Oh, my bad. Some of the NPC’s do ask for grades and test scores, and Syracuse must not have been one of those. The great aid they said they’d give us must just be based on our need.
However, they do give out some merit aid, and your daughter sounds like an awesome student, who has continued to be awesome despite her immense setbacks. The things she’d like in a college can be a bit hard to find in a private school, but she may benefit from the extra resources a private school provides. Syracuse seems it could be a good fit, so I guess I’m just encouraging you to not write it off entirely due to the high tuition.
The only extra app requirement last year was pretty minimal: “Why are you interested in Syracuse University and how do you see yourself contributing to a diverse, inclusive and respectful campus community? (250 words)”.
It might be worth applying to see if merit aid could come through. They’re also scheduling optional virtual admissions interviews, so she could do one of those and might be able to relate her story a bit to someone with a personal connection. Best of luck with the list!
S21 just finished his first yr at UCF Honors and is absolutely loving it. Accepted to UF and Miami and UCF was the least expensive and his top choice. So far it has been a great experience.
UCF is such a huge school. Does the honors program help it to feel smaller at all? Great that your son is really happy with his choice!
Tulane’s out because they don’t offer my D23’s intended major (and their equivalent minor isn’t the side of the field she’s interested in).
There are pluses and minuses to having a kid who’s interested in a less frequently offered field*—on the plus side it greatly slims down the list of possible colleges at the outset, and on the minus side it greatly slims down the list of possible colleges at the outset.
* And a sunlight filter, because seasonal depression. That arguably thins the list even more.
So true - my kid also has a very specific interest in Astro which is quite limiting as to colleges (as you point out for better and for worse). One advantage is that many of the state schools are strong in Astro so unlike his sibs he is very excited about his (hopefully) safeties!
My son returns from his month stay in Mexico tomorrow (yay!) Trying to squeeze in some final college visits, so we have a visit to Pitt planned soon and we will be traveling to Miami, Fl for a little end of summer trip. So we scheduled visits to Barry University, Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University (interested in the main campus honors program or possibly Wilkes Honors College but WHC wasn’t offering tours when we visit) and Nova Southeastern. Was considering UMiami but they aren’t offering tours at that time (it’s around the start of classes) and my son doesn’t want a big party school, so not sure it would be a good fit. Wanted to see some Chicago and NYC schools but just isn’t going to work out, so he will probably apply to schools of interest and visit if he gets in & the financial package looks appealing. Any input on Pitt or any of the Miami-area schools?
We are in the same boat. My son likes some schools in red states and isn’t counting them out totally-but he is giving preference to the blue state schools because of this Supreme Court decision and other state policies that discriminate against the LGBTQ community which make him uncomfortable. He is torn because the colleges seem to align with his progressive leanings but the state laws are very backwards in his view. My daughter is very progressive too but attends school in Louisiana-about as red a state as they get. It honestly scares me (anti-choice laws, etc.) but she is in New Orleans which is super liberal and open (and Loyola is very welcoming of all people) so she fits in well and loves it. She also feels she can make more change “from the inside” and thinks her voice might be more needed/valuable in LA than NY right now. Didn’t think a Supreme Court decision would be swaying our college decisions but here we are.
No question- we weren’t likely to send a kid to a red state anyway but now it is out of the question. Before the decision we visited Rice but a definite no at this point. Even before the decision We emailed back and forth with the admissions office on trans issues and they made all the right noises about disagreeing with the governor and being inclusive etc but when I asked what they were doing to speak out against these laws the answer was crickets… Sad how half the country is basically off the grid now… but good for your d for trying to fight for change from the inside.
Yes the UCF Honors College gives the opportunity to have smaller class sizes in the large school atmosphere. He had a good mix of large and small classes. The Honors College is what sold him on the school. It was not even on his radar until just before the beginning of his senior yr.
As for seeing schools in NY, be advised that kids in NY had a very different school experience than kids in FL this past year. I had one in NY and one in FL. The NY student was not allowed to do much in person, even towards the end of this spring (no large in person club/sorority events allowed,) while the FL student had a normal first yr experience. Make sure you research the environment so you know what your family would be most comfortable with!
Yes, it’s tough. I do appreciate what many of these colleges are up against and they definitely don’t all reflect the philosophy and policies of the state legislatures/governors, but this ruling could lead to other privacy violations and impact LGBTQ rights and even contraception decisions so it’s a risk I’m not sure my son wants to entertain even if it doesn’t directly impact him as a straight male. He is a minority, though (Hispanic) so there is no doubt he could face discrimination in certain parts of the country and he is well-aware of this, sadly.
We live in Buffalo, so I am aware that NYC colleges take a more cautious approach but we really support that, especially having lost family and friends to Covid. But you are right-how a college responds to a health crisis or natural disaster (we deal with hurricanes in New Orleans far too much!) is a very important consideration for families. As I mentioned, my daughter attends school in Louisiana and the protocol generally matched up to what NYS was doing so didn’t seem so different in a red state (although she does attend a private Jesuit school.)
Thanks for the info on UCF. My sister lives pretty close to the school so maybe we can check it out on a future visit. Sounds like what my son is looking for in an honors college. Congrats to your son-it’s definitely tough to qualify for UCF honors!
I find it really weird that people would expect colleges to do more to protest against state laws and the politicians who support them than the average business in this country. Personally I’d prefer they focused on the college experience that I’m paying for, and not spend that money (directly or in employees’ time) on outside political activity. If students want to protest about something political at a national, state or local level then that’s up to them.
Do you boycott Tesla because they moved to Texas? AT&T, Comcast, Home Depot, Verizon, Walgreens and many others because they donate to politicians who voted against certification of the Electoral College vote (The January 6 corporate accountability index)? Avoid various fast food chains because of their owners’ politics? Don’t go to various states or countries on vacation because of their politicians? If life is all about politics all the time then it must get very tiring.
Agree to very strongly disagree about college responsibility for protecting their students including against harmful and violent laws. I am not asking them to protest fiscal policy. If a college is ok with the state treating my child as lesser than I certainly have no interest in dealing with them.
Now I’m even more perplexed. You don’t just want a college to actively protest against state laws, you actually want them to defy those laws (eg facilitate an abortion in a state where it is illegal)? How can they possible do that, let alone commit to you (in writing???) that they will break the law of the state in which they operate?
I don’t think of these as political issues but as human rights issues, so I do expect colleges to stand up to a governor who demands a ban on discussions of slavery, systemic racism or LGBTQ topics (with the excuse it makes some people “uncomfortable.”) I think it’s the politicians making this political and colleges are afraid of being targeted. Some governors are threatening to cut funding or fire administrators who don’t comply with demands to limit free speech, which is very sad. I agree that colleges should welcome many voices (my son would enjoy a lecture from both Colin Powell and Anthony Blinken and loves a good debate! He’d love a college with students of many backgrounds and opinions as long as they are all respectful) but when there is an effort to suppress the rights of one group on a state or national level, I think that crosses the line of politics. Parents need to know the campus environment is a safe and enriching place for ALL students and that administrators have the back of all students, especially those who are marginalized unfairly. Just my humble opinion and I’m sure there are rules against too much political debate so not trying to create a hostile exchange. I think it’s great we have a diverse cross-section of parents here (with kids who are also unique in personality and focus) and it’s our job to help our kids find a campus with the best fit and “personality” for our kid’s goals, passions & interests.
I was asking them what they were doing to get the laws changed or at least clearly go on record about their wrongness. Truly the least they can do. In any case this debate won’t end well so maybe we should move on. It is a huge impact on our college selection as well as on that of many others.
This was definitely not all all the experience my son had at his school in NY this past year. For the most part, not only was everything back in person, including his fall sport, but they got rid of their indoor mask mandate for spring semester, making it optional. Spring semester was pretty normal for him (and fall mostly was as well). That said, they did require covid vaccine and booster, as well as Covid testing, etc. So definitely were taking things seriously, but certainly not restrictive like the previous school year.