<p>This is my second son to go through the college search process. First son ended up in just the right college and is a very happy junior. Now for a different son! Because it's very difficult to get away during the school year, we would like to do some college visits this summer, and would appreciate any suggestions of where to look.</p>
<p>Junior in HS son gets As and Bs, has not yet taken the PSAT, but is in the 95th Nat'l Percentile Composite on the Iowa Assessments, so hope scores will be OK. His only real enthusiasm in school is Biology, which he took last year with A Honors. He is on the varsity tennis team and basketball team. He loves the outdoors, fishing and camping, and especially loves animals. He has a summer job working for a local animal shelter, walking and training the dogs, which he loves.</p>
<p>This son is not the high acheiving Nat'l Merit Scholar that his brother is, but he has his own unique talents and wonderful qualities. At this point he is open to traveling, though midwest colleges are of particular interest because closer to home. How much the family can afford to contribute is a not certain at this point, but we will be able to do something and will get help from family members. Son would like to be open at this point to all possibilities that might be a fit, and then narrow down the list later.</p>
<p>I realize that my description is a little vague at this point, and sorry if I'm leaving out any important details. When he takes the PSAT ad SAT we will have a little more information to work with, but thanks for any suggestions. We are lookimg forward to some fun initial college visits.</p>
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<p>Preferably, you should give a reasonably firm estimate of what you are able and willing to contribute (if any), erring toward the worst case scenario (“we know that we can contribute $X; it may be more, but do not depend on it being more”) for planning purposes so that he can make informed decisions about finding affordable colleges.</p>
<p>Do your best to avoid overpromising and underdelivering, which will cause a lot of trouble later on, as evidenced by other threads around these forums.</p>
<p>Note that biology bachelor’s degree graduates do not have particularly high paid job and career prospects, so keeping student loan debt down is important.</p>
<p>Obviously, important to start with the instate options, large and small, public and private. Maybe from these you can at least narrow down some of the parameters!</p>
<p>Since you have one in college, I am going to assume that you will not have the “sticker shock” that someone with their first kid might have when starting to look at colleges. Assuming you know something about EFC, merit aid, private vs. public, instate vs. out of state public, reciprocity between states for public schools, etc.</p>
<p>You might consider getting a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges book, it is a great resource to look through and pick some colleges based on location, type of school, score ranges, etc. It is a good starting point to plan some visits. Obviously you need to get some test scores and your financial contribution ability sorted out, too. As ucbalumnus says, this is pretty important. There are a lot of heartbreaking stories out here of kids who fall in love with (and get into) schools they then can’t afford to attend.</p>
<p>He’s just entering his junior year of high school - that’s NOT lagging in his college search.
A’s and B’s and the 95th percentile for the Iowa Assessments is not slacking by any means. He sounds like a bright, well-rounded kid.</p>
<p>So first of all, do all of you a favor and stop measuring him against his brother. He can still find a school and be perfectly happy and successful.</p>
<p>What’s important to HIM about a college: size, athletics (one of mine wanted a football team to watch), class size, etc.? Start by visiting schools close to home. Or look for small privates with big merit money (his grades are not too low for them, especially since he seems to do well on tests, which will give good SAT scores). You can visit without applying, just to do a drive-by assessment. Websites also offer virtual tours to rule some in/out before doing a more distant visit.</p>
<p>I have an older son at a big state university studying environment/biology–he loves it. The big U. has many opportunities for internships and his major creates a “small school” environment in the big school–I know that the midwest has many great big universities and I’m sure that some have great environmental science/biology departments. There might even be some nice specialty majors at those schools. Your son sounds like a great kid. Good luck.</p>
<p>Since he’s been scoring in the 95th percentile on Iowa tests, your younger son may end up surprising you with his stats once he takes the PSAT/SAT/ACT…have him take all of them. Our younger son, who always seemed a step behind his super-high achieving older brother, really pulled out the stops his junior and senior year. He ended up with very good SAT and ACT scores and was Sal of his class. His merit scholarships have paid for nearly all his college costs. It was quite a surprise for us. He, too, had always been around the 95th percentile on Iowa tests. </p>
<p>Have your son take a few SAT practice tests as prep for the PSAT. Sometimes taking the Oct SAT helps performance on the PSAT that’s given about a week later.</p>
<p>Try to determine how much YOUR family can pay each year, then try to nail down how much relatives can contribute ANNUALLY (since college isn’t a one year deal). Unless it’s a well-heeled grandparent who routinely hands out big checks each year for college costs, have a back up plan in case the relative can no longer contribute after the first year or so. </p>
<p>What kind of schools does he like?</p>
<p>Quiet/small?</p>
<p>Rah rah/big?</p>
<p>rural?</p>
<p>city?</p>
<p>cold weather?</p>
<p>warm weather?</p>
<p>Greek systems ok?</p>
<p>Honors colleges?</p>
<p>Catholic schools ok?</p>
<p>I would have him take an ACT test online or get a book from the bookstore. I wouldn’t worry so much about actually timing the test or anything but just get a rough idea of where he falls now so you can narrow your search.</p>
<p>Is he thinking about Vet School maybe? If so, you have a lot of great options in Iowa for that. If I remember correctly, University of Northern Iowa has a feeder program to U of IA Vet school.</p>
<p>Some of the state schools in MN and WI would be good options too. Many are in areas where he can fish, hike, etc. U of MN-Duluth is worth looking at-strong science programs there and lovely area for his hobbies. Bemidji State stresses the outdoor life, even has places to clean fish/game. It would be nice if Iowa had reciprocity with surrounding states but they do not.</p>
<p>Has he gone on any campus visits yet? If not, just sign up for one at a school close to your house. Get him on a campus, take the formal tour, etc. and then have him tell you on the way home what he liked and didn’t like about that campus. That will give you a good idea of what kind of school to explore (small, big, rural, urban, etc.).</p>
<p>While I’m not advocating going into debt, if he goes on in science for a PhD. most programs will pay him. Law, med and other professional schools of course cost money.</p>
<p>For younger son I did initial college visits February junior year. Both schools were within an easy day’s drive and we looked at one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I knew one was likely to be too small and too rural, but it’s a very good representative a college that change lives type of school. (It would have been a great safety if he had liked it.) The other was a big LAC in a small city with a gorgeous campus. That one stayed on his list. The next college visit we saw two medium size research universities located in suburb/residential area of a large metro area. One of those stayed on the list and they triggered the idea of looking seriously at IR as a major and targeting schools strong in that area. The next visit looked at the three strong IR schools in DC. Two of those stayed on the list. One got nixed for having no real campus. One of these schools was a safety and he really, really liked it.</p>
<p>I don’t know the Midwest well enough to suggest specific school, but I’d start with looking at things within a 3 hour drive and don’t forget to look for safeties early in the process.</p>
<p>[ACM</a> Associated Colleges of the Midwest Home](<a href=“http://www.acm.edu/index.html]ACM”>Associated Colleges of the Midwest)</p>
<p>Other small colleges in (or bordering on) the Midwest include Centre College (KY), Hendrix (AK), Kalamazoo, Kenyon, and Oberlin.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for these excellent and useful replies. I knew I forgot to mention some key facts! My son has stated that he wants a small school with small classes. With his love of the outdoors, he thinks he will be happiest in a rural area, but is wide open to suggestions at this stage. It can never be mentioned too often how important it is to be realistic about what you can afford, so I appreciate the reminder. I wish our circumstances weren’t so nebulous at this point, but hopefully things will become clearer as the college search goes on. For the record, we have always been scrupulous about not comparing the two sons. This was easier than we expected because the two boys are so different and always seemed to be on different playing fields. Thanks again!</p>
<p>We are from Iowa and also have a limited budget, so the first school I would suggest to visit is Truman State in MO. Relatively small and in a rural town with a great state park very close by that the students use quite often. The also have a small Ag major and Equine program so your son might be able to do some work with animals.</p>
<p>25-75% ACT range is 25-31. They get a very strong student. Almost 50% of their graduates go right to grad school.</p>
<p>After scholarships, your S will likely pay aout the same price as he would for Iowa or Iowa State. A great value for a strong school.</p>
<p>Depending on where you live in Iowa, it can be a quick trip.</p>
<p>Haystack–I was going to suggest Truman as well but wasn’t sure about the outdoor activities available. Nice to know about the state park. I just love that campus. Everyone was so friendly, helpful, the buildings and facilities were just beautiful. Not much right in Kirksville but enough. The notice boards on campus were FULL of things to keep students busy.</p>
<p>M’s Mom–our so HATED Grinnell :D. Honestly, I don’t see it being a fit at all for the OP’s son.</p>
<p>Its a long drive but you should definitely look at the UMn Duluth. Duluth isn’t really a big town but not too small either. Around 80,000 people I believe. There are so many things to do outdoors. They have a great science program as well</p>
<p>Look up the Environmental Science and Forestry program that the State University of New York runs. It’s located in Syracuse, NY, but is not part of Syracuse University (private). I know someone who studied Wildlife Management at the SUNY-ESF, had some close encounters with gorillas in Africa, then went on to a PhD. program in some kind of biology (genetic,I think) at a different SUNY.</p>
<p>Syracuse is a medium sized city in upstate NY; plenty of fishing, camping, hunting all around it. Cold and snowy, but perhaps from Iowa he’s fearless.</p>
<p>I’d suggest two schools. Northen Michigan University and Northland College (Northland if he is sure about wanting to major in Biology and/or something environmental).</p>
<p>Northern Michigan University is in the UP. The Univeristy has been great to work with and my outdoors loving son thinks it’s heaven. Not too big and not too small and lots of outdoor opportunities.</p>
<p>[Northern</a> Michigan University - Northern. Naturally. | Northern Michigan University](<a href=“http://www.nmu.edu/]Northern”>http://www.nmu.edu/)</p>
<p>Northland College is in Wisconsin. It’s private but they do have Tution Match-Access Guarantee. Also, it’s short notice but this coming week is Private Colege week in Wisconsin and if you visit this week I guess you receive a $2000 grant.</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> Match - Access Guarantee | Northland College](<a href=“http://www.northland.edu/tuition-match.htm]Tuition”>http://www.northland.edu/tuition-match.htm)</p>
<p>[The</a> Environmental Liberal Arts College | Northland College | Ashland, WI | (715) 682-1699](<a href=“http://www.northland.edu/]The”>http://www.northland.edu/)</p>
<p>UW-Platteville does offer a discount to students from Iowa. It’s called the Tristate Initiative.</p>
<p>UW-Stevens Point is very good for wildlife and natural resource type majors.</p>
<p>proudwismom–I had never heard of Northland so I looked it up–wow TINY school, only about 550 students overall.</p>