Where to start search?

My daughter has no idea what she wants in a college (or major). She is currently in the top 10% of a competitive high school, but says she does not want a very competitive pressure cooker college. She wants a liberal state (we currently live in a very red state). But she also wants warm weather. Or at least not super cold weather.

Other than California, I have no ideas what states (much less colleges) can fit those criteria.

I am trying to plan out college visits over the next year (I have two graduating in 2024), but I have no idea where to begin with this one.

Nice, smart, sporty (but also kind of nerdy), down to earth child who wants a relaxed school in a liberal but not cold state. No test scores yet. Finances… we’ll see. Doesn’t think she wants anything too small (under 3000?) or too rural. At this point I’m just reaching for somewhere to start.

Any ideas for a starting point?

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Yes, start here:

Budget will be the most important factor - will either eliminate tons of colleges or will add most/all.

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Warm and liberal. You’re in the right state.

I think you’d find other cities and campuses liberal…but not the state. For example Arizona and specifically the U of A in Tucson. Similarly College of Charleston in South Carolina (blue city, red state).

There’s alway DC (America) but what’s too cold ? UNM may be another.

Could an Oregon or Washington work or they are too cold ?

Is there a specific issue that bothers her (ie abortion) or more general politics? Kansas, very red, but female reproductive rights womt be an issue as the population just voted to keep them.

If you said cold ok, that opens up the almost the entire NE and Illinois /Wisconsin / Minnesota.

Budget ? Until you know that, the question can’t be answered. It’s 1), 1b, and 1c.

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You might want to consider planning a trip to a place where you can visit a bunch of different college types in a small radius. Philadelphia is a great spot to start, it’s easy to see 2 in a day. You have Urban Ivy (Penn), LACs (Swathmore, Haverford), Research (Drexel), Public Flagships (Rutgers and UDel are close), Parochial (Villanova). That might help trigger what she’s looking for in a college

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DC/VA/CA/NM would fit the criteria for location as far as blue and warm to warmish. Not so many option in NM but plenty of options in DC/VA/CA

Starting point should be determining your budget.

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Not sure VA does anymore. But I see your point. n Virginia for sure. But this goes to show that even in blue states you have red areas and the opposite is true too.

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Thanks for the suggestions!

Budget really is not the main issue right now. We are aware of costs and have spoken to our children that it will be a factor. I just don’t want to limit the discussion at this stage. Ballpark - under $50k/year would be nice, but more than that is not impossible for the right school.

I am planning a California trip. There will likely be a Colorado trip and a Massachusetts trip for the other child.

We are currently in a blue bubble in a red state and both children would like to experience life in a blue state. (I had originally thought Arizona or Florida could have options for this child, but dd wants out of the red states for now).

We both understand that she can’t have everything, but I would just love some ideas!

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Oregon. Colorado. Colorado state. Denver. Unm. UMD. Delaware. Umass. Then lots of privates up in that area.

I still say look at Charleston and Arizona. But that’s what u have now - blue bubble. Red state.

U said not smaller than 3k. But that tells me not 50k either. So maybe more mid size. Syracuse. Pitt etc. or smaller American, GW.

Ultimately, even if locally, you go see various colleges of various sizes and environments, you’ll make your trip more productive later bcuz you’ll have an idea of what to see size abd environment wise. So take advantage of different campuses near home now.

What about Eckerd College? Florida isn’t a blue state, but I’ve heard Eckerd is pretty liberal…

I think she’s fine with large schools. She is familiar with both of our state’s flagships and the size doesn’t bother her. (They are both huge). But I also think she;d be fine with anything as far as size goes. Except she says she doesn’t want tiny.

My thoughts on California schools have been: LMU and SCU (even though we are not religious), Chapman. Maybe USC or one of the UCs, but not sure those are worth the money. But I don’t know much about the vibe of any of those schools. I think the Claremont schools are out, but we might look at them. Maybe Oxy, but I think it’s too small. USD sounds too religious.

Which schools in VA or DC have the right atmosphere? (not pressure cooker)

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As the parent, doing the financial planning to know what you can afford is a very important first step. Also, check the net price calculator on the web site of each college of interest to compare its net price with your budget.

Academic interests?

State of residency or region? Some regions may have regional discounted tuition arrangements. For example, if you live in the western region, you may have a range of state universities at 1.5 times in-state tuition available.

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Hawaii also.

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Most schools aren’t pressure cookers.

If she really wants to live in a blue state with warm weather, that really only leaves California and Oregon (and Washington?).

If she’s open to colder weather, you can’t beat New England for Blue politics/culture and tons of colleges.

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Rather than road trips you can start with visits to area colleges of various types. An urban college, a suburban college, a rural college. It can help kids to actually walk around and take the tour to help build a sense of what type(s) of schools would be right for them. Once that begins to firm up then you might want to visit specific colleges of interest. If a school or two becomes a real favorite then she might want to see if they have overnite visits where a kid stays with a volunteer host.

A number of college admission books discuss finding a good fit that is affordable. One example is “Admission Matters”.

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We aren’t in a WUE state. We’re in Texas. There may be some sort of reciprocity with states like Arkansas or Oklahoma, but she isn’t interested in those.
I wish I knew what academic area she was interested in! She’ll need some flexibility to explore things in college.

I truly do understand the budget concern. I have been lurking on this forum for years and I have read several other books, websites, etc. I’m not going in blind and expecting it all to work out magically. I have played around with NPCs. I just don’t want to limit the discussion at this stage.

I am really just looking for any suggestions of colleges that sound good for this child.

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You can’t say budget wise if it’s worth it but then eliminate UCs as are not worthy since most think they’re the crème de la creme. Just say $50k max if that’s the truth.

If you could spend $25kb, is that more important than say spending $50k or either is fine.

You’ve named religious private schools. Others would argue they aren’t but you will have course requirements. You will have imagery.

USC - if you are a full pay family you are unlikely to get merit.

SDSU?

Cal Poly ?

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I would take a look at California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia, maybe Georgia, maybe Illinois (not by Chicago, but the southern half), New Mexico.

  • Santa Clara (CA)
  • Emory
  • College of William & Mary (VA)
  • Loyola (MD)
  • Chapman (CA)
  • Christopher Newport (VA)
  • Bradley (IL)
  • U. of Denver (CO)
  • Point Loma Nazarene (CO)
  • U. of Georgia
  • U. of Oregon
  • San Diego State
  • U. of New Mexico
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I really wish we could move away from the budget issue. There are some schools I would pay full price for. There are other schools that I would not. I am currently not sure where I stand on that issue regarding most of the UCs. If she had expressed desperate interest in one of them, and if it had an outstanding program she was interested in, then it would be on the table. As generic large public universities that she hasn’t shown any interest in (other than the climate), then the UCs at this point are not worth it to me. We may visit one or two and then reevaluate. That doesn’t mean that we cannot or will not pay for the equivalent if it is the right school.

I really just wanted suggestions of schools without taking budget into account.

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Thank you! I hadn’t thought about William & Mary for this child, but that is an interesting suggestion. I’m not familiar with Bradley or a couple of others, so that gives me things to research. GA is a maybe - I’ll have to see where things fall over the next couple of years.

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Is there any general leaning or level of interest in various areas, such as arts, humanities, social sciences, biological science, physics sciences, engineering, business, health professions, etc.?