Where do the casual, non-hipster, jock/outdoorsy kids go to college?

College Search & Selection
161

@Lindagaf you probably mentioned this long ago but how much are you guys looking to pay, and what kind of NPC results are you getting from private schools?

I’ve been high on U of New Mexico lately – they do have sports, New Mexico is cool, and they give an automatic Amigo schollie of about $15k per year and there are higher competitive scholarships. They have an honors college. To me it sounds similar to the deal at Alabama. Less of a top-level sports scene, but New Mexico sights and activities vs. Alabama’s version. Anyhow, might not be a terrible idea for a sure fire safety, as long as they offer programs he’s interested in.

And yes, a 34 puts you in the game everywhere except maybe Caltech. (and probably even there)

162

Has he visited UCONN? Seems to tick all the boxes.

163

I’d submit both to his reaches and the act only to matches and safeties.
He should look at universities with excellent honors colleges.

164

Send him to school in upstate NY. I don’t know where exactly, but if he’s outdoorsy, he should have access to the Adirondacks and/or the Catskills.

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Penn State being one, I know. What other suggestions for schools with good Honors Colleges, @MYOS1634 , which might meet most of the main criteria of good access to outdoors, winter sports, rah rah atmosphere, good for business, good connections with alumni, good career services, good reputation, ideally smaller classes, phew!

@suzyQ7 he will visit U Conn. @doschicos his current GPA is 93, not weighted, with a rigorous schedule, but the cumulative for high school is going to probably be around 90 I guess, because he had a C in Spanish freshman year and a regrettable C in AP Stats sophomore year, (but not due to lack of trying. He did get a 4 on the exam.) @prezbucky we won’t get any financial aid, but my son would love to be offered merit aid. That would be great. We have money saved for college.

The current list again:
Penn State
Syracuse
Gonzaga
U Denver
UVM
UNH
Binghamton

Lafayette, probably

Brown or Cornell - Now that he has the 34, he thinks he might apply to annoy his sister. My husband is vain and will probably let him do it, haha!
I suspect he will like U Conn a lot and will likely apply.

Still others to consider. I like the idea of Western Washington, Montana, and UNM. We will have to explore those more.

166

Arizona if he doesn’t mind heat will give merit for that test score. It’s sportsy, but not winter sports.

Merit scholarship table here https://financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/freshman-transfer

The recreation program sponsors regular hiking/climbing/camping trips in the mountains. Lots of intramural sports. Services for dyslexia and dysgraphia are some of the best around. http://salt.arizona.edu/

167

would he consider applying to Dartmouth? Sounds like a great fit. Also, is Middlebury or Colgate too small for him?

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Maybe Dartmouth, but prob not Middlebury. And I must remember that he only has two years of FL, which will possibly make some matches more like reaches.

169

UArizona is opening a new Honors College and has LD support so it may be a good one to keep in mind.
Colorado Boulder, Montana State, UNM
(their honors colleges are not spectacular but decent)
UMN Carlson, UWisconsin
UOregon (improved Honors College is excellent), Oregon State, Washington State, WWU
UCDavis (resource economics-> managerial economics), SDSU

170

(I dont think you need suggestions for reaches: just take the national universities usnwr and look at the outdoorsy colleges among top ranked ones. :):P)

Does he prefer outdoorsy hot or outdoorsy cold? What about swimmable beaches?

171

@MYOS1634 , he does love San Diego:-) Bad snowboarding though.

172

I keep thinking “Colgate” -checks all the boxes except size. Are you close enough to visit? SUNY Oneonta would put him a little closer to the slopes, but its’ nowhere near the prestige/reputation/connections he could leverage from Colgate. SUNY Albany? Is that too big? I have no idea. Bucknell? Is that already on your list? It’s not my idea of outdoorsy, but the Poconos aren’t too far.

173

Would Clarkson be too STEMy for him do you think? They offer great merit aid, good hockey, great alumni network, and they have business school. RPI does too, and good school spirit, but awful hockey team this year.

174

Colorado College? Would a block plan appeal to his learning style? More hippie than hipster. He seemed to like UVM so not too dissimilar in components of the student body.

Or Colorado at Boulder?

175

University of Wyoming? They have club lacrosse and access to skiing/snowboarding in the Snowy Range (kids go to Steamboat, as well). The kids are super down-to-earth, non-hipster, very nice, and extremely outdoorsy (though that includes a whole lot of hunters). Does it have a good reputation? It’s not well-known but it is #3 on Growella’s Best Value Colleges. I think it’s a hidden gem. Classes are smaller, professors are supposed to be very approachable and involved. My daughter has already been in contact with a couple of professors for research in her first year; they have both been extremely helpful and open to her joining them. I would have him check it out. My daughter has been very happy with her interactions with the incoming class. She needed down-to-earth kids and I think she found them. She also liked Northern Michigan U.

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Oh wow, I just visited U San Diego and I know my son would absolutely LOVE it. He should get pretty decent merit aid if he got in. Any thoughts on the reputation of academics, business or econ major? General reputation?

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Good for business and Economics. Very pretty campus. Known for rich white* kids (*relatively speaking - it’s southern California). Preprofessional, jocky, energetic, not sure about outdoorsy, soccer is probably bigger than he’s used to.
Yes he’d definitely get merit aid.

178

The list is shaping up, with some pretty firm preferences.

To recap, my son’s GPA is at 89.6, unweighted. This is unfortunate, as it was really brought down by a C in AP Stats sophomore year (4 on the exam though,) and a C in Spanish freshman year. He has learning disabilities and those two classes were killer. However, he has good course rigor, which continues into senior year.

He wants good school spirit and a real campus, with easy access to the outdoors.

His ACT is 34 and his SAT is 1480. He ideally would like merit aid.

Will def apply:
Penn State (safety, according to our school’s Naviance, though I think best to consider as a match.)
Syracuse (safety, according to our school’s Naviance, though I think best to consider as a match.)
UNH (safety, probably merit aid.)
U Denver (match, hopefully merit aid)
Gonzaga (match, hopefully merit aid)
SUNY Binghamtom (safety, according to our school’s naviance, though I think best to consider as a match. No interest in this school, but hubby insists.)

Will very likely apply:
UNC Chapel Hill (reach, but not out of the realm of possibility, according to Naviance.)
USC, in LA (This is a very high and not likely reach. However, it has almost everything he is looking for, and both of my parents attended. My dad still donates. They have a history with our school. So we figured it’s worth a shot.)
USan Diego (Match, but he doesn’t have the required 3 years of FL. Don’t know if they will overlook this, given his learning disabilities.)
Lehigh University (Reach, but it has a history of accepting kids from our high school, so not out of the realm of possibility.)
UConn (Safety. He needs to visit, but I suspect he will like it.)

Thoughts?

179

So, has he ruled out LACs?

180

Bing sounds like a poor fit considering what your son wants.
All other 'definites’are very likely.
For Penn State it’s a safety unless he pplies to business or engineering, in which case he should apply Sumer session to increase his odds, or DUS (Undecided). If he’s interested in CS, the IST majors are less STEM-heavy than the engineering based CS. Mineral science/engineering is also less selective than regular engineering. Merit unlikely.
Syracuse: admissions and merit likely.
UDenver, Gonzaga= good matches.
Look into Creighton.
Lehigh, USC, and UNC CH are remote chances but why not?