We are looking at Huntsville very seriously . I even called them and their admissions person was so nice.
The neuroscience at Birmingham seems awesome but with very limited spaces from what I’ve read here.
Physics is really starting to appeal to D as the year goes on and that opens more options. But also gives me more to research as far as STEM goes.
About your list, from what I remember, Michigan Tech was on the more expensive end (in my MAC world) and NM and SD were less cost-wise. But it’s been awhile. I hope I remember right but your spread sheet will clarify that! I think Iowa state was somewhere in between. .?
What I’d like is a list of colleges with special (low cost) STEM opportunities for girls, like incentives maybe. And also lower-pressure engineering programs if such a thing exists.
Sorry for all the typos. I’ve had two devices crash recently and I’m trying to figure out my way around with DH’s ipad, which I don’t like because it hurts my eyes.
@MACmiracle Yup, I hadn’t run the calculator on Michigan Tech – mainly because I’m not fond of it as an option; striking it from the list. Yay!
And, yup, my daughter basically had only guy friends until she started 9th grade. Now she has a couple of good girlfriends and some very good guy friends. But her closest friends are guys, for sure.
Huntsville sounds great. Dd used to be very into rocketry before she got into flying planes. She was supposed to do a science fair project a couple of weeks ago on propulsion or something but dropped out 'cause her partner didn’t come through. Also, my dd is very into the whole “southern hospitality” concept so your comment about the admin person jibes with that.
We thought dd might do mech engineering but she chickened out 'cause she’s not a super strong math student. Check Westminster College (expensive private). It’s a 3-2 program but apparently they have a ton of women in STEM programs (maybe the most, comparatively – according to some websites).
Funny what you say about the hand-holding. I’m worried about the exact opposite: too much hand-holding. Dd isn’t used to it, for sure. It’s going to be a shock.
I have UAB down as a non-neuro option. Of course, I didn’t note why! But I’m thinking it had to do with it being an academic reach (they want 3.5 GPA and high performance in chem/bio (she gets Bs). Birmingham is more for the whole medical vibe. This is a kid who gets an honest thrill out of hanging out at the local enormous public hospital (they have a Starbucks and she gets all excited by the big line of people in scrubs); she has plans to do a big art project there and to go there to do homework, just to be there.
@MACmiracle Sorry, I checked the engineering page of Westminster in Utah, not Westminster in PA. Westminster PA is not a 3+2 program (those are not such a good choice anyway). They have Engineering Physics .Your dd might like that. They also have pre-engineering, to get that support maybe.
@eandesmom Good points all. I have the same feel re: Santa Clara’s merit aid (but that seems to be par for the course for California schools of that caliber and above). Right now, we’ve been hovering at ~25 schools on S’s list, even after 3-4 revisions. It’s about 2/3 LACs (ranging from CTCL to a couple of reaches and CA/OR schools), and 1/3 mid-sized schools (mostly regional). We can’t seem to go below 25 though!
@MACmiracle When you complete that tour plan, do you mind sharing? We may have time to visit Goucher over spring break, but I’m figuring we’ll have to do some surgical strike visits in the future, and of course PA is a hotbed for LACs. (btw, please help a newbie: what is MAC?)
@jcmom716 college results looks great, thank you! I’ve been inputing that info by hand so it’s a big help. I would love to hear about your tours as well. Is Juniata that remote? I feel that as long as someone can travel home in about 6 hours, it’s not too bad (that’s normally the travel time from the bay area to hawaii… and not many complain of that ). I know some have to travel ~8-10+ hrs to drive + get cheaper flights… that sounds like it may get tiring after a while…
@chippedtoof welcome, every bit of information helps! In regards to Juniata, while it is a bit remote, a Walmart and a few other stores are within a short drive. The tour guide said students on weekends may go to the movies, out to eat, or to the lake in nice weather so there does seem to be things to do for those wanting to venture off campus. BTW she was a great representative for the college! It really can make a difference. We saw engaged, happy students as well as some building construction which led us to believe they are re-investing in the college. For my son who wanted to stay clear of rural, Juniata is on his list. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions, can try to answer.
Some of the more mid stats tech schools are not remotely urban and/or rather remote. I’ve heard lovely things about Lawrence and it’s on S19’s list. Allegheny made it to top 4 for S17 but it’s definitely not urban. I can honestly say despite how popular Bama is on CC it is not a school I know anything about suburban, rural or otherwise lol! Our kids have been completely focused either on the West Coast or areas that have 4 seasons and either rain or snow and don’t really get too hot and aren’t horribly humid if at all possible. I am utterly clueless on the south and southeast.
@chippedtoof I probably had that many on our list at this time last year. Believe it or not it will begin to self sort at some point.
@eandesmom Yep, those tech schools are cultural and financial fits but not academic or geographical fits. As far as weather, dd feels happiest when it’s warm (suffers a bit from seasonal affective disorder) but has never actually lived in a warm climate. She grew up in various countries of the former Soviet Union and has some nostalgia for the cold and snow, so I think she’d be fine with that as long as there are blue skies now and then.
@chippedtoof We have about that many on our USA list right now. Right this moment I think I would just delete the whole list. I’m in one of those desperate moods. Nothing seems to fit. At least you don’t have lists from four other countries!
Also re: Juniata, while the town itself is what’s in a somewhat remote rural area, the campus is actually situated quite nicely right on the edge of town. Without a car, you can easily walk into town in about 25-30 minutes to get to a few restaurants, bars, coffee shops, the movie theater, bike shop, the little town riverside park and the Amtrak stop. Weis supermarket is two blocks from campus, and the hospital is about four. If you want more traditional college-oriented nightlife, State College is about a 40 minute drive away.
D18 has a 3.4 UW GPA at a very academically oriented, rigorous private school and 35 ACT. Trying to sort out what it all means in the context of national numbers shown on the various websites. The school’s Naviance scattergrams aren’t particularly helpful as the school is very small and the numbers cluster around just a few colleges.
@pantha33m, I went through this process last year with my niece who has a similar profile. Counselor went all out with a great recommendation package focusing on larger schools that do holistic admissions. She was admitted at University of VT (UVM), UMASS-Amherst, NYU (first year abroad), American, University of Toronto, Brandeis. She was denied from top a 20 LAC in the ED round.
Counselor also recommended the women’s colleges: Barnard, Smith, Holyoke and Bryn Mawr, but she wasn’t interested. Dickinson, Muhlenberg, Gettsyburg might have come up with merit. University of Pittsburgh also gives merit for high ACT scores but she preferred UVM as her EA school.
Use the colleges’ Common Data Set to get admissions statistics and compare against your daughter’s stats. Also, have her complete some applications early using EA or rolling so you get an admission in the bag but are not bound to that school.
@Kardinalschnitt lol, you got me there. My family can be described as mild hoarders and it’s showing! Can’t imagine if we had even more options.
@jcmom716@guidedbywire Thank you for filling in some of the picture for Juniata. I think my S would like it there, as he enjoys the outdoors and is not into nightlife.
It has been a long time since I set foot on campus, but I graduated from Juniata and loved it there. We would consider it for DD18 if we lived closer. It would take about 18 hours to drive there from our home.
Great insights, @VAOptimist; thanks. D’s “problem” is that he really likes the 5-10,000 student schools, which seem to be the most selective. I’m concerned he’s over-estimating his chances because of his high ACT score. Expecting his Counselor to talk him down soon.
Dd’s friend is attending Ithaca next year. Very cool girl!
I’m feeling some major love for Ohio U today (so don’t tell me it’s a party school or that it’s not urban and warm! LOL Athens is walkable, at least!). If I’ve understood correctly, though, neuro is only through the honors school. That might be a stretch. It also has flight. I had had it on our list long ago as a flight option. I’m not sure why I took it off. Perhaps it was the party rep. It looks like a safety I have an appointment with gc soon, so I’m happy to have a decent list that is getting slowly pared down.
@ chippedtoof, I think our sons are identical twins ! I too have a son who has ADHD ( inattentive type) who also scored a very high score on the ACT(35) . He only took the test once. We also live in the Bay Area( SV) and have decided to look OOS/ Jesuit for Colleges. I look forward to reading which colleges your son ends up liking, and I will do the same.
My D16 and I visited Juniata on our way out east a couple years ago. I loved the goofy traditions, warm feel of the people and small town, but she couldn’t get over the distance from everything else. Any car we could afford to give her wouldn’t survive the drive out there, so she knew she’d be at the mercy of shuttle buses or friends. In the end she’s further east, closer to just about everything.
Tried to get my D18 interested in small schools (such as the ones many folks are mentioning here or are in Colleges that Save Lives), but he’s all about schools of at least 5,000 kids and D1 sports. Trying to think of schools that fit that aren’t truly massive or unrealistic selective.
We may have time to visit Goucher over spring break, but I’m figuring we’ll have to do some surgical strike visits in the future, and of course PA is a hotbed for LACs. (btw, please help a newbie: what is MAC?)
). I know some have to travel ~8-10+ hrs to drive + get cheaper flights… that sounds like it may get tiring after a while…