<p>Hi--I am a parent of a junior D and she is considering College of Charleston. We have not visited yet. Can anyone compare it to Tulane and/or University of Miami for me? Being from the north, this is a school that gets very little press up here, never at the college fairs etc... But I hear there are alot of northerners. My D wants to study biology and/or pre-physical therapy, likes being in an urban environment. She has very good SATs and an average GPA from an elite private school in New Jersey--all honors classes. Good extracurricular activities. Any feedback about the school would be welcome. Is there anything NOT to like about it? It looks awesome on the website.</p>
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<p>We toured C of C in 2005 and my daughter was accepted for 2006 but decided to go to a different school. I loved a lot of things about CofC, but she decided in the end it wasn't for her.</p>
<p>My likes: City, beaches nearby,reasonable cost, good % OOS, pretty campus areas,good selection of majors.</p>
<p>My dislikes: dorms and some buildings needed attention, M/F ratio not great, no football, it gets very hot and humid, campus is actually kind of small.</p>
<p>I see that they have been putting a lot of $ into the campus in the last few years so my first issue may be resolved. The rest of my issues were minor. </p>
<p>My daughter is only about an hour away now and she and her friends go to Charleston for road trips so she is getting to enjoy some of what we loved anyway.
It's definitely worth a trip. Sorry I can't compare it to Tulane or UMiami as I have not been to either.</p>
<p>may i ask where she goes? believe it or not my D is comparing Charleston to Miami, Tulane and Union (it is a weird mix I know!). She can't decide if it would be nice to be close to us or not!</p>
<p>My daughter ended up at the University of South Carolina. It is a bit bigger than CofC and has football ( she decided that was important to her college experience LOL ) The weather is still very hot sometimes, but there are enough pools available to make it enjoyable. Like I said - it provides her the opportunity to visit Charleston so she didn't miss out entirely on that great city.</p>
<p>So far ( she is an upcoming junior) she has been very happy with USC. If you are going to visit CofC, you may want to take a detour and check out USC or Clemson as well.</p>
<p>thanks so much for the info. my D wants a significant jewish population so that rules out the schools you mention but thanks for the feedback</p>
<p>Gotcha -If you go to visit CofC I would recommend the Holiday Inn Historic District. It was really lovely- much nicer than your typical Holiday Inn and a short walk to campus.
Good luck with your search - I thought it was fun to visit the different schools.</p>
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<p>yes we are having fun too!</p>
<p>neewken,</p>
<p>what did you think of the Jewish life at College of Charleston? It's a school my junior son also is thinking of investigating.</p>
<p>hi, we haven't visited yet but according to hillel.org it is about 8% jewish. a friend of mine's cousin is one of the founder's of the jewish studies program there which is connected to their hillel. i think it is growing. i really just want to know why we don't hear about that school up here in new jersey. people look at you with 10 heads when you mention the school.</p>
<p>Amazing coincidence! First of all we are from NJ and we are also Jewish. My daughter completed her sophomore year at Tulane - but during the college hunt - we visited 4 schools - 3 of them being Tulane, UM, and C of C. </p>
<p>She had a favorable opinion of all 3 and ultimately chose Tulane, and she loves it. A few things about C of C, even though its not as far south geographically as the other two, its definitely a more southern school. There is a Jewish population at C of C, but its not as prevalent or obvious as UM and Tulane - where both Hillels and Chabads have a major impact on campus life. (By the way, the President of Tulane is also Jewish and from NJ). </p>
<p>Charleston looked like a fun city and a safer city than NOLA - but there is always something big and exciting happening in NOLA - also if your daughter is interested in community service - Tulane and NOLA needs you. U Miami was a beautiful campus, almost felt like a Club Med - especially with the beautiful lake and swimming pool in the middle of campus. Tulane and UM have a large NJ/NY/Conn/Mass population also. All 3 have good academic reputations - I'd say Tulane and UM are close (Tulane may be more highly regarded, but C of C is a good school also).</p>
<p>Visit all 3 and your daughter will hopefully sense where the best fit is.</p>
<p>thanks so much. we have visited tulane and miami and she liked them both, but i would say she got a better, warmer feel at tulane. she is attending a summer program for 3 weeks at miami this summer as well. i think her only reservation about tulane would be new orleans but i really feel she would get over that once she is there. i am so glad to hear your daughter is happy there. i may pick your brain more over the summer. thanks for the reply.</p>
<p>My D is a junior and we visited C of C for spring break. She fell in love with it! The campus is gorgeous, the town is great and they seem to have an interesting approach to mixing majors and minors. They also have new dorms and a new cafeteria. The lack of the football program is the one major drawback. She is also looking at VT, Penn State, UGA and USC but so far C of C is her favorite. </p>
<p>I'd love to know why it has kept such a low profile too???? It's average GPA and SAT scores are respectable???</p>
<p>And I agree with PA Mom, we stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was great.</p>
<p>Wow. Glad to see some new people on CofC.
Long Island Mom or a HS junior. Making a college list and it has not been easy.
By the way, son #1 is at Miami. They give great merit $ based on grades as can be found on their website. Son is pretty hip. Joined good clubs for him. Not a drinker/partier. I'll/he'll answer any UM questions if you have them. He does some Hillel activities of which there are many offered. The comfort level there is good. Many Northeast kids. Diversity at school seems comfortable for all.
UM and Tulane are pretty close in rank (although rank is made up of so many things other than scholastics.) I believe Miami will go higher and higher. Things they are doing there are incredible as they attempt to make it a premier school. Check out their website or google UM 5 year (or 10) plan. Although kids party, its reputation has changed and their accepted students profile is high.
Somehow I discovered CofC this past year and it looked and sounded interesting, especially as a "safe" school. The Jewish population is a plus. As most of you know, it's hard to find schools out of the Northeast that are not "top" schools, ivies and otherwise, as the Jewish population decreases. I'd like to find some safe schools that offer merit money for those with my sons stats.
Penn State is a possibility but likely too big. Vermont? poor merit $ and high cost for state school. VT-maybe. My son prefers a campus/suburban environment. Tulane has a great reputation, scholastically, but I don't think my son would like the drinking/partying atmosphere I see on the Tulane thread. I am also concerned with safety which is also mentioned on the CC thread and Maryland is the same way in that regard (safety off campus). Clemson looked OK but the Hillel website is out of date, by years. UConn? UMass (look a bit boring) Hear anything? campus visits? Clark? Bryant? UIndiana if you want a big ten school with Jewish presence. Popular with LI kids. Ithaca? Quinnipeac. More suggestions for very good students (but not tops in their class)??????
I am concerned with the low retention rate at C of C. Anyone know why that is? Also wonder about prestige, however, if our kids come back north, no one will know either way.
Wow- we should all get together and share thoughts on schools for our Northeast Jewish kids. This is not easy. I don't know if my son will join in Hillel activities but I'd like it to be available and also have some presence of Jewish kids on campus. (I went to a big ten school. Best experience. Great school. Knew a couple of Jewish kids in my dorm but of my close friends I was the token LI jew. )
(newken1- For PT- Ithaca and Quinnipeac, although I don't know about merit $ at either and both are costly compared with C of C)
Good luck to all.</p>
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<p>Thanks for all this great info. My D is taking a summer course at UM so I think she will have a better idea if it is the right place for her by August. She really loved her visits at both UM and Tulane. I think we will visit C of C in September--I don't want to go there without the student body there. UConn is too rural and UMass has a poor retention rate. Don't know much about Ithaca or Quinnipeac. You should consider University of Pittsburgh or University of Tampa. Those are both on our list as safeties. Good luck and would love to chat more as we continue navigating for our kids.</p>
<p>NEWKEN1
While your D is at Miami, have her check out Sunset Place which is within walking distance (15 minutes) and is an outdoor Mall with lots of shops, restaurants and movies. Coconut Grove is nice too but further away. The surrounding area to campus seems like it has little to offer, but there is really plenty, just not as noticeable. My son went to quite a few professional sporting events in the area and up north but did not seem to go to the city of Miami (or Sobe) at all.
Thanks for the Pitt suggestion. It's on the list, but concerned as it is urban. Still looking for that mid-size great campus. Saw Delaware. Pretty nice. He wants more of a campus though as there were bulidings off campus. To us it was fine as it is very suburban. We'll take another look.
Any Va state schools on your list?
Ithaca and Quinnipeac are very popular on LI. very well known for OT/PT. They both have 5 year master programs.
We did a "drive by" of TCNJ" on the way back from Delaware. found that school on CC. Looked way too small and remote. Saw only a few people on campus. Nothing in the area and we couldn't understand the "beautiful campus" that was described. Rutgers has a great rep scholastically but otherwise haven't heard good things lately.
This is sooo hard. At least your daughter has some ideas of good schools.
Tulane, like Miami, gives $ based on stats.
Keep me posted with any and all suggestions.
Per my older son, many NJ residents (well, his camp friends anyway) attend SUNY's- NY state schools. They are pretty reasonable compared with OOS tuition and have some merit $. </p>
<p>ANYONE VISITING COFC, let us know your thoughts. I haven't beent o Charleston but it sounds like a great place to go to school.</p>
<p>crazed--
Towson?
James Madison?</p>
<p>Towson would have been a great (safe?) option but I hear it is a commuter school for the most part. Also, I just had a grad student/intern with me this semester. She did her undergrad at Towson and was not happy with it. They were not good at working with the student. She had to stay an extra year because of administration. She does not recommend the school. Forgot other reasons.
JMU- on the list. My son will likely hate it as I hear it has a highway cutting the campus ion half.
Keep the ideas coming!!</p>
<p>My D thought she would hate JMU because of I81, but she fell in love when she visited. We were caught completely off guard by how much she liked the campus, the kids, everything. We completely forgot about the highway once we were on campus. We live five minutes from Towson and we don't consider it a commuter school. My D knows lots of kids who either go or will be going and we have found that they are largely very happy. The campus and facilities are quite nice.</p>
<p>Thanks cartera for the info.
We will try to see JMU or just apply and visit if accepted.
Baltimore/DC vicinity is ideal for flying back to Long Island.
What do you hear about American? (although public OOS has lower tuition!!)</p>
<p>I don't know much about American except that it is quite expensive - not sure it is worth the price tag unless there is some compelling reason - a particular major for example - that leads one to it. Perhaps they have generous aid though - I really don't know anyone who has gone there for undergrad. I know many who have been there for law school. </p>
<p>Was Goucher mentioned? I didn't go back and read all the posts. My D has a good friend there who loves it - she says there are lots of happy kids there. Their study abroad program is quite popular.</p>