@Kardinalschnitt I think Oshkosh is even more “Wisconsin” than La Crosse and Eau Claire. Those two also have large numbers of Minnesotans. I love La Crosse, but my son refuses to stay in state.
My oldest son fit this profile coming out of High School - 3.2 GPA, albeit a very prestigious Catholic High School. No honors or AP classes, not extensive campus extracurriculars. However he knew exactly what we wanted to study - theology/religion/ministry. Applied and accepted to Francisan-Steubenville, Lewisburg St, and Holy Cross- Notre Dame. He accepted a 12k merit scholarship @ HC-ND. It was a tiny school with a giant neighbor - and that was why we steered him in that direction. He took advantage of on campus rights at Notre Dame and in his junior and senior year was enrolled in one class per semester. 8 semesters of Honor Roll, graduate with full honors and BAs in both Theology and Communication. In the spring of 2016 he received a full ride to graduate school at Notre Dame for his Masters degree in Theology and I truly believe it was because of his classes and relationships built with Notre Dame faculty during his 4 years at Holy Cross - and it is clear that he found his passion.
Looking back - we pushed him through stem classes, hiring high school tutors for calculus and physics he was never going to get. We sent him to boot camps for the SAT and he still only scored a little over 1200. There is a college and career for everyone - but perhaps it’s not that engineering job we dream of for all of our children.
@Booajo I love La Crosse too! Beautiful campus and an excellent education. Taking my son to see Eau Claire and La Crosse over summer break.
SAT came back above S’s self-imposed “try again” level. All that’s left is not letting grades fall and getting the applications out (and visits, of course).
Congratulations @mstomper !
@SoCalDad1961 that is a wonderful story, thank you for sharing it with us.
I just found out that McDaniel College in MD (a CTCL that I’ve been hoping our S will check out) now has an automatic 25K scholarship for sons and daughters of K-12 school employees. That could be a very good deal for a lot of us.
Hi! I feel my D18 fits this group better than any other. She was at a 3.49 per her school’s interesting GPA scale as of mid-year ( a quick recalc of just the core courses puts her around 3.7 (UW) currently but I understand it really depends on the admissions department at each college). She switched from public school where she was in all honors and at a 3.89 GPA to a private catholic school in the first semester of 10th grade. She went from having it very easy - almost no homework and rarely cracking a book to 3 - 4 hours of work every night for regular CP courses and 1 honors in 10th. She is currently in CP courses in 11th, with 2 honors courses and is able to handle the courses a bit better than last year. Her school does offer AP, but her grades and CP courses means she generally does not qualify and we are concerned she would struggle and become frustrated, doing more harm than good. She is slated to take 2 honors courses again in her Sr year that offer dual credit with a local college. She does have general and social anxiety which makes ECs a bit of a challenge, as she is relatively introverted (she has a good group of friends but she struggles with people she doesn’t know). She does take guitar lessons and draws (cartoons mostly), she usually takes an art course every summer at the local art spot (she’s done manga and photography so far). She volunteers about 20 hours with a local church group during the school year and it looking to volunteer at an assisted riding stable starting in June. She will also be participating in a one-week German immersion program this summer.
She is thinking about majoring in psychology and possibly going to grad school for occupational therapy (she will be shadowing an OT at least once this summer) or something like clinical psychology; I think it really depends on how she feels about the courses in college.
We have been looking at small LACs - so far we have visited Juniata, Susquehanna, Ursinus and McDaniel (this is her current order of preference). We have a visit to Goucher slated and she just asked to have Arcardia added to the list. She’s a quirky/fun kid looking for a school that fits and has access to professors and other resources to make her successful - also very interested in studying abroad. We are hoping for some merit, though we don’t expect top scholarships or anything. We are hoping to land in the under 23k per year range including merit and excluding loans.
I excited to learn from the experiences and opinions of others in this great group!
@mstomper Sounds like a great deal! I was reading about McDaniel at some point. Don’t know why. They’re all blurring together now!
@AnxietyMom Welcome! That’s a nice list you have already! I’ll be curious to hear about Goucher. Mine’s very quirky (and anxious – though I don’t know if that’s you or your dd), too!
I finished running the EPCs on all the schools on our list. Ahem. Much shorter list now. I even got to show her that OOS community college wasn’t the least expensive option. That surprised/shocked her. Dd is now in a self-described “I refuse to pay for US schools” phase. She says she’ll probably be back out of it soon. In the meantime, I’m going to talk up the merits of Scottish/Irish/English/Swiss/Quebecois/French unis.
@AnxietyMom just wondering if any of these are also on your list… Washington College, St. Mary’s college of MD, and Loyola Maryland?
@Kardinalschnitt My daughter is the quirky anxious one (though I must admit that she gets it honestly). I will post about Goucher after we visit - I read that it has a similar vibe to Juniata in terms of students but is definitely in a more populated area.
@lr4550 D18’s GC had mentioned Loyola MD (which I had forgotten until you mentioned), but not the others. Any good info to share? I’ll add them to my list to look at.
On a side note, D18 has taken any of the standardized tests yet. She’s scheduled over the next two months to take both for the first time and then will focus on whichever seems best for her over the summer for early fall retake. My concern is that, due to her anxiety, she is not the best test taker which is unfortunate as she is fairly solid academically; she just suffers from test anxiety. Anyone have best tips for test anxious kids on these tests? I know we are looking at a decent number of test optional schools, but I’m not sure how she’ll fair with merit then given her GPA and rigor. I know that there are some that won’t consider them for merit without test scores as well.
@AnxietyMom My dd is also taking her first tests next month. No ACT around these parts till next year. No tips about the anxiety. I was really surprised how well dd did on the PSAT given her anxiety. Hers flares more with homework deadlines and just the general crowded atmosphere of school (and she goes to a tiny school; still when I’m there I can never imagine how she copes). Off to look up some of lr4550’s suggestions.
@AnxietyMom From what I hear Washington College is a nice school- solid academics and lots of opportunity for students. It probably has a bit preppier vibe than what your D is looking for but I thought I would toss it out there since it is selective yet in her wheelhouse stats wise. For sure look at St Mary’s, I believe it is known as the “public honors college” of MD. Small LAC that has received many positive reviews and recommendations by College Confidential folks. Loyola is a bit bigger but it has a wonderful reputation and it is in one of the nicest suburbs of Baltimore.
Hmm, St. Mary’s is sorta doable with grandpa’s help. Common Data Set looks like a fit. Looks like they have a decent neuroscience program. Would love to know more about it @lr4550 .
Ack, I wish I had more first hand knowledge about St Mary’s (and Washington College and Loyola for that matter) but it is just word of mouth that I have heard they are all worth looking into for sure. D15 wasn’t (and now D18 isn’t) interested in schools in the mid Atlantic region so I haven’t visited them. Vibe wise Washington College seems different from the other two as I understand it is a preppier type campus with well supported sports teams and Greek life. St Mary’s is a bit isolated (in MD but south of DC) as is Washington College (which is on the Eastern Shore). Loyola is just outside of downtown Baltimore.
@AnxietyMom , my daughter also has anxiety and periodically sees a therapist. She has a solid gpa of 3.9, but her standardized test scores are less optimal. Her school had all of the sophomores (last year) and juniors (this year) take the PSAT and then sit for an ACT (for a baseline, administered by teachers). She scored a 1060 on the PSAT and a 21 ACT (comparable). We spoke with the therapist and she recommended that we enroll her in test prep. Because our daughter dances another 5 days a week after school, she could not do a class prep, so we hired a tutor for one-on-one. He comes to our house and they can really target areas where she is weak. He had her take a lot of practice tests and had her up to a 30. She just took the real ACT and scored a 26, which is a huge jump from the 21, but not as good as the practice tests. Of course, we realize the practice tests are in a familiar setting and testing at the school had her anxious, but we are really happy with the 26. They will get back to work this week and prepare for the June ACT.
Our tutor worked with her to determine which test to focus on. Her confidence level is so much higher. She was not really solid going in to the exam. She felt comfortable with the material and how the test is administered. She worked on the timing issues (still a bit of a problem) to get a sense of the exam.
Even if you don’t choose to use a personal tutor, there is online help and classes. Familiarizing themselves with this test and the process is really helpful.
Seriously loving this thread!
@lr4550 Thanks for the info. Definitely more to look into… we are keeping an open mind about all the LACs. D18 liked Ursinus a lot and that had a more preppy vibe.
@Kardinalschnitt Anxiety is tough! It’s interesting how many different types there are. My dd has been managing (good days/average days/total meltdowns, it’s been bumpy) on her own for a long time but decided to see a therapist with all the college stuff heading her way.
@amom2girls Thanks for sharing all of that. My D’s PSAT was just a little behind yours. I think she was right at an 1000. She’s been studying on her own and taking SAT practice tests but we may look into a tutor once she has a baseline from both. The ACT seems like it would be tougher for anxious kids with the tighter timing but D seems confident that test may work better for her. We will see. May I ask, how’d you find a tutor? I’ve seen some ads online but don’t know which companies are reputable.
@AnxietyMom, we are in Philadelphia and just asked around friends who had kids who were slightly older. One friend had daughters at Baldwin (private school in the burbs) and they highly recommended our tutor. He is …not with a company. We suggested him to friends and they used him last year and their daughter was successful with him. For whatever reason, the ACT clicked with our daughter. I was surprised, too. It is so important that she clicked with him and felt safe (not physically) but intellectually safe.
By the way, we took a look at Goucher in the fall during Goucher Days. My daughter loved the dance program, but the school was too small for her. We will look again for my younger daughter 21.
Hi everyone! I would like to introduce myself. I have six kids - three having gone through the college process - one graduate, one sophomore and another currently struggling through which school to choose. Sigh.
DD’18 was training in ballet full-time and homeschooled until January - she injured herself, had surgery, then her instructor moved to the West Coast. While dd is bright, academics were most certainly not a focus. Now, she is trying to play catch up and reinvent herself.
SAT score was 1200 - first time.
GPA - not sure yet; will be under 3.5 for sure (that’s where she was before going back to public school).
She is in AP Lang and will take exam in May.
Major is undecided.
I am quite familiar with a lot of the LACs mentioned. Schools we have seen recently or within the last five years…Goucher, McDaniel, Lebanon Valley, Susquehanna (son goes here), Juniata, Allegheny, Dickinson, Lycoming, Wooster, Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin (oldest graduated from here), Earlham, Muhlenberg, Clark, Lafayette, Ursinus, Towson, Acadia. We have seen some upper tier schools as well.
DD would like an intellectual, more hipster/varied vibe. Not interested in huge preppy/fratty element. She loves the idea of Mt Holyoke (and women’s colleges in general). She likes College of Wooster. She is so-so on Denison.
Some of you talked about anxiety. DD doesn’t experience anxiety per se, but is shy and lacks self confidence. We are working on that. 
We are definitely looking for merit!
@mom22girls looks like we have some things in common! D does not want to major or minor in dance, though.
Ooops. That would be @amom2girls!