Hidden Gems

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For this region: Indiana/Bloomington, Colorado/Boulder, Arizona, Iowa, Oregon, New Hampshire. All are good state flagships, with solid programs, attractive campuses, nice towns, and a mix of in-state and OOS students. And each has an acceptance rate above 79% (... because some students don't have a serious shot at Harvard or UCLA or maybe even College Park). As a native Californian, it's surprised me how quickly people in this region (who aren't resource-constrained) are prepared to write off those fine state flagships based on either their stereotyped image of the state (despite university towns usually being political anomalies, wherever they're located), or the duration of the plane ride, or the assumption that a high acceptance rate must automatically mean sub-par education quality. And they instead start adjusting their sights to lesser state schools (esp in the mid-Atlantic or South), or to second-tier/regional campuses, or to financially weak SLACs -- all located within a state or two of DC. Californians think nothing of traveling a time zone or more away for college - why is that here in the DMV people seem to think that's something you'd only ever do for a "T20" school?

I think after covid some people don't like the idea of their kid being stranded 2,000 miles away. I pretty much agree with you though. We are looking at most of the schools you listed.

You mean their adult? Jesus Christ.

Calm down.

Many people talk about their kids or how many children they have even after the offspring reach 18. It really is okay.

Maybe you should try meditation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For this region: Indiana/Bloomington, Colorado/Boulder, Arizona, Iowa, Oregon, New Hampshire. All are good state flagships, with solid programs, attractive campuses, nice towns, and a mix of in-state and OOS students. And each has an acceptance rate above 79% (... because some students don't have a serious shot at Harvard or UCLA or maybe even College Park). As a native Californian, it's surprised me how quickly people in this region (who aren't resource-constrained) are prepared to write off those fine state flagships based on either their stereotyped image of the state (despite university towns usually being political anomalies, wherever they're located), or the duration of the plane ride, or the assumption that a high acceptance rate must automatically mean sub-par education quality. And they instead start adjusting their sights to lesser state schools (esp in the mid-Atlantic or South), or to second-tier/regional campuses, or to financially weak SLACs -- all located within a state or two of DC. Californians think nothing of traveling a time zone or more away for college - why is that here in the DMV people seem to think that's something you'd only ever do for a "T20" school?

I think after covid some people don't like the idea of their kid being stranded 2,000 miles away. I pretty much agree with you though. We are looking at most of the schools you listed.

You mean their adult? Jesus Christ.

Calm down.

Many people talk about their kids or how many children they have even after the offspring reach 18. It really is okay.

Maybe you should try meditation?

lol, this. My in-laws refer to my husband, me, DH’s brother, and brother’s wife as “the kids.” At almost 47, I’m the youngest, but we’ll always be the kids. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scranton parent here. I'll agree that it fits the criteria of a hidden gem. I'm sure a lot of DCUM parents think they would never send their kid to Scranton. We have five kids (yep, Catholic) and so keeping costs manageable was a high priority. My DC got huge merit aid. They're in the business school and have had no trouble securing internships. (That was one of our concerns.) Super, super happy, with an intramural sport, friends, study abroad. It's a really nice school.

FWIW, first two kids went to Penn State. This one wanted a small environment.

Are you in PA?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

U Denver, RIT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid's college list year: (accepted and toured)

St Mary's
Washington College
Washington & Jefferson
Wooster
Allegheny
Sweet Briar

She liked Allegheny the best and seems very happy there. I liked them all. It was a nice problem to have!

Wooster is fantastic. It's profiled extensively in Ron Lieber's book, The Price You Pay for College, and the college guide, Colleges Worth Your Money. This school is the real deal.

Yes, Wooster and Allegheny are somewhat similar, curriculum-wise. Wooster actually gave us more merit... But Allegheny was the better fit for her. I have a friend who went to Wooster who's done extremely well in her field, and it's a gorgeous campus. Our entire family preferred the town of Meadville over Wooster, and kid liked the smaller scale... But it was a hard call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For this region: Indiana/Bloomington, Colorado/Boulder, Arizona, Iowa, Oregon, New Hampshire. All are good state flagships, with solid programs, attractive campuses, nice towns, and a mix of in-state and OOS students. And each has an acceptance rate above 79% (... because some students don't have a serious shot at Harvard or UCLA or maybe even College Park). As a native Californian, it's surprised me how quickly people in this region (who aren't resource-constrained) are prepared to write off those fine state flagships based on either their stereotyped image of the state (despite university towns usually being political anomalies, wherever they're located), or the duration of the plane ride, or the assumption that a high acceptance rate must automatically mean sub-par education quality. And they instead start adjusting their sights to lesser state schools (esp in the mid-Atlantic or South), or to second-tier/regional campuses, or to financially weak SLACs -- all located within a state or two of DC. Californians think nothing of traveling a time zone or more away for college - why is that here in the DMV people seem to think that's something you'd only ever do for a "T20" school?

I think after covid some people don't like the idea of their kid being stranded 2,000 miles away. I pretty much agree with you though. We are looking at most of the schools you listed.

You mean their adult? Jesus Christ.

That's ridiculous!

I say this as a parent whose kid was in college during Covid. They came home for Spring break with their backpack and a 20" suitcase March 6, 2020. Did not return to campus until August 2020. They managed. School, their friends and local parents were all great with helping get "everything in dorm room" back to us 2K+ miles away once dorms were opened up for clean out.
Paid $300 to have 2 large suitcases shipped to us, the roommate and his GF cleaned out the room (had 60 mins to do so) packed up what he needed and stored the rest at their home. Had his roommate not been able, there were local parents willing to help (and did for many students away)
Also same kid went back to college in aug 2020. And 2 days after Halloween, their entire friends group were dropping like flies with Covid. My kid had moderate to severe case, manaaged by themselves in their apartment (had several severe symptoms but pulse ox never dropped below 93 so didn't go to hospital). They managed all by themselves, and 10 days out slapped on a quality mask and flew home for Thanksgiving (this time bringing enough to stay home until Jan and do exams remotely).

18+ can manage this.

[Anonymous]

Read through all 13 pages to make sure no one had mentioned these...

Son wants smaller engineering/STEM schools, so DH (who is an engineer) orchestrated a tour of his favorite small engineering schools. We visited Colorado School of Mines, Missouri S&T, South Dakota School of Mines, and Rose-Hulman. I rarely see Missouri S&T and South Dakota Mines mentioned so I want to give them a shout out. Smaller schools, very low tuition, and incredible outcomes for engineers. If your kid is willing to go to a smaller town in a red state, these are awesome programs. And a shout out to a major I don't see mentioned very often: Materials Engineering. The chair of the Materials Engineering department at South Dakota Mines spent two hours with us when we visited. He toured us all over campus, let our son try out a bunch of equipment and experiments, and showed us the cutting edge research they are doing with metals. Plus, they have 100% placement rate.

Wish DS had been interested in SD Mines or Missouri, but he has his heart set on Rose-Hulman now. Lots of great, small, quirky schools for engineers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scranton parent here. I'll agree that it fits the criteria of a hidden gem. I'm sure a lot of DCUM parents think they would never send their kid to Scranton. We have five kids (yep, Catholic) and so keeping costs manageable was a high priority. My DC got huge merit aid. They're in the business school and have had no trouble securing internships. (That was one of our concerns.) Super, super happy, with an intramural sport, friends, study abroad. It's a really nice school.

FWIW, first two kids went to Penn State. This one wanted a small environment.

My son loved Scranton when we visited. We are not Catholic and not from PA, but we all really liked it. He didn’t get enough interest from the coach of the sport he wants to play, so he decided not to risk putting his eggs in that basket and is EDing elsewhere.

He also loved Wooster, and is EDing to another school mentioned in this thread, so I guess my kid is fond of “hidden gems.”

[Anonymous]

KU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scranton parent here. I'll agree that it fits the criteria of a hidden gem. I'm sure a lot of DCUM parents think they would never send their kid to Scranton. We have five kids (yep, Catholic) and so keeping costs manageable was a high priority. My DC got huge merit aid. They're in the business school and have had no trouble securing internships. (That was one of our concerns.) Super, super happy, with an intramural sport, friends, study abroad. It's a really nice school.

FWIW, first two kids went to Penn State. This one wanted a small environment.

My son loved Scranton when we visited. We are not Catholic and not from PA, but we all really liked it. He didn’t get enough interest from the coach of the sport he wants to play, so he decided not to risk putting his eggs in that basket and is EDing elsewhere.

He also loved Wooster, and is EDing to another school mentioned in this thread, so I guess my kid is fond of “hidden gems.”

The hidden gems have such nice feels to them. Like there’s a bit of breathing room.

Good luck to your son!