Great to hear about Davis! My kid is actually touring it tomorrow on a school field trip. I just looked at the weather and am glad she is going to visit when it is not 100 degrees. I’m excited to hear her impressions. I hope they eat in a dining hall and don’t go off campus because they supposedly have great food.
I’ll be curious to hear a kid’s take on it (and if the food was good), so if you get a chance, report back. We didn’t have time to hang around, so managed to see the coffee shop and pho place near the bookstore, but didn’t actually eat anything. I figured if it comes into the running in the future we’ll visit for a deeper dive then.
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Our list so far is a meta-list—it is every college that fits the following:
- Not in a seismically active region
- Has winter temperatures somewhat equivalent to Anchorage’s—a little warmer is fine, and better than a little colder, but it shouldn’t be a lot warmer—though the winter needn’t (maybe better: shouldn’t) last as long
- Not terribly dry air during the winter
- Has enby/trans-friendly housing policies
- No religious affiliation (or a religious affiliation, but one that’s more of a “historical” one
- Has a philosophy major, and preferably an economics major that isn’t hyperfocused on finance (but rather on human behavior)
Which seems to me to mean that it’s more geographically targeted than anything else, probably in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, I figure.
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Well, we’ve had some earthquakes here in NJ! I thought I was safe leaving the PNW but turns out I was wrong lol.
My D came home a couple weeks ago upset because she’s only in the top 30% rank of her class and has a 3.2 GPA weighted and probably around 3.0uw. She struggled a lot freshman year and early this year but got proper support and meds. It’s a low performing school without grade inflation in the core classes she takes but she’s comparing herself to her high performing friends. Her PSAT10 score was higher than many of the kids ranked higher than her which really messed with her head.
With all that I thought she didn’t really like TCNJ mostly because it’s known as a high academic school (and the older music building). She came home yesterday happy because one of her favorite teachers (who knows her rank/gpa) recommended she look at Juniata because they like kids who think outside the box and he thinks she would fit in there. She listened to me chat about small schools and how I think academically it would be good/supportive for her even if musically they don’t have the offerings of a big school. There’s always grad school for her instrument. I could hug her teacher for putting it in her head to check them out.
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I love that teacher!
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S has no idea what he wants right now. He’s thinking a big state university, but I’m hoping we can visit some various size schools to get an idea of what would fit him best. He is interested in majoring in chemistry or some type of engineering. The only school he shows much interest in is UIUC, but that’s probably because my husband went there. (which would be a stretch both in terms of admissions and finances) Schools on the list (my list, I guess) to visit or explore include:
UIUC
Tennessee (since I work for the system)
Indiana
Purdue
Missouri
Missouri S&T
Minnesota
Pitt
I’d also like him to look at some slightly smaller schools and potentially some Catholic schools, since he goes to Catholic high school and enjoys it. I’m thinking Marquette or SLU. I’m really hoping he will show some more interest in researching options, but I have a feeling he will need some pushing.
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Check out U of Dayton (large-ish catholic, strong in STEM, gives good merit) and U of Louisville as well.
All the schools on your list are great for engineering except Indiana, which doesn’t offer it.
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Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!
We have a licensed driver now! Another milestone hit. We’re down to a week and a half until her AP exam. She’s done basically zero prep besides whatever assignments the teacher has them doing. They will meet for a couple of hours this Saturday and next for review.
I can’t wait for soccer season to be over so she can ramp up her SAT studying. I would love for her to take the SAT in August and be done with it!
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This is a good list!
Make sure she checks out Salisbury - they would be good at the combo of early childhood and music. (is she vocal or instrumental?)
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Thanks! I definitely want to go to Salisbury and see the area, I’ve heard it’s really nice and close to the coast. I think she’s going to switch to instrument music education. Her band director/music teacher just last night at an event asked me outright why she switched from music and when I was explaining he just looked at me and said she has to go for music Ed so I’m certain that’s going to be her major lol. I’m looking into schools for solely that now. Most on the list have it but now I’ll probably add Rutgers Mason gross and Montclair. Any other suggestions? I like the curriculum at Syracuse but it’s an academic, financial stretch and I don’t want her to go to any school where she could feel out of place.
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Hmm. There are some good schools near you in PA as well, but not sure about pricing - they offer scholarships for out of state. West Chester and
Kutztown are both good and I have direct knowledge of their programs (Kutztown is really friendly and surprisingly good for music ed, two local music teachers went there). For instrumental music ed., lot will depend on the teacher. Towson is also a music ed factory - strong and big program. Salisbury is much smaller - if your child fits with a faculty member, would be great, but fewer instrumental music faculty there, and no marching band (they are best known for their vocal music ed, though I know a few kids who went there for that). Shenandoah is great but a bit far from you, and pricier.
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That’s awesome. My D23, like yours has had struggles in HS that have improved with ADHD medication and tutoring. She will be going to Juniata. The main draw for her is the environmental science program but she also really likes the music offerings, including that they have a pep band (she plays a brass instrument). Even though they don’t have music majors, they have just received funding to offer music scholarship to for band/orchestra/choir. D23 received about $4k/year for music on top of the already large merit scholarship. She also already got a card signed by a bunch of kids in the music program welcoming her to Juniata. It’s been a super friendly place.
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That’s wonderful your D has already found her people there! Plus they seem really strong with environmental science. I love the student videos I’ve seen and really wish they had a music major. Thank you for sharing about your D’s struggles in hs, I’m so glad she was able to get her needs met and is doing well.
Iowa State??
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Just to add….Marquette has a very limited engineering school. They don’t have Chemical Engineering. But it is a great school and Milwaukee is a fun town (I grew up there and my dad was an MU alum). But I went to Iowa State for civil engineering and loved it. They did a great job of making it feel like a much smaller school. Lots of Illinois kids go there because it is cheaper, and easier to get into, than UIUC, and quite a few MN kids as well.
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Consider CMU for tech theater.
Minnesota has enjoyed a strong reputation in Chemical Engineering, though other schools have caught up. It’s also next to downtown Minneapolis, i.e. a 50,000 student college next to a major downtown. Consider that too.
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I’ve heard good things about Iowa State. We’ll have to add that to the list. Thanks!
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