@Twinmom2023 Glad to hear your daughter liked Fairfield. It is on ds20’s list, but we haven’t visited. It’s close for us, though, so we’ll get there one of these days.
We love love love Allegheny. My dd was deciding between Allegheny and URoch at the end. Allegheny was really far for us, and I think she was afraid it might be a bit small, so she ultimately chose Roch (loved their open curriculum too). But I’ll always have a soft spot for Allegheny. It’s a pretty special school IMO. Had nice students, great professors and administration. Feels like a family. Nice campus. Not a lot around, but it’s 30 min from Erie and about an hour (I think) from Pittsburgh. Nice science facilities (especially environmental), excellent English dept. (her Literature prof at URoch is actually an Allegheny grad) Definitely worth a visit. Oh, and they offer very nice merit scholarships. DD has a close friend at Hobart–beautiful campus from what I’ve seen! What major is your daughter interested in?
@taverngirl Thank you so much. I have reservations about Allegheny b/c it really isn’t my cup of tea, BUT your post reminds me that it isn’t about me. I need to focus on that important point. Twin A loves small, family, quirky, and environmental. It actually sounds like a place she would thrive. It sounds like her weird little environmental high school that she loves. Merit aid would be awesome with two in school!
All of these kids are so fortunate to have school tours and choices!
Neighbor has two kids at Fairfield - both love it. To me, it says a lot when a younger sibling follows her older brother to college because my S will have no interest in attending the same school as D.
@eb23282 , your Roanoke posts had me asking my DD why it was cut from her long list. She couldn’t remember and took another look. She applied last night! Monday is the EA deadline.
Thank you for sharing your visit experience. I don’t know if she gets accepted if it will make the cut, but it is on the visit in November list when she plans on visiting Lynchburg.
@longhaul, good luck! I’m actually still processing the whole “D1 is officially going to college” feeling. But the more days that pass, the more I get excited for her. She genuinely seems excited which is a complete 180 from where she used to be just 3-6 months ago.
We did a drive-by of Lynchburg. Seemed nice enough. I would have liked to tour, or at least walk around, but D was not interested. I’ll be interested to hear how your visits go.
@Corinthian thanks for the reminder about your trip report. I think I read it before, but it is more helpful now that it has become a true contender. I think we need a visit- that is really the clincher.
@airyausty Yes I know Chico can be hot in summer… but I think it is milder during most of the school year? In the past I had an image of Chico as a big party school but as he gets closer to applying, the more I realize that is a pretty broad characterization and we will find that element everywhere (and can also avoid it everywhere). And in honesty a somewhat related stereotype has also clouded my image of Humboldt (literally, ha!). But my primary issue with Humboldt is it is so far from everything. He has not really looked at it in earnest but maybe he should. He is pretty undecided on his major, and if anything I see him in social sciences/communications areas, or possibly business.
Speaking of remote schools… Yes we visited Washington State University and it is also a likely contender. Some things about WSU are very appealing for us… Our biggest impression is that people who go there seem to really really love it. We know a lot of alumni and they are a passionate bunch! The tour guide said that the remote nature is what facilitates that school spirit. It is a very unique setting, the Palouse. I think for an Ag kid it would be a great choice. When we visited I asked several students to confess the negatives-- what do students actually complain about when they are not giving tours? They said that some people get frustrated with the Greek scene (the partying & promoting that image), that the website/online services are weak, and the remote nature is a double-edged sword (both good and bad). Those were just a few students comments, but I think it is good information!
Reports from hubby and Twin A -
Hobart and William Smith - they both loved it. DH said it was gorgeous and sent me six photos. The town, the school, the students were all impressive. They loved the strong environmental program and that it is small and pristine. I think they were both surprised at how much they liked it b/c it is so far from us and not an easy journey – they didn’t want it to be a top contender. The tour guide was stellar and gushed about the school.
Allegheny - they were only able to do a drive by, but it is too remote. Twin A is crushed b/c she really thought it would be number 1 based on her love of the environment and the fact that it is a top school in all things environmental. If the town experiences some growth, it sounds like it would be more of a draw. She had an excellent interview with the regional rep locally last week.
We have the list whittled down to a reasonable number and I am glad she was able to see so many schools. I can’t imagine going to this length for more than one kid and am thankful Twin B doesn’t need this much exploring!
There have been a number of students who had a last minute crisis which required them to change to a school in state. Sadly, death, divorce,disease- even assault in one case- can cause plans to change last minute. An in state application is wise.
@roycroftmom This is so true. We have 12 months of unexpected, unrelated big things. Life is unpredictable!
@TwinMom2023 Allegheny is a very good school but Meadville won’t be changing for the positive anytime soon. (I’m originally from Western PA and know it well.) Every time I have to go home to Erie (about an hour north) it makes me just a little bit sad.
@eb23282 I actually don’t know much about Salisbury at all, despite growing up in MD and spending all my summers at the beach 30 minutes away. I do know several adults who went there 30 years ago who are very successful. I agree tho, that the students I hear going there now, are typically B students and seem happy there. We were actually on campus a few weeks ago. S19 had a non-conference game scheduled against a h.s. team from Delaware, and last minute they moved the game to the stadium at Salisbury Univ, which was quite nice for a school its size. First time I had been on campus, but we didn’t get to see much as it was late/dark. I think the location is its positive and negative if that makes sense. Positive is that it’s close to the beach. Negative is that Salisbury is really in the middle of “nowhere” otherwise and not exactly a thriving college town in a rural location. While there may be a downtown area nearby, we didn’t see it from the direction we drove in - just strip malls and convenience stores. One thing I didn’t know until I was looking at its website is that it is smaller than I realized. So for someone who wants or needs to go to a public school, its size is not overwhelming. The positive for S19 is that in the two sports he plays, Salisbury is very competitive in D3so that appeals to him.
So that is my not so short answer that ultimately is “I don’t know.” We will keep it on our list and most likely go back for a tour once fall sports season is over for S19.
Thanks @4kids4us. As I mentioned, I really liked it. It just seems to fly under the radar for some reason and it can’t simply be because of the location, which isn’t terrible. The tour we took was impressive - I’d love to hear what you think when you get around to visiting.
@eb23282 we are summer residents of the DE beach area and former MD residents and my good friend has an S16 there now. He was a very smart but under-achieving HS student but even he received some merit. It has been a very good fit for him and he was really come into his own. However, the area is somewhat economically depressed and all of Delmarva is struggling with an opioid crisis. My DE neighbor is a
Director of a DE opioid task force and he describes the Salisbury area as one of the problem areas of Delmarva.
In the summer I am in the area 2x/week for D’s gymnastics. I would definitely NOT describe area surrounding Salisbury campus as vibrant as Towson was described upthread.
But again, lots of former neighbors have sent kids there without issue so it is something one would need to check out for themselves.
Appreciate the feedback @mountainmomof3. Part of the appeal to us of Salisbury vs. Towson is the more rural location. I’d be curious if the campus social scene is at all influenced by the surrounding area. The opioid crisis is practically universal at this point, and I’m sure it finds its way to some college campuses more than others.
@eb23282 - Based on info from family we know, I don’t think drugs are any more of an issue on the actual campus than any other campus. I was just responding to why it isn’t more popular- it may just be due to reputation of surrounding area and parents having overall concerns about campus safety and drug-related crime. But, as mentioned, that could be a problem anywhere.
@airyausty I don’t think WUE has to do with grades. My nephew went to a school on WUE and it was just based on his major…maybe in some cases grades have to do with WUE…
@daisychayn We have looked at Chico. My kid did like it and is keeping it on his list as an instate safety. We haven’t looked at Sonoma yet, but it is on our list of places to look at. We have a friend’s kid who went to Chico and loved it! There were also two girls from my daughter’s high school class who went to Sonoma and they seemed to like it as well!
The nice thing about Sonoma and Chico is that they are way more residential then the a lot of the Cal State schools…many kids come from far away to go to school at these places…
I know some people have been concerned with being able to graduate on time and get the classes you need at Chico and Sonoma, but the two girls I know who went to Sonoma had no problem getting classes they needed and graduating in four years. I do know that one of the girls took summer school classes. I think that students need to persistent and parents might need to step in and encourage their kids to do what they can to get classes…
Humboldt is pretty remote and depending on where you live it can be quite a trek to get there and it can be expensive to fly up there
I’m something of a lurker here - but have twin S19s. We completed the FAFSA and, although these are not my first kids - the others are MUCH older, so I don’t remember the drill. There is a figure (EFC) at the bottom of each FAFSA that is very similar. Is that EACH kid? Or is that figure for BOTH kids? Any twin parents out there who could answer that? Googling didn’t yield much clarity…
@britmom5 That would be for each child.