Private Schools in VA for this kid - suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Oh good, another UVA thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

Wow, I had no idea it was that competitive. Thanks for the FYI. Like I said, our friend's child attends and he really loves it. He is very smart but honestly his grades in high school didn't always reflect it so his stats looked a lot like OP's daughter, which is why I suggested it as an option.

It's not. Average GPA entering class into U of R is a 3.83. UVA's average entering student is a 4.23. While you can't compare selectivity figures of a private university (more able to play games to rise in the U.S. News & World Report ranking than a public) to a public, still U. of Richard is at 32% of applications submitting, while UVA has dropped to 26%. You should be in the very top of your class to apply to UVA, not so with U of R. UVA is now the no. 2 public university in the United States. Also, the average SAT at U. of Richmond is a 1380 with 1300 being the bottom 25% of the class. ACT range an U. of Richmond is about 29-32. AT UVA it is 30-34. 93% of UVA's class of 2022 were in the top ten percent of their high school class. U. of R is rated "Moderately Selective"; UVA is rated "Most Selective". For U of Richmond, the SAT top 75%ile is 1430/median 1380 and bottom 25%ile is 1295. UVA's is 1480/1400/1320. ACT for Richmond is 32/31/29. UVA's is 33/32/29. UVA's 75th%ile GPA is 4.44, median 4.29 and 25%ile is 4.13, which mean just about everyone in the entering class of 2022 at UVA had a higher GPA than the average student at Richmond. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Consider also that UVA (along with most VA schools) reports weighted GPA in their stats, where many other colleges report unweighted.

No, SCHEV, the State Council of High Education for Virginia requires reported it for all virginia publics. Those stats came from IvyCoach or CollegePrep

[Anonymous]

See, Prep Scholar estimates U Of R's GPA based upon comparative analysis of other schools: http://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/University-of-Richmond-admission-requirements. The same reporting services puts UVAs average GPA at 4.23, which is about right considering top quartile mean is 4.44, median 4.23, bottom quartile 4.14. http://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/UVA-admission-requirements

[Anonymous]

The vast majority of admissions data available on the Internet is from the common data set and colleges have no specific guidelines for reporting GPA on their common data set. Some report weighted GPA, others report unweighted, or recalculated, or omit GPA data altogether. Stanford reports a 3.95. Comparing that to UVAs 4.23 is completely useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of admissions data available on the Internet is from the common data set and colleges have no specific guidelines for reporting GPA on their common data set. Some report weighted GPA, others report unweighted, or recalculated, or omit GPA data altogether. Stanford reports a 3.95. Comparing that to UVAs 4.23 is completely useless.

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That's the beauty of the reporting of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) (SCHEV reports to the Virginia state legislature). All the information you could need is right there: Top quartile entering (not accepted, entering, which is a lower figure) has a 4.44 GPA; median at 4.23; and bottom quartile at 4.13. William & Mary is 4.44, a median of 4.24 and a bottom 25 percentile at a 4.01. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp SCHEV also tracks all the private colleges and universities in Virginia, so that U of Richmond is there as well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The vast majority of admissions data available on the Internet is from the common data set and colleges have no specific guidelines for reporting GPA on their common data set. Some report weighted GPA, others report unweighted, or recalculated, or omit GPA data altogether. Stanford reports a 3.95. Comparing that to UVAs 4.23 is completely useless.

'


That's the beauty of the reporting of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) (SCHEV reports to the Virginia state legislature). All the information you could need is right there: Top quartile entering (not accepted, entering, which is a lower figure) has a 4.44 GPA; median at 4.23; and bottom quartile at 4.13. William & Mary is 4.44, a median of 4.24 and a bottom 25 percentile at a 4.01. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp SCHEV also tracks all the private colleges and universities in Virginia, so that U of Richmond is there as well

Do you work for SCHEV? You post about it daily.
I’m glad that you’re so excited about their data, but your reply is completely irrelevant to the above post. We aren’t talking about comparing two VA schools. Va schools pad their data and puff themselves up.

[Anonymous]

What about Roanoke College in Salem, VA? My DS looked at it and really liked a lot about the school but decided it was too small. They waived the application fee but since he had no desire to attend I told him not to apply.

Their tuition is $44,000 per year. On their website's scholarship page, they list what their example scholarship amounts are. So with a 3.95 GPA and 1300 SAT you may get $20,000 per year. Its spelled out on their website. That brings tuition down to $22,000. Plus they give $1000 for for visiting campus. And they are a participant in the VA Tuition Assistant Grant Program. Last year it was $3300. Add all that together and you're looking at around $20,000. Of course room and board are extra.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you all for your responses, as I continue to read them with interest. I'm gathering that even if DD gets $$ from a private school (which sounds possible if not likely), the cost of somewhere like CNU or JMU would still be a lot cheaper. Does that seem about right? My daughter seems perfectly happy with the two schools she has selected, so I'm not going to push her to seek out and apply to a private school unless I thought it would be comparable and/or less expensive.

Also, to the SCHEV poster, thanks for the data. I thought it was interesting to see all of those stats on VA schools in one place. Also, I had no idea just how tiny some of those private schools are! And here I was thinking that CNU was pretty small

Would love to hear more thoughts on this topic. Thanks everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thank you all for your responses, as I continue to read them with interest. I'm gathering that even if DD gets $$ from a private school (which sounds possible if not likely), the cost of somewhere like CNU or JMU would still be a lot cheaper. Does that seem about right? My daughter seems perfectly happy with the two schools she has selected, so I'm not going to push her to seek out and apply to a private school unless I thought it would be comparable and/or less expensive.

Also, to the SCHEV poster, thanks for the data. I thought it was interesting to see all of those stats on VA schools in one place. Also, I had no idea just how tiny some of those private schools are! And here I was thinking that CNU was pretty small

Would love to hear more thoughts on this topic. Thanks everyone!

You're welcome. And no I don't work there. Just in the field and find that resource very helpful. And yes to para. 1. Our DC was offered large merit scholarships to several Virginia privates but even after subtracting them from the privates' tuitions, the in-state schools were still a much better option.

[Anonymous]

OP I think you have the cost assessment absolutely correct. Your net cost at CNU and JMU (as well as VA Tech) will be below the other options. What are the differentiating factors:

The kids at CNU and JMU are likely to have similar grades and test scores and be equally competent as the more expensive private schools.
The kids at CNU and JMU are much more likely to be from Virginia solely due to the cost differential for instate students.
The student faculty ratio at CNU and JMU is 15/16 to 1. The privates will be closer to 10-12/1.

If you are happy with the ratios and comfortable that the students being mainly from the local state then you are making a wise financial decision. Also having a kid who is happy with their options is worth a lot. I would put as much value into a happy and motivated student than any faculty ratio or in-state percentage. I would suggest select 1 of them and go Early Decision. There seems to be a significant advantage there. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you thought about Pitt? I know its not a private but I understand they readily give out merit aid. It will depend on how much you need. My friend's DS was offered $10k in aid and his stats were no where near as good as your DD's.

Hadn't considered Pitt - wasn't even on her radar. But will certainly look into it, thanks! Anyone else have any thoughts?

Pitt is pretty expensive, and their aid is largely tied to test scores. $10k won't bridge the gap.

We really did like Pitt, though.

Yes, DC had a similar GPA but a 33 ACT and got $5k in aid. We were bummed because we truly loved everything about Pitt when we visited!

We are hoping to get merit as well for Pitt and I’m a little disappointed to see your results. Just curious, did you apply early in the admissions cycle or later?

[Anonymous]

My son goes to Randolph Macon. He got an incredible offer but his SAT was higher and he is also an athlete. But, it’s a really great school (it’s very small but that’s an advantage for a lot of reasons). It’s a beautiful campus. He really likes it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Randolph Macon. He got an incredible offer but his SAT was higher and he is also an athlete. But, it’s a really great school (it’s very small but that’s an advantage for a lot of reasons). It’s a beautiful campus. He really likes it.

A “really great school”? Seems a bit of a stretch. Six year graduation rate in the high 50’s. Rankings, acceptance rate, test scores, salary metrics - none are very competitive. (Though I agree the campus is very nice.) That’s a long way from great. Not saying it doesn’t have a place in the spectrum of students but great is a term that gets thrown around a lot. If Macon is really great then that’s an extremely long list. And for the record, my less-than-studious son is looking at Macon so I’m no hater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about University of Richmond? Small, gorgeous campus, well regarded. I don't know what kind of financial aid package they would have, though. A friend's child attends and loves it.

U of R is (based solely off percentages) harder to get into than UVA or W&M. It's a popular school for private school kids from the Northeast. And it's very expensive.

Look at net costs. List price means nothing. Richmond has a fat endowment and they have generous financial aid. Unlikely to get to the in-state cost but few who apply for aid pay full freight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to Randolph Macon. He got an incredible offer but his SAT was higher and he is also an athlete. But, it’s a really great school (it’s very small but that’s an advantage for a lot of reasons). It’s a beautiful campus. He really likes it.

A “really great school”? Seems a bit of a stretch. Six year graduation rate in the high 50’s. Rankings, acceptance rate, test scores, salary metrics - none are very competitive. (Though I agree the campus is very nice.) That’s a long way from great. Not saying it doesn’t have a place in the spectrum of students but great is a term that gets thrown around a lot. If Macon is really great then that’s an extremely long list. And for the record, my less-than-studious son is looking at Macon so I’m no hater.

If your kid end up there, don’t embarrass him by calling it “Macon.” Randolph and Macon are the last names of the founders, not one guy called Randolph Macon. It’s not like Mason up here or Madison, as JMU used to be known. No reason to snub poor Mr. Randolph.