You Helped With D#1, Now It's Time For #2

<p>Hi everyone: I have been an infrequent poster this year, but year before I was somewhat of a regular. I got great advice regarding D#1 (applied to Dartmouth ED, deferred, then accepted, happily finishing freshman year as I write this). Now the challange, D#2!!! Here's the story: B /B+ student, taking 2 AP's next year, only 1 Honors class to date. Expecting 1600/1700 total on NEW SAT, stress free kid, decent leadership and EC's. No particular academic interests yet, not a kid who particularly loves school, other than the social aspect of it. What she wants: warm weather, some sort of a "town" (loves to shop), and not a giant student body. Although not particularly religious, we are Jewish, so Jesuit/Church of Christ private California colleges don't sound quite right. She will be a Junior next year, and I am hoping to take her to see a few schools this summer. On the east coast, Hobart and William Smith (I know, not much of town, but school sounds like a possible fit) and UVM could be possibilities (both love our HS), but we have the COLD factor. Struggling with ideas on the west coast or in NC/VA. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>If you think she might be a "late bloomer", look into Oxford College of Emory.
Her stats may be a little too low, even for the Oxford option, but it is a 2 year campus of Emory, where you transfer to the main Emory campus junior year and the degree comes from Emory. I thought of this because there is a fair sized Jewish population at Emory, you get 2 years of LAC, 2 years of shopping in Atlanta ;), warm weather.
My son will be very similar in a few years I think, and I'm hoping he can qualify for Oxford. Downside is that it is quite small, and a little isolated the first 2 years.</p>

<p>There are a number of good warm weather choices in Florida - Eckerd, Rollins, Flagler, Stetson. ?Mary Washington? not much town in Fredr, but a train ride from DC.</p>

<p>While you're looking in Atlanta, you might want to look at Oglethorpe University. Pretty campus, lots of shopping nearby, stats fit. Just over 1,000 students. No religious affiliation.
<a href="http://www.oglethorpe.edu/about_us/facts_about_oglethorpe.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.oglethorpe.edu/about_us/facts_about_oglethorpe.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Yes, I have just learned about Oxford through CC, and thought it sounded great, although 600 kids sounds tiny, so may be a problem for her. I am more oriented toward the West Coast than FLA, although Rollins was on our list as well. Thanks for your input, Cangel.</p>

<p>You might want to consider Towson University. It's part of the University of Maryland system but not as big as UMCP. Plus they have rolling admission. Fair sized Jewish population, pretty campus. My d was accepted there, but it's just about 20 minutes from our house and she wanted to be alittle further away. I think she would have been happy if she had decided to go there.
The school is right near one of the big malls around here, and Baltimore is only about an hour from D.C.</p>

<p>O-M-G our kids are twins- from B plus student-to 1600 new SAT to Jewish and not liking cold weather. I did a thread 12/13/2004 "to knowlegeable VA/NC parents"- so if you want to link to it through my name you should be able to find it. My d wants urban- suburban area -not rural and a mid to large size school. A lot of Va people seem to like JMU but SAT's may be on low side. We're considering George Mason and VCU in Richmond but that is mainly as my d wants access to city. In NC, I'd check out UNC-Charlotte, Wilmington and East Carolina. I was about to log off for the day - so I'll check this thread tomorrow and see if I can add any info. Good luck.</p>

<p>Try the University of Redlands, Chapman U, and possibly the University of the Pacific in California. If her SATs are higher, she could also look at Occidental or Pitzer. In the pacific northwest (rainy but not as cold as the northeast), Willamette, Lewis & Clark, the University of Puget Sound would all be good fits. (Whitman is another good possibility but may be reachy with a B+ average).</p>

<p>In Texas, I like Southwestern U, Trinity U, and Austin College. If her test scores are high enough, Tulane might be a possibility. In Florida, check out Eckerd, Rollins, Stetson, and possibly the U of Miami. In South Carolina, Jamimom has turned me on to the College of Charleston. Furman U in SC is another nice school. In NC, look at North Carolina State-Ashville (has a smaller liberal arts feel, really neat little town), Elon, and possibly Guilford College. In Maryland, Goucher is an excellent choice for someone with her stats and has a very large population of Jewish students. I also agree with the suggestion of Towson - it's up and coming in popularity. Other possibilities in Maryland would include McDaniel College, St. Mary's College of Maryland (NOT a Catholic school, rather it's a public liberal arts school), and Washington College. Whoops, forgot Virginia: Mary Washington U, James Madison U, Randolph Macon College (the female one), U of Richmond are nice schools. In D.C., American and GWU would be good possibilites (GWU a little reachy but not by much.) Hope this helps!</p>

<p>I second University of the Pacific</p>

<p>What about Wheaton in Mass? Not too far from Boston and Providence for shopping.</p>

<p>My neice, with a similar profile, will start a Christopher Newport University in Virginia in August. It is the newest of the Virginia state universities, very fresh campus as the school is about 25 years old, and likely to be increasingly well thought of over time, as are all the schools in Virginia.</p>

<p>My d could be the triplet w/Marni and OP. I've got to save this thread because she's just a soph! Keep those suggestions coming!</p>

<p>Some great schools suggested, remember those SAT scores will most likely go up so plan on some reaches as well to account for that. Most went up about 100 on the old scale so I suppose that would be 150 on the new. University of Redlands is a great school with some nice extra 3-1-3 calendar. My friends' son is going and my d liked it a lot when we visited. They are very personal in their admissions process. Good luck</p>

<p>I second Trinity in TX, and want to add UTSan Antonio, UT Galveston, and American in Wash DC.</p>

<p>Second U of Pacific & Redlands.</p>

<p>What about Sweet Briar, or Mills? I know about the non-religious anlgle but believe me, plenty of kids at Loyola Marymount in LA are NOT Catholic... We have Jewish friends with kids there. I suspect Santa Clara & St Marys also have Jewish kids-- check with the schools.</p>

<p>You might consider some of the Cal States, like Sonoma State. </p>

<p>Maybe Whittier, outside LA?</p>

<p>Hi again. I see you got a lot of info. Can't add a thing about Calif. or Texas schools as that is not in our geographic range. I am going to second schools like Towson-Goucher-UNC Ashville- U. of Richmond-College of Charleston (I am hoping my d's SAT's are a bit higher than I anticipate so that she can apply there). There is also a Loyola of Maryland right by Towson. We passed it on our way to Towson. It looked nice. I'll second that a lot of Jewish kids do go to schools like St. Johns in NY and Fordham- so if you are in the area of Goucher and Towson you may want to give it a look. There is also a website for all the Baltimore area colleges. I believe I linked to it from the Goucher website. So you may be able to get more info on schools in the Baltimore area. As you are planning to look at Hobart in upstate NY, I may suggest that you look at the SUNY campuses. The educational value of SUNY schools is very good. The beef most NY's have is that the colleges are located in cold rural areas- but if Hobart is ok, I suggest you look at Oneonta (cute little town) New Paltz (artsy), Brockport (nice campus-near Rochester) and Purchase (Westchester county- known for performing arts). The OOS tuition is around $10,000-so if cost is a factor, I suggest you look at the Suny campuses. You can link to the individual colleges through the SUNY website-SUNY.edu. We may also add a Florida school or two. That may include U of Tampa- U. of S. Florida (Tampa) U of Central Florida (Orlando) and Florida Atlantic (Boca??). Our motto is if "Jet Blue flies into the city, we'll look at the school". (I am only half kidding on that). Good luck with the search.</p>

<p>How about Goucher College, in Baltimore? Seems like I read somewhere that it rated highest for "happiest students!" USF in Tampa is a large state school with many commuters. Tampa is certainly warm though with beaches neaerby. UT is smaller, located downtown, with lots of out of state students. Eckerd has the prettiest campus of the bunch. It's right on the water in south St. Pete. They also have one dorm where you can bring your pet. That adds a whole new dimension to roommate matching.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your informative posts. I had thought of University of Redlands, but how about it's location? Seems isolated to me. It does seem to have interesting programs, however. Chapman is also of interest, but sounded as though a large % of kids live off-campus? Anybody know? Is University of Pacific and Goucher on the artsy side, for those of you who have visited? My D is very mainstream preppy. I LOVE U of Richmond, went with D#1, she thought too homogenious, which would be perfect for D#2, but I think a reach for her. I'm hoping that even though she is average student, she is taking 5 years spanish, 4 french, and with a few AP's by graduation, she will be viewed as a student who takes academics seriously, even though doesn't get stellar grades. I am projecting 1600/1700 for Junior/Senior SATS, and I would be elated if she reached either score as she isn't a great test taker. Thanks for the SC ideas, she will be there this summer, so hopefully can take a look.</p>

<p>Maybe I can help with your Florida schools. When son was looking we looked at or researched every school in Florida. Of course there are the big 3 (UF, UMiami & FSU). Of those 3 only UM works with your daughters wants (not a giant student body.)</p>

<p>Then there are the schools associated with the UF system.<br>
Florida Atlantic University- Boca- New approved medical program with UM
Florida Gulf Coast University Ft. Myers, FL - a "hidden gem" in my opionion
Florida International University Miami - son says this is actually a good school. Not well known but respected in Miami
New College of Florida Sarasota - honors college for the state-
University of Central Florida Orlando - large student body<br>
University of North Florida Jacksonville - (admit I know nothing on this one)
University of South Florida Tampa - again a large student body
University of West Florida Pensacola- I was impressed with this...son wasn't.</p>

<p>Now the privates:
Barry University Miami Shores - once again no knowledge</p>

<p>Eckerd College St. Petersburg - as some one mentioned beautiful, this was one of son's choices</p>

<p>Flagler College St. Augustine - don't know anything specific, but have heard good things about it. </p>

<p>Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne - I liked. Son didn't. </p>

<p>Florida Southern College Lakeland - don't know much about the school itself, but Lakeland is a growing community. </p>

<p>Jacksonville University Jacksonville - no knowledge</p>

<p>Rollins College Winter Park - (Orlando), great campus!</p>

<p>Stetson University DeLand - My favorite, just not son's although he said he thought he could go there. </p>

<p>University of Tampa Tampa - son crossed this one off the list first and he loves Tampa so I was very surprised. </p>

<p>Warner Southern College Lake Wales, FL - I don't know anything specific about the school, but know that I don't like Lake Wales. </p>

<p>Webber International University- Babson Park - Business curriculum, pretty campus (only been there once)- but do you know where Babson Park is? </p>

<p>There are a few more that I can't remember, but that about covers FL. :) Happy searching!</p>

<p>Babson Park is in central Florida near Lake Wales, i.e. in the middle of nowhere. Florida Southern is a small Methodist college. known for its Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. I know a couple of students who go there & are very happy. Freshmen dorms are single sex, with rules against overnight guests.</p>

<p>Thanks Itcm & Kriket for info on Florida schools. It's funny as I just became aware of Florida Gulf Coast this week. I was probably looking at USWNR and noticed it. I was on the website just a few days ago and it seemed ok. I just checked that Jet Blue flies direct from NYC to Ft. Meyers so with the recommendation that it is a "hidden gem", and that Jet Blue flies to Ft. Meyers I may look at Gulf Coast more closely. My d may apply to 1 or 2 schools in Florida but probably won't visit the campuses until next year. So we'll rely on recommendations and "gut feeling" before the applications are sent. I think we completed our visits in the mid-Atlantic region so we've already accomplished alot. Anyway it's a BIG WEEK-END to all- so good luck to the kids on the SAT's and SAT II's and a HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!</p>