Struggling to Compile College List with Daughter

College Search & Selection
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<p>DD-16 is a junior at a highly-ranked public school in Ohio. She is prepping for the ACT and we're attempting to compile a college list to begin setting up tours. This is our second time down this road as our son is a sophomore at Miami Univ. of Ohio. Our son is very laid back, toured 4 campuses within Ohio, applied and accepted to 3 and chose Miami over Univ. of Dayton. DD has already ruled out our state flagship - Ohio State which is only 20 minutes from our house. She has halfway ruled out Miami, ruled out the Univ. of Dayton (actually I have, too, because it wouldn't be a good fit for her) and ruled out all other in-state universities. She wants to go out of state, somewhere different than where most other kids from her high school attend, and does not want to follow in her brother's footsteps even though they are terrific friends. She has visited Boston College (husband is from Boston) and loves it but, even if she could get in, it is cost-prohibitive because my husband and I don't agree that a $200,000+ undergrad degree plus transportation costs is worth it if she goes on to grad school. </p>

<p>She likes the Miami Univ. physical campus a lot and my son likes it there, but it seems to have a different reputation among girls she has spoken with who have attended there or transferred from there. It is known as a very designer conscious school and Greek Life dominates the social scene where the main weekend activity is drinking (Oxford, Ohio is a tiny town so there is not much to do outside of the bars). My son agrees that it is a different environment for girls and has told me privately that a large majority of the guys are not very respectful of women. My son doesn't drink but has found like-minded friends who just like to work out, play intramural sports and study - he is also not very social so he could care less about the Greek/party scene. My daughter is very social and loves to be on the go but she doesn't drink -- fingers crossed that she remains this way unlike her mother ;) ! So she is looking for a campus where there are enough other activities on the weekends besides drinking. </p>

<p>I'm really struggling with helping her compile a list of colleges to visit since so many within our state have already been ruled out. She doesn't yet know what she wants to major in so that has also made it hard to narrow things down. </p>

<p>Her stats are: 4.1 weighted gpa, AP and IB coursework, hoping for 28 on ACT, 3 years Varsity field hockey, 2 years JV lacrosse (will play again this year), 2 years school magazine staff writer, state and national journalism awards, hospital emergency department volunteer, Girl Scout camp counselor, field hockey camp instructor, freshman mentor.</p>

<p>Here is what I think she is looking for in a campus:
- pretty campus - not urban but not a small town.
- at least 7,000 students
- campus where Greek life/partying are not the only things to do on weekends.
- nice recreation center - she loves to work out.
- public or private with good merit aid available for someone with her stats. We will pay the equivalent of 4 years of state school or up to $35,000 per year. We will not qualify for financial aid at all.
- within 4 hour drive of our home in Columbus, OH. </p>

<p>I would really appreciate any suggestions or input to get us started on our list. Thank you in advance!</p>

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<p>It seems as if your daughter would enjoy the presence of a city. What about university of illinois at chicago? There is a lot of activities to do and clubs to join.
Purdue???
Indiana univ
Univ of north carolina at chapel hill</p>

<p>So many great schools. And they do not cost as much. Their scene isn’t only drinking.</p>

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<p>Big merit scholarships:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-19.html#post16145676[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-19.html#post16145676&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html#post16224918[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html#post16224918&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Some public schools like Minnesota, NCSU, and SUNYs may be within or close to your price limit even at out-of-state list price.</p>

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<p>That geographic restriction is too limiting.</p>

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<p>What are your daughter’s strengths and weaknesses based on the (10th grade) Ohio Graduation Tests? What subjects does your daughter like in high school? </p>

<p>Many a times, students may not want to commit to a major right out of high school. Has your daughter explored regional campuses of the Ohio State? </p>

<p>Univ. of Cincinnati might be another option; they have co-ops which might motivate your daughter to develop skills & knowledge that are marketable. </p>

<p>Try the Net Price Calculator for Case Western, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, Indiana for affordability. Since it looks like your daughter may take some time in deciding on a major, you may consider cheaper in-state schools/campuses initially, and transfer to a flagship or more appropriate schools later. </p>

<p>Vanderbilt, at 6.5 hours drive, may be a little farther than your 4 hour limit.</p>

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<p>Would she look AU Dickinson in PA? Lovely campus and strong academics? Or maybe some schools like John Carroll in Cleveland or Valparaiso in Indiana ? Or Butler in Indianapolis ?</p>

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<p>I know it is outside of your geography but you should look at university of South Carolina. If she could get her ACT to a 30 she would get in state tuition and maybe a little more. It is a beautiful campus. Has the same feel as Miami but is 2 minutes outside of Columbia. Unfortunately with her stats UNC is probably not a possibility. IU is somewhat stingy with academic merit money for Oos. Butler is a great campus but small and expensive.</p>

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<p>Purdue, Indiana and UNC would all cost more than the OP is willing to pay.</p>

<p>OP, I’m surprised you ruled out UD. It fits your specs pretty well. Yes, there is a party atmosphere but plenty of students avoid that.</p>

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<p>You’ve painted yourself into a corner. Your daughter wants to go out of state, but you want her to be within a 4-hour drive of Columbus. OK, that eliminates probably well over 95% of the possibilities right there, limiting you to immediately adjacent states: western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, central & parts of northern Indiana, and southern Michigan. You say you won’t qualify for need-based aid but you won’t pay full cost for a top private school, which means you either need to find an OOS public within one of those 5 states with low OOS tuition, or a public or private school that will give good merit aid for someone with your daughter’s stats, which sound pretty good but not blow-your-socks-off good. I’m not sure such a school exists.</p>

<p>The best OOS publics within your geographic range–Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, Pitt–have quite high OOS tuition that pushes them beyond your $35K/year price range. Pitt’s a little cheaper than the others (about $26K OOS tuition, plus room & board, books, personal expenses and travel) and sometimes gives nice merit awards. It’s worth investigating, but whether your D will qualify for merit aid at Pitt I couldn’t really say. Then there’s West Virginia University, the University of Kentucky, and Louisville, all within your geographic range, all known more for sports and partying than for academics. There are some second-tier OOS publics you could consider: Ball State in Indiana, Western Michigan come to mind, though these may be too similar to Miami U yet not as good and higher priced (because OOS). As for private schools within that radius, pickings are slim. Notre Dame and Carnegie Mellon are probably too reachy. Butler, a medium-sized private university in Indianapolis, and some decent LACs like Kalamazoo College, Earlham (in Richmond, IN), and Allegheny College (Meadville, PA) are worth looking at, but you’d need substantial merit aid to get to your budget number.</p>

<p>I think you need to relax some of these restrictions, particularly the “not in Ohio but no more than a 4 hour drive from Columbus.” That’s a killer. And your financial target will be much more achievable if you include some in-state publics in the mix.</p>

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<p>I would use the search function on this site or College Board’s - plug in your home zip code - and then get results for all colleges w/in an agreeable distance. Then you can eliminate by other criteria. </p>

<p>^^ I do think the above mentioned comment on “restrictions” is one to note. Maybe there aren’t too many schools.</p>

<p>James Madison in Virginia?</p>

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<p>And I second Butler for the non-partier. Don’t know about cost.</p>

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<p>I think the 7,000 student minimum is going to exclude some schools that may otherwise be a great match. We visited Butler. Very nice school. A little stingy on the merit aid, but you may still be able to meet $35,000. Her stats may end up a little low for Case Western, but I would consider it based on your criteria. University of Evansville or University of Rochester may be worth looking at.</p>

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<p>Wow, I missed the 7,000 student minimum. That rules out all the LACs.</p>

<p>U Rochester and Case Western are both a little reach-y but worth considering. ACT scores can sometimes go up quite a bit by senior year.</p>

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<p>If she liked BC, she may want to consider some other Jesuit schools which are closer to where you live and where she will be above the average statistic wise and could qualify for merit aid. Perhaps Xavier, Marquette, Loyola-Chicago. (For full disclosure, my S went to Fordham in NYC and had a wonderful experience so if she wants the east coast, that might be worth considering as well). [Jesuit</a> Institutions |](<a href=“http://www.ajcunet.edu/institutions]Jesuit”>Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities--Jesuit Colleges and Universities)</p>

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<p>Why must it be within a four hour drive?</p>

<p>The University of Alabama…beautiful campus, exceptional merit aid (especially if she reaches or exceeds a composite score of 32 on the ACT, and amazing opportunities for exceptionally bright students. Roll Tide!</p>

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<p>6.5 hours away - Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO (A suburb of St. Louis). About 11,000 students. Private school but with tuition well within limits and she would likely qualify for quite a bit of merit aid if she could get that ACT of at least a 28 (I think that is about a half tuitition scholarship). Brand new Student Recreation Center - School has both Women’s Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams she could root for if not play for. </p>

<p>Very few sororities and Fraternities with limited involvement at all. Campus is alcohol free and dorms are segregated with some pretty tight rules. (I know that isn’t what you were looking for but it is indicative of a school where partying, when it happens, happens well off campus down in downtown St. Charles). </p>

<p>Tuition is about 15,000 year. New dorms are about 7500 with meal plan. She would likely qualify for about half tuition plus a 2500 work and learn if she lives in dorms. Brings your cost down to less than 15000 year and maybe less if she is good enough to qualify for sports scholarships. (They are Division II but highly competitive)</p>

<p>My son just applied and got an incredible financial aid package. Campus is lovely with two parts - the historic section lined with Linden trees and the new area with literally over a dozen new buildings, dorms, a new rec center, a new theater and they are currently building a huge apartment complex across the road from campus and will have a walking bridge to that for upper classmen. </p>

<p>Son wasn’t at all interested until he started doing the math and realized what a good deal it was and they have such a sports presence with exciting days at the football field and basketball arena. (Both basically new). </p>

<p>Check them out at [Lindenwood</a> University](<a href=“http://www.lindenwood.edu%5DLindenwood”>http://www.lindenwood.edu)</p>

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<p>What about Duquesne? In Pittsburgh, nice campus, has greek life, but I don’t think you can live in the houses, has about 5900 undergraduates and although the total cost is about $42,000, your daughter might receive a merit scholarship that would bring the cost down to the $35,000 you’re willing to pay.</p>

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<p>My son is at an OOS public univeristy, and we throw in $35K a year. He has to come up with the rest, and it’s about $5K more for him. He had some money saved from working through high school, he works summers and a little during the school year, and borrowed some when he ran a bit short, though it looks like now that he is living off campus in an inxpensive apartment, he’ll be in better shape. He had a number of choices when the application/admission results were on the table, that were affordable.</p>

<p>He applied to two state schools, even though they were not of huge interest to him. Those were very affordable and we would have covered his full cost at them. He applied to a local catholic school that offered him a full tuition scholarship which was a surprise, which meant going there, even living there would have been the least expensive of the options he pursued. Or he could have commuted and saved a lot of money as more of his classmates and friends ended up doing than he thought would end up doing so. And most are doing very well, and enjoying local college just fine, having a vibrant social life. He was accepted to another local school, a competitive private university that gave him a small commuter grant which made it affordable as long as he commuted from home. Would have entailed some contribution still on his part, work part time, loans maybe, but still doable. Another private offered him just enough merit money to make it just doable, again, he’d have to work and in this case definitely borrow about $5K a year, but it was doable. Duquesne U, was a school that accepted him and gave him a small merit award that made it affordable as well as another Catholic college, both some distance from home. </p>

<p>Then he was accepted to a number of OOS publics that he liked better than our state schools and they came up just about to $40K. Those were the schools that interested him the most, and he made his pick from them. </p>

<p>So it is doable. Your D can borrow up to $5500 on her own, and she should be able to make about $3-5K a year, working summers and a few hours a week during the school year. Or she can find a state school where it’s all paid by you.</p>

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<p>I so appreciate all of the input here – you have each given me a lot of helpful suggestions and things to think about! </p>

<p>bclintonk, you have definitely hit the nail on the head about me painting myself into a corner! I guess I want something that doesn’t exist! My daughter thinks she wants to go far from home and to the east coast but being the practical people we are, my husband and I would prefer for her to be within an easy day drive. I can definitely relax the restrictions on the 4 hour drive and the 7,000 students so if anyone has suggestions without those stipulations, please keep the ideas coming…I’m taking note of every suggestion! We’re interested in Indiana (was hoping for better merit aid for OOS but understand that is hard to obtain), Butler, Duquesne. UNC-Chapel Hill would be a dream school but a very long shot. Vanderbilt would be wonderful but too costly for undergrad. Does anyone know what Vandy’s merit aid stats/requirements are? Miami is still in the mix and if we go on several other college visits, she may realize that it really is a gem of a school and a bargain for in-state students. James Madison and Lindenwood are interesting suggestions – will have to check them out. Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of St. Louis University and merit aid available?</p>

<p>cptofthehouse, may I ask where your son attends college and which Catholic and OOS public schools offered good merit aid?</p>

<p>Someone asked about why we ruled out Dayton. The campus is a lot smaller and not nearly as pretty as Miami and I’ve actually heard first-hand from friends who have students there that the partying is the main weekend activity and has gotten out of hand in recent years. Those students that go there do love it and I’m sure it’s a good fit for a lot of students and they give great merit aid.</p>

<p>Thank you again for all the replies – this is such a helpful community of people and it really is helpful to have others put things in perspective and offer ideas of schools I may not have thought of!</p>

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<p>For Merit at Vandy you generally need Ivy level stats.</p>