Guide to college visits?

[pcgirl54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcgirl54]

Sharon

College fairs are normally held in an civic or college auditorium not at the local High school. In our area 100 colleges hold one every September at Stonehill College as an example and there were some in Boston.

Have you called his guidance counselor? Open houses are held at colleges in the spring and fall as well. Go to the college website of the ones you think he may want to visit.

What area are you in ? What does he think he may want to do? If he does not know that is ok.

You are going to post a lot of questions through this process.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Sharon

College fairs are normally held in an civic or college auditorium not at the local High school.

Depends on the area. Every year my older dd was in high school a large college fair was held at her high school. It was, of course, not just for the students at her school, but for anyone in the area who wished to attend.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Sharon

College fairs are normally held in an civic or college auditorium not at the local High school. In our area 100 colleges hold one every September at Stonehill College as an example and there were some in Boston.

Have you called his guidance counselor? Open houses are held at colleges in the spring and fall as well. Go to the college website of the ones you think he may want to visit.

What area are you in ? What does he think he may want to do? If he does not know that is ok.

You are going to post a lot of questions through this process.

Well this is all I can tell you...but would certainly love any advice.

First of all, we're in Connecticut. (You and I met briefly at the Manhattan Club a couple of years ago!)

He thinks he wants business but that's probably because his father and I are both in that field. He likes history, is good at math, and is particularly talented as a speaker and very good with people in general. He is very charming, outgoing, and has a great sense of humor. Any school that allows for interviews as part of the admissions process would probably be a huge plus.

He is very active both in and out of school. He has been elected Treasurer of his class every year. He plays football and this year will be doing indoor track (discus). He has had a job since he turned 16. He also plays drums in the band. He would be happiest at a school that has a football team (to watch, not to play...he's not that good!) and with kids that are bright but not nerdy.

He does not want to go to school in the South unless it's Texas or possibly Florida, as they aren't as "southern" in his opinion, because there is a great mix of people.

He took the SATs as a 13 year old to qualify for the CTY program and did very well. I don't know how he will do in the end, but I anticipate that the scores will be strong.

His GPA is so-so given his ability...he'll probably end up with a 3.4 or maybe a 3.5 by graduation. That's a weighted GPA. He took a full load of honors courses Freshman year which was way too many, then scaled back as a Sophomore to fewer honors courses. Now, Junior year, he isn't taking any. He may do APs next year. He definitely did not put forth a huge effort on grades at school...although this year he is trying to take things more seriously.

Most of his friends seem to have extremely strong GPAs that are above 4.0, so he's feeling like all the schools that they will attend are schools he would not be able to get into. I have heard that the state schools are all about the numbers and wouldn't care about the sports/student government/band/job. Financially, a state school would be the best option for us I think. However, his good friend just got accepted to Tulane and got $34,000/year in aid so I know there are some exceptions (My son has no interest in Tulane though.) His father and I went to Michigan for business school and I think he would like it there, but who knows?

He knows he doesn't want to go to school in a city. He likes a campus feel...not sure if he cares whether he is near a city or not. I'm also not sure he really knows what size school he wants. Our high school has about 900 kids in it, and everyone knows who my son is. It may be hard to go to a school where he would be more anonymous, yet I think he would feel stifled at a smaller school because he likes variety.

So if one of you would now kindly pick a college for us so that I can stop thinking about this, that would be just peachy!!

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

So if one of you would now kindly pick a college for us so that I can stop thinking about this, that would be just peachy!!

Oh Sharon! I got the biggest belly laugh out of this! I am right there with you, reading and learning. Hang in there....I bet you and your son will do just fine.

[pcgirl54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcgirl54]

ok here you are Sharon..............After many many hours weeks and days and countless campus visits until I was numb with numbers and nerves and if he does not want UConn.

Boston College

go to the links for interested students or parents info and open houses. He fits the profile of a BC student http://www.bc.edu/resources/parent_resources.html


Boston College-small college feel with lots of options

Good business school
Good sports program
8k students but not that no one knows you feel-our son worried about this too
Near a city but not in the city feel
good transportation
early action -Our son did this and was accepted http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergra...yingearly.html

not far from CT but far enough away for him to be on his own
involves parents/felt comfortable
friendly
strong alumni association-very loyal to BC grads
great tailgate parties
Great community outreach programs -Ignatius program for example

Our son went to a high school with 780 kids. He interviewed with a BC senior on campus and came out 2 hours later telling us this was it. This was the last school he visited because a friend of mine thought he would like it. We were shocked that he did.

Our son joined two other alumni in NYC and founded their own company. NY has a very strong BC group.


The tuition was steep for us then and it will be now. We went back to visit 5 times because we were so panicked as it was a lot of money and we had two more boys to put through college.

The aid package they gave us was pretty decent and it was not tied to a gpa but it was more than the others he was accepted to. They gave us the same type aid package all through BC. Our son did not play sports but he had high grades,worked through high school.volunteer activities etc.

FYI that the acceptance letters come before the FA letters. Then you look at the loans vs the free money you don't pay back. It does make a difference. For example Providence College Award letter for our son would have had more loans to pay back then BC award. He was awarded grant "free money" and a Presidential Scholarship but BC had less loans to pay back and was about 4k different bottom line. When you are past 30K it seems minimal to talk about a few thousand. He was accepted to 4 of 5 schools and bottom line is the key.

One year at BC was more than I paid for our first house. Pretty scary stuff indeed.

I worked for Sallie Mae so when you get to the FA headaches I can help you if needed with the stress of what it all means.

Ask Grayfal as her son went to BC after mine and I helped her with a few questions.


Son 2 top student also graduated from Virgina Tech. He just loved it there also but for us it is 14 hrs away. It is a larger scale BC with the most helpful staff and gorgeous campus with lots to do. Very strong sports teams. Out of state students do not get merit awards but the tuition is a lot less. Son 2 loved U of Michigan Ann Arbor. DH drove him to Marquette also on that road trip.

As we went on timeshare vacations we visited places like Duke, UNC, Villanova, Penn State, Catholic Univeristy in DC,Virginia Tech besides many in the New England states. It was indeed quite the experience. After 11 years and three sons plus myself in college at the same time we are all now done. I kept a log of the whole experience with all the stats from all the schools and all the highlights in the Princeton Review and Insiders Guide. I don't have the heart to throw it out yet.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Too funny...I never expected to sign on this morning with a college picked...lol!

Only one teeeeny problem...isn't it a Jesuit school?

We are Jewish. Although my son is at that age where he is not particularly religious, he would not feel comfortable at a school that is heavily weighted in a particular religious direction.

And there is that other comment you made: "One year at BC was more than I paid for our first house. Pretty scary stuff indeed." Lol...this will likely not work for us!!

However, they do have an excellent football team!!

[pcgirl54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcgirl54]

Sharon.
You asked for a place to go so of course I had an answer for you, LOL!!!

Yes it is Jesuit but varying faiths attend BC with no issues.

Down the road from BC is Brandeis which has Judaic studies and is an excellent school with a business program. Just 10 miles from downtown Boston and they do interviews when requested. Smaller in student population.

Brandeis Preview Day is 11/23. You can sign up for this.Preview Day

Brandeis Admissions | Applying | What We Look For

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

I'm pretty sure my son will say that BC is too Catholic and Brandeis is too Jewish...lol.

I feel like he is going to want a bigger school for some reason...but I may be wrong. I guess if I could find one large and one small school that would be a fit, it would pay to visit both.

BTW, don't throw out those notes...write a book!!

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Sharon, one of my best friends and her husband, who are both Jewish, met at Georgetown which is a Jesuit school.

[NJmom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close NJmom]

The best place to start if your school subscribes is Naviance/Family Connection. It provides data from your school about the GPA/SAT scores of students that were accepted/rejected from any school that at least 5? students from your school have applied. This gives you a great place to start as GPA's vary so much from school to school.

This is an example of a school that has a guest entrance and no password needed.
https://connection.naviance.com/fc/s...hsid=westfield


Look at acceptance history /scattergrams for gpa/sat info.

Ask guidance or check your schools website.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

The best place to start if your school subscribes is Naviance/Family Connection.

I'm familiar with this website as it is the one my dd's school is using to track the girls' applications. Unfortunately her school is so small there is no data available to compare.

[NJmom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close NJmom]

Just another couple of points.

1 Try to find a schools that he is likely to be accepted to and wouldn't mind going to ( safety schools) ,as well as a match schools, BEFORE he falls in love with a reach school.
2 As the mother of a senior daughter, enjoy the search and any possible on on one time it gives you with your son. I had a great time visiting schools with D last year(12 or 13 I believe) and knowing where he is likely to apply will make the very hectic fall of senior year a bit less so.

3 Without knowing the context of his GPA within his school and his scores it is hard to make recommendations, but try these for moderately priced options.

University of Delaware,

University of Maryland(neither is too expensive out of state)

Elon University(Located in NC but many students are from the NE) This is a very hot school at a good price for a private school.

Have you considered your own state school?

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Susan,

Do you happen to live in Westfield? My best friend lives there, and her husband is the rabbi of one of the large congregations there.

Now I'm going back to read your input...thank you!

Sharon

P.S. We have Naviance too, but I swear it seems like every school I look at only has applicants that have 4.0 averages or above!

P.P.S. Yes, we are considering UConn, which my son scoffs at, saying that "it's everyone's safety school". Not sure that's the case anymore though, and the price is certainly right.

[NJmom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close NJmom]

Hi Sharon,

I don't live in Westfield, but in a town close by with a similar type of school district. Our school uses Naviance, but does not have it available online for students and parents. A friend told me about the Westfield site and we have used it when we don't want to go to guidance to ask about a school as the gpa/sat accepted from Westfield seem to be very similar to our school.(this is not universal they can be very different)

P.S. We have Naviance too, but I swear it seems like every school I look at only has applicants that have 4.0 averages or above!

Hopefully this isn't completely true. Take some time and look for some that might fall within his gpa range. Try Quinnipiac then check out overlaps for that school it can help you find other ideas. I found that when we started visiting last year that it was a wake up call that can be very motivating in bringing up that GPA. A good upward trend can only help. Also if his scores are good that should help too.