<p>OY ^^^^ I should never type when I am tired… I meant next door…not store!! Ha ha!</p>
<p>^^and I was so tired that I actually read it as “next door”…hs, we knew what you meant!!</p>
<p>Not really following the logistics where Virginia is too far but will be applying to Gettysburg (a stone’s throw away from VA border. One could even make a case that some Virginia schools are far more convenient to get to from Massachusetts than Gettysburg. Gettysburg does have a strong Greek system. Also, while it is a tourist town, after summer/early fall the tourism drys up so the kids basically own the place. Gettysburg campus is rather … interesting as it has only a few mature trees on campus. Still, I found it rather striking and easy to get around.</p>
<p>What is your financial situation? Can you afford to pay full-freight for whatever school is the best fit? Many popular privates are costing about $50k+ for cost of attendance. Many out of state publics are costing $30k-45k+ for cost of attendance.</p>
<p>If not, then NOW is the time to determine what your expected family contribution will be (using both fed and institutional methods - can be quite different), whether you can afford it, and whether the schools meet need with small loans or big loans or if they gap (which would cause a much greater family contribution). BTW…do NOT use the posted “average aid awarded” to give you an expectation of aid. That won’t tell you what your FA package will include.</p>
<p>If will only cause much frustration and heartache if your child and/or you fall in love with certain schools only to find out that you’ll have an unaffordable expected family contribution or the school includes big loans or gaps. </p>
<p>Parents and student need to decide NOW, how much each is willing to borrow each year (and total for four years). Keep in mind that for a student Direct loan, the monthly payment will be about $115 for ten years for each $10k borrowed, and for a Parent Plus loan the monthly payment will be about $135 per month for ten years. Sometimes, students can be rather naive about the future negative impact of student loans on their young adult lives…especially if their future career doesn’t pay much during the early years after graduation.</p>
<p>FA Calc
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid)
Do both the federal method and institutional. Many privates use the both methods. If there is a non-custodial parent, then their income (and step-parent incomes) might also be included at some schools.</p>
<p>If you find out that you have an unaffordable expected family contribution (it’s usually much higher than families think it will be), then the only way to reduce that is to get BIG merit that will cover any determined need and then cut into EFC. Scholarships won’t reduce EFC if the scholarship is < or = to “determined need”</p>
<p>If merit scholarships are desired, then it’s important to target at least some schools that will give ASSURED merit for stats. Since your D is not in love with her current financial safety school (the one with the half tuition scholarship), then it’s important for to choose a couple of other schools that will also give her big merit for her stats. Hopefully, after she tests again (both SAT and ACT) she’ll have scores that will meet the req’ts for some schools’ assured big merit scholarships. </p>
<p>However, if money is no object, then GREAT 
!!! You’ll have lots of choices!!</p>
<p>After you’ve given us some info about the above, maybe you could tell us a bit more about what your D wants in a school… :)</p>
<p>Intended major/career:
big campus
small/med campus (less than 10k undergrads)
quiet campus
rah rah big sports to watch
honors college on campus?
greek systems as an option
Catholic schools ok?
single sex
co-ed 50/50 split
rural setting
big city setting
collegetown/suburban setting
nice dorms
recreation availability
warm weather
cold/snowy weather
regional preference / is regional preference a requirement?</p>
<p>Also, consider schools with Honors Colleges. My kids are both in the Honors College at their university and they love it. Honors Colleges have the added benefit of giving a “small school feel” in a big school, provide an LAC experience, and offer perks like honors housing, priority registration, and smaller classes taught by the best profs.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who replied. I don’t get how to multi-quote, so if I forget to mention someone by name , I apologize.</p>
<p>Kitty56 and rockvillemom—I think I will have to take her back to Pa and visit a few of your suggestions. We only went to Gburg on our trip because of time constraints, plus it was the only one of the bunch, I think, that does not require non-custodial info. </p>
<p>redroses—my ex does pay his child support, but only because it is automatically deducted from his pension. We have not seen or heard from him in years, although we do know where he lives. At one point, he moved out of state without telling us, but then moved back here. I guess we will have to apply for waivers—if we get one or two, great. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. </p>
<p>kathiep–Daughter loved Marist, and will be applying. It was me who thought it was not academically challenging enough.</p>
<p>I think it was Carmen 617 and one other person who suggested Union. It looks promising—thanks.</p>
<p>To the person (people) who mentioned Wesleyan- it is very close to us, and you’re right, not a whole lot of sports/school spirit. </p>
<p>Someone wondered why D says VA is out, but not PA. Don’t know. I think to her VA is the South. Gettysburg actually is a bit further than she wanted to go, but once she visited, that was her only minor complaint. It took 7 long hours to get there (traffic) but only 5 to get back. Seems to me VA would take a bit longer to drive to, not to mention having to contend with NY, Philly, DC, and Baltimore traffic. We flew when we visited last fall, so I’m not sure.</p>
<p>In any case, thanks to everyone for all the ideas. I’ll be having her do a little research on some of these schools.</p>
<p>It is definitely not in the Northeast, but if she is looking for school spirit, Greeks, and a “campus feel,” she should consider University of South Carolina.</p>
<p>Her stats may well be sufficient for a scholarship equivalent to instate tuition, so financially it would be an excellent choice.</p>
<p>How about UConn? Boston University (although it is lacking the campus appeal…)? Syracuse?</p>
<p>Just one person’s opinion, but campus feel + school spirit + Greeks sounds seems to me like a university might be a good choice, LACs not so much…</p>
<p>I am surprised that Holy Cross is not on your list. It has an outstanding Psychology program, a nice campus with campus spirit, good athletics and it is not too far. In addition, it looks like your D would have the credentials. </p>
<p>Gettysburg and F&M also have very good Psychology programs as does Union. Bucknell is terrific. </p>
<p>Personally, with your D’s stats, I would be looking at Holy Cross and Bucknell. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with fendrock
</p>
<p>Why not Dickinson if Gettysburg is on the list? It’s a half hour away from G but more accessible to the highways. Similar type school. Muhlenberg is also a good one to check out and is also more accessible.</p>
<p>Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette</p>
<p>Just a little correction about the University of Delaware. Newark is a town of 30,000 with a student population of 16,000. Not quite a “small town” unless you are from a big city! </p>
<p>I think with the OP’s major and priorities, it’s a good thing to narrow her search to just a few states. There are literally hundreds of schools from Pennsylvania up and to the east that would fit. </p>
<p>I don’t think there is much school spirit at Muhlenberg but I could be wrong. It scores high on accessibility and if looking at Lafayette, you might as well look at Lehigh and Muhlenberg - they are all within 45 minutes of each other.</p>
<p>Villanova, Lehigh? What about University of New Hampshire? Quinnipiac? Northeastern?</p>
<p>I’m surprised that after all these posts, no one has suggested Wake Forest. Other than not being in the Northeast, it would fit your D’s criteria and stats to a T. Great campus, very collegiate, very active and Greeky, huge college spirit (fueled in part by a David vs. Goliath mentality - major college athletics with < 4,000 undergrads). Your D could probably get used to mild, sunny days in the winter. :)</p>
<p>BTW, Wake + 150 SAT points = Vanderbilt. Wake - 150 SAT points = Furman. Similar campus feel and sense of school spirit.</p>
<p>Check out Susquehanna - they have a salutatorian scholarship (half tuition I think) and Lebanon Valley College - they also have a salutatorian scholarship.</p>
<p>Two things that strike me in your post:
- not being thrilled with the in-state scholarship because room and board is more than tuition. Believe me - this means your tuition is very reasonable. If this bothers you then rethink Gettysburg, now.</p>
<ol>
<li> Marist - how does a high school student on a quick visit or what ever determine ‘academics are not up to par’? She probably would get a very nice merit scholarship from Marist.</li>
</ol>
<p>My college son’s peers got some great merit offers from Ursinus. He had it on his list, but it did not make the final cut. Also Quinnipiac and Providence</p>
<p>From what I have seen, the schools that tend to meet need well and use PROFILE are pretty strict about counting the dad’s financials if there is any sign that he is in the student’s life which included court ordered child support payments taken out of the pay check. Where some schools will exclude the non custodial parent is when s/he is totally MIA and hasn’t given a dime for a long, long time. You can try to get an exception but I am letting you know it may be an uphill fight from what I have seen.</p>
<p>We visited Gettysburg, and my son loved it. In his top three on his list right now. The admissions officer said quite clearly that there is merit money and that it is pretty much tied to the SAT scores. The same with Dickinson. Of course if the student has some other outstanding feature any school covets, that can upstage the test scores.</p>
<p>Schools in the south tend to have lower room and board costs from my experience. Love those Virginia schools! Mary Washington, Va Tech, James Madison are great bargains. So was College of Charleston, though I hear they have upped their OOS rates. I agree with those who suggest USCarolina. I know a number of kids who got some very nice offers from there. A number of state flagships are worth considering. I really like UWV. H was there last month and he thought it was a great environment as well.</p>
<p>I don’t have any suggestions but really want to reiterate that you need to look at financials first. I am a single mom and have made this mistake. Oos publics are unlikely to meet your need and Profile schools are unlikely to give you a waiver for a dad who provides child support. You really need to figure out what you can afford and, if it’s not all of it, you should probably target schools that will offer her good merit.</p>
<p>
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<p>Then I would add to those who suggested she also look at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, especially if you’re already making a trip there for other colleges in the area.</p>
<p>Just reread your post… definitely take a look at Muhlenberg. With her stats, she is almost assured of a nice merit scholarship, and an invitation to the honors program. Only drawback is that it is not very diverse. That being said, the students there are pretty liberal for the most part. Has a strong psychology/pre-med program, which I think would be beneficial if she wants to do PT. </p>
<p>This is from their website: </p>
<p>
[Muhlenberg</a> College: Health Professions - FAQ](<a href=“http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/health_professions/faqs.html]Muhlenberg”>http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/academics/health_professions/faqs.html)</p>
<p>Dickinson and Muhlenberg are both great schools. Both colleges offered full need based on FAFSAS EFC. My D was admitted to both last year, although she finally decided to go elsewhere. </p>
<p>The person who keeps mentioning Colgate, the OP’s D might not have the stats for Colgate, or Lehigh for that matter.</p>