What universities are for her? Advice please

[Anonymous]

GW and BU seem mostly interchangeable other than their locations. My impression was that GW had a very weak engineering program, in fact, I had thought they were trying to close it a few years ago, could be wrong but definitely worth checking.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. Now VaTech is on top of her list. She will apply to UVa but her counselor thinks the possibility is near zero.

I read the discussions from the blog about that wonderful student with GPA=4.99 and have some questions about personality. I don't know how to classify my daughter's study behavior. Here is my try:

She studies and works hard, but not on an even and paced way. For instance, she would study hard before a major test for two weeks and do very well. Then she would not study at all for the next two weeks and receive <50% on all the quizzes/assignments. Then she would work hard again to catch up... That explains why she received 5 for calculus BC but only received a B- for the course. We know she will pass her courses in college, but concern about her future GPA. For her profile, which schools suit her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the best school choices for my DD? We saved enough for her to attend any school.
FCPS, GPA 3.5ish, senior, AP scholar and have more AP courses this year. SAT >2000, ACT=31, SAT subjects tests >720 (math2 and chemistry).

Right now we are considering GWU, W&M, VaTech, Boston University, and maybe Carnegie? After reading here, she is considering PSU too.
Will she have a chance for these schools?
Thanks

Illinois is great for engineering and premed and she'd get in there easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the best school choices for my DD? We saved enough for her to attend any school.
FCPS, GPA 3.5ish, senior, AP scholar and have more AP courses this year. SAT >2000, ACT=31, SAT subjects tests >720 (math2 and chemistry).

Right now we are considering GWU, W&M, VaTech, Boston University, and maybe Carnegie? After reading here, she is considering PSU too.
Will she have a chance for these schools?
Thanks

Illinois is great for engineering and premed and she'd get in there easily.

She might also want to look at University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, University of Texas and Duke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. Now VaTech is on top of her list. She will apply to UVa but her counselor thinks the possibility is near zero.

I read the discussions from the blog about that wonderful student with GPA=4.99 and have some questions about personality. I don't know how to classify my daughter's study behavior. Here is my try:

She studies and works hard, but not on an even and paced way. For instance, she would study hard before a major test for two weeks and do very well. Then she would not study at all for the next two weeks and receive <50% on all the quizzes/assignments. Then she would work hard again to catch up... That explains why she received 5 for calculus BC but only received a B- for the course. We know she will pass her courses in college, but concern about her future GPA. For her profile, which schools suit her?

Since you are in Virginia, definitely apply to UVA, W&M, and VT - you never know! Others have also suggested a great mix of privates/out of state publics to focus on. Your DD sounds like a strong candidate and hopefully she'll get a good sense of which school would be best for her through campus visits. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. Now VaTech is on top of her list. She will apply to UVa but her counselor thinks the possibility is near zero.

I read the discussions from the blog about that wonderful student with GPA=4.99 and have some questions about personality. I don't know how to classify my daughter's study behavior. Here is my try:

She studies and works hard, but not on an even and paced way. For instance, she would study hard before a major test for two weeks and do very well. Then she would not study at all for the next two weeks and receive <50% on all the quizzes/assignments. Then she would work hard again to catch up... That explains why she received 5 for calculus BC but only received a B- for the course. We know she will pass her courses in college, but concern about her future GPA. For her profile, which schools suit her?

Hi, I'm the PP who recommended that blog.

Your DD sounds a lot like my son (a few years younger than your DD). He is very bright, but not the most diligent student. He works hard and excels when he is really interested in the work and when he has a good relationship with the teacher. If he is not interested in the work, or if he dislikes the teacher, he has a hard time motivating himself. For this reason, I suspect he would do better at a smaller college, where he can have more opportunities to get to know and work closely with professors, and where professors are more likely to be dedicated to teaching as opposed to their own research. (And for other reasons, i think a small school would be a better fit for him socially.) I also suspect he would do better at a college where students have more flexibility in their schedules as opposed to large core curricula. Especially for a student pursuing an engineering degree, which is likely to be very circumscribed, having to also complete many other core curriculum requirements might mean little choice in the courses a student takes. For my kid, that might lead to unhappiness and might ultimately undermine him. So, for example, a school like W&M has a very demanding core curriculum compared with, say, UVA and VaTech. OTOH, W&M is smaller, etc.

This is the kind of thinking I am doing about college. I would try to think this way about your DD's strengths, weaknesses, environments in which she thrives, environments in which she struggles. Does she rise to challenges, thrive in competitive environments? Or does she do better in a more collegial, cooperative environment? etc. Schools really differ along these lines, with some being known for cut-throat competitiveness and others being much more collegial. And what about what she wants: Is she looking for the traditional rah-rah college experience, with football and sororities or is that not at all her style? etc. Once you think about things like this, you can help her think about the best environment for her. Don't forget that this is about much more than quality of the engineering programs. There are big, big differences in the student experience at BU vs. UVA or at VaTech vs. W&M.

[Anonymous]

PP, I agree with you that W&M sounds a fit for my DD. I explored and will suggest to my DD to major in Pre-Med and minor in Computer Science. Engineering is not an option unless kids want to do 3&2 or 4&2. I looked at the curriculum and CS looks pretty good. Not sure about the job opportunities though..
Now I really hope that my DD has done enough to get admitted there or Tech... BTW, the new ACT result is out and my DD got 33.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Well, let's give a shout out to CMU for engineering.

For CMU, do you mean Carnegie or Central Michigan University? I am seriously considering all the suggestions from this threat.

[Anonymous]

CMU is Carnegie Mellon (not "Carnegie" by the way). It's a great school in a decent college town 3 miles from downtown Pittsburgh (and adjacent to Pitt).
Maybe a counselor can help identify so colleges that will allow very good test scores to make up for so-so grades. Penn State is one well-ranked school that will do so. In state Va colleges will be tough to get into because so many applicants have both great test scores and grades.

[Anonymous]

Look at university of Illinois and Perdue. Great engineering programs.

[Anonymous]

Just went to the college confidential site and for Duke, Cornell, CMU, Harvey Mudd, Emory, the match is 33%; 36% for UVA and W&M. PSU 82%, VA Teck 85%. George Mason 100%.
BTW, our HS does not report unweighted GPA, so when I search, should I use weighted or unweighted GPA?
For the 33% match, will you even try?

[Anonymous]

When I change the GPA to 3.5, the match for Vanderbilt is much higher. My DD is not interested in Vandy cause she thinks it is for railroad engineering. Any thoughts on this school?
I am going to send the list to the school for grade report. Based on your suggestions and our preferences, I came up with a list of 14 I need to narrow it down to 10 I guess.

1. VA Tech
2. Carnegie Mellon University
3. Penn State University
4. College of William and Mary
5. UVA
6. George Mason
7. George Washington University
8. Boston University (school counselor said acceptance rate is high)
9. Vanderbilt University
10. Emory
11. Georgia Tech
12. UMD
13. Purdue
14. Duke (almost impossible but DD loves it)

[Anonymous]

After the lengthy discussion of PSU and the new school rank of 37, I bet the admission rate will go down this year due to increases in app volume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trinity U in Texas?

My DH went there - very very strong alumni program in DC, and nationally. Very close-knit school.

[Anonymous]

I'd probably cross of 6, 7, 8 & 9. I'd add Clemson and a Midwest school: Michigan or U Illinois or U Wisconsin- Madison. I think PSU apps will stay about the same and she'll be accepted there.