up and coming schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are impressed with places like Wooster and Lawrence and Muhlenberg do not have experience with top 10-15 LACs. They are fine schools but they just do not provide the same experience.

So what are the likelies/safeties for a kid interested in T10-15 LACs? They need to have a few irons in that fire.

Also, plenty of kids who have the stats/ECs/abilities for a T10-15, but don't have the money. Should they simply forgo school because the aforementioned schools "do not provide the same experience?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who are impressed with places like Wooster and Lawrence and Muhlenberg do not have experience with top 10-15 LACs. They are fine schools but they just do not provide the same experience.

DH and I both top 15 LACs, older kid currently at a top 15 LAC, we spent 14 years living a mile from a top 15 LAC…and we were plenty impressed with Wooster. Lawrence is next on the list to visit.

DH and I both went to top 15 LACs and our child is currently at a different top 15 LAC. When we were looking at schools, we toured both Wooster and Lawrence. We were not impressed. There was not the same focus on academics as at the top schools. The admissions office was disorganized. We liked Appleton though. Our child thought Wooster was too heavy-handed with the sales job which turned him off. Of the more likely schools, St Olaf was our favorite.

Wooster has good STEM PhD placements, so guessing there is some academic focus at the school....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:People who are impressed with places like Wooster and Lawrence and Muhlenberg do not have experience with top 10-15 LACs. They are fine schools but they just do not provide the same experience.

DH and I both top 15 LACs, older kid currently at a top 15 LAC, we spent 14 years living a mile from a top 15 LAC…and we were plenty impressed with Wooster. Lawrence is next on the list to visit.

DH and I both went to top 15 LACs and our child is currently at a different top 15 LAC. When we were looking at schools, we toured both Wooster and Lawrence. We were not impressed. There was not the same focus on academics as at the top schools. The admissions office was disorganized. We liked Appleton though. Our child thought Wooster was too heavy-handed with the sales job which turned him off. Of the more likely schools, St Olaf was our favorite.

Thank goodness your kid got into a top 15. The embarrassment you would have felt if they had to go to a Wooster or Lawrence type school would have been unbearable for you!

Np
Aren’t there a number of schools between top 15 and Wooster or Lawrence? No experience with them at all just curious.

And?

[Anonymous]

Being "up and coming" can be fleeting. It can get that label not because something dramatically changed in the education, the funding, or the quality of the student body vis-a-vis the rest of the country, but because the preferred schools became tougher admits. In those circumstances, the customary alternatives are known as second choice schools in that area, leading students to look elsewhere.

For example, when admissions became dramatically more competitive for California students, Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado became popular for college counselors recommending nearby state schools for California kids who didn't or couldn't get into UCLA, UC Berkeley, or USC and didn't want to go to a Cal State or some of the "lesser" UCs, which would obviously have signaled that they couldn't get into the preferred school. Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado seemed like choices (rather than fall-backs), seemed fun, and they became popular safeties for people who could afford out-of-state tuition (and in some cases the cost was less than the UC cost including housing).

As those schools became better known for easier admissions and more CA students went there so it was no longer particularly interesting, unique, or defensible, students looked to other state schools, although plenty of kids still go there from CA. There's nothing wrong with the schools, but they aren't considered up-and-coming anymore. Colorado lost that status awhile ago (partly because of changes in admissions policies) and Oregon and Arizona are known as auto-admits by many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who are impressed with places like Wooster and Lawrence and Muhlenberg do not have experience with top 10-15 LACs. They are fine schools but they just do not provide the same experience.

DH and I both top 15 LACs, older kid currently at a top 15 LAC, we spent 14 years living a mile from a top 15 LAC…and we were plenty impressed with Wooster. Lawrence is next on the list to visit.

DH and I both went to top 15 LACs and our child is currently at a different top 15 LAC. When we were looking at schools, we toured both Wooster and Lawrence. We were not impressed. There was not the same focus on academics as at the top schools. The admissions office was disorganized. We liked Appleton though. Our child thought Wooster was too heavy-handed with the sales job which turned him off. Of the more likely schools, St Olaf was our favorite.

Wooster has good STEM PhD placements, so guessing there is some academic focus at the school....

Very possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are impressed with places like Wooster and Lawrence and Muhlenberg do not have experience with top 10-15 LACs. They are fine schools but they just do not provide the same experience.

I don't understand why you feel compelled to share this opinion, but it just makes you look like a horrendous snob who doesn't know much about American SLACs.

Why are you so mean-spirited? Why can only one truth exist in your fluffy little head at a time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Coast schools will be the next ones having a “moment.” Oregon, Washington, and California.

The southern schools will remain popular. I have a theory why, but I suspect most people already understand why.

Mine entertained the PNW but the weather during the tour was awful. Mine ended up not wanting to walk in that every day to class and cost of living was crazy and even more ridiculous to grab food off campus. I don’t see those schools taking off.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:High point-This is a school that really prepares kids for actionable careers. A friend sent their kid there and loved their experience.

The glossy brochures & catalogs they send us endlessly look cultish. Can’t even recycle as they are covered in plastic.

What does cultish mean?

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but think I saw a clip where applicants gather in an auditorium and all find out simultaneously they have been admitted. And I thought "cult" when I saw it.

I think you are mistaken. A few people on this forum hate on High Point. I have no idea why. If we could have afforded it for ADHD DD we would have but it was just not doable for us (no merit; no financial aid). It's a superb school for kids who need extra supports. Force anyone who says anything negative about it to prove their point. They usually can't.

[Anonymous]

It is a suburb school for any kid. Friends I know who sent their kids didn’t have LD. The focus on the school is being prepared for workforce and that somehow makes people who favor LAC uncomfortable

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We were impressed by the Towson campus tour and surprised that the other three families on the tour were not from the DMV.

+1 on Towson. Beautiful campus, good size. It is supposed to be a safety for UMD but frankly it is a nicer school. Watching my kid grind away to live in College Park makes me sad.

DD is a first year at Towson (accepted at UMD also). The food isn't great this year, but overall, she really likes the campus, the vibe, the people. I'm sure UMD would have been ok, but we all agree that Towson was the right choice for her.

We did not try the food but saw a Chik fil a in the dining hall which my kid could probably eat everyday.

DP, who also has a freshman at Towson and who is also happy. The problem with the food is that you have to have a dining plan as a freshman living on campus, and the main plan doesn't include the vendors like Chik Fil A. You can use dining dollars for it (as is the case for most campuses), but most of your money is for the main dining halls. It's not a deal breaker, but you should know going in that if your kid wants Chik Fil A every day, you will be paying for it on top of the $2,600 or so per semester you are required to spend.

Food is not good at UMD either

Actually, it’s one of the top ranked for food. My son and his friends are very happy with the variety and quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SMU (in terms of attracting kids in the midatlantic/northeast)

I agree. SMU has been hot lately. So has Texas. We know a kid that is pursing an engineering degree at UT. He is a sophomore and has already received ridiculous paying internships in Houston over the summer. He is pursuing a degree as a Petroleum engineer. Petroleum engineers are equipped with the technological expertise to bring oil and natural gas from deep within the earth to the surface for delivery to processing facilities, providing energy for the world while working to mitigate the effects of using hydrocarbons. They invent new techniques to recover natural resources from the earth and apply environmentally sound production methods. Even as we develop important sources of alternative energy, oil and natural gas will remain essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High point-This is a school that really prepares kids for actionable careers. A friend sent their kid there and loved their experience.

The glossy brochures & catalogs they send us endlessly look cultish. Can’t even recycle as they are covered in plastic.

What does cultish mean?

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but think I saw a clip where applicants gather in an auditorium and all find out simultaneously they have been admitted. And I thought "cult" when I saw it.

I think you are mistaken. A few people on this forum hate on High Point. I have no idea why. If we could have afforded it for ADHD DD we would have but it was just not doable for us (no merit; no financial aid). It's a superb school for kids who need extra supports. Force anyone who says anything negative about it to prove their point. They usually can't.

I just can’t stomach certain motivational speakers. Something about Qubein makes me feel like touring the college would be similar to a timeshare tour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High point-This is a school that really prepares kids for actionable careers. A friend sent their kid there and loved their experience.

The glossy brochures & catalogs they send us endlessly look cultish. Can’t even recycle as they are covered in plastic.

What does cultish mean?

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but think I saw a clip where applicants gather in an auditorium and all find out simultaneously they have been admitted. And I thought "cult" when I saw it.

I think you are mistaken. A few people on this forum hate on High Point. I have no idea why. If we could have afforded it for ADHD DD we would have but it was just not doable for us (no merit; no financial aid). It's a superb school for kids who need extra supports. Force anyone who says anything negative about it to prove their point. They usually can't.

PP here. Thanks for sharing - helpful to know. GL to your DD.

[Anonymous]

Duke and Vanderbilt

[Anonymous]

When Citadel says Miami is becoming Wall Street - U Miami is going to become like NYU in finance. Kids there will get great internships and that will bring talent.