DCUM Roll Call... Where is your DC Enrolling?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:VCU

Congrats! DD is at VCU and loves it.

My Junior is interested in VCU. She has friends there who are very happy. DD has high stats and will also apply to UVA/VT/W&M, etc. but could see herself at VCU. I think VCU is really growing in popularity. Richmond is a big enough city for kids who like an urban vibe, but small enough that it’s not overwhelming. Close to home but not too close.

VCU juniors may want to start a new thread or reference the prior dozens.

Rising junior DS is also interested in VCU. Also love that there is an urban vibe but it’s not too far away. He is interested in either medicine or dentistry so the many options in the health sciences is another plus. So happy to hear others are having positive experiences! Does anyone know how they are with merit?

Surprisingly, they were terrible with merit. My daughter had 1510 and 4.4 with all the rigor and only got $6k a year.

Hmmmm, I just saw your reply (and replied we know of several full-rides). That's disappointing, for sure. Were you local? Degree of interest? Perhaps your DD was applying for a more selective program?

Yep - we were local (northern Virginia) and daughter applied to the arts. But I don't think her major mattered. I was surprised. I saw someone else with even higher stats that got the same scholarship.

We're even more local (in RVA) and I do believe they tend to favor the hometown kids. but what'do'I'know? My experience is anecdotal, at best (sample size < 10!)

Its arts programs are incredible and I hope your DD still considers it and it still fits in your budget.

My DD (and my) main concern was the crime in the area. Even when we were on our tour, a homeless guy approached us. The arts program definitely seems stellar though.

Being homeless and asking for money is not criminal behavior.

NP. That is exactly what I was going to say. Homelessness isn’t a crime. Approaching a stranger and asking for money or food/other necessities when you are homeless isn’t a crime.

It’s uncomfortable to be approached by a homeless person sometimes but the presence of homeless people in itself doesn’t prove the area is unsafe because there are homeless people in every city and town in the world.

Some homeless people are victims of their own past behavior and convey their “requests” in a menacing manner that suggests they’ll resort to violence if they aren’t given money. You see that regularly in DC.

Also, many are mentally ill - and frankly my kid is not equipped to handle that level of illness nor would I want her to become a victim or someone's illness induced behaviors. I know lot of schools are fine within the campus (even if the surrounding areas are unsafe); but we had a homeless person come up to us on campus and during an on campus tour.

Before she goes off to college or to live on her own, I suggest you equip her to deal w situations like a homeless or mentally ill person approaching her. You have to prepare her for the real world at some point.homeless and mentally ill people are a significant presence in any city or town she might live in and you can’t reasonably expect her to stay in a protected bubble all the time. She needs to learn some street smarts.

I'm sure most kids have some basic knowledge on how to handle mentally ill homeless people, but that doesn't mean that one would want to be an around it. While every school has some level of violence, some schools definitely have more of it.

Vatech and UVa have both had far more violent murders than the urban schools people on this site like to freak out about.

OMG. Just stop. One-off crazy situations that occur once a decade (or longer) are in no way comparable to the daily crime found on and around many urban campuses.
DP

NP. If some people are fine living in high crime environments, then that's their choice. However, others (like myself) choose to avoid it whenever possible. Also, I agree that there is a difference between schools that experience a rare major crime (that might make the news) v. schools where crimes are commonplace. Another school that we would avoid is Johns Hopkins. My nephew was mugged walking to his office campus apartment from class (about 2 years ago). Also, one of his friends had his apartment broken into. If it wasn't for the crime, Baltimore could truly be charming.

My apartment and several of my friends’ apartments were broken into at Michigan-Ann Arbor.

I thought Ann Arbor was safe?

[Anonymous]

A while back, but Gainesville had not one but 2 serial killers https://the-line-up.com/the-gainesville-ripper-terrified-the-university-of-florida?amp=1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A while back, but Gainesville had not one but 2 serial killers https://the-line-up.com/the-gainesville-ripper-terrified-the-university-of-florida?amp=1

I just listened to a 48 hours where a kid from Miami attending UFlorida was killed by a friend (non-student), within the last few years. And I remember the 1990s murder spree ar UFlorida because I was in college myself elsewhere and thought it was super creepy.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:A while back, but Gainesville had not one but 2 serial killers https://the-line-up.com/the-gainesville-ripper-terrified-the-university-of-florida?amp=1

I just listened to a 48 hours where a kid from Miami attending UFlorida was killed by a friend (non-student), within the last few years. And I remember the 1990s murder spree ar UFlorida because I was in college myself elsewhere and thought it was super creepy.

The UF student who was murdered was Christian Aguilar and his death had absolutely nothing to do with UF. The person who killed him was not affiliated w UF in any way and the murder did not take place at UF or even in Gainesville. It was a targeted crime committed by a jealous friend. So it really is not indicative of crime at UF. It was also in 2012, not within the last few years.

Also, to the other PP, there haven’t been 2 serial killers at UF/in Gainesville. That one, Daniel rolling, killed 5 people back in 1990. That was obviously a horrific event in Gainesville but very rare and there have been no other serial killers there. In the article you linked it mentions Ted Bundy who killed students at FSU, not UF.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:VCU

Congrats! DD is at VCU and loves it.

My Junior is interested in VCU. She has friends there who are very happy. DD has high stats and will also apply to UVA/VT/W&M, etc. but could see herself at VCU. I think VCU is really growing in popularity. Richmond is a big enough city for kids who like an urban vibe, but small enough that it’s not overwhelming. Close to home but not too close.

VCU juniors may want to start a new thread or reference the prior dozens.

Rising junior DS is also interested in VCU. Also love that there is an urban vibe but it’s not too far away. He is interested in either medicine or dentistry so the many options in the health sciences is another plus. So happy to hear others are having positive experiences! Does anyone know how they are with merit?

Surprisingly, they were terrible with merit. My daughter had 1510 and 4.4 with all the rigor and only got $6k a year.

Hmmmm, I just saw your reply (and replied we know of several full-rides). That's disappointing, for sure. Were you local? Degree of interest? Perhaps your DD was applying for a more selective program?

Yep - we were local (northern Virginia) and daughter applied to the arts. But I don't think her major mattered. I was surprised. I saw someone else with even higher stats that got the same scholarship.

We're even more local (in RVA) and I do believe they tend to favor the hometown kids. but what'do'I'know? My experience is anecdotal, at best (sample size < 10!)

Its arts programs are incredible and I hope your DD still considers it and it still fits in your budget.

My DD (and my) main concern was the crime in the area. Even when we were on our tour, a homeless guy approached us. The arts program definitely seems stellar though.

Being homeless and asking for money is not criminal behavior.

NP. That is exactly what I was going to say. Homelessness isn’t a crime. Approaching a stranger and asking for money or food/other necessities when you are homeless isn’t a crime.

It’s uncomfortable to be approached by a homeless person sometimes but the presence of homeless people in itself doesn’t prove the area is unsafe because there are homeless people in every city and town in the world.

Some homeless people are victims of their own past behavior and convey their “requests” in a menacing manner that suggests they’ll resort to violence if they aren’t given money. You see that regularly in DC.

Also, many are mentally ill - and frankly my kid is not equipped to handle that level of illness nor would I want her to become a victim or someone's illness induced behaviors. I know lot of schools are fine within the campus (even if the surrounding areas are unsafe); but we had a homeless person come up to us on campus and during an on campus tour.

Before she goes off to college or to live on her own, I suggest you equip her to deal w situations like a homeless or mentally ill person approaching her. You have to prepare her for the real world at some point.homeless and mentally ill people are a significant presence in any city or town she might live in and you can’t reasonably expect her to stay in a protected bubble all the time. She needs to learn some street smarts.

I'm sure most kids have some basic knowledge on how to handle mentally ill homeless people, but that doesn't mean that one would want to be an around it. While every school has some level of violence, some schools definitely have more of it.

Vatech and UVa have both had far more violent murders than the urban schools people on this site like to freak out about.

OMG. Just stop. One-off crazy situations that occur once a decade (or longer) are in no way comparable to the daily crime found on and around many urban campuses.
DP

Not one offs, can think of multiple examples at both schools.

No you can't.

[Anonymous]

Shoot, I wasn’t paying close enough attention on bundy. I googled and I swear one article said Gainesville.

It’s been a long week-sorry!

It does go back to there can be crime anywhere. You never know.

There are places where crime is more frequent. For example, I don’t know that I would consider temple or Penn as the parts of Philly they are in have particularly high crime rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shoot, I wasn’t paying close enough attention on bundy. I googled and I swear one article said Gainesville.

It’s been a long week-sorry!

It does go back to there can be crime anywhere. You never know.

There are places where crime is more frequent. For example, I don’t know that I would consider temple or Penn as the parts of Philly they are in have particularly high crime rates.

Yep. I don’t think it’s fair to take one instance of a serial killer (super rare but could happen anywhere) and a targeted crime in which a student was the target/victim (which could also happen anywhere and to anyone) and say that shows that a university/city is a violent, crime-filled place.

Three students at UVA were killed in 2022, 32 at VA tech in 2007, 3 at Michigan state last year…does anyone say “oh those are dangerous campuses”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shoot, I wasn’t paying close enough attention on bundy. I googled and I swear one article said Gainesville.

It’s been a long week-sorry!

It does go back to there can be crime anywhere. You never know.

There are places where crime is more frequent. For example, I don’t know that I would consider temple or Penn as the parts of Philly they are in have particularly high crime rates.

Yep. I don’t think it’s fair to take one instance of a serial killer (super rare but could happen anywhere) and a targeted crime in which a student was the target/victim (which could also happen anywhere and to anyone) and say that shows that a university/city is a violent, crime-filled place.

Three students at UVA were killed in 2022, 32 at VA tech in 2007, 3 at Michigan state last year…does anyone say “oh those are dangerous campuses”?

Exactly! Not sure what the point was to talk about these cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loyola Chicago - full ride.

picked it over BC, etc. Smart!

10/10

Do you mind sharing stats/major for full ride?

Congrats to your DC!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Stats: 4.5 wgpa; 1530 SAT

Accepted: W&M, UVA, Ohio State, Lehigh, Clemson, Villanova, Florida State, University of Florida, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Tulane, UGA

Waitlists: None

Rejected: University of Pennsylvania

Choosing: University of Florida

Go Gators!

Curious why DC chose UF - that is an amazing list of schools to pick from!

NP (not the pp whose kid chose UF) but if I had that same list I’d either choose UF or Tulane. Love the vibes at both schools and both are excellent schools! UVA and W&M are great too but I’d want to get farther away from home.

Really? I would never chose the school of 35,000 kids over a smaller school.

Ok. I would

So would my kid. He doesn’t want small.

Same - I think a large school just opens up a lot more choices and opportunities
to explore interests and find people with whom they have things in common with.

There is large and then there is Uber large. Much different experience at school of 18,000 than one of 35,000.

Not really.
DP

I agree. Once you get above (very roughly) 12-15,000 undergrads, you reach a point where you won’t be surprised if you go all day & never run into someone you know. That seems to be a tangible difference…college goes from being a village where there is usually at least one familiar face in any large group to a city where you are just another nameless person.

I think what often makes the universities with huge enrollments so overwhelming is not the number of people, but the spread-out campuses they usually have. Like Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, & Texas A&M cover enormous chunks of land, & going from place to place can be a chore. Compare the feeling on those campuses to places like Central Florida, U of Az, & U of Nebraska, which have a lot of students but their campuses are relatively compact.

I agree with the point about physical campus size. Does anyone know a resource that lists that for schools beyond the ten or twenty largest? TIA!

[Anonymous]

Committed to Swarthmore yesterday following the admitted student event! We are all proud of our daughter’s hard work and delighted the process is over.

[Anonymous]

Oberlin with merit scholarship!

3.7 unweighted gpa from small private school. No leadership positions but artsy, language kid (4 years of Arabic), and volunteer work. Strong ceramics portfolio.

Also accepted to:
Skidmore
Brandeis
Mount Holyoke
Sarah Lawrence (merit scholarship)
Fordham
Muhlenberg (merit and art scholarships)
University of San Francisco (merit)
Willamette (merit)
University of San Francisco (merit
Univer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Committed to Swarthmore yesterday following the admitted student event! We are all proud of our daughter’s hard work and delighted the process is over.

Yeah! I look forward to being you at this time next year re: delighted part, not Swarthmore as that is not a fit for our ds, but where ever is his fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin with merit scholarship!

3.7 unweighted gpa from small private school. No leadership positions but artsy, language kid (4 years of Arabic), and volunteer work. Strong ceramics portfolio.

Also accepted to:
Skidmore
Brandeis
Mount Holyoke
Sarah Lawrence (merit scholarship)
Fordham
Muhlenberg (merit and art scholarships)
University of San Francisco (merit)
Willamette (merit)
University of San Francisco (merit
Univer

That’s great! My Obie graduates next month. He started Fall 2020, during COVID, and the school did an amazing job and moved heaven and Earth to get kids an in person education. And they made it work, with regular testing and very minimal spread.

My kid loves the school and knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the right decision for him. I hope your new Obie loves it as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Committed to Swarthmore yesterday following the admitted student event! We are all proud of our daughter’s hard work and delighted the process is over.

Yeah! I look forward to being you at this time next year re: delighted part, not Swarthmore as that is not a fit for our ds, but where ever is his fit.

Here was our plan:
Junior year
Stepped up academic classes
ACT prep and two test (fall and spring)
Spring break tours including rural, suburban, and urban campuses; large, medium, and small student bodies
Cost was not a factor for us, but if it is for you, address it NOW!

Summer after Junior year
Common App completion, esp. essay
Employment
Plan supplemental materials for portfolios
Select 10-15 colleges including likelies, targets, and reaches--all of which we agreed upon as a family were good choices & fits

Fall Senior Year
Supplemental essays (brutal!)
Portfolio prep and submission
Early decision selection and application
All other submissions (my kid was deferred ED at her top choice, but got it RD); I do not recommend waiting until after ED comes out to do supplemental essays for the other colleges. It would have been completely overwhelming to do essays between Dec 15 and Jan 1.

I very much believe this process led to our feelings of delight; we were all on board from the beginning.