My daughter is down-to-earth, casual, not a partier (I would like to keep it that way as much as possible skier/XC/diver, no interest in Greek life or huge sports or huge school. Social, but not super outgoing. So far, she has looked at and liked Lynchburg College and Juniata, was so-so on Susquehanna.
My dilemma is, her stats are higher than those schools - should we be shooting higher? But I keep hearing kids at schools
another âlevel upâ (like Gettysburg, Bucknell, etc) are âwhite, rich, and entitledâ. I am sure there are perfectly down-to-earth kids too, but am concerned the âfitâ wonât be right for her.
At the Lynchburg level schools, she will receive enough merit to make the cost like going at our big in-state univ. Cost is definitely a factor for us! (I may have just answered my own question.)
I am very big on the fit being right and her feeling comfortable, not out of place. Somewhere she will thrive and grow. If I end up being able to afford a higher tier school, would it be smarter to go with fit over stronger academics or ânameâ?
If you are seeking out merit aid then it makes sense for your D to focus in on schools where her stats place her in the top 25% or so of applicants.
If you have doubts and if they appear affordable then by all means look at a couple of âhigher tierâ schools with your D then so you can get a sense of any of those might be good fits as well.
FWIW, we found Bucknell students to be very down to earth. My daughter liked it much better than she expected.
I agree with happy1 though that if you are chasing merit, you are looking at the right schools. There is something to be said about being the big fish in a small pond.
Though my daughter is only a sophomore we sort of have the same dilemma. My college I think would be a good fit. 2000 students which is smaller than her high school. She would easily get a scholarship. The problem is her ACT would probably 10 points higher than the average kid there. What the real deal breaker is for her is that the school is not known for her intended major. A big school would be better for her major. If the school has her intended major would she be okay with kids that had lower stats than her?
Aim High is the Air Forceâs slogan. Let them keep it. An important part of fit is cost. If you buy an expensive car but donât have money to put gas in it, it wasnât the right fit.
A lot of âlower tierâ schools have honor programs and other programs that students can use to make their education just as challenging as that of a higher ranking school. If youâre concerned about this type of thing, check into what these schools offer in terms of honors and other special academic opportunities.
Keep in mind as well that your kid wonât be the only student there who maybe had higher stats, but chose this school due to the merit aid it offered to them.
For anecdotal experience, as long as the âfitâ is there aiming low isnât a bad thing. A couple of my high school friends did that and are thriving at their schools in honors colleges, doing independent research, and overall loving it. They all get to graduate debt free, too.
But if the fit isnât there, a lack of challenging academics may turn south quickly. Or if someone is easily influenced by lesser achieving peers. But I donât think those are as common.
Iâm personally a big proponent of fit. There truly are many outstanding schools with great students, great faculty, and great staff, certainly not just 20 or 30. When Lynchburg has a faculty spot open, it probably gets a 100+ applications, so they can find outstanding candidates. I taught a couple of classes at a community college. When there was an opening for a full-time position, not an adjunct position, the dean was excited because they were getting applications from Ivy League grad students. She can get a great education there or at Juniata.
I would just have some trepidation if the student is well above the average of their peers. For example, if a school had a 22-26 middle 50% ACT range, and a prospective student had a 28, and a roughly equivalent transcript, Iâd think it fine. If a prospective student at the same school, on the other hand, had a 34 ACT and an equivalent transcript, that included lots of success in AP or IB classes, and on those tests, then I would have some concern that they would be academically bored and/or not challenged often enough. But in either case, a lot would depend on the student and their interests, ambitions, learning style, etc. And on the school and student bodyânumbers are just a rough measure of a limited area of a personâs capabilities after all.
If she likes Lynchburg and Juniata, maybe look at Kalamazoo College and the College of Wooster. They seem like they might also be good possibilities (similar vibes), and places where she might also get money. I know more about Kalamazoo, and it has outstanding academics. Good luck!
Donât throw away a great fit at a great price just to âaim higher.â I faced the issue with my oldest daughter. She fell in love with her safety school. Her stats put her far above the average student there. We got all kinds of funny looks when we told people where she was going. She sat in on a couple of classes just to make sure that she felt comfortable with the professors and other students. She has been having the most wonderful college experience and great internship experience as well.
My current rising high school senior wants to go pre-med. She will also most likely end up at a school where she is far above the average in stats. She will get great scholarship aid, opportunities for internships and research opportunities and hopefully (though no guarantee) an easier time getting the high GPA she needs.
I donât think that there is any problem with aiming âslightly lowâ. For example, I donât see any problem with being solidly in the top 25% of applicants. There are some very smart students at pretty nearly any school. For example, for some students the local school will be what they can afford, and âlocalâ can be just about anywhere for someone.
There is also nothing wrong with getting an 85% on the midterm in a premed class where the class average is 50%.
âwhite, rich, and entitledâ was definitely not what we were looking for either.
We had the same thoughts about my DDs search but in the end let her make the decision and she went with her heart, best fit, and finances. She has never looked back.
I would put Susquehanna above Gettysburg and on par with Bucknell these days. It is a great school. I have a relative who graduated from Juniata and she had a wonderful experience and received a great education 20 years ago. Has she looked at Lycoming?
A kid in the higher end of the stats pool at a smallish college can get a lot of benefits. The teaching pool is very deep in the US because there is a glut of PhDs in many subjects. So you can find a lot of stellar profs at schools far down into the rankings. And they love getting a kid who is engaged and bright. Your kid may get invitations to meet speakers on campus, research opportunities, etc. One of my kids attended her safety and had a great experience. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa and got lots of excellent opportunities.
According to US News rankings: Susquehanna #141 and Gettysburg is #46, I think Bucknell is #33@bamamom2021 Iâm not saying that Susquehanna isnât a good school, just clarifying what you said,
OP, if your daughter is open to going outside of PA she might like College of Wooster, St. Olaf, Beloit and Earlham. I read so many good things about these schools.
Thank you all so much for your input - it is making me feel much better!
I donât think my D is a genius or anything, but she is bright, organized, and a hard worker. 3.95 uw GPA/4.6 w, 4 APs so far (5 on the test for the one she took last year. Probably 4s for the 4 this year). Havenât gotten her SAT score back yet.
She has no idea what she is interested in (which makes me think a slightly larger school might be better in terms of more options).
I donât want her to have so much rigor in college that she doesnât have some fun! Kids in her AP classes now are fine, but in the other classes, she gets annoyed at the kids who donât pay attention, which slows down the class. She has very little patience for them. But I figure kids who go to college want to be there. Or if they donât, they will just skip class, right?
If Lynchburg stays at the top of her list, she can do the Honors program.
I am very much about fit, but want to balance future too. I have friends who say why go to Lynchburg when she can get a better education at our VERY large, well-regarded state school. Not better if it isnât a fit.
Weâre looking at this for DDâ19. In fact, weâve already been through it because DDâ17 (3.9, 7th in class) is at community college and loving it, despite some initial disparaging remarks from people about her choice. DDâ19 has a bit higher stats than her sister and currently ranked 1st in her class. A good student but not interested in a high level of rigor or intellectualism. Your description of your DD sounds a lot like mine.
Next week weâre visiting a directional U with open admission. She is 5 points above the 75% ACT. But a lot of things about it feel right so far- distance, size, cost, major choices, mascot and if she is accepted in Honors, the COA will be super low. She is not likely to be in a high paying field anyway, so low to no debt will be freedom. Anxious to see how she likes it after her visit!
@RookieCollegeMom Your kid sounds like my daughter (HS class of 2017) in terms of academics and preferences. (not a partier, studious). Here are some LACs that offer merit that she considered.
St Olaf (MN) and college of Wooster (OH) - both offer merit up to half of total cost of attendance (roughly 30K as of 2017). She applied to and liked both. Maximum merit required a separate application process.
Others, where you would have to check on merit amount but might be work a look: Beloit (WI), Lawrence (WI), Earlham (IN), Clark U (MA), and maybe Ohio Wesleyan.
There are a few very competitive full tuition awards offered by Grinnell (IA), Denison (OH), Centre (KY) and Rhodes (TN)
These mostly are (or were) CTCL schools as referenced by @LoveTheBard
Do look at the larger schools to see if there is a way to make them smaller for your student because they have a lot to offer.
My daughter thought she wanted a very small school, about 2000, but for several reasons decided her compromise was going to be on size and ended up at a school with 10,000 students. She is SO glad she âwent bigger.â Sheâs changed her major twice and one of the reasons was that the first major was dance and theater which was about 175 kids total, and the same 30 were in all her first year classes. She was sick of them after a semester.
This summer sheâs taking some courses at a local university that is quite large (25k, but of course not all there in the summer). She couldnât believe how many history courses are offered, and what a variety.
A small LAC might have 30 courses listed in history or English, but how many are going to be offered each semester? Even at a school with 10k students, my daughter found that many of those 30 course are only offered in the fall or in the spring, and some only offered every other year. My daughter took a spring semester off, and then did a spring semester abroad, so some upper division courses have never been offered when sheâs been on campus.
skier/XC/diver, no interest in Greek life or huge sports or huge school. Social, but not super outgoing. So far, she has looked at and liked Lynchburg College and Juniata, was so-so on Susquehanna.