Private Schools in VA for this kid - suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sweetbriar[/quote]


I would not invest in a school that may not be there next year or five years from now. It is currently on financial probation (read wikipedia) for 2018 by its lenders.

[Anonymous]

JMU and CNU are about $10k or more cheaper per year than W&M or UVA. So, if you goal is to match in state (W&M which is currently $35k plus tuition bump if business major, and about same at UVA) probably feasible. If your goal is to get to low 20s much less likely. My kid with similar GPA and higher test scores had lots of options in the mid 30k range net of merit

[Anonymous]

She could get into Dickinson, but unlikely to get money unless she has a characteristic they want. Could, with a good essay, possibly get into W and Mary. She’d probably get free tuition at Mary Washington (you’d still have to pay room and board and various fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you thought about Pitt? I know its not a private but I understand they readily give out merit aid. It will depend on how much you need. My friend's DS was offered $10k in aid and his stats were no where near as good as your DD's.

Hadn't considered Pitt - wasn't even on her radar. But will certainly look into it, thanks! Anyone else have any thoughts?

Pitt is pretty expensive, and their aid is largely tied to test scores. $10k won't bridge the gap.

We really did like Pitt, though.

[Anonymous]

There are some small private schools down near Lynchburg.

[Anonymous]

What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

[Anonymous]

Virginia Wesleyan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sweetbriar[/quote]


I would not invest in a school that may not be there next year or five years from now. It is currently on financial probation (read wikipedia) for 2018 by its lenders.

A valid point by the second PP. On the other hand, it is a school with tremendous support by its alum and, as they've shown, they will go to tremendous lengths to keep the school from closing. The women I know who have attended Sweetbriar have all been very impressive.

[Anonymous]

Would she consider Marymount? It is a wonderful school. It may be too close to home, though ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you thought about Pitt? I know its not a private but I understand they readily give out merit aid. It will depend on how much you need. My friend's DS was offered $10k in aid and his stats were no where near as good as your DD's.

Hadn't considered Pitt - wasn't even on her radar. But will certainly look into it, thanks! Anyone else have any thoughts?

Pitt is pretty expensive, and their aid is largely tied to test scores. $10k won't bridge the gap.

We really did like Pitt, though.

Yes, DC had a similar GPA but a 33 ACT and got $5k in aid. We were bummed because we truly loved everything about Pitt when we visited!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd definitely look at Bryn Mawr College. A truly great school. All-women, which makes it less popular than it once was (and a little easier to get into than it used to be), but it has close relationships with nearby coed Haverford and Swarthmore. I have no idea on merit aid---my guess is it is more focused on financial aid, but worth applying.

For VA public colleges, are you underselling with CNU and JMU?

How so? I'd be thrilled for my kid with similar stats to go to either one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

Wow, I had no idea it was that competitive. Thanks for the FYI. Like I said, our friend's child attends and he really loves it. He is very smart but honestly his grades in high school didn't always reflect it so his stats looked a lot like OP's daughter, which is why I suggested it as an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

Wow, I had no idea it was that competitive. Thanks for the FYI. Like I said, our friend's child attends and he really loves it. He is very smart but honestly his grades in high school didn't always reflect it so his stats looked a lot like OP's daughter, which is why I suggested it as an option.

It's not. Average GPA entering class into U of R is a 3.83. UVA's average entering student is a 4.23. While you can't compare selectivity figures of a private university (more able to play games to rise in the U.S. News & World Report ranking than a public) to a public, still U. of Richard is at 32% of applications submitting, while UVA has dropped to 26%. You should be in the very top of your class to apply to UVA, not so with U of R. UVA is now the no. 2 public university in the United States. Also, the average SAT at U. of Richmond is a 1380 with 1300 being the bottom 25% of the class. ACT range an U. of Richmond is about 29-32. AT UVA it is 30-34. 93% of UVA's class of 2022 were in the top ten percent of their high school class. U. of R is rated "Moderately Selective"; UVA is rated "Most Selective". For U of Richmond, the SAT top 75%ile is 1430/median 1380 and bottom 25%ile is 1295. UVA's is 1480/1400/1320. ACT for Richmond is 32/31/29. UVA's is 33/32/29. UVA's 75th%ile GPA is 4.44, median 4.29 and 25%ile is 4.13, which mean just about everyone in the entering class of 2022 at UVA had a higher GPA than the average student at Richmond. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

Wow, I had no idea it was that competitive. Thanks for the FYI. Like I said, our friend's child attends and he really loves it. He is very smart but honestly his grades in high school didn't always reflect it so his stats looked a lot like OP's daughter, which is why I suggested it as an option.

It's not. Average GPA entering class into U of R is a 3.83. UVA's average entering student is a 4.23. While you can't compare selectivity figures of a private university (more able to play games to rise in the U.S. News & World Report ranking than a public) to a public, still U. of Richard is at 32% of applications submitting, while UVA has dropped to 26%. You should be in the very top of your class to apply to UVA, not so with U of R. UVA is now the no. 2 public university in the United States. Also, the average SAT at U. of Richmond is a 1380 with 1300 being the bottom 25% of the class. ACT range an U. of Richmond is about 29-32. AT UVA it is 30-34. 93% of UVA's class of 2022 were in the top ten percent of their high school class. U. of R is rated "Moderately Selective"; UVA is rated "Most Selective". For U of Richmond, the SAT top 75%ile is 1430/median 1380 and bottom 25%ile is 1295. UVA's is 1480/1400/1320. ACT for Richmond is 32/31/29. UVA's is 33/32/29. UVA's 75th%ile GPA is 4.44, median 4.29 and 25%ile is 4.13, which mean just about everyone in the entering class of 2022 at UVA had a higher GPA than the average student at Richmond. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Consider also that UVA (along with most VA schools) reports weighted GPA in their stats, where many other colleges report unweighted.