Suggestions for schools/Hispanic & Latinx student

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
1

Hello everyone. Let me start off by saying, excited to see this group created. I was on CC just a little with my oldest and felt there was a need for this years ago.

So here is the issue. My oldest (daughter) and son are very different. She was all about visiting schools, reaching out to admission offices, driven, go-getter, etc all on her own. My son, not so much which is why we hired a CC. He has very little interest in talking about specific colleges, etc but he does want to go away to college. He is just a high school sophomore but really has not"discovered" passions. He is just a “regular kid” like a throwback from the '80s. I mean that as a compliment. He has a solid GPA (3.7), does a sport each season (NOT a star athlete at all to his dismay), honors classes/one AP class, works at a grocery store on weekends/vacations, did well on PSAT (not fantastic) and does a little volunteer work. He is just a solid, regular, good kid. Not delusional about him being accepted to the top-tier colleges, just want him to have a great college experience, learn someothing, and continue to develop into a compassionate, strong, young man.

We did hire a CC who came up with some suggestions for him and to keep him on track. So far I am glad we did that. Here are her suggestions. Just want to know if diverse friendly among staff/students, the school climate for Hispanic/Latinx students, and types of merit aid. Any comments about below please share:
Marist College
Fordham University
Fairfield University
Lafayette College
Hobart and William Smith College
Case Reserve University
NC State
UMASS Amherst
University of Pittsburgh
American University
Connecticut College

Here are my ideas:
University of Dayton
Manhattan College
Holy Cross College
Clarkson University
University of Maryland at Baltimore
Towson University

My son’s idea:
NC State ( He went with us during my daughter’s visit and it left an impression).

Some more background info:
My husband immigrated from South America as a young child. I am not Latinx/Hispanic. We live in MA and my son attends a large, urban public high school. Any suggestions/advice would truly be appreciated. Any school suggestions appreciated as well.

1 Like
2

The only school on your list I can comment on is Clarkson. Not a lot of diversity there at all. That said, it’s a great school but skews very heavily towards engineering.

I’m sure others will chime in but it looks like a solid list at least in terms of academic safeties, matches, and reaches.

2 Likes
3

My son is a junior at Fairfield University. Can’t say enough good things about it. The only criticism I have is it could be more diverse. They do have an active diversity club and it seems like they are a close knit group. I am a Latina from the Bronx so I am use to being with people from different backgrounds and culture. Fairfield is a lot like my sons high school so it was not really a factor for him. I would try to see what it is about NC state that he liked and maybe find schools similar to that. My son had strong preferences about the size and location of his school so that helped us narrow down his choices.

1 Like
4

If he isn’t opposed to traveling across the country to a much warmer climate, I would check out ASU. A very large and diverse school with many opportunities to find his passion.

3 Likes
5

If he liked NC State, he might feel the same way about Virginia Tech. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it academically and it’s pretty diverse, too.

1 Like
6

NC State is a nice option. If he likes it and it’s affordable he should apply. I’ve always liked Raleigh us it’s a great campus. My oldest son liked it but didn’t apply.

He’s only a sophomore and it it doesn’t sound like he’s too interested. Give him space and let him figure it out. He will.

7

Thanks for this suggestion. It looks great BUT my son loves seasonal weather. I Will suggest this when he is in a receptive mood. lol

1 Like
8

NCState will be a challenge to be admitted as an Out Of State student. The state of NC puts hard locks on the percentages of OOS students at each university. Couple that with the high quality of NC public universities which OOS families find attractive, and there are many more OOS applicants for NCSU (and UNC) than there are spots. Your son should certainly apply if he likes the school, but not get too focused on NCSU.

Virginia Tech is an easier admit for OOS students.

American U is diverse and a good school, but not the easiest admit. Also, the aid isn’t the greatest, so be sure to run the NPC to see if the estimated COA will fall into a range your family can afford.

Manhattan College offered generous Need + Merit Aid to my son. We liked the mix of pros about the school, from the mix of LAC and Engineering majors, to the location, to the COA for us, and more.

UMB and Towson are great options that often go overlooked by families that stick to flagships. Baltimore is a great city, though not necessarily a fit for everyone. If Baltimore is a draw for your son, you might also consider Loyola Maryland. LMU is a private Liberal Arts College with the corresponding private school price tag, but run the NPC and see if it is affordable to your family.

My son applied to Marist last year and it intrigued us very much. They also provided very good Merit+NeedBased aid to us. In the end, we ended up not visiting because my son preferred a couple of other options a little better.

University of Dayton is where my son ended up. So far, he absolutely loves it there. We are a family of color, and diversity was on our list of important things to vet about each university/city. UD is not the most diverse university but it has proven to be a welcoming space and my son is very happy there. Several professors have been very helpful, the students are all friendly, and the administration has really impressed us. Though the campus isn’t the most diverse place, the city of Dayton is very diverse – when I go to pick up or drop off or visit my son, we always enjoy riding around and enjoying the variety of people in the city. Also, UD has a 95/99 Financial Aid rating on Princeton Review which indicates it is very good in that area. That proved true with us.

I would suggest investigating College Of Wooster, Temple, Ursinus, and St Johns (NY). Each might fit some of what you and your son are looking for. If you’re looking at UMB and Towson, also consider VCU, UNC-Greensboro, and UDelaware - they’re all good public schools that provide great college experiences/educations in urban areas and they don’t have low admit rates.

Good luck to you and your son!

3 Likes
9

When we visited NC State they said the OOS cap was 18% and they’ve never hit that percentage. Similar comments on CC have been made. Raleigh has 4 seasons…maybe not winter like the NE but it does get cold there.

I’ve heard good things about Dayton. Our HS has sent kids there every year it seems. It sounds like the kids that go there are happy. Same with Delaware.

We visited Temple for S20 and S21. I was impressed more than I thought I would be. The business school seems to be solid. It’s a little rough off campus but the campus is actually pretty nice and compact. It’s also easy to get to downtown Philly.

2 Likes
10

Not NE cold, especially in duration, but the temperature this morning was 25 degrees. Cold enough to feel it. :cold_face:

1 Like
11

Thanks, for your opinion about Clarkson.

12

Glad your son is having a great experience with Fairfield. Is Fairfield generous with merit money?

13

Thanks for your other suggestions. UD was a school I stumbled upon while looking up Case Western Reserve. My son loves attending sports events. Are the sports competitions well attended by the students body? ( football, basketball, etc)?

14

Basketball is a very big deal, and well attended by students and the general public. Football is not Division 1, but I’ve heard it is a decent draw for students. I’ve heard soccer is also a medium attraction for some students.

1 Like
15

The highest scholarship is $26000 per year. We do not qualify for need based aid but I know a lot of parents who have gotten additional aid. Fairfield does not have a football team but the basketball games are popular. They are also building a brand new sports arena to attract even more students.

16

My son went on a diversity fly-in for Lafayette in nov 2019. He stayed for the weekend and loved it. He felt minority students were well supported there. He didnt apply because he got into his #1 school in the early round, but if he hadnt, Lafayette was a strong contender and he would have applied in Regular Decision.

NC state is great for STEM majors, its competitive for OOS though. I don’t know much about the hispanic experience there to help you with that unfortunately.

2 Likes
17

Oh wow! So nice to see a UDayton parent as it is often not mentioned on this site. I am not Hispanic but was just browsing through UD topics and was wondering what kind of stats did your son have to earn merit aid at the school. I am only a junior but already thinking of the logistics of applying and what overall cost I can expect from college after scholarships

2 Likes
18

Most of my son’s aid was need-based aid. He had average stats and received some scholarship money, but most of it was need-based.

However, he has several friends on campus who received significant merit based scholarships who were near or above the middle 50 stats.

https://udayton.edu/affordability/undergraduate/financial-aid/types-of-aid/scholarships.php
This page shows UDs main 4 scholarships. It looks like they start at approximately $15K/yr and go up to $30K/yr.

1 Like
19

Would love to hear more about UD. Any insight about UD would be appreciated. It meets some of my son’s criteria so far…
-importance of sports (basketball games)
-size (not too small or too large)
-near airport
-in urban/suburban area
-enclosed campus

20

I would sign up for the info session & virtual tour for UD. My son and I just did it. He was not really interested in the school before the session and afterwards had nothing but good things to say about it. I felt the same. Great size, beautiful campus and everyone seems to mention how nice everyone is. Love the housing options too.

1 Like