<p>Good point, they do give preference , as they say they get to know most of the students but that would be 7 years in rain and my D is worried about the lack of sunshine. She was born in sunny Arizona. We are still visiting SLU's entry level PT doctrate program this weekend and then USD, but I would be shocked if she picked ST Louis over San Diego. The benefits would be a doctrate in 6 years vs 7, no applying to grad schools and taking those darn standardized tests again and they have their own campus in Madrid, she plans to minor in spanish and wants to become fluent. I'll be along for the ride and we will see where she decides to make her home.</p>
<p>to live in Ca. right on the water no less!>></p>
<p>Arizonamom --- Has your daughter visited USD before? Because USD is not "right on the water" --- it's a good 15 minute drive to the beach! You can see Mission Bay from points on campus but it is a distant view! :)</p>
<p>But it is a beautiful campus, one of the nicest I've seen anywhere. I have always wondered how much they spend on landscape maintenance because it is just picture perfect ALL the time. </p>
<p>Rbinaz, Chapman is a good school that seems to be moving up in the world. I had a good friend whose daughter had Chapman and Redlands as safety schools. She was accepted to UC Davis, UCLA, and UCSD. She rejected the idea of the UC's after both Chapman and Redlands offered her good money. She ultimately decided on Redlands (their package was basically a full ride) and her mother was extremely sad to let Chapman go. Her mother did worry at first that the two safety schools wouldn't be challenging enough for her (she was sal, had SATs in the 1400's, etc) but ultimately was swayed when she talked with the faculty at both schools. Her daughter is doing very well at Redlands and has no regrets about going to a "safety."</p>
<p>These are all great schools - USD, Chapman and University of Denver - they are quite a ways up from your typical "Safety" school in terms of academic quality. I would not worry about a good student finding enough challenge at any of these schools. Good students are self-motivated enough to look for challenge, not wait until it is dropped in their lap.</p>
<p>So, don't worry! It will all be OK in the end, and, even if it isn't, transferring is an option. :)</p>
<p>Arizonamom - As an aside, you didn't say which day you will visit USD but I hope you have arranged to have your daughter sit in on a few classes and meet with a couple of faculty members. That should give her a good sense of the academic level. I would recommend doing the same at SLU.</p>
<p>What I found with my daughter and our visits is that attending classes and talking to faculty members adds much more information than just doing the standard admissions tour. In fact, at several schools that she considered "safety" schools, she came away amazed at the level of teaching and the interactions she had with faculty. As I said, good students look for challenge, they don't necessarily need an honors program to find it, even at "Safety" schools.</p>
<p>Carolyn,
She is doing the admitted students day visit on Wed and staying with a runner Tues evening. I believe they shadow a student for part of a day , attend a class and have lunch with them(If you are around the school that day Carolyn let me know.) After we will do the normal tour and info session. We have a friend with a son at U of Denver and he is thriving there. He is not even coming home for his first summer.</p>
<p>carolyn-
Thanks for the encouragement re: Chapman. Sometimes it is hard to "compete" with the more recognized schools, but I do feel that my D is making a good decision that fits her. On our second visit, she attended class, had an interview with a music professor, and spent the night in the dorm. That evening, H and I attended "50 years of rock and roll" music extravaganza--a scholarship fundraiser performed by Chapman students and faculty. It was quite fun and very well attended.</p>
<p>arizonamom- good luck with your d's decision. Hard to beat San Diego. You know how much us "zonis" like to invade there during the summer.</p>
<p>mom60 - good luck to you also with University of Denver. Colorado is such a beautiful place. I trust that all our d's will be happy with their choices.</p>
<p>I hope you will all let us know what happens. I do understand your angst and worry and know that I will probably be in the exact same place next year. :)</p>
<p>arizonamom:</p>
<p>I was kind of in the same situation as your daughter it seems: I decided to enroll at the University of San Diego a few months ago; however, I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be challenged enough by attending USD. In high school I have taken every AP/Honors class available and have test scores well above the USD average. I was afraid I wouldn't be challenged at the University of Sand Diego like I am each and every day by current teachers and students at my high school.</p>
<p>However, after a campus visit and overnight stay, my worries were truly unfounded. I began to realize that you don't have to go to a "prestigious" institution to be challenged. The students, especially those in the sciences, seem very enthusiastic and intelligent at USD. Of course you also have your typical stereotypical students who haven't realized what the focus of college should be, but you will find that everywhere I think.</p>
<p>I also got into the Honors Program at USD. It really isn't that big of a deal, though. The Honors Program seems like a great way to develop friendships and receive a lot of challenging and personalized attention from faculty members, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor for your daughter in my opinion. She can always apply for it after her first semester of college. </p>
<p>The University of San Diego has so much to offer in respect to academics that she should be able to find sufficient challenge by going there even without the Honors Program. The fact that class sizes are usually in the 10-30 student range allows for the ability to converse with professors on a first-name basis. That will provide as much challenge as the mind can imagine.</p>
<p>When your daughter visits USD, make sure she views at least one class. I found that extremely worthwhile. Also, if she is thinking to any degree that she wants to attend USD, see if her "host" during the overnight stay will take her around to all of the freshman dorms so she can get a feel for them. I neglected to do that and it made filling out the housing application that much harder. All I had to go off of was my impressions of one dorm and the "rumors" that were floating around about all of the others!</p>
<p>Send my congratulations to your daughter on being admitted to USD and the other schools she was accepted into. Let me know if you have any other questions that are within my capacity to answer. . .</p>
<p>Best regards,</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>Thanks Mike for all the great info! Which are the best freshman dorms in your opinion? Did you live in the honors dorm?</p>
<p>I don't know the name of it, but the dorm that is right on the main thoroughfare of USD is the one most of the kids I know seem to prefer or at least end up in for freshman year. It is an older building but has lots of character and is right in the heart of the action. It's hard not to miss it, as most of the other dorms are all quite a schlep from the center of campus.</p>
<p>Arizonamom,</p>
<p>I have no first-hand knowledge, so no advice, but I just have to chime in that it sounds like your daughter will have such a great time at USD. Listening to all these comments, I wish I could go there. Hope she sees what she needs to on the visit! Look forward to hearing your report.</p>
<p>I can give you only a limited amount of knowledge about the dorms because I only know what I saw on my overnight stay, but here goes:</p>
<p>The dorm that carloyn is speaking of is called Maher Hall. From what I have heard, Maher Hall is the first choice for so many students that many do not get it. It houses around 250 students, but only about 40% of those spots are for female students (Maher Hall used to be a male-only facility just a few years ago from my understanding). The dorm rooms are located on the top three floors of Maher Hall and the rooms open up to outside walkways which offer great views of Point Loma, Missions Bay, etc. This was the facility that I spent my overnight in. Also, most of the rooms are for three and four residents and share a bathroom within the room.</p>
<p>I will list the other freshman housing options as I know them and briefly describe what I know (which is very limited!):</p>
<p>Camino Hall and Founders Hall:</p>
<p>These two dorm rooms are two separate facilities located in the heart of the main campus. They are connected by a bridge and housing facilities are on the second floor of each respective building. They both used to be for only female residents, but starting this year Camino Hall will be an all-male dorm facility. The rooms seemed a little bit bigger than those in other buildings, too.</p>
<p>Missions A:</p>
<p>This facility consists of twelve, three-story buildings which are located about a ten minute walk from classes, etc. Each floor houses eight residents in double or single rooms. Two bathrooms are located on each floor (four residents to a bathroom facility basically). A common room with a television set and a microwave oven is provided for each floor, too. I have heard that Missions A can get somewhat loud, though, because it is sheltered by its location.</p>
<p>Missions B:</p>
<p>Missions B is four buildings located in a quadrangle not far from Missions A (about the same walking distance to campus). Each building is 3-4 stories and each floor houses around thirty residents. Only one bathroom is located on each floor, though.</p>
<p>From what I witnessed, I decided to go with Missions A. I was afraid that campus would get very monotonous if I resided in a facility located right in the heart of the academic setting of the area (i.e. it would never feel like I was every "going" anywhere). </p>
<p>We'll just have to see what happens; I am merely guesses just as any new freshman will be! </p>
<p>Also, I decided not to go with the Honors Housing because I was afraid it would shelter me. I will be attending class with the "Honors" students regularly and I did not want to limit my interactions with other students. Also, the "Honors" students I talked with say that the Honors dorm is not any different than the rest (i.e. you don't have a bunch of kids sitting around studying 24/7 as you'd expect. . .)</p>
<p>Good luck with everything.</p>
<p>Thanks carolyn and NaturalBrave. We just returned from our St. Louis trip and are off to visit USD tomorrow. I know of a student from my D's school who is a freshman at USD and is in Missions A (your description of it matches what his mother descrived to me, he is very happy there. I'll write a trip report when we return.</p>