<p>I can tell you that High Point has made great positives changes in the last few years. I believe they will soon be another Elon. You can easily visit HP and Elon in the same day, we did. We just got our deposit check back, D is not ready to be that far from home. I do know a biology major student at Catawba who loves it. If you are considering Catawba, you might want to look at Lenoir-Rhyne which is very similar in my opinion. They can also easily be seen the same day. She also like Lynchburg very much.</p>
<p>Where did your daughter decide to go? This is pretty far from home for us too and it may be too far. That's one of the reasons we're visiting schools now to hopefully rule things in or out. Our son starts school in NC this fall so potentially being close to her brother for a couple of years has some appeal. She also likes the idea of a warmer climate.</p>
<p>Thanks for your insight -</p>
<p>I just sent you a long PM. Let me know if you need/ want more info.</p>
<p>My two cents are: Elon is probably the best school on your list but may not offer you a lot of financial aid (if any), Roanoke is a school that I looked heavily into because of my counselor (she's an alum) and found that they desire to make a move up as a school and are willing to do a lot.</p>
<p>Roanoke though a private school offered me about $15k dollars off the bat for being in state, I later was qualified for a sholarship competition and was given another scholarship. A few other scholarships roled in and it was practically a public tuition cost.</p>
<p>Roanoke is also very good in premed, sending 7 of its 10 premed students last year to UVA medical school (really dazzled me when i heard), and it was also interesting to hear that for engineering, it is partnered with VT. The first two years you take physics at roanoke and then you somehow start taking engineering courses at VT (dont know much but VT is an amazing engineering school).</p>
<p>I was extremely interested in Roanoke and i had it up there with all my other schools but i wanted a football team so i chose VT. Good luck w/ your decision.</p>
<p>I like your list because I think it has a nice mix of environments. I have toured a lot of these schools and/or met students and graduates from them. Bridgewater seems kind of remote to me, but some people like that in a school.</p>
<p>One more - how about Wingate in NC?</p>
<p>Guilford College, NC
Lynchburg College, VA
Elon University, NC
Roanoke College, VA
High Point University, NC
Emory & Henry, VA
University of NC - Asheville, NC
Barten College, NC
Catawba College, NC
Bridgewater College, VA</p>
<p>Are there any you would take off the list?</p>
<p>rightfit: You really don't say much about your daughter, except that she wants a small school (in NC or VA) and is a solid A/B student. Given that small amount of information, I'd say your list here is heavy on safety schools. I'd probably remove High Point University and Guilford College, and find a few schools that are different from these you have listed, yet still small, (and maybe more of a match/reach?). Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Why would you remove High Point and Guilford. </p>
<p>Our daughter is very undecided and most likely will go to college either undecided or liberal arts. She is taking all college prep classes in high school - no honors or aps. She is an honor roll student - not a great standardized test taker. SAT's are likely to be a challenge for her and we'll be happy with 1100/1200. She's responsible and organized and stays on top of her assignments.</p>
<p>She's an outgoing social kid and we want her to have a chance to experience the whole college experience. Small class sizes will make a difference for her. She wants warmer weather and her brother will be in school in NC which is why we're looking at these schools.</p>
<p>I just think that Elon, UNC-Asheville (and I would actually put in a visit to Appalachian, which I do think offers more than UNC-A), and a few others that were listed above, which you didn't include in your list, are all around more impressive schools than either Guilford or High Point. I have a sense that both of these schools, too, have a lot of commuter students, so I don't know if she would experience the same campus atmosphere. Given the additional information you provided, I expect Elon would be great for her. I've seen Catawba, and that's a lovely campus, too. I don't know much about the academics, but people seem to like it a lot.</p>
<p>jack- can you discuss the pro's and con's of UNC- Asheville. My D is considering it for next year. SAT 1100-1200 range (already over 1100 ) solid B+ student all honors and will have 3AP's- top 10%. We are from NJ. Wants a school in or by a city. She is liberal and into music. Would like a small to medium size school- If you do not mind can you compare it to App State. She is also looking at UMBC, George Mason (size may be an issue) Goucher, Mary Washington, UNC Wilm., McDaniel and Ursinus. Also some NJ schools.</p>
<p>Tom, i'd go to UNCA over all of those schools.</p>
<p>Tom: I will send you a pm, but Asheville is a great city, small enough to be manageable and not overwhelming, yet large enough there's lots to do and in a beautiful setting. Asheville is very big in arts/crafts. UNC-Asheville is a good school and somewhat smaller than Appalachian, in both undergraduate population as well as physical size/layout. I often think students pick it over some other schools, simply because of the terrific location. I was there in the last year to give a presentation that a small group of students organized.. They were really welcoming, interested, and an interesting group--and very appreciative. It is small, though, and really looks like a community college to me. I'm not saying that's bad, but I do think it probably offers less than Appalachian, both in terms of offerings and strength of academic departments and students. The location is terrific, though, and Asheville offers much more than Boone (in my opinion). Both are liberal schools, in liberal locations. I do have the sense that UNC-Asheville may be more of a commuter school than Appalachian, though I don't currently have facts to back that up. I would check that out when you visit, though.</p>
<p>Appalachian is much larger in layout than UNC-Asheville, has a great music school (by audition only, I believe), a good honors program, with separate housing, and the campus is just much bigger overall. It does have a lot of very strong departments. I personally don't like Boone very much (a small, but viable town), but students and others seem to love it. It has a very laid-back old hippie feel to it. Well, actually, a lot of old hippies live there, I think. The traffic is just horrible-- bumper-to-bumper once you get into town. It's so close to Blowing Rock (which has become a real tourist mecca) and the Blue Ridge Parkway, that Boone just can't seem to handle the overflow.</p>
<p>If you're going to go to Asheville, I'd certainly take the time to drive over to Boone and check out Appalachian, too. Obviously, you would want to look at the music department at each school. These schools will appear and feel very different to her, I think, so this is where "fit" comes in as well.</p>
<p>Warren Wilson is also in Asheville, and I would encourage you to look at this school as well. It does have a great reputation; in particular, it has a very strong creative writing program--though I know that's not her interest. I just think it's a strong school, with only 800 students, also very liberal. Students "work the land," in addition to going to school, so it does take a particular "type" to want to go there. Also in a beautiful setting. Most all students live on campus (probably 90%+).</p>
<p>loslobos- what is it you like best about UNCA- by the way my D will not major in music, she enjoys going to concerts both large and small so a music scene around the campus is a plus.
As for the "commuter" feel it seems almost all public colleges(except the elite flag ships) have that problem. D would prefer a school of between 1500 -5000 but will consider schools up to 10000. She will apply to GM and Rutgers in case her feelings change by 05/08.</p>
<p>Tom, you might want to look at James Madison. They do not have a commuter feel, they do not have as many grad programs and are much smaller than Rutgers. Emphasis is on the undergraduate (roots were as a teacher's college). They are larger than for what your D was looking for (around 15000 undergrads). They do have 30% OOS, which is a much larger % than the schools in NC. I know that she is looking for a city, and Harrisonburg is considered to be a city, but might not be what your D had in mind. Conveniences and bus transportation within the area is widely available.</p>
<p>How about Queens University in Charlotte?</p>
<p>Can I jump in? My daughter is also looking at schools in North Carolina. She has 1200 out of 1600 SAT and top 10 percent. We are still deciding which schools to visit next month. The ever changing list includes: Elon, Queens University of Charlotte, UNC wilmington, UNC Charlotte, maybe Wake Forest. She will be an education major. Is Wake too much of a reach? She just took the SAT again so maybe it will go up. I heard that over 1300 SAT is the cutoff for good schools. So, she is still below that score. Also considering College of Charleston and Furman in South Carolina. We had a nice time at the C of C open house, but my daughter was not sold on the school. I really liked Charleston, but it is not up to me! She has plenty of safeties with rolling admissions. I am concerned about what schools would be matches and reaches. More suggestions?</p>
<p>Tom: You've probably seen this already, but here's a little more information on UNC-Asheville. It does look like they have some additional funding (including money from a $50 million bond referendum) for new construction and programs. <a href="http://www.unca.edu/hr/about.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.unca.edu/hr/about.html</a> </p>
<p>candace: If she can raise her SAT scores, she should certainly apply to Wake Forest if she likes the school. I don't know much about UNC-Wilmington, except students seem to love it (again, great location). It does have a strong marine science department, too. Plenty of kids also like East Carolina, though its location in Greenville is a downside.</p>
<p>thanks Jack, I do think her scores are a little too low for Wake. She looked at East Carolina, strong education department, but probably too large for her. She is very interested in Queens. Her scores put her over the 75th percentile so maybe some merit money. This is the first year that they will have a teaching fellows program, so that is a good indication of their department. She is out of state, so unfortunately she can not take advantage of that program. App state has a good ed dept, but she is not sure about the remote environment. She prefers being near a city and airport. I read that North Carolina will need more teachers in the coming years, so that is good news.</p>
<p>Tom: a lot of state schools may hve a commuter feel, but some much more so than others. So (just in case you don't already know) George Mason is kind of the ultimate commuter school. I actually have a lot of affection for the place and the institution has done nothing but improve since I took classes there. But, I was one of those commuters, it is hard for me to imagine being a full-time resident student there.</p>
<p>Does top 10 percent carry alot of weight that might offset a lower SAT score? She will have 4 APs and the rest honors, so not the toughest curriculum.</p>