<p>People rightfully talk about the imperative of adequately funding our public colleges and universities because they are often the only higher education option available to the children of our most economically disadvantaged citizens. But the public colleges also provide an affordable opportunity to those students who didn’t yet hit their stride in high school and who come from families that, while financially comfortable, can’t begin to imagine financing a 200K college education. I ive in a semi-rural part of NYS where probably 75% of those graduating seniors who go on to a 4-year college choose a SUNY. The vast majority of these kids are B/B- students who come from middle to upper middle class households. CCers think a “bad” SAT score is 650 out of 800. Around here scores in the mid 500s are considered excellent. Most of these students would have no place to go if it weren’t for the SUNYs unless they were willing to take out 20K or 30K in loans each year. Geneseo and Binghamton excepted (in most cases), B students who have challenged themselves academically in high school and have been contributors to their school community have a good shot at most of the SUNY colleges and universities.</p>
<p>I keep trying to think of an instate public that would be a good option for D. We have the flagship, with admissions limited to the top 8%, then “the rest.”</p>
<p>Hi all B student parents!! I am mom from the 2012 thread and also have a 2014 DS. I have a lot of info for B students… especially for those of you that need aid to make it work. I am happy to report that my DS</p>
<p>My whole post was erased… will try again later… I want to share my DS results with you.</p>
<p>I am definitely looking at the SUNY schools, and they look terrific. Our family is in Maine, and there are good state schools here, but not as many choices. I would like my S to spread his wings should he choose to. I grew up in a midwestern college town (Ann Arbor) and we believed state schools were great, and most of us didn’t think twice about an Ivy.<br>
Regarding the price of college and being middle class, I hear you! Back in the stone ages, I applied to two schools and that was it. I could earn the cost of my room and board with a summer job! We have what I consider a good chunk of money set aside for my son, and I am grateful we do. But what I consider a “good chunk of money” won’t get you far in college market. I am unwilling to go into debt, especially because retirement is not too far away for my husband. Poor guy, I had to break it to him that he would not be retiring at 62 as S will only be a Junior in college!</p>
<p>I may be wrong, but I’ve heard Univ. of Hartford gives out good merit money…doesn’t hurt to look into it and apply if it has the music program your son likes…if you have a good chunk of money set aside for him, that’s awesome! Most parents don’t even have that. We do too, but if needed, my S will take out some loans. Not the end of the world! I had loans after college for many years…back then the interest rate was so low, but I remember paying something like $128 per month for several years…my parents paid what they could and that was the price that I wanted to pay to go to a private U…you may get away with even less at a State U!</p>
<p>ProudP: My nephew is at UMiami in their Music program. He loves it. If your child has shown he worked hard in Honors/AP then he probably has a good chance…I believe my nephew needed to audition…it does, though, seem tougher to get in these days than it used to be…kinda like Northeastern U too.</p>
<p>^ I’m not opposed to my S taking a Stafford Loan if needed. I had student loans too. I think it would be good for him to have a monetary investment in his education, though he may not feel his “ownership” until he begins to repay the debt!</p>
<p>The competitive nature of getting into college worries me. I have read here on CC to remember that most students are not in the uppermost echelon many students represented in CC threads seem to be. Reading the 3.0-3.3 and “Jewish B Student” threads have helped to reassure me that there are great opportunities out there for the B student.</p>
<p>Just a note to those with musically inclined kids. They will all have to audition in addition to be accepted to the University. I just took at peak at Naviance at our school and kids with my son’s stats were uniformly accepted at U of Miami. His weighted GPA is 4.5, unweighted around 3.3. I am feeling better about that school for him. As of now it is a “dream” school for him. I don’t think I’m going to tell him that most kids with his stats from his school got in to UM.</p>
<p>^ U of Miami sounds wonderful.
Regarding auditions… The application/audition process will probably feel like a marathon. The hope is for my son to make a few college visits this year to get a feel for the programs and the instructors. It doesn’t look like the family will be taking a vacation for leisure for the next year and a half! I’m still learning about what having a prospective performance major entails. Five years ago I never would have imagined I’d be lining up lessons for mallet and timpani. Five years ago I called timpani kettle drums! My son’s interest is in drumset, but he performs in the symphonic and wind ensemble as well as jazz ensemble and jazz combo.
He asked me for a list of schools to look up on the web. I attempted to instill some independence in him, and told him to begin the search on his own. He pointed out that he knew I had done a lot of research in the past few weeks, and it would be silly to reinvent the wheel, ugh, he got me.</p>
<p>Luckily, I am a music education major and I already know about the audition process. I think it must seem very overwhelming to parents who have no experience with it. </p>
<p>Right now I have a marimba and piano in my living room and a drumset and keyboard in my guest room!</p>
<p>The music prospect definitely does complicate things in a way. Some friends and I with kids the same age were just talking about whether we’ve done college visits yet and I had to point out that if S decides to major in music (which is not 100% sure, maybe 80%), there is travel for auditions and such to do, so it is more important to have a list of potential schools early.</p>
<p>Even if S decides not to major in music, he will likely want to continue doing it. And there are some places that offer scholarships for non-majors too, for ensemble participation. Which would still require an audition.</p>
<p>We visited North Texas last week (we live in Louisiana) because we were in the area. He liked the campus a lot. We weren’t there on a day when music dept tours were being given, so we just got the general tour. We’ll have to go back for the music tour.</p>
<p>University of Tampa is increasingly popular where I live. They list their merit aid levels on their website (with GPA/SAT and ACT scores). Makes it comparatively affordable.</p>
<p>My DD, a B+ ish student received merit aid at the University of Rhode Island (OOS).</p>
<p>I also second the University of Hartford. Popular choice here too. Private, but they supposedly give decent merit aid. And, of course, great music program.</p>
<p>I’ve heard great things about Miami of Ohio (merit aid also listed on website).</p>
<p>SUNYs are a good deal too, as previously mentioned. A lot of you are talking about music… I’ve heard wonderful things about the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam (the location is not one of them).</p>
<p>When you have a B student, you also have to consider the test scores. They really make a huge difference. Some B students do really well on standardized tests (1200+ on CR/M) and some do not. It can make a big difference in admissions and merit aid.</p>
<p>Oklahoma City U has very good music programs and they give merit scholarships for B students. Also, if money not an issue, the colleges that change lives website (CTCL ) has a dozen interesting LAC colleges, including Goucher near Baltimore, that are good for B students</p>