Recommendations for schools within 3 hours of NoVa for my (below?) average kid?

[Anonymous]

% female was from 49-69, mean of 59.
% white from 31-82, mean of 63.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all, for suggestions. I looked these up and put them in a spreadsheet (I did drop the ones that are further away). In case it helps anyone else, this is them sorted by graduation rate:

Undergrad % Female % White % Admit % Graduate
JMU 19,727 58 75 80 82
CNU 4,758 55 76 76 80
American 8,000 62 51 39 79
West Chester U 14,712 60 74 86 75
Susquehanna 2,239 57 79 73 75
Ursinus 1,493 49 74 80 74
Juniata 1,303 55 74 67 74
Towson 18,730 60 50 79 73
GMU 27,104 49 37 89 72
St Mary's 1,486 60 70 79 72
Washington College 1,089 61 67 80 72
Roanoke 1,920 57 82 78 70
Longwood 3,940 69 72 87 67
VCU 21,943 62 43 91 66
Goucher College 1,114 68 48 79 66
Mary Washington 3,993 65 68 75 65
McDaniel 1,804 55 55 81 63
Bridgewater 1,552 55 64 76 63
WVU 20,495 51 82 84 62
Shenandoah 2,267 60 64 74 61
Lynchburg 1,822 61 74 97 57
Radford 7,307 62 63 79 56
Millersville 6,454 59 74 85 56
Marymount 2,041 65 31 85 54
ODU 19,622 56 44 95 53
Chestnut Hill College 1,074 60 36 71 52

Ironically, my ds went to two schools that are listed right next to each other on this list.

[Anonymous]

Has your DD considered:

University of Mary Washington
Christopher Newport University
Old Dominion University
VCU
WVU
University of Delaware
St Marys College of Maryland
Loyola of Maryland in Baltimore

A little further of a drive:
Miami of Ohio
East Carolina University
Merrimack in MA
University of Kentucky

[Anonymous]

Catholic
VCU
Goucher
College of Charleston
UNC - Asheville or Greensboro


A little further but you might want to consider Rochester Institute of Technology

[Anonymous]

First, kudos to you for thinking about a school which is a good fit for you DD and not getting into the rabbit-hole of college admissions

A co-workers child went to Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV - loved it

Good luck

[Anonymous]

When people say "3.4 GPA" and don't mentioned weighted vs unweighted, what do they mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people say "3.4 GPA" and don't mentioned weighted vs unweighted, what do they mean?

Unweighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people say "3.4 GPA" and don't mentioned weighted vs unweighted, what do they mean?

Most likely, it's unweighted--because their kid has not taken classes that qualify for the extra point "weight."

[Anonymous]

Dang you're organized! I think the list you generated is really good. My kid will have similar stats. Please don't call your daughter (below) average. Mine brings a ton of wonderful qualities to the table, and I'm sure yours does, too. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is a junior in Northern Va with average grades (3.3 GPA) and some AP classes. Will test in the 1000-1100 range on SATs. We are looking for a school within driving distance of home, so ideally within 3 hours. Not expecting any financial aid, and not really worried about cost (though I prefer to spend under $50K year). No intended major or even a great sense of what to do, although it will be humanities/liberal arts and not science or math. Not a lot of "impressive" stuff on the resume -- some sports, some clubs, not a standout in anything. DD is an OK but not great writer, etc. Even typing this, probably not even average for this area, but would be average in most of the country.

Definitely a late bloomer. I'm not worried about her long-term. She's a grounded person who has good social skills, and high emotional IQ, but is not a great student. She's organized and conscientious, but does have some anxiety, which is why I think she will be happier not too far from home.

I'm looking for recs for places to apply. We are open on size of school, though there need to be enough majors in the humanities/liberal arts that she can find her thing. Maybe also graphic design, as she has a good eye, but never really pursued it. A lot of the colleges I've seen are 65% female or higher, and I prefer something with better gender balance. Also looking for a school where a good percentage of kids actually finish, and where kids coming out of the school go on to jobs/grad school. I also prefer a school where kids largely live on campus, and the school is good at helping freshman get integrated and find success. I prefer her not get lost, and go to a school that will really help her thrive.

All of this makes me think she may do better in the right smaller school. She's interested in a bigger school like JMU, though from what I've read here, I don't think she would get in. She would enjoy getting to cheer on sports teams, etc. I don't think Greek system would be a good fit, so ideally a school where you don't have to do that to make friends.

Also on the wish list is a place where she could have a single room as a freshman, but still live in a more communal space to make friends. Part of her management of the anxiety is control over her living environment, so not having to deal with a messy roommate would be good, but she also needs to be with the people, if that makes sense.

Thanks for any ideas!

I’m a retired educator, and when I hear “high emotional IQ”, I think elementary school teacher. Many academic high achievers are not the right fit for this career. What you’re teaching is not rocket science, but who you’re teaching is what’s important, and it can’t be done without a high emotional IQ. So, I suggest that any college you include on your list have an elementary education major as a major. Doesn’t mean that’s the direction she’ll go, but it’s available as a choice if her interests take her in that direction.

If you can stretch your distance requirements (which make a lot of sense), I think you’ll find a lot of what you’re looking for at one of these:

Lynchburg
Elon
High Point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm thinking she should get into JMU? American perhaps?

JMU unlikely with those stats.
MANY of DDs friends with 3.7+ rejected or waitlisted.
Understand that the waitlist should see significant movement, but OPs child should not count on JMU at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dang you're organized! I think the list you generated is really good. My kid will have similar stats. Please don't call your daughter (below) average. Mine brings a ton of wonderful qualities to the table, and I'm sure yours does, too. Good luck!

Thank you! I think she's awesome. She's a terrific kid. But realistically, among the population of NoVA kids going to college, she probably is academically below average. She's not going to be in the top of her graduating class, for example.

For PP who suggested it, she's actually thought about teaching, but doesn't see herself as "smart enough" to teach. Her assumption is that all teachers were really good students. I've told her that is not the case, but who knows? I think she could be great at interior design or something in fashion, but she doesn't have a strong art background. She's not a kid who has ever devoted herself to anything yet to find "her thing" which is my only reservation about a smaller school for her, which otherwise I think would be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all, for suggestions. I looked these up and put them in a spreadsheet (I did drop the ones that are further away). In case it helps anyone else, this is them sorted by graduation rate:

Undergrad % Female % White % Admit % Graduate
JMU 19,727 58 75 80 82
CNU 4,758 55 76 76 80
American 8,000 62 51 39 79
West Chester U 14,712 60 74 86 75
Susquehanna 2,239 57 79 73 75
Ursinus 1,493 49 74 80 74
Juniata 1,303 55 74 67 74
Towson 18,730 60 50 79 73
GMU 27,104 49 37 89 72
St Mary's 1,486 60 70 79 72
Washington College 1,089 61 67 80 72
Roanoke 1,920 57 82 78 70
Longwood 3,940 69 72 87 67
VCU 21,943 62 43 91 66
Goucher College 1,114 68 48 79 66
Mary Washington 3,993 65 68 75 65
McDaniel 1,804 55 55 81 63
Bridgewater 1,552 55 64 76 63
WVU 20,495 51 82 84 62
Shenandoah 2,267 60 64 74 61
Lynchburg 1,822 61 74 97 57
Radford 7,307 62 63 79 56
Millersville 6,454 59 74 85 56
Marymount 2,041 65 31 85 54
ODU 19,622 56 44 95 53
Chestnut Hill College 1,074 60 36 71 52

NP and thank you for the list. My child is similarly situated and this list is bigger than ours but includes many of the same with the exception of JMU and American. GPA and test scores are really below what they normally accept so we are considering JMU as a reach school.

[Anonymous]

I agree JMU and American are both reach schools with these stats. I included JMU since she's interested and AU since it's hyperlocal. (Plus we are likely full pay, which probably helps, though I prefer to pay less.)

People have added a few more schools so I'll update my list and post again in a day or two. Lots to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dang you're organized! I think the list you generated is really good. My kid will have similar stats. Please don't call your daughter (below) average. Mine brings a ton of wonderful qualities to the table, and I'm sure yours does, too. Good luck!

Thank you! I think she's awesome. She's a terrific kid. But realistically, among the population of NoVA kids going to college, she probably is academically below average. She's not going to be in the top of her graduating class, for example.

For PP who suggested it, she's actually thought about teaching, but doesn't see herself as "smart enough" to teach. Her assumption is that all teachers were really good students. I've told her that is not the case, but who knows? I think she could be great at interior design or something in fashion, but she doesn't have a strong art background. She's not a kid who has ever devoted herself to anything yet to find "her thing" which is my only reservation about a smaller school for her, which otherwise I think would be a good fit.

A friend of mine was not a very strong student through most of middle and high school, but that didn’t keep her from becoming an elementary school teacher- and a good one at that! She went to Lynchburg.