@persimmony we live in Philly. West Chester U is in our state school system. It is located in West Chester, Pa and is about 45 minutes from Philly. Looking at it for our daughter. Very nice campus and cut college town. I know you don’t want religious, so I apologize for tossing this out, but St. Joseph is run by the Jesuits. It is just outside of Philly in the Main Line. I’m only recommending it because you will often find Catholic schools or middle size in urban areas. Just information to think about!
@persimmony
If CTCL schools are ok, perhaps Goucher College next to Baltimore?
I do agree with the group that recommends keeping an open mind on the “religious” schools as that provides many options. If you can squeeze a tour in, your S might be surprised to find it more than palatable. (we toured two and they both had atheist tour guides who spoke fondly of their experience and looked upon it as an opportunity to learn about others and, more importantly, themselves).
Speaking of tours, my S was also pretty unmotivated until we toured our first school with some friends. The light bulb really went on and has made a lot of difference.
We loved the dance program at Goucher but it was too small and felt too isolated to my daughter (though it would be a great fit for my younger daughter;) Your son may like that it has no greek life and less parties. We are going to take a look at Towson, which is larger.
@chippedtoof @amom2girls I was totally planning to take him to see Goucher before he said he preferred urban, but he said he doesn’t like Baltimore, mysteriously. Not that it’s actually in Baltimore. We’ve already been on a bunch of tours and it didn’t seem to make him more motivated. Yeah, I’m sure there are many religious-affiliated schools that aren’t actually religious in every day practice. Just think it would be a harder sell for him.
@persimmony I totally understand the religious school issues. They are not for everyone. I just wanted to throw it out there, just in case;)
Was catching up w/ work after being out so much last couple of workdays.
@persimmony: Hi, and that’s very generous of you. Thanks! I’ll be sure to let my son know you’re a resource and see if he has any questions. He took a digital animation course this summer at a local CC and loved it. Last year he took a drawing course there and loved that, too. Had one art class as HS Sophomore and is signed up for 2 art classes this Senior year. It’d be great if he could get into such a field, I think.
@persimmony I recommend U of Denver. Urban, but a true campus. Not too hot (although Florida isn’t that bad in the months that are the traditional school year). Also, the U of Utah. Smaller than most flagships, and a big gaming design program.
@persimmony Not sure of musical options, but two others schools to possibly consider would be Muhlenberg and Wooster. Both could be matches and while not in the middle of a city, they don’t feel rural either. My son who is more laid-back liked the vibe he got at both. Also Butler in Indianapolis has about 4,000 undergrads and the city is within a few miles.
School’s starting next week, and son picked up some of his books. I liked the summer readings he was given for english, etc, but now that I see the totality of his classes and the material… I’m getting nervous. His school limits students to a max of 3 (AP + honors) at any given time; this is the first time he’ll be up against that limit. (Previously, we were at 2 or less). I hope he can keep things under control. It would hurt to lose opportunities due to gpa in the last semester.
@chippedtoof I hear ya. D20 got a mountain of summer reading for AP Language and honors US history, which leads into APUSH next year. She’s barely made a dent and I’m getting stressed. She has diagnosed visual issues which make reading hard and I don’t know how this is going to turn out.
Our high school doesn’t have a ton of APs and this is the first time sophomores can take this sequence. I sort of have my doubts about the wisdom about it, even though it seems a lot of schools are doing it.
I’d also recommend taking a closer look at Lawrence in Appleton, WI. Not in an urban metropolis but definitely not rural or isolated in any way. Good merit, strong academics, great music program.
@rwmannesq , check out Woodbury University in Burbank,Ca. It is a private university of Business Administration and animation/ graphic design.
Chiming in from the other thread, forgive me my D doesn’t fit this one but I follow it because all her schools do, they are CTCL and similar profiles.
I wanted to throw a dark horse into the mix for you @persimmony University of Puget Sound. Other than its west coast location it checks a lot of your boxes. My D has similar location constraints, though we are on the west coast, and I ultimately convinced her that merely applying to 2 schools that are farther than she wants to go does not commit her to going there. It just gives her more time to consider the idea. And she is only doing it with 2 schools that seem on paper to be perfect fits aside from distance from home.
Also don’t stress about his level of involvement or activities. It is what it is and my D is much the same. I had to avert my eyes from a recent discussion about how to squeeze all the activities/awards into the 10 slots common app gives you. That is not a problem we’ll be having here! :)) More like how do I stretch limited involvement to fill all 10 slots? Lol. But I’m through worrying about it. She’s a good kid, any college would be lucky to have her as a part of their community. I think they’ll see it, but if they don’t she’s got some safeties that only look at stats and she’ll go where she’s wanted 
Sorry got a little soapboxy there at the end! Resume normal thread activities…
@svcamom: I had never heard of this school. Quick review and it’s very interesting. Thanks for the tip!
Ughhh. It is the beginning of the end for us! Today is “pick up books” day for S18. School starts back Monday. I thought I was ready. It’s getting real… ~O)
Schedule pick up for DD today at 4pm. My fingers are crossed that it will be correct and not need adjusting! They don’t head back until the 21st.
@rwmannesq My spouse hadn’t heard of the program at TX A& M and doesn’t know anyone who went there. She says there are a few animation studios in TX though.
@persimmony: If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you ask her about Loyola Marymount in LA, UC Santa Cruz, and Chapman program reputations? Anything reachable (stats wise) on West Coast by any chance would be great.
@1822mom Thanks for the suggestion. He doesn’t seem to want to go that far away, although we’ve visited the NW and he liked it. True, applying doesn’t mean you have to go there.
We haven’t even looked at the Common App yet. He’s going to be stretching every little thing except cello, for which he has a number of activities. Not sure how “activity” is defined. 
He’s a good kid too, just very laid-back and not interested in being involved in much. That’s just the way he is. At least he has cello, better than nothing. He’s not a super musician or anything, but he’s decent. Has some honors related to it. I’d feel better if he had a higher GPA to counteract the lack of ECs. It is what it is.
@rwmannesq UC Santa Cruz is a campus your son will need to visit, if he is interested. I thought the big trees and trails were beautiful, but the campus is spread out and most students take shuttles to get around. They say you can skateboard straight down the hill to the beach. My son felt the environment was too laid back for him, but I know some kids who have gone there and loved it.
Some strong animation programs you can consider in So. Cal are Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. If he is certain he wants a fine arts degree, those programs have strong reputations. I think Tim Burton graduated from CalArts.