Vanderbilt is rough for merit. Three competition scholarships and that’s it.
Indeed! Should have said merit and need based money. We should have a fairly low EFC and qualify for need based assistance. There’s not much need or merit $ staying in state at a top public school. My total bill for W&M in the early 90s was under 8k a year!
Rue4, I graduated from W&M in '93! About the “old people” comment, Williamsburg does have a thriving (rather high SES) retirement community. But while I was a student, I feel like the only people I saw who were over 24 were professors! D19 and I went to a farmers market on DOG St. the last time we were there and it was packed with young families–I actually felt like we could have been in Brooklyn.
Of course, that’s not to say that Williamsburg is like a Big 10 college town. It’s small, welcoming, and historic. Not for everyone, but D19 feels right at home.
@JanieWalker, glad to hear your daughter’s photos stayed in their mats for Scholastic!
We finally have a snow day today, and everyone thrilled!
@ Rue4 My D21 tells us she wants to be an OT. Similar situation of comparing the dual BS/MOT 5 year programs vs. regular 4 year BS and then 2 years MOT. Of course before going to a school for the dual program she needs to know for sure that is what she wants to do. She informed us the other day that on her own she contacted a local pediatric OT clinic and asked if she could shadow the OT. We were impressed by her taking that initiative.
That initiative is impressive! I can’t imagine my S21 doing that. Does your district offer any classes to expose her to the field? Ours has a “sports medicine” class at the Career Center that my friend’s D21 is taking because she thinks she wants to be physical therapist and so far it’s reinforcing her interest.
@JESmom They have anatomy which is required class in college for admission to Masters programs. But other than that not that I am aware of.
@burghdad That’s fantastic initiative! My D21 attends a Governor’s Health Science Academy with a focus on PT/OT and Sports Medicine. She’ll have 120+ shadow hours by the time she graduates and many focused electives (Medical terminology, Intro to therapeutic services, Anatomy, Sports Medicine, Athletic Training, etc. She’s fairly positive, but I want her to have a good list prepared of direct entry schools as well as 4 year schools.
@Rue4. That’s sounds like a great program. What state is that?
In looking at PT/OT programs whether direct entry or grad make certain they have appropriate CAPTE accreditation. Sometimes programs over admit and don’t have adequate clinical affiliation sites. Pitt and UDel are both excellent established schools that have merit for OOS students. Shadowing in other healthcare professions is also helpful to rule out nursing, MD, PT, etc when applying to those competitive programs. I am a PT and student affiliations are the most important factor I would consider if my kid were going to PT/OT school.
@MPT3D Love your avitar…Good points on the clinical affiliations.
On a slightly different note I am seeing that some schools are doing away with direct/Dual entry in OT because beginning in 2027 the entry level for OT is going to be a DOT instead of a MOT.
@burghdad We are in Virginia. Each of the 13 high schools in the county has a magnet program that houses approximately 200-250 students. 8th graders can apply- entry only takes place at the start of 9th grade. It’s a pretty intense application process with a review of middle school transcripts, 2 essays, 3 teacher recs, panel interview, on the spot writing sample, and a few require standardized testing. Programs include: health sciences, math and science, leadership, fine and performing arts, Spanish immersion, humanities, engineering, IT, mass communications, IB, and a few others I can’t recall. D21 got accepted to all 3 centers she applied to. D22 applied to 1 and was wait listed and didn’t get off the list, so she’s just at her home base school.
@Rue4 Thanks for the information. Sounds like a great program.
Wow. Haven’t posted here in a while and feel like I have a total underachieving kid.
We’ve been struggling a lot this year. He’s a good kid, and smart, but just not motivated to do the work. Struggles tremendously with writing. Also was diagnosed with depression recently and had his second panic attack of the school year after a math exam on Tuesday.
For next year he’s doing English (they want him to do Honors but we both said hell no with his struggles; plus that way his advisor will be his teachers - guidance counselors are pretty worthless at the school it’s the advisor who does most everything, they have the some one for all 4 years); AP World History (AP US is this year); Honors Trig/Pre-Calc; AP Stats; a gym requirement; the state personal finance requirement; Latin II; Public Speaking; and Yearbook. I think that’s not quite 8 credits, what ever else he needs will be Tech independent study since he’s taken all the tech classes they offer.
Drawback is his grades suck. He has a 3.38 GPA, was all B’s with one C last term, and between all the stupid snow days we’ve had and missed school for illnesses he literally has a 16% in two classes right now. He is a good, solid B student, hence why I feel like we just don’t belong here with everyone else when reading activities and achievements and the like. If I’m feeling frustrated, I hate to think how he feels…
So we’re still looking, and I think he may try a community college class this summer, but it may be 2-year to 4-year for us.
@ScarletRobin I’m sorry to hear he’s having a rough year. Hopefully, with the diagnosis he can start getting the help he needs. Last year was the rough one for my DS but once he was diagnosed with ADHD-Combined and we started treatment and supports he’s completely turned around his academic performance. I do struggle with comparing him to others on CC re: extracurriculars since he refuses to engage in much, particularly avoiding anything that requires competition. At least I got him to join the theater tech crew this year and he does community service through our church. Otherwise he just wants to hang out with his friends and play videogames (which seems a perfectly reasonable desire for a 15 yr old boy :), I try to remember that when reading CC!). There are definitely lots of good options for the solid B student. Do you also follow the “Parents of 3.0-3.4 GPA students” groups? I found them reassuring during D19’s difficult freshman year.
@ScarletRobin Don’t get wrapped up in the stats on this site. There is a lot of great information (and reassurance) for everyone. In addition to the 3.0-3.4 threads, search “B student” or “C student” and you will find help. I will probably hang out here for my D21, but my D19 fit the B threads and I have a fondness for them, so I keep checking them regularly.
Hi Everyone! New member of this forum with DD21. Went through this rodeo 5 yrs ago and can’t believe starting all over again. I have older twins graduating college this year (DS from Johns Hopkins and DD from American) We have booked some tours in March/April for Lafayette, NYU, Penn, Villanova, Cornell & Swarthmore.
@scarletrobin Only on CC would a 3.38 GPA be considered remotely inadequate! As @Acersaccharum has mentioned, there is plenty of good company on this forum in the 3.0-3.4 range and there are plenty of four year colleges that would be happy to enroll your child when the time comes. @eandesmom started two threads for students in this range, and you’d be amazed at both the admissions and merit scholarship results. There are also test optional schools if standardized tests aren’t his thing.
It sounds like you and he are on top of his issues and are putting together a balanced schedule for next year that plays to his strengths. You may want to ask about the writing expectations for AP World. I imagine it varies by school but my D has found AP world to be fairly demanding in that respect.
Hang in there, sounds like you’re on the right track!
@ScarletRobin, Hugs to you and your S. Yes, CC is not the real world. When D was thinking of taking APUSH. I went to the school to inquire about the writing and workload with the various teachers. We have found APUSH with her current teacher is way less work than AP World that her peers are taking this year. @Teacher3 Welcome.
Hey, new on CC. Also totally new to undergrad admission processes.Where can I learn more about historical admission stats for specific programs at Rutgers and some other schools ? TIA
@DS2021 Welcome! There is so much helpful information and lots of helpful parents on this site. Try searching or posting questions on the school-specific forums, or generally on the College Admissions forum.