a family and take a good long look at all the FA and Merit from the schools he has been accepted to before any final decisions. But, ultimately, he will make the choice b.c. he will certainly be contributing his fair portion to finance it.</p>
<p>Cooker - I like that you chose five schools that you liked and then let D select one. I’ll have to keep that in mind for DS '17. Would definitely make his senior year much less stressful for me!</p>
<p>I have been involved with CC for a few years and received great advice. It helped me select some colleges for D1 and I received great feedback that helped put some additional colleges on her list. She is now a very happy Junior at Furman, a college we leaned of through CC.</p>
<p>Well, now I need some help for D2. Unlike D1, my youngest daughter is a world class slacker. She seems to have pulled her act together this year, however it is likely that she will end up with a 3.0-3.2 GPA. She put herself in a deep hole to climb out of but she is trending higher. D1 had a very clear idea what she wanted, strong Psych program, LAC, etc. D2 has no idea. She only knows that she would prefer to be within a 5 hour drive of our home, western Connecticut, and would like a medium size college. I think University of Dayton would be a perfect fit but it has become more competitive and it is a little further. So based upon her GPA, and other criteria, can anyone suggest some possibilities? Thank you.</p>
<p>How about Salisbury University in Maryland? It should be about a 5 hour drive from western CT, has about 7000 students. It’s public with very reasonable OOS cost. I read on a CC thread about someone’s kid going there - it might even be this thread. It sounded like a very cool place.</p>
<p>Also in Maryland - McDaniel (about 3100 students). I think it has been mentioned on this thread as well. GPA in range.</p>
<p>We also looked at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, with about 5000 students. GPA is in range.</p>
<p>Thank you mamaduck. I hadn’t thought of Salisbury, for some reason I always thought they were an LAC. Funny you mentioned St. Josephs, I just looked at their site yesterday. I know quite a few very happy alumni from there. Is it right in the city or is their a campus? Thanks!</p>
<p>We never visited St. Joseph’s, but did get on their contact list. All communication was very professional. D dropped it off her list just before application time. I think they are quite close to the city center, but not in it. It looks like a beautiful campus with strong academics.</p>
<p>SUNY Purchase? It is more artsy than most SUNYs but also has the usual social sciences/sciences. Elmira College or Siena College? They were all on my D’s list, and Siena in particular seemed a “soft place to land” for students that were not heavily into academics in h.s. and might need some support in the college transition.</p>
<p>Also, probably too small, but we liked Manhattanville too. It was one of D’s safeties.</p>
<p>Thanks for the recs. I think Ithaca might be a slight reach based on their Common Data Set. We know a lot of kids that have gone there, kind of a mixed bag of reactions but we learned to make those decisions on our own. </p>
<p>I will put Clark on the list as well. It is funny, my son and D1 wanted to look at colleges outside our area so I am actually more familiar with the colleges in the Midwest and Southern regions than my own backyard. I will look at Adelphi, know the name well but not much more than that. </p>
<p>If D2 can pull her SAT scores up from her PSAT results, and finish this year with a stronger GPA than her Freshman year (3.25) than I think she will have some more options. The fact that she is a URM won’t hurt. Thanks again</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about a 3.25 GPA at all. That’s what my D had at application time, and she got into all colleges she applied for (which were chosen with care). Don’t worry about the rest of College Confidential who will recommend a community college for less than a 3.7 - on this thread, we know our kids have gotten into some fabulous colleges! You didn’t mention her test scores, but many great schools are now test optional as well. Remember that the average SAT score is in the 1500s (for all three parts). However, a higher score will certainly earn her more merit money!</p>