My second kid is in the 2.9-3.4ish range. I think his CUM GPA is around 3.2. Some semesters he’s gotten as high as a 3.4, lowest 2.9. He’s a smart kid, but he’s one of those kids where studying and getting into a prestigious college are not the be all and the end all. He tends to do a bit better in classes that he likes and in the classes he doesn’t like, he does still put in the effort so he can pass it and not repeat it, but it’s like pulling teeth. He has taken 1 honors class, biology (he’s a science guy) and is taking AP Bio this year. We live in California, and he doesn’t have the grades for the top UC’s (Berkeley, LA, San Diego, etc.) He could likely get into UC Merced and Riverside, but isn’t interested in those locations. Really liked Santa Cruz, but I feel like that would be a reach for him…
We also looked at Sonoma State and Chico and he liked those schools and will probably apply to those. He is also thinking of Humboldt State, but we don’t know much about it…He also likes San Diego State, but I’ve heard it’s getting harder and harder to get into, so that may be a reach as well.
Other California schools we are thinking of are University of Redlands, Whittier, St Mary’s, Dominican, Santa Clara, San Francisco…Some of these he liked, some he thought were too small. My problem with some of these privates is they are soooo expensive, so we need to hope the fin aid comes through. Also, some might be reaches as well.
As for out of state: NAU (Northern Arizona University) was a favorite and we are def. applying there. WUE will be a big help with costs. He also liked University of Nevada, Reno, which seems to be quite an up and coming university. The state seems to be investing quite a bit of money into the university and there is a wonderful library and other great buildings. We were not the only Californians on the tour either, UNR seems to be a popular choice for Californians who maybe can’t get into the UC’s. Doesn’t have the greatest grad rate, but then again, there might be a lot of adults going back to school. My nephews girlfriend graduated from university of Nevada, reno in 3 and a half years…so graduating on time can be done!
Sorry to ramble on, but we are also thinking of University of Idaho, University of Montana, Williamette, Seattle Uni, and Western Washington…
We did get a brochure to Eckerd College and some other schools back east, and those are a maybe we may apply and see what fin aid we get…I’m not against him going to the East Coast, but it is cheaper if he stays west…
@4kids4us - what’s the rep on Salisbury? We’re OOS, and took a tour 2 years ago when driving down to OBX for vacation. Though I wasn’t crazy about its location, I really liked the school and was impressed with its offerings. I’m surprised it doesn’t get more love as an option for B students in the Mid-Atlantic.
Someone also recommended University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island…would those schools be worth applying to for a west coast kid? I have no doubt that these are wonderful schools but would they be worth going all that way for? Same with University of Nebraska and Iowa (these are two schools where family members of ours attended)…we’ll see
UConn is a good school and would probably be a reach for someone in the stats range of this thread. URI is more on target. URI is on my son’s list. Frankly, I don’t think it is a great school, but it’s ok, it’s close, and I think he can get in. I’m not sure I would recommend coming all the way across the country for it but I’m sure some do.
@natty1988 My D’16 applied to some of the schools on your son’s list including Eckerd College, Humboldt, and San Diego State (as well as Cal Poly Pomona). She was admitted into them with a weighted 3.4 average and 30 ACT, 2APs, a few Cs on the transcript (from OOS) and had an interest in biology. Eckerd gave her a scholarship in the $16-18K range.
Your son may want to check out Colorado State (that’s where she ended up) since I think it’s a WUE school. The biology program is strong, particularly if he is interested in animal biology or ecology.
@eb23282 I think that Towson U gets more love than Salisbury for the B kids. Towson is located in the suburbs just north of Baltimore City. Lots to do and a very vibrant area with a bunch of other colleges around.
Salisbury is on the Eastern Shore of MD which is lovely. But there is nothing else around and the beach (Ocean City, MD) is 30 miles away.
As former MD residents who now live in PA, S19 considered both. But ultimately decided not to visit.
@me29034 hmmmm, maybe we’ll take Connecticut out if it’s a reach. I’ve heard you also don’t get great fin aid money if it’s a reach school. I guess we might knock out Rhode Island as well. Even if he has the stats, I agree with you that it probably wouldn’t be worth going to from across the country…
Also, he didn’t seem all that interested in either Connecticut and Rhode Island…so that kind of takes care of that…
@eh1234 I forgot about Colorado State. We’ve had some kids from our area go over the years and they like it from what I hear. My co workers kid went there ( a long time ago, the kid is 40) and he really enjoyed it! I’ll bring it up with my son later! We are going to add Eckerd to the list, hopefully we get some good fin aid from them.
@DCNatFan It depends on how your school has set up Naviance with the Common App. In the Common App, it shows us that the school sends transcripts and LORs. I can then go into Naviance…“Colleges I’m Applying To” Link…and at the bottom of that page there is something with a link to LORs. When I click on that link I can see “Requested” and “Submitted” for each LOR.
@natty1988 we are in a similar scenario, but from Washington State. S19 is interested in mid-large schools, west coast, but not too hot (no southern cal/southern arizona). Exploring the WUE schools and I’d like to hear any impressions about Chico or Sonoma. Also- Anyone have first hand experience with U of Montana?
FWIW, if we did not live so close to WWU, S19 would attend there in a heartbeat.
@eb23282 , congratulations on your daughter deciding on Roanoke! My son is a junior. Business and computer science major. He has a job on campus as a programmer. Gorgeous location. Yes, the 7+ hour drive can be tedious, but my son takes the train home to NJ. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Husband and Twin A toured Fairfield University yesterday. She had interview, info session, campus tour, and shadow a stag. It poured, but such is life. It took 10 plus hours to drive from NC to Fairfield.
She liked it. Pretty campus despite the rain. She attended the anatomy class and felt that students were serious (important to her). The student she shadowed was lovely and went way out of her way to be an excellent hostess. They had lunch and ran by the gym. I think that speaks highly of the school. The student was exceptional. She said she will definitely apply.
Tomorrow is the elusive Hobart & William Smith tour. Getting her up there has been no easy feat and I’m hopeful it is a ringer.
She has asked her dad to detour to do a drive by of Allegheny College on Sunday (I almost fainted). It would add a few hours, but makes sense. If anyone knows of Allegheny and highlights for them to see, please let me know.
@daisychayn What does your son want to study? Chico is a great college town…hot in the summer. Humboldt is a bit more like Washington weather wise, good natural resource program. Sonoma is somewhat a commuter school but I have known kids that have lived in the dorms there and have loved it.
What do you know about Washington State and U of Idaho? I am amazed that those schools are only 20 or so miles apart. My son want to study Ag, so every ag school in the west is on his list. He has been accepted to Montana State, but we have not visited Bozeman but we have heard it is a great town.
@natty1988 Your son should definitely check out Humboldt if he is a science guy. A friend’s son attended St. Mary, according to him the campus is very quiet on the weekends.
My son has similar stats as yours and is applying to Chico and Fresno State which have the best agriculture program within his reach and are instate. Also on his list is: Washington State, Oregon State, U of Idaho, Montana State (got his acceptance within a week of applying) U of Arizona, Colorado State and Utah State. I don’t think he has the grades to get much out of WUE.
@TwinMom2023 - so glad you had a nice visit to Fairfield. My D16 was accepted there (with a nice merit package) and we probably visited 4 times. We always found everybody to be extremely helpful and friendly. She ultimately ended up somewhere else, but she (and we) would have been happy at Fairfield. Good luck!
@daisychayn@natty1988 Just FYI I did a report of our visit to NAU back in April: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21476191#Comment_21476191. We’re in state for NAU and it’s one of D’s top contenders. Last April she was thinking of being pre-med but now she wants to do Computer Science so we just went back up for another visit today and got a private tour of the Engineering Department from one of the CS Professors. We really like it. She’s taking a tour of the ASU Engineering Department on Monday to have a point of comparison.