<p>Monmouth is very good about mailing letters to keep you informed. I would think that you could get an idea of merit money that your D may be offered at Monmouth by inquiring with admissions.</p>
<p>The other schools on your list are not schools that I have looked into for my older child. Marny1 has a D who was considering U of Tampa, and she could share information with you. She may have written some reviews (try a search on U Tampa to see what comes up). She is also familiar with Sunys, so she may be able to help with Oneonta as well. She does not frequent these boards as much as she used to, but she will check on the board from time to time. I would suggest sending a PM to her to get her attention regarding those 2 schools.</p>
<p>My brother's daugher has one year at Kutztown. She went from a solid B+ student to barely C+ but she had a good time. I hope she has that out of her system now. Next son is going to Montclair St. this fall and living on campus. He wanted RU but had to do the JR college transfer thing so he opted out.</p>
<p>northeastmom,
My DD almost went to JMU but had some problems with the Graphic Design Dept's location (and you have to apply into it after sophomore yr). Two girls from VA we know go to JMU and love it (and it's a great deal) and several of her classmates from NJ just completed their 1st yr and they really enjoyed it. Your son should love it. Looks like a great all-around college experience. Did your son see the rec center/gym facilities? All types of kids so easy to find a group.</p>
<p>Moravian does indeed have cross registration with the five other Universities in the Lehigh Valley, <a href="http://www.lvaic.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.lvaic.org</a>. The six colleges are Moravian, Lehigh, Lafayette, Muhlenberg, DeSales and Cedar Crest. Moravian and Lehigh are in Bethlehem. DeSales is just down the hill from Lehigh in Center Valley. It's campus is next to the Libary where I work. Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest are in Allentown. Lafayette is in Easton, about 20 minutes from Lehigh and Moravian. Allentown and Bethlehem pretty much run into each other and the college campuses are an easy drive. Moravian has about the best location in my opinion. The section of Bethlehem where it is located is very nice, and it's in easy walking distance of nice shops, restaurants, churches and some bars. Lehigh is on the top of a small hill and the section next to it is a little run down, but they are really trying to clean it up. DeSales is a large spread out campus about two miles from Lehigh. Very good performing arts department. Lots of local kids go there, which I find strange since it's within a mile of our High School. Muhlenberg is in downtown Allentown. Campus is nice but not much in the way of stores, etc. near it. Cedar Crest is a women's college and attracts many women going back into the workforce as well as regular college age students. I don't really know Lafayette except it attracts top students from our High School and is a big rival to Lehigh. </p>
<p>Sorry to ramble, but it seems rare form someone to ask about a Lehigh Valley area college besides Lehigh!</p>
<p>jrzgrlmom, Thanks for the info about your D's friends liking JMU. We never did get to the rec center, but I read about it. It sounds great, and not only can you climb a wall and use equipment there, but they have equipment that one can borrow from the rec center. This includes equipment for camping/hiking-ie:kayaks, tents etc. My son will need to discover it. I recently found out that a physical fitness class is required to graduate.</p>
<p>northeastmom,
My son noted that JMU had very good looking girls. Of course, they were running around in shorts and flipflops. We arrived home the next day to snow. My d liked the rec center coz all kinds of kids were there, not just the jocks...</p>
<p>zoosermom, I agree about the beauty of Monmouth. In-laws lived about five houses away & we'd all head over the campus for touch football & baseball on the grounds. Just gorgeous. The Jersey shore can be enjoyed for many months of the school year, too. I'm getting hungry for steamers....</p>
<p>I don't have stats about the rise of Monmouth. It's just considered a school on the rise in NJ. It wasn't too long ago that it was known as Monmouth College.</p>
<p>Just had steamers last week, sticker, at Moby's which is on a deck over the river next to the Sandy Hook Bridge. Boy, were they good! I recommend a drive down.</p>
<p>(now returning this thread to its regular broadcasting).</p>
<p>I don't know much about Monmouth's academics, but the setting sure is great--and I love the beach in winter!</p>
<p>Monmouth was very good to me 28 years ago.....somehow I earned a full tuition ride with a good GPA from a mediocre HS and a very pedestrian 1260 SAT. Guess the school wasn't very selective. No matter, it served me well.
I graduated summa cum laude with BS in biology which I've translated into a long fine career in clinical microbiology.</p>
<p>The campus was/is spectacular. English classes in Wilson Hall with marble columns and staircases all around. Green lawns and formal gardens. Guggenheim library- I was a student workstudy aid and loved just being in that gorgeous old mansion.</p>
<p>Probably the student 'level' is higher than when I was there though hardly top tier. Pretty sure most students can find kindred souls in any large group.
I remember small classes and wonderful profs who cared. Lab sciences with 5 in the lab sections! No place to hide and lots of personal attention.</p>
<p>Monmouth is probably a great choice for a student with strong stats to look for significant merit $$$$.</p>
<p>"I remember small classes and wonderful profs who cared." </p>
<p>Small and caring classes, pretty campus, and nice beach area is what I found appealing about Monmouth. The merit aid also looked appealing, but my S was not going to get a full ride. I felt that the merit award would not matter much if I needed to pay for a car, car insurance (high in NJ), and pay for off campus housing after freshman year.</p>
<p>NJ car insurance premiums for young male drivers are insane!</p>
<p>I've badgered our son non-stop about the importance of a clean driving record. It must have sunk in as his record is spotless (knocking on lots of wood as I write this!).</p>
<p>STILL, the premiums to insure son as driver of a 6 year old station wagon is MORE than to insure our other TWO cars driven by us old folk.
Fortunately, son had more need for a second tuba at school this year than a car and so we will be a two car family again soon. Looking forward to saving at least a few $$$.</p>
<p>Too bad Monmouth hasn't kept up with housing for its increasing enrollment. It's a common problem. Our son had only been guaranteed housing for first two years at TCNJ although he did 'win' a slot in the lottery for junior year.
I was worried about housing at Mason Gross/Rutgers for this fall but he was assigned an apt in an upperclass complex, two bedrooms with kitchen, LR and bath. He's happy.</p>
<p>Musicmom, It sounds like your S has nice housing next year. </p>
<p>I don't think that it is that Monmouth did not keep up with housing demand b/c they did not want to, but b/c they are restricted from building for various reasons. I don't recall the reasons, but it was explained to us when we visited 2 years ago. I believe that they bought some off campus housing to supplement, but it is still going to require a car. I imagine that it is simply not economical for them to run buses in the area. Some schools have attempted to solve some transportation problems. I know that several schools have now provided cars to "borrow" for driving to places like internships that are off campus. Marist offers cab service to their students for a very nominal fee with a student ID. I don't want to pay for car expenses when there are plenty of schools where you can get by without one.</p>
<p>BTW, just b/c he will be without a car, we will save between 1500-2000 in auto insurance savings. We never gave him a car, so we have stayed a 2 car family. We allowed him to drive our cars.</p>
<p>Our alma mater probably DID have a lot more to offer than I bothered to seek out. I attended during the dreaded 'split session', overcrowded era. What I remember most was am sessions starting at 6:30 am ish and afternoon sessions going till 5:30 pm ish. Crowded, impersonal hallways. If there were extracurriculars, I never much found them! No sports for women back then that I remember.<br>
Were there AP classes? I would have qualified but can't recall a GC who would have helped me see the opportunities.
Of course, I may have selective memory....I was very much trying to be an unengaged, rebel type back then!
Hard to believe from my current upright citizen stance of today! :)</p>
<p>Okay, I did the split session too. And as far as I recall, that was the pre-AP class era, for the most part. And you're right, ECs were hard to find (I did th lit magazine and that's it.)</p>
<p>But overall, I felt I got a pretty good education (though lousy guidance). And, I married my English teacher's son, so there's that!</p>