<p>Hello, i'm a new member, occasional lurker. I am so overwhelmed by all the information on this site and was wondering if an experienced parent could tell me where to start with college search for my Junior Daughter. I want to schedule some college visits during spring break, but have no idea how to decide where she might be a good fit or gain admission. It seems to me the info on Naviance/school websites/college board have conflicting info on admissions. Here's the stats so far:</p>
<p>3.7 gpa (uw)
Class Rank 70/325
198 junior year psat
2 ap classes this year</p>
<p>NHS
N Art HS
English HS
World Language HS</p>
<p>EC's (all 3 years)
band member
art major
theatre arts</p>
<p>some community Service...nothing outstanding... 98% of kids at her school go to college.</p>
<p>No major area of study yet, but definitely not math/science. Thinking small liberal arts school that will not overwhelm her (ADHD).
Looking for safety/probable/reach options in the Midatlantic, north east, south east.. </p>
<p>Where would YOU start. Thanks for any help you can give this confused newbie.</p>
<p>I know that during my junior year, my parents took me to visit some small liberal arts schools (St. Olaf, Carleton, Grinnell), a few medium-sized universities (Northwestern, Washington University in St. Louis), and two large universities (UW Madison and UIUC) to get a feel of what type I would feel most at home in. I also have ADHD and thought that a small liberal arts school would be best, but I ended up preferring Wash U, which is a medium-sized university.</p>
<p>I don’t know many schools in your region because I was looking for schools in the Midwest, but I think the same general idea of getting a taste for size would be good :)</p>
<p>Start with your instate public universities and go from there. Some states have smaller public universities that would be good. </p>
<p>Could you give us a little more info? Will you be looking for any financial aid? Rural, suburban or urban campus?</p>
<p>Our first college trip with each kiddo was to a variety of school TYPES…so they could get a sense of the different options out there. On our first trip we went to U of Richmond, Davidson, U of South Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, Elon, College of Charleston…just to give you an idea.</p>
<p>definitely not rural - suburban or urban campus is what I think she would prefer. Our school just had a financial aid form night, my husband went online and said we won’t qualify for any fa and would need to look into loans…in addition to our college savings (we have 3 kids).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You need at least one safety, which is one she can definitely get into and can afford. This is usually an instate school with predictable results (maybe even automatic scholarship levels). </p></li>
<li><p>Do college searched on places like CC, princeton review dot com, college board. </p></li>
<li><p>Also look at the Colleges that Change Lives website. [Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives. One Student at a Time.](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you can afford full pay anywhere, the search is a lot easier. If not, you may want to cast a wide net, because it can be hard to predict what kind of money she’ll get. Generally, don’t plan to visit more than one college per day. Once you have a list of schools you think may match, ask questions about them here.</p>
<p>Snoopy…any geographic or weather preference? There is a huge difference between Elon and Bowdoin …both private schools in small towns. Ditto U of NEw Hampshire and College of Charleston.</p>
<p>Our kid wanted to go to college out of our region (northeast) where the weather was pleasant. We looked at colleges in the southeast and in California. She wanted strong sciences and also to be able to play in the college orchestra. Things like this really helped us narrow her search. She also “looked at” a LOT of schools online. Websites and virtual tours are really quite good these days.</p>
<p>Drew University in NJ
Stonehill or Wheaton in MA
Ithaca
University of Mary Washington
College of Charleston
American University
Gettysburg or Mullenberg or any other college in that neck of the woods.</p>
<p>One place to get a start is with a copy of Fiske Guide to Colleges. It gives a really good description of schools, and can help you pick out some choices to visit. </p>
<p>A couple of schools I can think of are Dickinson (one of my kids went there, got some pretty good merit aid with stats comparable to your D’s, and had a great experience) and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. My D1’s stats were comparable to your daughter’s, maybe a bit stronger in the ECs.</p>
<p>Regarding finances, you should run the net price calculator at each school’s website. Although beware if you own a small business or have complex finances, the calculator may not give you a very accurate read on your cost.</p>
<p>Not wishing to pry…but how much are you able to pay annually? There are less expensive schools like York College, and more pricey ones like Haverford. </p>
<p>There are some smaller campuses with the Penn State system that would probably be good safety schools. </p>
<p>If your daughter will go across the river, there is Rider which might have what she is looking for. </p>
<p>Gettysburg is less competitive than dickinson I think.</p>
<p>Gettysburg is a good option. You might look at the Colleges that Change Lives too. Lots of small LAC types and many near PA.
I would try to do a tour that includes some different types of schools- such as a small LAC, but maybe a medium- sized public (JMU in Harrisonburg VA is a suggestion- lots of options, and a good music/ drama dept), hitting different “types” of areas. Does she have suggestions, or do you know older kids from your area who have gone to schools that might be interesting? I’m assuming with a 3.7 UW, her W GPA must be pretty good, which should open up lots of options. In fact, Wooster in Ohio just came to mind too. Look at the Colleges that Change Lives website; it has about 20 schools and could be a starting point.</p>
<p>Almost all of my mom’s family is in PA, so I know how challenging it can be to get around there in inclement weather, and just how far it is from one corner of the state to another. How far are you willing to drive for college-kid pick up and drop off each year? Will you want to be able to attend any events on campus while your daughter is enrolled? There are scads of places that would meet your requirements in PA or within easy driving distance of some parts of PA. Pull out a map and a compass, and draw a circle for the driving distance that you think is reasonable and see what is inside that circle. You might be surprised. If you are near an AMTRAK line there are more options. So check along the line that runs nearest to you.</p>
<p>You also should spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum here. Your daughter’s GPA will put her in the running for merit-based aid at some places. When she has an ACT or SAT score, you can take a look at the threads on merit aid, and see if there is anything that will work for her and for your family budget.</p>
<p>wow. thanks for all the starting points! I need to get educated about how far our 529 will go, considering her brothers are right behind her. My biggest concern right now is taking her to visit campuses where she doesn’t have a chance to get in. Don’t want to set her up for disappointment right off the bat.</p>
<p>Hi. New here & a parent. How do you figure out your GPA? Our school does not weight & they give us the GPA in Test score #'s like 90.723 Also, do you know where I can find out info how how a kid gets into a National Honor Society? My daughter is a freshman in HS & is very strong in Math & Social Studies. Thank you!!</p>
<p>Mokiki, at our school, gpa is calculated at the end of freshman year and then updated at the end of each school year after that. In the beginning of jr. year, the school gave us her class rank. NHS criteria is different at each school, from what I hear. at our school, it requires a minimum of 3.5 gpa AND community service AND school service. FYI the #1 student in our school is not in NHS, because it is not based strictly academic achievement.</p>
<p>I don’t think Dickinson is too much of a reach. My D had a 3.6 UW GPA, and her SAT was 2050 (not that much higher than your D’s, especially if she studies some). My D was geographically diverse (MN), so that may account for some of the very good merit aid she got. And she is a very good interviewer. But I think your D could probably get into Dickinson. Paying for it might be another issue, though.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding snoopymom1. What I meant was how do I take her longer # GPA & change it to the single number GPA on a 4 point scale? Our school does not do that.</p>
<p>Regarding NHS - is there a minimum # of hours for each?</p>
But I think your D could probably get into Dickinson. Paying for it might be another issue, though.</p>