My daughter’s dream school is PennState Main campus where her big bro goes…she has a good chance of getting in but not in the bag by any means.
we are OOS and looking for affordable public or private (under 29K tutition so 45 total w/room and board, less is better.)
We need a school that will have a train right nearby, or be so close to Philly that my daughter will need no transfers to get to Center City by train or bus, where my uncle will pick her up for trips home and holidays. He will take her to the airport, or my mom will, or she will spend holidays with my mom in NJ down the shore. (So anything like Kutztown and Millersville is totally out it really needs to be in or very close to Philly /SJ.)
So far on our list we have
West Chester - my childhood bff went there and is an adjunct there and highly recommended it- they require an art portfolio so she is working with a certified teacher who specializes in portfolios all through this year (junior year)
Rosemont- seems small, accessible, near train SATS are SO LOW that I worry she will be the smartest kid on the entire campus- but they seem to have a 93% job placement so that’s a good statistic!
We ruled out Temple due to horrible campus. Drexel is too much $$. UArts is a druggie school, (also too expensive) and we want her to go to a Regular U that has a Graphic Design program for several (many) reasons 
so all arts institutes are out.
Any colleges I have overlooked? Cabrini? Eastern doesn’t have Graphic Design at all.
You might get more advice if you weren’t so disparaging of schools. As a Temple alum obviously that caught my eye, but you’re harsh on U of the Arts too. Ouch. That said, what about Moore or Arcadia?
What about Rowan? There is a bus to Philly, or maybe it’s close enough that your uncle could pick her up on campus? We visited and liked it very much.
College students have been known to transfer bus or trains. Can she get from Penn State to City Center Philly without a transfer?
You can, of course, have this restriction but it will limit your choices.
Yes I should have worded better- campus safety is a big issue and I’ve spend a lot of time around Temple. Many people make it work but not worth it for us.
As far as UArts I will see if I can edit.
Twoinanddone- actually yes, she can take a one way no stops MegaBus from PennState to Center City …also she often will just fly straight home from state college, through one of the major airports and then to the west coast.
Yes we have limited our Philly choices by not wanting her to spend stress time and frustration on a bus I’m addition to her 13 hour air travel day, and are ok with that. She has choices on the west coast too so if the east coast schools don’t match what we really super want, then why put them on our list
I’m not sure where the grandmother is at the shore or if it will have the degree you want, but Stockton University might be worth looking at. It’s not far from Atlantic City and it has a new campus there. There us a train from AC to Philly. There is also scholarship for OOS students.
My D is at Rowan and loves it. My high school senior has Stockton at the top of her list.
I have a relative who went to Cabrini. The alumni network is supposed to be excellent. However, her experience several years ago, was that it cleared out on weekends and that was hard for her as a student who came from too far to go home on weekends.
I’d also check out Elizabethtown for the intended major. It’s about 90 minutes from Philly by car and there is a direct train to Philly. The college provides a shuttle to the station five minutes away. It’s a lovely school that should be affordable for you with it’s reduced tuition and merit.
My oldest had a wonderful experience at Etown. It’s a very nuturing place that provides an excellent education and extensive real Ife opportunities.
ETA: I forgot Rutgers Camden. If you are concerned about Temple, you might not be interested. But Rutgers Camden is supposedly the safest college campus is NJ. We’ve been running into a lot of people lately, graduates and current students, who have nothing but good things to say about it. No problem getting to Philly and there’s merit.
Rutgers NB is on the train line between NY and Philly.
There is probably a shuttle from TCNJ to Philly. Great school.