Hi,
Parent of a hs class of 2017 wanting to pay it forward. My DD that fit in this category wound up at a small LAC that isn’t mentioned here often but is awesome. Queens University in Charlotte NC. Small college with an unbelievable friendly atmosphere. Beautiful campus in the middle of a executive neighborhood that is very quiet and peaceful, but is 3 miles from uptown Charlotte. Her classes are small (no larger than 20). She has had lots of personal attention/counseling. She’s making better grades than in high school.
She received a merit scholarship that covers about half the cost.
Some of the best known programs are nursing and business.
Over 90% of students study abroad. All full time students receive a grant for study abroad.
Many students are playing a varsity sport (Division II) (about 35%).
@5timesmom Perhaps you could share your information on the “Class of 2018 - GPA Less Than 3.0 but Still Will Go To College Thread”. Your stats and colleges (when you choose to reveal) could be really helpful to others down the road.
@multiplemom Thanks for giving a mini-review of Queens University and update. I’m sure many will appreciate learning about a “hidden gem”.
@ambkeegan My son is at Purdue and loves it. Well, except for some of the professors. I can’t say they are the best teachers or most available. Maybe honors college is different. I do think at a big school, you’d better be a good advocate for yourself. My son is Computer Engineering, and I really don’t think he has taken more than 2 non-science/math classes. Required speech class is all I can recall. And being from NC, he hates the gray winters. He has some great friends, loves the campus and the sports, and his fraternity. Great school spirit there. Great facebook page for admitted families where the parents learn and share, even for questions for their non-Purdue kids!
@Texas1820 Congrats on Auburn! How fun to at least “know”.
@5timesmom That’s great to hear! We’re in the same boat! S18 was really happy to get scholarship offers over the summer to schools he hadn’t even applied to. One is now on our radar, and he’s really happy to have had a backup/safety through this whole process. The other school is not even ranked, but his girlfriend’s parents went there (such a bizarre coincidence) and his mom’s now a lead counsel at Yale, after being at WashU. I’m sure she applied herself in her undergrad, but that small, unranked LAC didn’t let her down!
I just posted this on the other 2018 parent thread, but I thought it might fit even better here:
I just learned one of the colleges that D18 really likes has a very poor financial rating from Forbes. I expected it wouldn’t be great, but it’s at the level of another school that just announced it is closing. It’s very unnerving.
When we visited the first time I told D she should see a couple of other colleges that are similar if she liked that college. And I’m glad I did because those are much more financially stable. We are scheduled to visit them.
My oldest attended a college with a C financial rating from Forbes and I don’t think I’d hesitate to send D18 there if she likes it.
But a D rating makes me nervous now that I’ve heard stories of colleges closing with with very little warning.
Does anyone else have concerns about college financials?
I have been using a system to narrow choices between different colleges. I ask myself if the same education and experience could be had at a lower price or at a closer distance. Now I’m thinking if I need to incorporate the financial stability question, like if two schools are otherwise similar, do you choose the one with a better financial picture?
But I worked out this system when D18 wasn’t as interested or motivated. Now she is, and with her own priorities.
Yes my husband recently quashed a school DD had applied too after some indepth research on it’s financials, granted he was already on the “NO” train when he started looking at the indepth stuff. Fortunately it was not one of DD’s favorites and was definitely in the safety school category, but it was a high one. She still seems sort of attached too it. But yes, we have been more conscious of the schools financial situation.
I have been particularly conscious of political and racial unrest of campuses as factors in the ultimate decision.
There are so many puzzle pieces to put together.
@labegg , thanks for the comments.
I have also been concerned that diversity of thought is taken well or accepted, and worried about a divisive political climate on campuses.
Another interesting point that D recently brought up relates to diversity. I realized that a lot of the colleges on her list, outside of our instate publics, are not racially diverse, but she wants diversity. And she doesn’t want a college where hateful speech toward anyone is tolerated for any reason.
@MACmiracle I have looked at each school for endowment levels and financial ratings in the past. I think we have a couple of B’s in there but that’s about it. My sibling’s grad program is rated a B and recently merged with a nearby school which was struggling, but they look ok. I think taking a hard look at a financial rating of D is not unwarranted, although sadly I can’t speak to how much weight to put on it.
@labegg political unrest at schools has unfortunately risen significantly on my list of concerns. Observing behaviors on CC has done little to assuage my fears for my DS who holds moderate views.
I have the Forbes financial rating on a spreadsheet I created for the various colleges my son is considering. It took some time to put together initially, but it so helpful to have all the stats (acceptance rate, costs, GPA, app due date, etc.) in one place. I do have some B rated schools, but no Cs. The Bs all have good reputations.
I am also concerned about campus climate (political and social) and I confess to checking studentsreivew.com to get a glimpse of what students are saying about their campus. You have to take everything with a grain of salt on there, but if a school has an overwhelming number of negative reviews, that tells you something. Just walking around on campus and meeting people gives you a pretty good idea of the climate too.
I have looked into ratings and if one came up a C then tried to research why. Some may have borrowed money for new science buildings or dorms. Others could be due to longer-term revenue issues and declining enrollment. I wouldn’t have been opposed to my older daughter or be opposed to my son attending one…if there was enough information to understand the reasons why and it wouldn’t adversely affect them. One school we toured explained in their info session why they had a low rating (believe it was a D), what they had done to improve, and they were now on the upswing. Their candor was appreciated, but my research seemed to say they weren’t very far enough along yet, accepting over 90% of students, let professors go, etc. Luckily my son didn’t click with the school anyway.
We got an acceptance! The first one. Ohio University. No letter or anything…just logged into the portal and there it was. Hoping we get a letter in the mail with a little $ offer in it!
Congrats on the acceptance @STF4717. First one is always exciting!
DD received her first acceptance a few weeks ago to Bloomsburg University. She was incredibly thrilled w/ it as well.
She also received an acceptance to West Chester University not long after, so she has 2 good schools that we should be able to manage with the Pell & PA state grants to handle costs.
I think we are done w/ applying to any others, as I doubt any will come in with lower costs.
I love to read the happy news of acceptances. >:D<
D has at least three apps complete and will do a few more. I really have been pushing her to get those in state safeties done.
We have plans to visit two more next week. It will be a lot of driving and I’m getting a little tired of that part, but I know D really needs the visits to confirm her decision.
@laralei congratulations to your daughter on her 2 acceptances!
Very late to this thread which has made for interesting reading. Background: My D18 is a US citizen and attends an American curriculum school but all of her schooling has been in Asia. My wife studied post grad in the US and I didn’t study there at all - so this whole US college application thing is rather overwhelming for us.
D18 marches to the beat of her own drum, which is a nice way of saying she’s lazy, and this shows in her GPA of 3.1. A few A’s, plenty of B’s and C’s and last year one D. She really doesn’t seem to care at all. She’s the kind who happily adjusts her ambitions to what she has achieved.
Fortunately her standardized test scores are decent. She achieved a 1540 in the SAT and has five AP’s behind her (55544) with another four coming at the end of senior year. So she’s not stupid, (And one of those AP 5’s was for the class she got the D in!) She has solid extra-curriculars although nothing outstanding and I think she’ll get good recommendation letters as her teachers seem to like her. Apart from not bothering to hand in homework, she’s not a troublesome kid.
She has been on a couple of campus tours, mostly East Coast, over the summer holidays and definitely seems to prefer smaller Liberal Arts colleges, although somewhat to my surprise she liked New York University as well. Having said that, she’s suddenly decided that she is interested in going to university in the UK! I think she likes the idea of concentrating on what she enjoys and not having to fill the broader requirements that most Liberal Arts colleges require - especially as she has a powerful aversion to anything STEM’ish, which her two STEM parents find surprising.
I’d love to hear any comments or advice.
@HedgePig I assume cost is not an issue, right?
What is her intended major? or what do you think she may major in ? Do you prefer her to come to US ?
Cost is not a major issue. At least, we are are clearly (far) out of state and she wouldn’t qualify for financial aid, so it’s going to be either very expensive or outrageously expensive wherever she goes! The UK would actually work out somewhat cheaper, especially if decides on an English university (3 year degree) rather than a Scottish one (4 year degree.)
I really don’t mind too much where she goes. I think a US degree would be more valued when looking for work in the US since many employers won’t know UK universities at all but this is not a major concern.
She’s set on majoring in English Literature. She is quite firm on this and it does suit her interests and strengths. However, less than three months ago, UK universities were hardly on her horizon, despite us having discussed this. I think part of her choice is motivated by the fact that she’s likely to get into a better university in there than in the US. SAT and AP/IB scores count for far more than GPA in the UK application process. (The UCAS form doesn’t even ask for it.) Her counselor, who seems quite knowledgeable, also feels she’s a better fit for the UK and broadly, I agree.
She’s already been accepted unconditionally at 2 UK universities, so at least she has a place to go. I guess my concern is partly that she’s “keen” on the UK because she doesn’t want to go to additional the effort of applying in the US, especially now that she has been accepted, and partly because she won’t have the flexibility that a Liberal Arts degree would offer. While she is very keen on English Literature, there is also a lot of stuff that she simply hasn’t been exposed to.
@HedgePig UK schools might be tough to compete against if you D18 is looking for that kind of feel (esp NYU’s feel), but Kalamazoo has their K-plan which allows her to set her own curriculum under the guidance of an advisor: [K-PLAN](http://www.kzoo.edu/k-plan/)
In general, it’s going to be hard avoiding STEM though…
My S18 is also very much into english and writing, but he’s keeping his eyes open for other interests as well, given commonly held opinions on the employability of said majors. It may be worth keeping in mind that english majors can be involved in many fields… or be asked to be a lot of different things. As you noted, breadth is good - even for english - given that the broader one’s knowledge, the more diverse perspectives one can bring to their interpretations and writings.
The other path would be to do undergrad in UK and then grad in US, if there is concern about the marketability of her degree.
@chippedtoof I was surprised she liked NYU because generally, she liked the small Liberal Arts colleges. (She really liked Bryn Mawr as well as Franklin and Marshall.) Your comments about English majors being involved in other fields is exactly why I worry a little about her specializing so early. But as you also pointed she is thinking vaguely of doing a graduate degree in the US afterwards. At this stage she sees herself going into teaching, although she not very firm on that.