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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Aug 21st, 2007 11:34 pm |
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I have the same Antioch concerns that you have when I look at the small endowments. I would also be sick over the fact that I sent my son to a school that closed down in the middle of his 4 years.
I think that Ramapo is a good instate school option. I would add at least one more financial and admission safety to that.
Just try your best on the standardized tests, and show strength in the rest of your application.
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 12:00 am |
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| I left this off the post above. Consider that most schools have frats, drinking, and things that might not interest you on campus. You will be able to find a circle of friends with similar interests if you introduce yourself and get involved on campus. I wouldn't worry too much about the frats, and partying, unless for example, more than 25% of the student population are involved with Frats.
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ChicosBailBonds
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 12:10 am |
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Once:
First off, congratulations on your high school record and other accomplishments. While I know you are disappointed with your test scores, it will be easier for you to "work around" those scores than it would be to work around bad grades or no discernible interests.
Before answering your questions directly, I'd ask you to consider how important it is that you go to college close to home. The schools in the northeast tend to be higher priced, and also more selective, than their Southern and Midwestern equivalents. Moreover, as a Jersey boy, your application will stand out at schools in Tennessee or Wisconsin and you will be a more desireable candidate than you would be to a school in Pennsylvania or New York.
In addition to the schools you're considering, and those that have been recommended to you, I'd add Ursinus in Pennsylvania and Clark in Worcester, Mass.
If you're willing to consider the South and Midwest, add Hendrix, Birmingham-Southern, Augustana, Knox, Monmouth, Cornell College in Iowa, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg and Ripon.
I'll also mention Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. I just dropped my daughter off there on Sunday. It is a beautiful campus on a hill overlooking St. Peter. The campus is perfectly maintained, with plantings everywhere, and there is an arboreteum on campus. The town of St. Peter is like a picture postcard, and Mankato, 10 miles down the road, has the Starbucks, Target, Panera, Friday's, etc.
The school emphasizes writing across the curriculum. Like most LACs, it is more female than male, and the vast majority of the students hail from Minnesota or the surrounding states, so you'd be of interest to them. In addition, Gustavus has de-emphasized standardized tests, so your SATs will not be much of an issue.
I hope that helps.
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 01:02 pm |
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hey northeastmom and chicosbailbonds! again, thanks for the advice.
northeastmom- i realize most schools have frats, i am just a little hesistant but i am sure everything will be okay.
chicosbailbonds- thank you for your wonderful suggestions. the reason i am looking at schools in the northeast is basically, my parents. they want me to stay around this area because a) its close to home so if anything happens, ill be there b) getting to the other side of the country will be difficult. my dad does not like to fly, and it really has affected the family on this part. c) i hear this quote from my parents a lot "if you can make it in the city, you can make it anywhere. " ugh. meaning, you have this wonderful city right in front of you that has so many opportunities, why would you want to go to a rural, corn field populated area. yeah, i know. ugh. i know it is my college search, but they are paying for it, and me going away, does affect them. i am trying to manage this well. it is just harder for me i guess with this process but so far, so good.
if i had my way, i would apply to some schools in california, oregon, and washington. but i realized, the airline tickets for me to get there would be ridiculous, my family probably would never see me, and getting all of my stuff to the college would be quite expensive. i am not ruling out any of the southern/midwest schools yet, but these are the "reasons" . i know my applications would look much better if i apply to those schools and would be cheaper on our part. maybe ill apply to some schools in the south/midwest for free via commonapp and see what happens. oh, i have heard wonderful things about gustavus adolphus! congrats to your daughter!
ursinus- at the college fair i went to, i had a wonderful conversation with the admissions rep at ursinus. a couple weeks later, she sent me a handwritten letter, thanking me for stopping by and gave me some of ursinus' literary magazines. my reservations about the school is the proximity to philly, even though i know its located in a very quiet area, collegeville. and the pricetag and financial aid, a little bit big.
clark- i read about clark through ctcl. its in worchester which everyone describes as this sort of industrial city which reminds me of a city near me that my dad works in. i am not too sure if the campus/area would be right for me.
again, i am not sure about really any college. lol. i am very picky. =) thanks again!!!!!!! i will update when i have a list done and ready.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 02:44 pm |
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One more member chiming in here ...
Once-I, I know there is a link or thread somewhere on this board for a full list of SAT Optional schools and there are some great ones on that list, many of which I am sure would not only meet the criteria you would like your ideal college to meet, but also for which you would be a wonderful candidate.
Not saying you would not/could not get into some very good schools that do take SATs into account, but since it seems to be weighing heavily on your mind, I figured you should take a look at the list of schools where only your GPA (very impressive), ECs (VERY VERY impressive) and ... well ... YOU (VERY VERY VERY impressive  ) ... are the factors that will be considered.
If you come across in person and/or in your essays anything close to the way you present yourself on this board, I feel sure you will have your pick of schools (and honestly if Bard is your first choice you seem to me to be a great fit for them already but I admit I am not as knowledgeable about a lot of this as the other parents on the board are).
I also want to put my two cents in for Bates, which I believe is SAT optional (yes?) ... the people I have met from there are all cool well-rounded terrific people who LOVED IT.
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Chedva
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 02:48 pm |
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| I believe that the list of SAT optional schools can be found at http://www.fairtest.org.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 02:55 pm |
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| Thanks, Chedva ... I knew someone here would be able to access it right away!
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 03:08 pm |
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hijinksandsue, that was really nice of you to say. i really do not think my gpa is all that impressive.. the 4.06 out of the possible 4.5 is like a 3.6 or something if you convert it on a 4.0 scale (hopefully i didnt do the math wrong, too early in the morning. lol.)- its still pretty good if you consider all of the classes are honors and none of those are weighted. i am glad you think my extracurriculars are strong, i think that is my strongest part of my entire application right now. thanks for the encouragement! it really means a lot. bates does seem like an ideal school for me but they are just so selective. my english teacher thought it would be perfect for me.. she told me this when i was a sophomore. i guess that was her gut instinct. bates was on my list for a long time and what made me choose to take it off was because they place a pretty good chunk on the interview. i think i would be looked down upon during the interview because i have never visited the campus and probably will not. idk. also, even though my gpa is solid, my course selection for them would be the bare minimum- i will have 4 years of english- 3 honors and 1 ap, 4 years of science, 3 honors and hopefully 1 ap if it fits in the schedule, if not, it will just stay as 3 years. 3 years of math- honors- alg 1, geometry, alg 2. 3 years of honors history. website development major- 2 years. electives i have taken range from creative writing, writing for the media, and a whole bunch of intro classes that lasted a few weeks because we pick majors in my school, i guess it works sort of like a liberal arts college in that respect. so i did a few weeks of audio tech, television production, computer applications, computer animation design, desktop publishing, and there was others i cant remember! also, two years of honors spanish- i opted out of a 3rd year because i wanted to be a part of the newspaper and get an editor position, so i had to be a part of the journalism class. right now, my college list is always changing. bard is still my number one because i just cannot see myself letting go of that opportunity to apply.
chedva- thanks for the link!
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Chedva
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 03:42 pm |
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You're very welcome.
Regarding the interview for Bates: Don't be so fast to write it off. My d is going to a school that she never visited before acceptance, and she did a regional interview. The interview is evaluative, and highly recommended for merit scholarship consideration. They didn't look down on her for not visiting; she got the scholarship, too. She fell in love with the campus in April.
Unless you live within an hour or so of campus, schools understand that you may not be able to visit.
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Lderochi
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 03:49 pm |
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| Late to the game, but ditto Muhlenberg. We used to live just a few blocks from campus. Don't be put off my Allentown -- the part of Allentown that Muhlenberg is in, the West End, is really quite nice with a beautiful park and rose garden nearby. I would encourage you to take the ACT as well -- unfortunately while Muhlenberg is test-optional they do require test scores for merit aid. Best of luck.
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Mezzomom
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Posted: Wed Aug 22nd, 2007 04:46 pm |
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Onceinvincible, you asked about HWS, so I'll share what I remember. My daughter applied to and was accepted there (HS class of 2006), and although she decided to attend elsewhere, it was a very difficult decision for her. My daughter's SAT math score was only slightly higher than yours (I think she had a 500 math and a 680 in verbal), but her ACT score was excellent and her ECs were strong and consistent. We have no doubt that they looked at her whole package, rather than focusing on her scores. In addition, I HWS is now SAT-optional, but you must submit scores to be considered for some of their large scholarships.
We both felt, after multiple visits (including an overnight) that the preppy reputation of HWS was overstated and probably outdated. My daughter looks like "the girl next door" but has the heart of a raging liberal, and she felt very comfortable there. Yes, she noted a few popped collars, but she also met a wide range of "types" and never doubted that she could fit in. The campus is quite pretty, and while Geneva isn't anything to get excited about, there are the requisite big-box chain stores in the area.
HWS is extraordinarily expensive, but they can be quite generous with aid. They practice preferential packaging with their aid, and my daughter benefitted greatly from this. She was selected as a Faculty Scholar and an Arts Scholar, and when everything was added up, they met 100% of our need. They require CSS Profile as well as FAFSA, but that didn't seem to work against us. The only reason my daughter decided not to attend was that despite the scholarships and a sizable grant, she would have still had to take out a Stafford AND Perkins loan, and she was concerned about the cost of the loans over four years.
If you do decide to apply to HWS, be sure to apply for the Arts scholarship and note that it has an earlier due date. Interviewing with an admissions rep is also "recommended", but I would move heaven and earth to make that happen if you apply. For some of their scholarships, an interview is required, and you must have done the interview prior to receipt of the scholarship app.
I would also strongly recommend that you consider taking the ACT. My daughter, who has never seen a standardized test that she didn't hate  found the ACT much more accessible, and her scores were significantly better on the ACT.
Best of luck to you...
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Sat Aug 25th, 2007 02:10 am |
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thanks chedva, lderochi, and mezzmom!
chedva- i will consider the interview with bates. i really thinks bates is too reachy for me and i am doubting wasting 60 dollars on a school that will barely glance at me. right now i am in the process of trying to figure out what campus best suits me. surprisingly, at this point, my reach school of bard has slowly disappeared.
lderochi- i keep hearing such good things about muhlenberg. i visited the booth at the college fair i went to and they were extremely nice. i will look into it more. i might ask my mom if i could visit.
mezzmom- thanks for your invaluable information on hws. it is very much appreciated! i feel i fall for schools with big, expensive price tags, always. lol.
______
updates....
so, hartwick college, for some reason, really likes to recruit students in very unique ways. today was a hartwick t-shirt with a little note... "a perfect fit" i thought it was really clever. it also makes me wonder about the endowment, how they can send those t-shirts to all of the potential applicants... i dont know.
okay, so the last couple days, i have been trying to think of my life from an outsider's perspective. i am trying to figure out where i would be happy to go to college. i decided i need some guidance and that having little or no requirements would not be beneficial towards me. if i am unsure of what i want to do right now with my life, i dont think that will change in the next coming months. all i know is that i love to write, i love the English language. something related to that will always be in my life. colleges like hampshire and bard, the students usually know what they want to do. i also realized i really like the suburban nature of some of the pennsylvanian schools such as allegheny and dickinson. the students seem to work hard and their is a concise community.
so far schools im looking into seriously.... allegheny, dickinson, drew, ramapo, the college of wooster, denison, goucher. i am intrigued with franklin and marshall and muhlenberg. as of late, i really miss kenyon and realized the social life will be better when the entire student population is there, if i get my sat scores up or my act scores are close to the range, i might apply. we'll see! i feel i need more safeties. i am very paranoid. lol.
anyway, thanks again for everything!!!!!!
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Sun Aug 26th, 2007 04:12 am |
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more updates...
so i talked to my mom about college, laying out all the glossy broucheres of some of the colleges i wanted to visit, interview, and apply to. it went pretty smoothly. i even convinced my mom to give a shot with knox college. i will be applying. the creative writing/english department is too strong to pass up. they even have a scholarship to lure some of the new jersey people like me in.
so, as the mail keeps trickling in, i started to miss kenyon. yes, kenyon. the school i thought i wanted to leave so bad because i was going crazy, i miss. i realized that even though its in a rural area, during the school year, you are all surrounded by your class and their are probably a zillion activities to do. i know kenyon would be a huge reach but i will definately apply if my sat/act are in contention to at least the bottom 25 percentile.
i asked my mom if i could visit franklin and marshall, allegheny, and muhlenberg. so far, its good. allegheny is six and a half hours away, muhlenberg is like two hours. not sure about franklin and marshall. franklin and marshall, as the days keep going on, i keep feeling drawn to it. not sure why. i will be visiting drew really soon and i have a good feeling so far. hopefully it stays that way. i will be writing a visit report on drew once i go. lol.
anyway, thats my progress so far. =)
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sun Aug 26th, 2007 06:39 am |
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| Franklin & Marshall is in Lancaster which is about two hours east of Philadelphia and parts of southern New Jersey. You might want to mapquest the distance from Muhlenberg and combine the trip. Or, alternatively, consider doing F&M and Dickinson - they're about 40 minutes apart.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sun Aug 26th, 2007 06:39 am |
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| Franklin & Marshall is in Lancaster which is about two hours east of Philadelphia and parts of southern New Jersey. You might want to mapquest the distance from Muhlenberg and combine the trip. Or, alternatively, consider doing F&M and Dickinson - they're about 40 minutes apart.
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Tue Aug 28th, 2007 07:33 pm |
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so i just got back from visiting drew. =)
drew is located in madison, new jersey. it is located in morris county, borders around chatham. the downtown area is reminscent of hoboken which i absolutely loved. train station goes to new york and hoboken, both big pluses for me.
the campus is 186 acres. it really is the university in the forest. very pretty. facilities were overall very nice. the admissions office was very helpful and pleasant. my tour guide also. everyone seemed really friendly. both my tour guide and the admissions rep went out of there way to tell me about the english internships and program at the college. i was impressed at how personal it felt. there is a student ratio of 11 to 1. the biggest classes are few and far between. internships and study abroad readily available. campus food supposedly got better. gym was nice, if you are a swimmer, you probably will not like the fact it is not olympic sized. i just really loved the school and would love to go there. idk. i felt very comfortable and at home. this school is a keeper.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Aug 28th, 2007 08:19 pm |
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| Great review -- glad your trip went well. Drew is a great choice to add to your list.
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Thu Aug 30th, 2007 01:05 am |
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thanks carolyn! i could have wrote a more extensive and well written review, but i was tired. lol. but basicially, what i was trying to get at, it meets all of my requirements and i am very pleased with that. lol.
ahh, so far, my college list today is...
(in particular order)
allegheny, the college of wooster, goucher, drew, dickinson, franklin and marshall, ramapo college of new jersey, dickinson, knox
probably going to change a bit once i get a meeting with my guidance counselor when i start school and we try to figure out what will be good for me. college essay is going well enough, i already have four drafts, been working with one of my writing workshop leaders to help me with ideas and structure. its stressful but i feel it is getting better. all in all, that is where i am at. i threw out a bunch of college mail that collected this year, sooooooooooo much mail. ugh. lol.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Aug 30th, 2007 01:56 am |
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| Once, You're well ahead of the game at this point. Good for you!
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onceinvincible315
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Posted: Sun Sep 2nd, 2007 03:01 am |
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thanks carolyn! its required by my school to have a draft of our college essay done by the first day of school... homework assignment.
in other news, i am still playing with my list. i found a school that has a really strong creative writing program and has a pretty cheap tuition. suny purchase. my reservations are a) that creative writing program is really, really, really selective. i remember visiting the table for suny purchase and the admissions guy told me how they had 400 kids for 60 spots. it doesnt make sense to me to make a popular major that selective. well, what do i know? anyway, and i heard the campus is pretty much brick. idk. im still playing around with all options. im trying to find another safety, a financial safety, or maybe even another reach school. idk. i have been looking at rowan and richard stockton college of nj as potential financial safeties. i already have ramapo as one but another one would be good. i think of goucher sort of as a safety school because i feel really good that i fit what they are looking for right now but i wouldnt know about financial part. i was also looking at fairleigh dickinson in madison, they have a creative writing program, i am not sure how strong it is. im not sure of fairleigh dickinsons rep either. their 25th percentile is a 1380 and their 75th percentile is a 1690 in sat scores ... i have a 1640 so i am right up there so i would be sure that i was in. anyway, im still exhausting all options and i am thinking strategically which schools realistically i can get into that i want to go to. i am not applying to any school in which i cant see myself there. that is just a waste of time, money, and effort. and someone elses spot possibly. also, the most schools i will be applying to is 10. no more than 10. 10 is the max.
other schools i looked at again were university of new hampshire and denison. unh supposedly has a good english program but their out of state tuition is basicially as much as a private liberal arts college. denison has a really strong creative writing program, good financial aid, and the social life seems to be good as well. it might be a good reach school for me. i dont think its impossible for me to get accepted but it definately wont be easy.
i will be visiting muhlenberg so that will be fun, not sure when though but i talked to my mom about it. anyway, that is where i am at right now. =)
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