<p>VAMom2015 ~ I am a parent from your area (fcps?) Have you studied the naviance scattergrams from your hs? I did find cc very helpful to broaden our search. PM me if you’d like-as my 2 are in college now, so no reason for me to hang-out on this thread :)</p>
<p>Our kids can get full tuition scholarships, too!</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1523536-website-calculates-automatic-full-tuition-scholarships-2.html#post16153918[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1523536-website-calculates-automatic-full-tuition-scholarships-2.html#post16153918</a></p>
<p>I put Bunheadgirl’s current GPA and ACT score into the calculator mentioned in the above post and found here, [CollegeMerit</a> - Colleges that offer full merit scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegemerit.com/]CollegeMerit”>http://www.collegemerit.com/) , and she qualified for a full tuition scholarship at about 13 schools. </p>
<p>Some of these, although mostly down south, HBCUs or Christian, may make decent safeties for some of our kids. I know a lot of higher stats kids use U of Alabama as a safety.</p>
<p>BunHeadMom,</p>
<p>Thanks for 1) starting this group and 2) for all the good information! </p>
<p>I don’t know where my daughter belongs but this seems like a good fit. Her school only lists the weighted GPA on her report card. Weighted her GPA is probably 3.6 or even 3.7 but unweighted I think it’s more like 3.2 - she is in a STEM program so she has mostly honors or AP classes. She took the ACT and SAT in June (27, 1770, respectively) as a baseline. She was disappointed at her scores; she thought she would score much higher.</p>
<p>Here’s information on the Ohio 6 College Tour:
[FAQ</a> « Ohio Six College Tours](<a href=“http://www.ohiosixcollegetours.com/faq]FAQ”>Frequently Asked Questions – Ohio College Tours)</p>
<p>When is the Ohio Six College Tour?</p>
<p>Monday, August 5 – Wednesday, August 7. Programs start at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day.</p>
<p>Where is the Ohio Six College Tour?</p>
<p>The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH); Denison University (Granville, OH); Kenyon College (Gambier, OH), Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH); Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH); and Wittenberg University (Springfield, OH).</p>
<p>The College of Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan University and possibly Witthenberg University are all in reach for our children.</p>
<p>Information on Iowa’s Private College Week August 5th-9th:
[Iowa</a> Private Colleges and Universities - Iowa Private College Week](<a href=“http://www.thinkindependently.com/index.aspx]Iowa”>http://www.thinkindependently.com/index.aspx)</p>
<p>Participating schools (starred schools are ones that we visted):</p>
<p>AIB College of Business
Allen College
Briar Cliff University
Buena Vista University
Central College
Clarke University
*Coe College
*Cornell College (Colleges That Change Lives School)
Des Moines University
Dordt College
*Drake University
Graceland University
Grand View University
*Grinnell College (Reach for most of our kids. Check the CDS before applying)
Iowa Wesleyan College
Loras College
Luther College
Mercy College of Health Sciences
Morningside College
Mount Mercy University
Northwestern College
Simpson College
St. Ambrose University
St. Luke’s College
University of Dubuque
Wartburg College
William Penn University</p>
<p>Bunheadgirl states she will not attend any school in the land of 100,000 cornfields–AKA, Iowa. UGH, but Ohio is just dandy!</p>
<p>BunHeadMom, thanks for starting this. I too have a class of '15 daughter who dances and wants out of the cornfields. Her GPA is a bit above your range but I really feel she belongs in this group as she refuses to push herself academically, so her As are all in “grade-level” classes (she is only advanced in Spanish). She also struggles with standardized tests.</p>
<p>This is going to be interesting. :)</p>
<p>BunheadMom and Sally305 - are your kids thinking about majoring in dance or do they have any other aspirations. Mine is going to be a junior at a little known school - at least in Ohio very few have heard of it, called Slippery Rock University. She has done amazingly well there -her GPA in HS was around a 3.4- at SRU she is doing exceptionally well with a 3.9 GPA. She is taking about 20 credits a semester as she plans on graduating early with her major in dance and getting her master’s in Adaptive Physical Activity by the time she is a senior. She is pushing herself but managing well and loves SRU. I forgot to mention that SRU is less expensive than our in-state schools - even OSU.</p>
<p>lammb66, I am not sure about my daughter’s plans yet. Depends on the day at this point. I am actually somewhat familiar with SRU, both from a dance mom who posts here (might be you?) and from my former boss who attended in the '70s and is now very successful in business. Less expensive than an in-state school sounds great, and the dance program is very well regarded. Your daughter’s experience is really encouraging–I could see mine taking a similar path. Thanks!</p>
<p>Lammb66–thank you, for the recommendation of SRU, but I could not find anything regarding the number of Jewish students or organizations or programming at SRU, which is important to Bunheadgirl. So, it appears SRU may not be an option for my D even with the enticing COA of $22K per year. I’m adding SRU to my list of B student institutions, as it may be the right fit for another student/family within this thread.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your D’s success thus far!</p>
<p>Hello, </p>
<p>Trying to get this thread started again. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the college information posted here. Is anyone here familiar with Kansas and Missouri areas? I am planning a college trip for my HS15 S to visit University of Kansas and University of Missouri in October. Is it manageable to visit these two schools in two days? Plan to arrive Lawrence Thursday night, visit KU Friday and then Mizzou Saturday. My S is more interested in KU than Mizzou. I hope KU will be a safety school that he can get in and we can afford to send him.</p>
<p>Sunnydayfun,</p>
<p>I cannot tell you much about Mizzou, as we only visited KU. We stayed at the Spring-Hill Suites in Downtown, Lawrence, on the river with easy access to shopping and restaurants. </p>
<p>We also visited during October last year on one of BunHeadGirl’s school breaks. The campus is beautiful for a public university. </p>
<p>What BunHeadGirl liked:</p>
<p>Jewish Life: Decent size student population, Chabad & Hillel, Judaic Major/Minor, Hebrew
Classics Department–met with a professor for coffee and had a wonderful time
Dance Department–Strong dance program
Campus layout–easy to get around
Campus population-- less than 1/2 the size of home flagship
Location-- tons to do in Lawrence
Transportation-- can get downtown & malls easily
Students–friendly & diverse in choice of clothing, music and ethnicity</p>
<p>For us, COA is around 20K due to the Mid-West Exchange.</p>
<p>Good Morning everyone ! Venturing over from the HS class 2010 - college 2014 & Beyond thread. 
We are a family of 4 - My H, myself, son class 2010, and daughter class of 2015.</p>
<p>Her GPA is all over the place. We could end up a little higher or be right on target for this thread !</p>
<p>We have special college circumstances. Our HS is an A+ school - meaning if they complete certain requirements, they earn the certificate for graduation.</p>
<p>That pays for 2 years of Community College or at some 4-yr colleges, they give you a small scholarship (usually $1000-1500).</p>
<p>In addition, a gentleman in our community left money to a scholarship. It is for girls only, they have to attend our HS all 4 years, and meet certain criteria (non smoker, etc). It is automatic & renewable. In the beginning, it was a full ride. Now, however, since they’ve used funds and interest rates are down, it is much less - but still a nice amount.</p>
<p>The other catch? They have to attend a Missouri college. So…my D15 will be looking in state. :)</p>
<p>There is a Community College 22 miles away. A lot of our local kids go there, but do not have anywhere near the same experience as a regular college. I see the experience my son has had compared to theirs. D15 will be attending a 4 year college.</p>
<p>She hasn’t made any official college visits yet. Our HS only ‘excuses’ your absence for college visits Junior & Senior year. And, it’s only 2 per year. Encouraging, aren’t they?! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Things she has considered are scienceteacher, Athletic Trainer, Physical Therapy, x-ray Tech, and a kindergarten teacher. She is doing her A+ tutoring (required for one full semester - an hour per day & assigned by the coordinator.) in one of the kindergarten classrooms & loves it. Who knows what it will be by graduation ! She will be tutoring all year because her schedule allows the time.</p>
<p>She is taking an ACT prep class and a College Prep class this year too. Our son took the ACT beginning of Sophomore year. Kids here don’t typically take the SAT…most Midwest schools want the ACT instead. Testing is our daughter’s downfall. They stress her so much.</p>
<p>She has played Varsity basketball since Freshman year, was a football cheerleader from grades 5-10, and is active in FCCLA. When she was younger, she did dance and belonged to Girl Scouts, earning her Bronze Award. She is also on the golf team.</p>
<p>Ok - there’s our introduction. Enough with formalities. :)</p>
<p>Sunnydayfun: I can tell you just about anything you’d like to know about Mizzou. My son is a Junior/Senior there this year. We are huge MU fans. Our daughter loves MU, but unfortunately it would be too hard for her. Yes, I just said that. Our son had a 3.8 GPA and an above average ACT score. The classes at Mizzou are hard. They don’t typically start you out with all your general education requirements either - they mix them in with some ‘major’ classes so you get a taste of what you’re going to do. (Which is why he is a junior/senior - changed his major sophomore year. A lot of the classes he took freshman year don’t apply to the new major and too many for electives. Hence, the 5 year plan). He absolutely LOVES Mizzou.</p>
<p>Since they moved to the SEC…hotel rooms are almost impossible to find if during a football weekend. I tried to book a hotel room back in June for Family Weekend the last weekend of September and could not find a single room in Columbia. If you are willing to drive to Jefferson City to the south or to Moberly to the North, they had rooms.</p>
<p>My son lived freshman year in Discovery dorms and off campus the rest of the time. Their off campus housing is owned by private people, but offer shuttles to campus with your lease, etc. They definitely have it figured out.</p>
<p>Campus is huge, but easy to get around. It is only a few blocks from downtown, a lot of the kids walk there for lunch, etc. The dining halls are fabulous - all you can eat so lots of variety. Their meal plans, etc are convienent. The Rec Center is fairly new. It has a huge pool, a lazy river, an outdoor pool with a big screen, weights, fitness classes, a tae kwon do room, a spa, rock climbing wall, etc. Michael Phelps trained their for a bit.</p>
<p>Our COA is around $23000 and not much in the form of scholarships or aid.</p>
<p>Slummom - ~~ waving hello :)</p>
<p>Thanks CheckersMidwest and BunHeadMom for the detailed information on KU and Mizzou. CheckerMidwest-your daughter sounds wonderful and athletic!</p>
<p>You are right about the hotels in Columbia during a football weekend. There are no hotel rooms on the Friday we were planning to be there. Most hotel rooms in Lawrence, KS are also booked due to the KU home game. Anyway, as it turns out my S will still have to go to his DE class because the local college does not have the same four-day fall break as our HS. Oh well we will have to plan the trip during the spring break. </p>
<p>S is enrolled in a SAT prep program at a local private company. He is making progress, doing well in reading but not so good in math. He may not be suited for ACT. We’ll see.</p>
<p>Thanks Sunnydayfun for your kind words !</p>
<p>Sylvan has an ACT prep program. They 'guarantee" you’ll score 3 points higher than before the program. I took our son to them for a specialized college study skills program and our daughter went there for about a year in second grade. I only have good things to say about them ! We may need to visit them again this summer, we’ll see how the school ACT program goes.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to learning about all our 2015 kids !</p>
<p>We’ve scheduled a school visit to Goucher for a 2-day school break on 10/17 & 18. We’ll fly into Baltimore on 10/17, and then visit DC for the remainder of the day. on 10/18 our visit of Goucher begins along with seeing all of Towson, MD via public transportation so BunHeadGirl gets a feel for area as if a student. </p>
<p>What school visits do you have on your list thus far?</p>
<p>BunHeadGirl attended a presentation given by Sarah Lawrence College at her school today. She fell in love! She then met for a few minutes with the Adcom after the presentation, and shared her ECs, current ACT test score, grades as of 10th grade, and what she likes about SLC. BunHeadGirl said the adcom was quite impressed about how much she new about the school. He wrote his direct cell phone number on the back of his business card, and told her to call with any questions. </p>
<p>He also told her that he would be returning this winter for interviews, and if she wanted to interview even before applying, he would be happy to accommodate D’s schedule on the dates he returns to town, and even offered to do the interview at D’s school. </p>
<p>D’s current GPA is several points below their average, but since Sarah Lawrence is test optional, I think her ACT score and two perfect score SATII’s may make this school a match.</p>
<p>We have twin sons graduating in 2015 from a large suburban Chicago public high school. Sophomore year spring break, we visited Murray State, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, and Mississippi State. Plan to also visit Northern Michigan, UW Stevens Point and Bowling Green. That will likely be about it, unless we hear about other schools that would fit.</p>
<p>Son 1 = GPA of 3.06. Practice ACT was 22 last year, will take prep course. My guess is his GPA will stay about where it is and his ACT will be 24 or so. He wants to be a game warden and get a degree in Wildlife/Environmental Law Enforcement. Hence the Mississippi State and UW Stevens Point schools.</p>
<p>Son 2 = GPA of 3.35. Practice ACT was 22 last year, will take prep course. Praying for 24. Does not know what he wants to do yet, but loves digital arts and writing courses. Want to send him to a school where students are happy, and is big enough to have options. Aiming at Northern Michigan and Bowling Green for him.</p>
<p>Visits - </p>
<p>Murray State is a value school, has a nice compact, traditional campus, very well organized tour. The town has nothing going on - it’s just a mid-size school surrounded by a rural community. Facilities were good, friendly place, some good programs.</p>
<p>Mississippi State’s campus blew us away. Incredibly manicured, well-kept, pretty. They also did a great job with the tour - have it down to a science. Facilities are top notch. Clearly a place that loves its football. Friendly people.</p>
<p>Southern Illinois - Son 1 did not like it, at all. Son 2 got a personalized tour of their journalism dept, which was very interesting, and he had a better impression. Campus is decent. Town is a dump. It was cold and leafless - so probably nicer looking when foliage is in bloom.</p>
<p>We plan on hitting the others on our list either next spring break or sooner, if possible. Tough to get away. Our kids’ stats seem to fit the profiles of these schools fine. Son 1 REALLY needs to keep the 3.0 intact. That seems like a magic number in my research. Fall below that and your options really become limited, especially financially. Northern Michigan, for example, takes $4K off OOS tuition with a 3.0 GPA. Mississippi State gives a huge OOS discount at 3.0/24, and grants in-state tuition at 3.0/26. Bowling Green has one discount at 3.0/20 and a bigger one at 3.3/24 for OOS students.</p>
<p>Hope this offers some insight to others.</p>
<p>If anyone has any other ideas for us, given those stats, let me know.</p>
<p>We are looking for a tuition point of under $15K after any tuition discounts (not including R&B - that’s just tuition + fees). Would prefer to be able to drive there in one day from Chicago.</p>
<p>Any ideas would be great. Thanks.</p>
<p>Welcome, KmansHouse!</p>
<p>The Minnesota State Universities provide reciprocity to Illinois. For example, [Financing</a> Your Education | Admissions | Minnesota State University Moorhead](<a href=“http://www.mnstate.edu/admissions/financingyoureducation.aspx]Financing”>http://www.mnstate.edu/admissions/financingyoureducation.aspx) would cost an Illinois resident as follows: </p>
<p>Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) Tuition Rate
Includes students from: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Nebraska<br>
Tuition $10,348
Housing & Meals 7,132
Fees 918
Annual total*$18,398</p>
<p>Here are the Minnesota State Universities:
[Minnesota</a> State University, Mankato](<a href=“http://www.mnsu.edu/]Minnesota”>http://www.mnsu.edu/)
[Welcome</a> to Winona State University - Winona State University](<a href=“http://www.winona.edu/]Welcome”>http://www.winona.edu/)
[St</a>. Cloud State University | Homepage](<a href=“http://www.stcloudstate.edu/]St”>http://www.stcloudstate.edu/)</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> & Fees | Student Account Services | Finance Operations | UND: University of North Dakota](<a href=“Office of the VP for Finance & Operations/COO | University of North Dakota”>Office of the VP for Finance & Operations/COO | University of North Dakota) provides Reciprosity to Illinois via the Midwest Student Exchange Prgram</p>
<p>Per Credit Per 12 credit Semester
MSEP $441.13 $5,293.36</p>
<p>[Costs:</a> Tuition, Fees, Room & Board - Office of Admission (NDSU)](<a href=“http://www.ndsu.edu/admission/cost_tuition/cost/]Costs:”>Cost of Attendance | North Dakota State University) North Dakota State University:
2013-2014 Estimated Costs
Cost of Attendance = $17,930 per year for tuition, fees, room/board</p>
<p>Do you know about the [MHEC</a> : MSEP Access Navigator (329)](<a href=“http://msep.mhec.org/MSEPAccessNavigator]MHEC”>http://msep.mhec.org/MSEPAccessNavigator) Program that Illinois is a part of? You select your state of residence, then type of degree, then private, public, or all. You’ll then receive a list of schools that offers applicants from Illinois some sort of discount off the OOS tuition.</p>
<p>KmansHouse, I forgot to mention that North Dakota State and Minnesota State U-Moorhead are only separated by a bridge. One school is in Fargo, ND and the other is in Moorhead, MN. Both schools are a part of the tri-campus group that also includes Concordia College. Fargo, ND has about 200K residents, and is a nice college town with public transportation, malls, a nice downtown area, lots of recreation options, and decent restaurants. </p>
<p>The kids can bus it from either campus to Minneapolis, and hop on a bus to Illinois, or you can meet them in Minneapolis and drive straightaway home.</p>
<p>The same holds true for St. Cloud State and Mankato State–both in large towns with bus transportation to Minneapolis.</p>