<p>My D (a Jr.) wants to go to a school on the east coast. We live in Arizona. She is in the IB program, weighted GPA 4.5 (not sure UW), probably in top 6% or class. Is interested in the sciences/pre-med.</p>
<p>Stats: March SAT I: 2010 (will retake in October)
SAT II's: haven't taken any yet.
PSAT: will be at least a commended scholar (she had the minimum score of 202)
Lots of volunteer work (hospital and nursing home) and club activities (politics, Key Club, Spanish Honor Society), but no national or state awards.</p>
<p>Truly wants to go to school in Boston or Philly areas.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for strengthing her stats and/or colleges she should look at?</p>
<p>Urban/suburban/rural? Large or small? LAC or UNI ? Merit or need only? Preppy or pierced (or possibly a pierced preppy thing happening)? Lots of great schools to choose from , give us some more pointers.</p>
<p>Hi Pebbles,
We live just outside of Boston, a 10 minute walk from Harvard U. Without specific info on the 'type' of college your D might like, here are some suggestions: Harvard, of course, highly selective. Boston U and Boston College. Also, MIT, Tufts, Brandeis in Waltham and Wellesley College if your D doesn't object to a women's college. All of the above-mentioned are easily accessible to Boston. Further from Boston in western MA are Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Williams and Amherst. D was accepted at Tufts and Brandeis-interested in science field, both have strong science and pre-med programs. Less highly ranked and selective in Boston: Northeastern University(known for co-op program) and Simmons College (noted for mentoring women in the science fields). Your residence in Arizona will likely help your D's applications for colleges that are interested in building classes with 'geographic diversity'. Hope this helps. Good luck with your search. We have just finished the college application/acceptance process with our third and last child!!!</p>
<p>My first thought was a place like Shreyer's Honors at Penn State until the OP mentioned Boston or Philly. A top flight East Coast State U Honor's program would LOVE to have a Southwest kid like this.My kids the opposite,shes an east coast kid at a southwest Honor's college and they were glad to get her...residential diversity I assume.And don't forget that lovely merit money aspect as well....</p>
<p>I will let others guide you with respect to colleges which seem to suit your D's desires while I offer a cautionary tale.</p>
<p>A vast majority of students attend college within 100 miles of home. While I am not suggesting that that you daughter do this, I am suggesting that she think deeply about attending a college so far away. Our son attend a university about 200 miles away and this seems sort of ideal-far enough away that he can't come running home for superfluous reasons, close enough that we can pop in like we did this weekend to pick up some big things(tv, winter cloths, desktop computer(he has a laptop) and celebrate Mother's Day.</p>
<p>Two of my son's friends who attended colleges the furthest away had problems-one dropping out after 1st semester and the other transferring next year. Neither did so for academic reasons, but for personal ones.</p>
<p>I am from the east so do not know the geography of Arizona. Perhaps her choices are few within a 200 mile radius, in which case it wouldn't matter too much if it was 300 miles or 3000 miles.</p>
<p>Just have her give it some serious though about the consequences of attending so far away. BTW, I did(500+ miles) and had a wonderful time.</p>
<p>I would agree. Part of the reason my D choose her school was because it was still feasible to come home for short visits. We live in the south, and travel distance was part of the reason she decided not to attend a couple of schools in New England/upsatate New York that had accepted her. Now, she is a 1.5 hour flight or an 8-hour drive away (just about 500 miles) and that is far enough away to be "free," but close enought that it's not too exahusting a trek for the holidays. I realize that 500 miles is pretty far for many folks who live with dozens of great colleges well within their reach, but it's still not a coast-to-coast problem either. I believe, it's psychologically comforting for her to know that we are only a couple of hours away by plane.</p>
<p>Origin and Ifly, The problem with Arizona is that there are pretty much three schools within a 150 mile zone: U of Arizona, Arizona State U, and Northern Arizona State. No real choices in terms of private schools, liberal arts schools, etc. within a 100 mile zone. You either go to one of the state schools or you are automatically going 400 or more miles away from home. Even just going over to a California school is a schlep for kids in Arizona.</p>
<p>Like Cathymee I was going to suggest Schreyer's until the two cities popped up. Is it family that brings puts these two towns into consideration, or is your D just favorably disposed to these two?</p>
<p>Meaning no disrespect to orignaloog and ifly, I think long distance is not a problem for some kids, while it might be for others. </p>
<p>And as originaloog pointed out, 200 miles (ca. 3-4 driving hours) can be very limiting in terms of college choices. Once you get past about 200 miles, the difference between 300 and 3000 is whether you drive or fly. Driving that # of hours can be as taxing or more taxing than the flight - just depends on how one likes driving, what the traffic/weather is, and how easy flights/connections etc. are.</p>
<p>I went to college about 500 miles away and thought nothing of it. S is going about 1600 miles and his returns home will be about as time-consuming as mine were.</p>
<p>pebbles - living in NEng and having visited several Pa campuses, waiting to hear more about your D's desired college characteristics, so I can maybe make specific suggestions.</p>
<p>In the Philadelphia area: in addition to Penn, other top academic places are Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr. Three of the best liberal arts colleges in the country. </p>
<p>All feature intense academics, by reputation Swarthmore is the most intense, but this may be splitting hairs. </p>
<p>Like other top women's colleges, Bryn Mawr turns out far more than its share of women who go on to be leaders, esp in science. </p>
<p>Haverford, formerly the all-male partner to all-female Bryn Mawr, now coed.</p>
<p>All three are in nice suburbs with easy access to Philadelphia. Bryn Mawr and Haverford are very close, and most students at each take courses both places. There are arrangements among these four schools for cross registration, but geography makes anything but Haverford/Bryn Mawr difficult.</p>
<p>Less academically intense- and less selective admissions- Villanova. Also in a nice suburb with easy access to the city.</p>
<p>Drexel- in the heart of town, engineering focus
Temple- big university in town</p>
<p>Penn State has satellite campuses around the state, including in the Philadelphia area, but I believe students end up University Park after the first two years. If she wants to stay in Pennsylvania, Penn State has an enormous base of loyal alumni. Very good, but huge university.</p>
<p>Lots and lots of colleges in the Phila. area: Many to choose from depending on what you want - Uni. of the Arts., Univ. of the Sciences, Phila. Univ., LaSalle Univ., St. Joseph's U., Cabrini College, Neumann College, Widener Univ., Eastern University, Rosemont College, Chestnut Hill College, Moore College of Art & Design, Curtis Institute, Holy Family Uni, Immaculata U., Arcadia Uni., West Chester Uni., Gwynedd Mercy College All in addition to the others previously mentioned.</p>
<p>Check out onebigcampus.com for info on the Phila. area schools.</p>
<p>We had the same problem. The closest top 25 private college to us is Emory, over 350 miles away. I still think, however, that there is a psychological and logistical difference in attending a school that is more than a day's drive away (or that requires you must fly to get there, such as transcontinental) than in attending one you can get to in one day if you need to. For some students and their families, this effective proximity is comforting. I know my D has repeatedly stated she's glad she didn't go off to the northeast for school because she has felt better knowing we're only a "day away," so to speak.</p>
<p>I must also admit that we lived in South Dakota (where my D was born). You think nothing of traveling an hour to go to a movie there!!</p>
<p>I think she wants to be in a safe area of a city or in the suburbs. She has been to Boston and loves it there, even in the winter! D is in IB and around here, IB kids are not from the "pierced" crowd. I'm not so sure that she would fit in with the "preppy" crowd either. She is more the studious type and doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about clothes or how popular she should be (we had to make an exception for prom, however!). </p>
<p>Carolyn is correct, there are only 3 large universities in Arizona. There are a few private colleges, but none that D is interested in. D wants to get out of Arizona so badly and won't even consider my alma mater, Arizona State. She says that she would feel like a failure if she ended up at an in-state school. Hmmm. I have a pretty good career (even with my "inferior" credentials) and Arizona is a fantastic place to live, IMHO. I really don't get it.</p>
<p>I am also concerned about her ECs. There are so many super smart kids applying with many outstanding awards to their credit. Most of D's ECs involve volunteer work rather than entering competitions and running for student government. </p>
<p>Havorford loved her when we attended a local college fair last fall. D fell in love with Boston College when she visited it last year. </p>
<p>I've been telling her to be realistic about the possibilities of getting into any of these east coast schools. I don't want her to get her hopes up but I also want to be supportive.</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas. I'll keep up with this message board.</p>
<p>IF interested in pre-med, might want to check out Tufts and Holy Cross both have great programs and established track records of placing grads into med schools. As the Wall Street Journal indicated in its top feeder schools, Boston College doesn't fare as well as Harvard,Tufts,Wellesley,Holy Cross,or Brandeis.</p>
<p>Pebbles ~ I hope I'm not reaching too far out, but are New York and Virginia out of play? Both have a large selection of excellent universities. As a Pennsylvania resident who knows the western states pretty well, I would have guessed that the difference between PA and VA, or between MA and NY might have looked sort of modest to an Arizona student.</p>
<p>In suggesting a couple a additional states I'm reacting to your potential need to make a longer list of colleges and then narrow it down to the ones that fit your D the best.</p>
<p>Sciences? Pre-med? East coast? Spanish Honor Society? Shot at a 2100 SAT and top 5%? Proven tolerance for hot weather? She ought to check out the U. of Miami, which gives a 3/4-tuition scholarship for old 1400 / new 2100 and top 5%. No, the campus isn't northeastern, but most of the students are!</p>
<p>Pebbles, lol, I could hear my D speaking in your description, she had full tuition plus at Barretts and would not even look at it seriously. U of A too close to even consider. She can't wait to get out of Az. but not too far for her. We have many relatives from Boston and I went to Tufts but she had her heart set on Ca. Tufts seems like a good school for your D, safe suburb but 20 minutes by public transportation to Boston. Students work very collaboratively not a competitive feel but solid academics, good diversity and tons to do on campus.Great professor to student ratio, 8-1 and small discussion based classes. Of course there is Harvard, BC, Holy Cross is in the middle of nowhere and my friend;s D hated it for that reason but academics are good. Brown is not Boston but is accessable to Boston by train and many Arizonians seem to love it. Both my kids were interested but the cold was an issue. Good luck as your journey begins. I did this 2 years in a row and am finally done!</p>