I guess I struggle with the list still but why Brandeis? Yes you are doing a finance check but it has neither of her two majors….
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You are more than welcome. I would say that my favorite way for posters to express any gratitude is to keep us in the loop during the college search. What colleges will you end up visiting, what did you think of them, what colleges make the application list, what are the app results (especially vis-a-vis any merit aid), and ideally, where your D ends up choosing to attend. Of course, none of that is necessary, but it is always nice to see how the college searches end up. Alternatively (or additionally), just pass on any knowledge you learn to people coming down the road in real life (or on the forum if you decide to stick around).
If you don’t feel like doing either of the above, however, you have amply expressed your gratitude already.
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Elon could check a lot of your D’s boxes. Strong communications and business schools with an emphasis on internships, marketing yourself and study abroad. Professors are very engaged with students. My D had many acceptances and viewed it as a safety but the size of the school and fellows program opportunities made it the final choice. Many families like it so much that two or 3 kids from their family attend. It’s not near a major city but it’s 30 minutes from Greensboro and there are some good restaurants in the area. Good luck with the process.
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Purchase is on my son’s list, along with Adelphi. We visited Adelphi and he loved the campus. We visited New School and he wasn’t into the non-traditional campus vibe. Lincoln and Alfred we also visited, too rural. So we haven’t visited purchase but for those who have, what the campus vibe? Winding down on visits. Gets expensive. But trying to push out Tuskegee, Bowie and Morgan before November deadlines. Is it worth the money to go back to NYC to visit purchase or could virtual tour be sufficient?
Hello all,
So, I’m putting an update here in case anyone would like to hear…thanks again to all of you who helped out with this.
So we ended up seeing Brandeis, Boston College, Bentley, Suffolk, UNH, UNH Manchester, St Anselm, U Hartford, Quinnipiac, the Fordham neighborhood but not school. I feel like I might be forgetting some regional ones that @AustenNut mentioned that we visited.
During the trip, she started thinking she might want to early decision to Brandeis, American, or GWU (she’s been interested in DC). So we shifted gears and drove down to Washington so she could actually really look at those two.
I think the big take aways were that she really, really wants a city and really does NOT want small (under 3000? Not sure what the cut off is). Also, NYC is too much for her. Also, she really doesn’t know what she wants to major in. The Northeast dropped from inherently desirable to “it’s got Boston.”
She also realized she wouldn’t want to go so far unless it was for a strong school she just loves.
In the few weeks we went back, Boston University and Northeastern were really on her mind. She finally asked if she could go back to see them bc she was interested in early decision. BU really stood out and it’s possible that she would get enough aid there I think, and it’s a reach but not a totally wild reach. So I let her go out, and as of now she’s going to ED to BU.
Thanks so much again everyone!
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Suffolk - we never hear about Suffolk 
Sounds like a great trip - you know now you want city and you want not small.
GW is a different level of city - far different than close American, as an example.
Now that she loves BU - GW would be similar.
But how about the rest? Because if she wants uber urban, then do you start to look at Pitt, VCU, Minnesota, etc?
If she has an 8.8 and no test, BU is not likely. We have friends who are a URM, 33 ACT, 10 APs, and a 4.5 (so over 100) and they are in the College of General Studies - which is a Spring start.
Please make sure the NPC comes out right b4 you apply to BU ED.
So BU ED and NEU for EA or RD - but who else is on your mind still?
Because the reality is, you need those “safe” schools that are urban and at 3K+ kids. College of Charleston is another and not reading the chain again, but if I recall was too south? It would work admission wise as would VCU.
Just to make sure I have it right - an 88 GPA, 4 APs (school limits) and TO - is that correct?
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I forgot to mention Clark, we visited Clark too.
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Thanks so much for coming back and giving us an update! It is very much appreciated!
It’s great that y’all were able to reorganize the trip based upon her emerging preferences after doing some visits. It also sounds as though she got a lot of clarity on her preferences.
For clarity, is that based on the NPC? Or their NPC hasn’t been updated yet so you don’t fully know, but know it will be close?
Just as a general rule, I would not recommend that a family or student go into debt for a college education if there are good options that won’t require the debt. Also, you will want to make sure that your family will still be on-track for a financially secure retirement after all college expenses have been paid. If a college doesn’t meet these criteria (and there are good options that do), then I would eliminate any college that doesn’t meet them.
I think it’s an unweighted 3.88 and OP’s D was also going to be prepping for the ACT in September (per another post on the thread).
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Thank you so much for getting back to us Sounds like the visits were very successful!
Were you able to visit SUNY New Paltz ? What about Albany? (For both, applying to the Honors college)?
Did Brandeis fall off the list?
BU works out - a definite reach but not impossible.
But earlier, this was the situation:
Does this mean that she prefers to stay in the western half of the U.S. now unless she’s attending a reach-type school on the East coast? Even though she’s currently planning on EDing to BU, she will still want to have a well-thought-out list of schools including some sure things that are extremely likely to admit her, be affordable, and that she’d be happy to attend. Is Chicago too far? St. Louis? Denver? Reno? I guess I’m trying to figure out what region(s) we should be looking at if suggestions are still needed for the rest of her list.
Ahhhhh. - thx.
Apply BU TO - and hope.
But need those backup plans still.
I love trips like this - good and not good it seemed to clarify a lot.
I’m reading back and in the message 80s ish there was a note about $300k. If you need money and the reported income will be $300k (if that’s right) do not ED anywhere !!!
Sometimes I’m not very patient. 
I went on ahead and developed a rough list of schools sorted by my guesses as to your daughter’s chances for admissions to each of these schools. These schools are located in Chicago or further west. For the public schools, I would investigate the requirements for the honors colleges, as that would be your daughter’s in for getting the smaller classes she’s expressed an interest in. Should your D’s interest in philosophy solidify, that’s an option at all of these schools, with some of these particularly strong in that area (which is also probably the biggest limiting major of interest she has mentioned).
Jesuit (and other Catholic, but especially Jesuit) schools are rather prominent on this list because they do education very well but they also tend to be the mid-sized schools in or near cities. The Jesuit institutions I am more familiar with tend to be very open and welcoming to people of any (or no) faith and tend to have a focus on justice and service for others, including LGBTQ folk.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Butler (IN): About 4400 undergrads. A definite campus with some greenery and open spaces, but located in the state capital of Indianapolis. Offers a plethora of majors and I anticipate that it would be easy to switch between majors.
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Loyola Chicago (IL): About 12k undergrads
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Loyola New Orleans (LA): About 3300 undergrads and is literally right next to Tulane and they have some cooperative agreements (like students can cross-register, eat in the others’ food halls, etc).
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Marquette (WI): About 7500 undergrads in Milwaukee
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Saint Louis (MO): About 11k undergrads
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U. of Kansas: About 19k undergrads in Lawrence, a great college town that’s about 45m from Kansas City.
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U. of Montana: About 7200 undergrads in Missoula. Missoula’s not a big town, but it’s big for Montana. Also, as a WUE-school, this is likely to be a great financial option.
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U. of Nebraska – Lincoln: About 19k undergrads in Nebraska’s capital.
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U. of Nevada – Reno: About 17k undergrads and another WUE school
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U. of New Mexico: About 16k undergrads in Albuquerque and another WUE school
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U. of Oregon: About 20k undergrads and you get in-state pricing for a great school
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U. of St. Thomas (MN): About 5900 undergrads in Saint Paul (Twin Cities)
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Western Washington: About 14k undergrads in Bellingham, a definite town with a beautiful location, and about 90m from both Vancouver and Seattle. And it’s a WUE school.
Likely (60-79%)
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Chapman (CA): About 7900 undergrads
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Creighton (NE): About 4300 undergrads in Omaha
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DePaul (IL): About 14k undergrads in Chicago
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Gonzaga (WA): About 5100 undergrads in Spokane
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U. of Denver (CO): About 6200 undergrads
Toss-Up (40-59%)
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Loyola Marymount (CA): About 7300 undergrads in Los Angeles
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Pepperdine (CA): About 3700 undergrads. Gorgeous location in Malibu. Has a reputation for being more “Catholic” and on the more conservative side.
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Southern Methodist (TX): About 7100 undergrads in Dallas
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U. of San Diego (CA): About 5700 undergrads
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U. of San Francisco (CA): About 6k undergrads
Lower Probability (20-39%)
- Santa Clara (CA): About 6100 undergrads in Silicon Valley
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Thank you all for your responses!
@AustenNut, this is amazing, thank you yet again. I personally love the idea of a Jesuit university, I’m not Catholic but I have this stereotype of Jesuit schools that’s so attractive to me.
I forgot to mention another thing that clarified: she is so miserable in “hot” (what to me is pleasantly warm) weather. She’d been trying to set this aside to be open to more schools, but she decided she just does not want to go where it’s “hot”. I was actually willing to go with her on this because it’s been true since she was a toddler, she just gets so weirdly miserable and struggles when it’s “hot”. I’m sorry I forgot to say this.
So from this list, I think the Chicago schools, Marquette, Gonzaga, U Denver, and U SF and Santa Clara really stand out. I’ll look more into Indianapolis, St Louis, Omaha, Reno I’m really unfamiliar with those towns. I think at this point even towns like Bellingham and Missoula will feel not urban enough for her.
Thank goodness, she is really making peace with she might go to U of O and that will be fine. But still is driven to shoot “higher”.
Thank you again!
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Thank you! Yes it felt successful in the sense of very clarifying! Brandeis does seem to have fallen off the list for the moment I don’t really know why?
Sadly we didn’t make it to New Paltz. Once she realized (around Hartford), how interested she was in urban/city location, and American and GWU for early decision, we decided to cut New Paltz and the other near-NYC schools and head to Washington.
Thanks for the crossed fingers on BU! If nothing else, at least it’s lit fuel on the fire under her for getting a good app together.
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Suffolk seemed like it could be cool! I don’t know how to assess those more obscure lower ranked etc schools.
Yes it was such a clarifying trip and successful that way…I keep trying to remind myself of that.
I’m originally from Mpls so she has been there lots of times and doesn’t want to go to school there, again not sure why, too familiar? But we did walk around UMN summer after freshman year and she LOVED the campus then.
She has also been interested in Pittsburgh as a town, do you know anything about what OOS costs might look like beyond what’s posted on the website?
What is VCU?
That’s crazy about your friend at BU general studies! It seems like she’s in line with their stats. Sometimes this is all so baffling, my daughters friend last year was admitted to NW but waitlisted at U SF…
I’ll get the latest on her APs, gpa etc and post it when I have it. But yes a 3.88
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Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond
As your daughter does not like heat, I’ve cleaned up the list I created earlier by eliminating schools in locations that were too warm or not urban enough (or too familiar 
). The ones that sparked the most interest I’ve bolded. Hopefully this more simplified list will make it easier for others to provide additional feedback on the schools to help your family narrow in on the best (or least best) prospects for your D’s preferences.
We’ve read stories of kids out at BU but in at MIT. BU is a really tough admit.
Yes, VCU is Virginia Commonwealth. Not a tough admit but a solid school I believe.
Pitt posts the OOS costs - while both my kids got in and the city is super cool - especially driving in from the airport - it’s got the most amazing thing - you come out of a tunnel and boom - there it is - they call it like opening a door.
On here, everyone raves about the school. The only thing that stunk and maybe the approved it was the admission portal.
But it looks to be high 50s. I don’t know about rents, etc. if you move off campus. But cheaper than the Cuse
merit is possible but improbable - and you’d have to apply soon.
The other year if you did an online session - they gave you a free app code - Hail2Pitt.
As it turns out, the online session was 1:1 - we were the only to sign up - so know that up front.
Good luck.
I’m going to put a big plug in for Marquette. Fantastic school, and Milwaukee is a great city. Museums, waterfront, big enough to have fun stuff, small enough to easily get around.
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Thank you I had no idea!
Ok, this is really helpful too, seems like we should take a closer look here too