<p>firstinclass, first let me congratulate you on being “first in your class”. I am just curious as to why you would give up a scholarship to attend UNC-CH, if HP were not offering a free ride to you. I am surprised that you did not get a free ride at at least one school, since your list of achievements look absolutely amazing! Since you say that HP fit you best, was it the best academic fit for you too?</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - “Office Theme” - High Point University Toccatatones](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGnO64RSNlE]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGnO64RSNlE)
what</p>
<p>" including UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Asheville, Texas Christian U, University of Alabama, App State, and my number 2 choice: Washington and Lee University"
I am not sure I can believe you have turned down Chapel Hill comparing the other universitites you had applied don’t even compare with UNC, and by being in state with the scholarship it would have costed your parents next to nothing. Sorry, but it has to be more to the story. I don’t buy it.</p>
<p>My goodness folks, what <em>don’t</em> you get? Not everyone marries the “best looking spouse” or takes the “best paying job” or builds a “top of the line home”. Not every athlete <em>wants</em> to play for the Yankees, or the Cowboys, or the Lakers.</p>
<p>LOTS of people make choices based on the best “fit” for them. Fit can be defined in any number of ways. For many people here, it <em>seems</em> like their best <em>fit</em> is defined by ‘name’ brands.</p>
<p>UNC-CH might <em>NOT</em> be better than Wake Technical Community College for lots of people, lots of reasons. HPU might be better for many students. Clearly the school is doing something right to attract the caliber of students they have recently. Give credit where credit is due.</p>
<p>Can we be supportive of people who post here (once, twice or a million times) who are clearly being thoughtful about their choices, regardless of what that choice might be? Seems like many are quicker to tear people down than they are to build up.</p>
<p>It’s one of the many vocal groups on campus, doing a light-hearted performance. What’s the problem? Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theater puts on an annual ‘drag burlesque performance’ - perhaps since “it’s Harvard” that makes it more ‘important’ than another college’s a cappella men’s vocal group? Sheesh.</p>
<p>You folks are hard!!! My daughter is a student at an extremely rigorous private boarding school in the NE, has maintained a 3.8GPA, nice test scores, many ECs and tons of community service. My first choice for her was Davidson, a nice small LAC in the south…that didn’t matter much because her 1st choice was Elon until on our way to take her to a summer program at Davidson, we decided to visit HPU. She absolutely fell in love and now guess what school is on the top of her list. THAT’S RIGHT!! HPU!!</p>
<p>HPU was our 16th college visit. And she loved it. Everything is not for everyone. Funny thing, but UNC- Chapel Hill was her “can’t get the kid out of the car school” She wanted absolutely nothing to do with that school. She hated Wake Forest because the bldgs smelled like smoke and they didn’t have enough ammenities to make her want to stay on campus and that is clearly what they were attempting to do. Duke was OK, but not quite her… And the list goes on!</p>
<p>We discussed with the admissions rep her goals. She wants to be an orthodontist and we were concerned about the glitz and glam. All that counts at the end of the day is that our children are given the education they need to reach their ultimate goals…right?? </p>
<p>Many posters had remarks about not really knowing what HPU could offer academically because they couldn’t see through the glitz and glam…all you have to do is ask the right questions. They will tell you anything you need to know. And if they don’t have the answers they will definitely make sure to put you in touch with the right person. </p>
<p>So while you all were being overwhelmed by the glitz and the glam, the real scholars were asking all the right questions so that they could understand what’s behind the curtain. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why people are so against college being nice…who said students couldn’t live in a beautiful environment AND get a top notch education!!! I think some of you got it wrong! But that’s ok…I’m glad you don’t like it…leaves more room for the ones that do.</p>
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<p>Ok, let’s ask the “right questions.”</p>
<p>You mentioned Davidson, so let’s compare High Point and Davidson, shall we?</p>
<p>She wants to be an orthodontist.
She will need a solid and competitive pre-health program.
A pre-health program consists of general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics.</p>
<p>For over 3,000 students, High Point has a Chem faculty of 4, a Bio faculty of 6 and a Physics faculty of 2.</p>
<p>For 1,700 students Davidson has a Chem faculty of 12, a Bio faculty of 19 and a Physics faculty of 9.</p>
<p>In case you are wondering about the <em>quality</em> of the Davidson faculty, you should know that Davidson has a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and High Point does not. One of the factors in having a PBK chapter is the number of faculty who were themselves PBK members.</p>
<p>Also, for a school roughly half the size of High Point, Davidson has TEN TIMES the endowment, so it’s ability to maintain and/or grow its programs will be far, far greater than High Point’s.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if Davidson has a steakhouse or free ice cream, so you might want to look into that.</p>
<p>One of my closest friends lives in High Point, and from her perspective HPU is a really obnoxious and invasive institution. The school basically wows prospectives with fancy buildings and high-tech amenities but has little substance in the area of academics. As the college absorbs more and more of the city itself, the students are gaining a worse reputation and the area has lost its appeal. There is something undeniably creepy about the way HPU has overrun High Point, and how people continually emphasis the utter awesomeness of its little breakfast stations and gorgeous campus but barely mention its actual programs.
Maybe it’s a great school. I don’t really know. I just know I’m not alone in saying it gives me strange vibes, and that a lot of the people who apply there want to attend for the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>I haven’t read this whole thread, but here’s what I know. I know a kid who was a very poor student (as in C+, no honors, no APs (APs? what are APs? he wondered). He got a 510 in English and 480 in Math. His mother was fretting about where he’d possibly go because this kid needed direction. You get the picture? </p>
<p>Well, his full-paying parents were pleased to whisper that he got into HPU. I had never heard of it before. I figured it was a religious school in NC or a school that basically takes in the money and spits out a diploma. Oops, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against the school. I don’t know if this kid is a typical applicant, outstanding, or “just made it”, but I do know he’s there. Does anyone else know anyone who attends? I just think it confuses us here at CC because of their agenda. Is it really a college or is it a religious cult with a university name?</p>
<p>Maybe I should go back and read through here. I only saw one post from “firstinclass” and something from hpualumni, but this is his first post or sixth respectively. I have trouble trusting those, especially if they “seem too good to be true”.</p>
<p>^ What’s even more amazing is that your “very poor student’s” scores are just below the middle 50% range for High Point.</p>
<p>This means that a quarter of the students are actually getting admitted with even LOWER scores than that, but yet Mr. “firstinclass” above who’s supposedly a valedictorian and a NMS would presumably feel sufficiently academically challenged with students like this as classmates. I agree, I’m not buying it at all.</p>
<p>Your cattiness is uncalled for, soze. I agree that it sounds like High Point would not be a good choice for ash316mom’s D, and to compare it - or any other school with a similar profile - to Duke or UNC is ridiculous. While a student might have legitimate non-financial reasons for choosing a less competitive school over a more elite one, I feel that “fit” should only be a consideration when the schools in question are reasonably close in academic quality, which is not the case with HPU and Duke. </p>
<p>On the other hand, there are students for whom HPU sounds like a good fit, and that’s fine. My younger cousin is a senior with a 960 CR+M, and while she is not looking at Southern or heavily Christian schools, I (and my mother and her father - her mother passed away when she was eleven) understand that she isn’t going to be going to the most highly academic environment on the planet, and there isn’t anything wrong with that. Frankly, while not stupid - she’s actually a good student, but goes to a lousy high school that left her ill-prepared for the SATs - she doesn’t have much intellectual passion and is going to college purely because it is what middle class kids do and because she knows that she needs a degree to get a reasonable job. For a student like that - and HPU would be a reach for my cousin - I don’t see what’s wrong with choosing an accredited university based partially, or even heavily, on quality of life issues. Again, I think HPU over Duke, or even over your flagship state school, is a bad call. But if it comes down to HPU vs. a third-tier public U, then why not? I doubt that the job options will be much more limited after graduation, and realistically, not every kid needs to be looking closely at the number of professors in the chemistry department when choosing a school. I imagine that High Point offers an adequate education, and for some people, that’s enough.</p>
<p>I just don’t get why this one school is an exception to the prevailing CC wisdom that fit matters and that there is a school for all types of students.</p>
<p>“I am not sure I can believe you have turned down Chapel Hill comparing the other universitites you had applied don’t even compare with UNC, and by being in state with the scholarship it would have costed your parents next to nothing.”</p>
<p>Despite being in state I know nothing about HPU but: Chapel Hill is a great school but it is certainly for those who want a large university. Scholarships at UNC for in-state start at $2500 (the majority) to a maximum of $8000 (very few). With a total cost of attendance of 17.5 K the difference is certainly not next to nothing. Free ride scholarships are offered only to out of state students unless it’s a Morehead or Robertson which are international competitions. </p>
<p>It is certainly feasible that a scholarship at HPU can make more financial sense than one at UNC. It is also understandable that someone would choose a small school over a large school. It also makes sense to me that these kids who went to competitive HS’s would choose a less competitive school such as HPU for college. Personally, I would choose the nearby Guilford college in Greensboro but I prefer the more bohemian atmosphere. My kids who went to a comparatively less competitive HS wanted to go to school with a more selective student body. </p>
<p>Do non-christians feel welcome?</p>
<p>GTalum - I am Jewish and am very involved in researching colleges for my rising junior son. HPU would be on his list as a safety - except that I do not feel Jewish students are made to feel welcome there. I can’t speak to any other non-Christian religions - but after speaking with several people who have students there and after talking to the Hillel rep., I have learned that there are very few Jewish students and that the campus has a Christian feel to it. I’m not going to join in on the HPU bashing - I do feel it is a good fit for some kids - the price is reasonable - merit scholaships are plentiful - the campus is lovely and the selection of majors is wide - in short - I see potential - but for our family - the lack of Jewish life on campus is a deal breaker. When asked this question, I often compare Elon and HPU in terms of Jewish life. Elon comes right out and says they want Jewish students - they have created a thriving Hillel in just a few years. HPU is mum on the saubject - and that silence speaks volumes to me.</p>
<p>I was really bored, so I read this whole thread, at the same time looked up HPU and read some stats. </p>
<p>I am very career oriented and always like to know there is an exit strategy. Unlike Soze, who is more into academic, and I think he/she did a very credible research, I went to their career website to see about their career fair and job placement. They listed one job fair back in May, 2009. This was the kicker, it was a virtual job fair. Just in case if anyone didn’t comprehend what it was, HPU actually explained it on its website:
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<p>[Career</a> Fairs](<a href=“http://explearn.highpoint.edu/index.php/career-fairs-]Career”>http://explearn.highpoint.edu/index.php/career-fairs-)</p>
<p>What happened between Sep 2009 to May 2010? No job fair, or recruiting company came to HPU?</p>
<p>There is a school for every student. HPU charges 26K for tuition and 10k for room and board. It’s a school for kids to have a nice life style. If having nice dorms and facilities mean it could keep some kids, otherwise wouldn’t have stayed in college, then that’s great. Maybe that’s what some parents need to do. There are a lot of private secondary schools that serve that purpose.</p>
<p>I actually agree with a lot what Soze has posted on this thread. I believe higher education is for learning, not to extend 4 more years of cushy life for our kids.</p>
<p>About Career fairs and opportunities, to be fair, I think that some schools now list these things on internal sites so that outsiders do not read the information. I think some of this is also now on linkedin groups, and facebook, etc. I am not speaking specifically about what HPU does, but just what I have noticed looling at other school websites regarding jobs, internships, career fairs, and so on. I think that one would need to contact career srevices to explore further.</p>
<p>“I was really bored, so I read this whole thread”</p>
<p>lol; it is a boring weekend isn’t it?</p>
<p>Yes, I am in a new apartment in a foreign country with only a dining room table, no TV, but with internet connection. Many TV/movies from the US can’t be streamed here. It’s raining here. You get the picture.</p>
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<p>I agree. I guess fit only matters if you’re in the privileged few choosing between Harvard and Yale because you prefer red brick over Gothic or somesuch. I see plenty of threads about elite schools that devolve into areas of fit that I personally think are pretty superficial. I don’t see why more “average” students shouldn’t equally look at whatever fit issues most concern them. HPU doesn’t appear to misrepresent itself as being Harvard or even Davidson. It is what it is.</p>
<p>oldfort: Where did you move to? Good luck with your move!</p>
<p>“. Frankly, while not stupid - she’s actually a good student, but goes to a lousy high school that left her ill-prepared for the SATs - she doesn’t have much intellectual passion and is going to college purely because it is what middle class kids do and because she knows that she needs a degree to get a reasonable job”</p>
<p>…doesn’t have much intellectual passion & it’s her high school’s fault that she din’t do better on the SAT’s? Our HS has had kids go to Ivy league schools & had kids not get past the 9th grade…same teachers, curriculum, etc. …the household they come from & the kid themselves are 100x more important than what school they attend.</p>