Please help with VA college list for average student

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I'm trying to advise a high school senior in VA who is a middling student (3.1 GPA and 1500 SATs) on which colleges to apply to (and yes, I know it's late in the game--he's not super on top of things, but he also doesn't have many people advising him). His single mom wants him to apply to in-state schools only, given the cost, as she doesn't want him saddled with debt after college. However, my husband and I are advising him that it might be better, if given a choice, to go to a more highly-ranked/better recognized out-of-state school over a mediocre in-state school.

He doesn't have many "hooks." He happens to be AA, and runs track--husband says his times may not be good enough for Div 1 but he may be able to walk on at Div 2 or 3 schools. He's considering pharmacy later on, but he admits he's not sure. He's a nice kid, and gets along with people from all different backgrounds.

This is what I'm recommending so far for him.

"Reach" schools
UVA
William & Mary
Morehouse
JMU

Decent shot of getting in
VCU
George Mason
Hampton
U of MD College Park
San Diego State (he's visited SD before and likes that area of the country; not sure he'd apply)
Howard University
UNC Charlotte
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
Villanova
University of Richmond

Safety schools
ODU
Christopher Newport

Please let me know what schools I'm missing, if any, in VA (or any schools he should really look at that are not in VA but may be a good fit). Perhaps he should add another safety school or two. Also, any comments on above list. I know some deadlines may've already passed.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What school does he attend that he doesn't have a professional with knowledge of all of these schools advising him?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school does he attend that he doesn't have a professional with knowledge of all of these schools advising him?

All guidance counselors aren't all that good so if that all he has then this isn't surprising at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school does he attend that he doesn't have a professional with knowledge of all of these schools advising him?

He's at a large public high school that is ranked a "4" on Greatschools. I attended a similar h.s. in the same area as this kid--there's not much contact with the one guidance counselor we had at our school of 3K students, unless you're really proactive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

I'm trying to advise a high school senior in VA who is a middling student (3.1 GPA and 1500 SATs) on which colleges to apply to (and yes, I know it's late in the game--he's not super on top of things, but he also doesn't have many people advising him). His single mom wants him to apply to in-state schools only, given the cost, as she doesn't want him saddled with debt after college. However, my husband and I are advising him that it might be better, if given a choice, to go to a more highly-ranked/better recognized out-of-state school over a mediocre in-state school.

He doesn't have many "hooks." He happens to be AA, and runs track--husband says his times may not be good enough for Div 1 but he may be able to walk on at Div 2 or 3 schools. He's considering pharmacy later on, but he admits he's not sure. He's a nice kid, and gets along with people from all different backgrounds.

This is what I'm recommending so far for him.

"Reach" schools
UVA
William & Mary
Morehouse
JMU

Decent shot of getting in
VCU
George Mason
Hampton
U of MD College Park
San Diego State (he's visited SD before and likes that area of the country; not sure he'd apply)
Howard University
UNC Charlotte
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
Villanova
University of Richmond

Safety schools
ODU
Christopher Newport

Please let me know what schools I'm missing, if any, in VA (or any schools he should really look at that are not in VA but may be a good fit). Perhaps he should add another safety school or two. Also, any comments on above list. I know some deadlines may've already passed.

Thanks!

But for any boost this students would get for being an URM and/or living in a part of Virginia that doesn't send as many kids to college as, say, NoVa, the following schools also would be reaches: VCU, George Mason, U. MD - College Park, Temple, Villanova, Penn State, Drexel, Richmond and Christopher Newport. But he could still apply to a few of them and see what happens. The most obvious candidates on your list would appear to be Hampton, Howard and ODU. Some other schools in Virginia he might want to consider are Radford, Longwood and, perhaps, Mary Washington. And I'd look at some of the other Maryland schools like UMBC and Salisbury.

[Anonymous]

Christopher Newport is getting close to JMU in how hard it is to get in- I would definitely put it above VCU and Mary Washington.

[Anonymous]

He should aim for no more than 8.

[Anonymous]

you are joking if you think there is any reason for this kid to apply to uva and william and mary! you can easily google the average SAT scores and GPAs for different schools. I think he needs to be realistic and you do too.

[Anonymous]

you are missing va tech.

[Anonymous]

I'd say that UVa and William and Mary are not out of reach at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you are joking if you think there is any reason for this kid to apply to uva and william and mary! you can easily google the average SAT scores and GPAs for different schools. I think he needs to be realistic and you do too.

+1

If you're not paying, you need to stop talking about out of state now.

Here's where I think you should focus:

ODU
VCU
JMU
CNU
MWU
Radford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you are joking if you think there is any reason for this kid to apply to uva and william and mary! you can easily google the average SAT scores and GPAs for different schools. I think he needs to be realistic and you do too.

+1

If you're not paying, you need to stop talking about out of state now.

Here's where I think you should focus:

ODU
VCU
JMU
CNU
MWU
Radford

You are undermining his mother and interfering in financial discussions that shouldn't concern you at all. MYOFB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

I'm trying to advise a high school senior in VA who is a middling student (3.1 GPA and 1500 SATs) on which colleges to apply to (and yes, I know it's late in the game--he's not super on top of things, but he also doesn't have many people advising him). His single mom wants him to apply to in-state schools only, given the cost, as she doesn't want him saddled with debt after college. However, my husband and I are advising him that it might be better, if given a choice, to go to a more highly-ranked/better recognized out-of-state school over a mediocre in-state school.

He doesn't have many "hooks." He happens to be AA, and runs track--husband says his times may not be good enough for Div 1 but he may be able to walk on at Div 2 or 3 schools. He's considering pharmacy later on, but he admits he's not sure. He's a nice kid, and gets along with people from all different backgrounds.

This is what I'm recommending so far for him.

"Reach" schools
UVA
William & Mary
Morehouse
JMU

Decent shot of getting in
VCU
George Mason
Hampton
U of MD College Park
San Diego State (he's visited SD before and likes that area of the country; not sure he'd apply)
Howard University
UNC Charlotte
Penn State
Temple
Drexel
Villanova
University of Richmond

Safety schools
ODU
Christopher Newport

Please let me know what schools I'm missing, if any, in VA (or any schools he should really look at that are not in VA but may be a good fit). Perhaps he should add another safety school or two. Also, any comments on above list. I know some deadlines may've already passed.

Thanks!

But for any boost this students would get for being an URM and/or living in a part of Virginia that doesn't send as many kids to college as, say, NoVa, the following schools also would be reaches: VCU, George Mason, U. MD - College Park, Temple, Villanova, Penn State, Drexel, Richmond and Christopher Newport. But he could still apply to a few of them and see what happens. The most obvious candidates on your list would appear to be Hampton, Howard and ODU. Some other schools in Virginia he might want to consider are Radford, Longwood and, perhaps, Mary Washington. And I'd look at some of the other Maryland schools like UMBC and Salisbury.

OP. Thx, had not thought of these (don't know much about them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you are joking if you think there is any reason for this kid to apply to uva and william and mary! you can easily google the average SAT scores and GPAs for different schools. I think he needs to be realistic and you do too.

+1

If you're not paying, you need to stop talking about out of state now.

Here's where I think you should focus:

ODU
VCU
JMU
CNU
MWU
Radford

Thx, yes, these are seeming like the places to focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say that UVa and William and Mary are not out of reach at all.

OP. I figured it couldn't hurt to apply to 1-2 of these schools, even if they are a stretch.