I think we have a nice variety of kids (ok really, their parents!) on this thread. I like the friendly mid level clique tag @snoozn lol. I often think of this thread as the hidden gem colleges (and not so hidden ones) for the normal kid. The truly average. Not the CC “average excellent who has ivy dreams but ho real hook” but normal kids. Kids that might do well in one area, but not at others. Maybe they have class rigor but B grades. Maybe they have A grades but no rigor. Maybe they test well but don’t turn in homework. Maybe they are miserable test takers but do ok otherwise. Lots of EC’s or no EC’s. Generally pretty happy well rounded and adjusted kids who are busy enjoying their HS experience for the most part and aren’t caught up in the college race (or the HS race for that matter). They aren’t “grinders” but you know what, I think they have something many grinders do not. They know how to bounce back and keep moving forward. They don’t let disappointments or set backs hold them up. They have all experienced failure or struggle of some sort and have moved on (or are trying to). Numbers are just that and it’s difficult to classify a group of kids or a collection of colleges that speak to all. You can get ridiculous…we could have an ACT or a SAT cutoff number versus a GPA or any other number of factors and at a certain point it’s simply silly. It’s about a general type of student (and parent!) and colleges that suit them. I know this group has been a tremendous resource for me and I thank everyone for participating…whether your student technically fits in the gpa title or not.
As for orientations I think most assume everyone is out in May. Which is not at all true for west coasters but I do understand the east coast colleges not seeing that group as their focus audience. UVM’s dates are a nightmare for us. For his college he has the following:
Session 1: June 3 - 4 (Saturday/Sunday)
Final Marching Band Trip. Which I suppose I could pull him out of but UGH!. I’ve only made one payment so would eat that.
Session 3: 15 - 16 (Thursday/Friday)
Graduation. Enough said.
Session 5: June 22 - 23 (Thursday/Friday)
Could do if we had to. He has a camp that starts that Sunday. UGH!!!
What I really hate is that signups start 3/6. We will finish touring 3/4 and likely not have all the financial packages by then. I don’t think he can register for an orientation without an enrollment deposit and don’t expect to be solid on the final choice till middle or end of the month or even later and given its his most expensive option…if we go that route it has to be really really solid. Guess I will need to dig into that.
Ursinus in May will not happen. It is not required. They haven’t posted the actual date yet and I can’t imagine them doing it before AP testing is over but still. May. No. Ursinus did get back to me, we will see the FA “sometime” in January. Which ugh, doesn’t help with any planning now. I can make car and hotel reservations I guess for 2 scenarios but it really doesn’t let me book a flight at a decent rate.
Allegheny got back to S and wants him to come the next week so he can do an overnight and nope…that is not happening. They did say they will try to arrange something “special” for him if he can’t move it though. Of course now i have to make him actually communicate with the school directly. HA! He is missing a week of school as it is which is a LOT. It is only ok as it is early in the semester for us (halfway through the quarter) and frankly more flights and less driving will help him stay on top of work while he is out.
@CoyoteMom that’s pretty funny. For where we live I can almost guarantee that W&M has as little recognition as the others. Actually Beloit probably has the most of the ones you listed. I think Juniata is as hard to say as Ursinus…both are very easy to pronounce entirely wrong. Great financial save on the no DL. It’s interesting. Renting a car from Burlington to Baltimore was a deal. From Erie to Baltimore, not so much. I really want to fly from Erie (or Cleveland or Pittsburgh I suppose) to either Philly or Baltimore depending on how this shakes out as the car rental prices kind of negate the extra cost of that flight leg and would improve my sanity. It would really help if we heard from Goucher soon and it was a good $$ offer. If that happened I think we could just cut Ursinus and focus on the 3 for the road trip which would make for better quality visits.
Love it. Exactly. I think any of our kids would have done well at the Jesuit schools. I spent much of my childhood running around a Jesuit campus that my father taught at and had zero clue it was affiliated with the church at all. Granted that is from a child’s perspective but the ones around here have a pretty minimal feel and are very open to all and make a point of saying so. It is interesting though as I’d always thought U of Portland was Jesuit and it is not (Catholic, affiliated with Notre Dame) so that one explained why it wasn’t quite as generous with merit as the other local Jesuit options. LOL! @snoozn I am glad it is still on her list (or in the upper glob), it is a wonderful school.
We have 2.5 out of 4 that fall into this bucket. It can be quite aggravating at times. Yes, 2.5, my S19 can have that drive…selectively. LOL!
My husband would be part of this thread, too: He happened to have a knack for math/science and graduated from a STEM school that people hyperventilate about on CC, but for him it was a rather miserable experience and feels his social education at a more “balanced” school would have served his needs better.