College List

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a number of students who have chosen small private schools where their stats were on the high end, and the net price came in well below that of their in-state schools after merit and need based aid.

So, I wouldn't automatically rule out private options.

+1 this was what my DD wanted. She didn't love any in-state schools and preferred the small LACs.

I would start with visits to the VA state schools and see what resonates there. If she liked Pitt, similarly urban VCU might be a good fit and it's also excellent for all types of healthcare majors. If she likes the big state schools I don't see much reason to go OOS unless needed as a back up. Some provide merit aid but you'll find it hard to meet the price of VT/JMU. My son at VT also applied to UDel as a back up and with merit it was about $40k. If she likes W&M, then start exploring more midsize and smaller schools. Jesuit schools in particular tend to be midsized and the less selective ones can be generous with merit. Visit a couple small liberal arts colleges to see if she prefers that size. There are LOT of LACs that will meet/beat in-state price once you get out of the top 30ish.

If you take a trip to Philly, I'd definitely see St. Joe's (midsize Jesuit). Add Ursinus or Muhlenberg for LACs in the suburbs that give good merit aid. Maybe Temple although really if she likes urban schools and wants pre-med I don't see why you would go to Temple over VCU. Skip Villanova and Drexel - it won't fit budget. Penn is a waste of time unless she's really a super-stellar applicant and you have low enough income to get generous aid.

This is super helpful! TY!

[Anonymous]

Minnesota is rolling and gives good merit. Apply early!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Besides Pitt I’d look at PSU and UDEL.

But you aren’t going to do better financial your state schools

+1
This is why our kids all attend VA state schools. They’re excellent, there is something for everyone, and they’re cost effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader. I know that it's early to consider but we'd like to start making mini-visits while we can to schools and I realize that I may be selling the kid short by insisting on only state schools. I'd previously thought that only UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU, etc. would be viable in state options given rising costs. DD does well in school (4.0 at present, orchestra awards, etc.) but it's early to say what GPA/stats will actually be. We are not shooting for ivies or other "elite" schools but would like an idea of what to explore OOS. We visited Pitt recently and DD was pleasantly surprised by campus and environment. She really liked it, which got me wondering why I had cut off the OOS option.

Any thoughts on good OOS which could warrant a weekend visit in the coming year to get a feel for options? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I've gone through the search function and find it conflicting. TIA!

Academic interests? it's early, but potential major and annual budget?

I am not sure what potential major would be but her interests are math and science. Much to my dismay, she is not interested in English or liberal arts. Law is out (I'm an atty), and she seems to have latched on to the idea that she will be a radiologist. Not sure who gave her that but all her uncles as physicians (on both sides) so I think it was one of them.

I had planned on an in-state budget ($40K per year) but could likely cash flow the difference for a reasonable OOS up to $60K. The 90K+ options are ridiculous.

If she really wants it, I think she should go to W&M, which is practically a liberal arts college, and then go to the med school of her dreams. She'll get the faculty support that she needs and won't be fighting with massive classes of science students for opportunities.

For the big-3 in state options (uva, WM, VT), William and Mary gets the edge for premed for these reasons. Getting shut out of all intro Chem classes at UVA freshman year has been more common the last 2 years, which means not starting gen chem until sophomore, thus puts orgo to junior and biochem senior. The result is at least one year off before med school unless they want to pay for summer, yet summers are needed for shadowing and research. William and Mary and many other schools (mostly the top privates of the 4k-10k undergrad size) have it set up such that they add sections of intro classes if they fill up: no one is shut out; students go straight into med school from these programs unless their grades require slowing down the pace/less overlap of the high courses. William and Mary for Virginia residents is a huge discount off what is essentially a top private education and perks.