WVU vs University of Delaware

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would focus more on the acceptance rate than the stats like average GPA, and also if you have Naviance or SCOIR, that would be really helpful to look at. Your school may have better success than what the overall numbers show. For example, our HS has over 70% acceptance rate at Penn State (vs. their published rate of 55%) and our students' stats are no better than the average. Presumably they like the OOS money and they know kids from our school are well prepared for college . . .

WVU has an acceptance rate of close to 90%, I'm sure your DD will get in there. I hate to say it but it's where kids go from our school that have trouble to getting in elsewhere (the average uwGPA of kids from our HS going there is 2.75, the average wGPA is 2.6 because the weighted only includes academic classes and these kids are not taking honors/AP).

UD is a bit of a reach but definitely apply. I'd also consider Indiana University, Michigan State, maybe Alabama, for sporty school in a town/small city. My DS has a slightly lower GPA and is also looking at Oregon, if she's willing to go that far--sports culture, Eugene is cool, 80+% acceptance rate but lower OOS. He's also looking at University of Utah, U Cincinnati (but may be too "big city for your DD"?), Miami of Ohio, UC Boulder, and UConn (UConn is in the middle of nowhere though). Ohio U as a safety. I don't know of these schools' strengths in her specific area of interest, so you'd have to look into that. Also some of these, including UD, are pricey out of state.

I am curious about the Penn State scattergram reports from your school. Our school lumps all Penn State satellite campuses into Penn State for Naviance. So it looks like the school does well. The reality, though, is a huge percentage of these kids got a 2-2 acceptance, starting out at a satellite campus. These are kids with strong grades and decent rigor. It is not easy at all to get into the main campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Agree with VCU, it's not just for artsy kids. There are also preppy and sporty kids there.

My personal experiences with WVU is not good, coming from my oldest and a few close friends (both male and female).

The challenge with schools like WVU is that a student has to be willing to ignore distractions and remain focused. Yes, virtually all schools have a party culture but WVU’s is fairly extreme. Students who focus do well there. A friend sent his kid there - an accounting major at the top 5 percent of his class. Working for the Big 4 now. The kid completely slacked in high school thinking Maryland was an easy admit (yikes). He did work hard at WVU as a result and had his fun in reasonable doses. My law review colleague is on the WV Supreme Court. Sent two of his three kids out of state because he was concerned about their maturity and their ability to avoid distractions. The one who attended WVU was mature and is a PhD clinical psychologist today. You can succeed at WVU - need to keep your eyes open. This kind of school was not in my kids’ interest whatsoever but it is an option for some. Need to be focused.

This is very true. I have a kid majoring in Engineering at WVU. Very focused students there have great opportunities while still enjoying the big school, big sports vibe. WVU would wasn't and would not be a good fit for my other kids.

Another WVU mom of a DC in their Nursing program. It was (and still is) a good fit for our child. Sneer all you want but their nursing program has a very high NCLEX pass rate (100% for the past three years in a row). Their merit money made our 4.0UW/TO kid a better deal than almost all other in-state schools here in in VA. As for peers, our DD likes to say she's the dumbest one in her apartment; the rest were literally valedictorians back home (which is OH, PA, and WVA).

Party scene is definitely there if you want, plenty of other options if you don't. They have an insane about of outdoor activities and the sports culture is big without being overwhelming (like an SEC school might be).

It's not for everyone but it definitely has options. While the downtown campus might seem a big dingy, it's an "old" college town in a state still on hard-times. The people are super friendly and the faculty has been very supportive.

For the right student, it can be the right place at the right price.

Nursing at WVU is an excellent choice. I don’t know who in their right mind would sneer at it. The Post magazine many years ago ran an article about the quality of life for health care professionals in Morgantown. A BSN can travel with filling in gaps for licensing, but an option to live very well in Morgantown is appealing for non big city types. My daughter is a Michigan nursing grad (she received a full ride) and she would tell you that where you go for nursing school doesn’t matter all that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would focus more on the acceptance rate than the stats like average GPA, and also if you have Naviance or SCOIR, that would be really helpful to look at. Your school may have better success than what the overall numbers show. For example, our HS has over 70% acceptance rate at Penn State (vs. their published rate of 55%) and our students' stats are no better than the average. Presumably they like the OOS money and they know kids from our school are well prepared for college . . .

WVU has an acceptance rate of close to 90%, I'm sure your DD will get in there. I hate to say it but it's where kids go from our school that have trouble to getting in elsewhere (the average uwGPA of kids from our HS going there is 2.75, the average wGPA is 2.6 because the weighted only includes academic classes and these kids are not taking honors/AP).

UD is a bit of a reach but definitely apply. I'd also consider Indiana University, Michigan State, maybe Alabama, for sporty school in a town/small city. My DS has a slightly lower GPA and is also looking at Oregon, if she's willing to go that far--sports culture, Eugene is cool, 80+% acceptance rate but lower OOS. He's also looking at University of Utah, U Cincinnati (but may be too "big city for your DD"?), Miami of Ohio, UC Boulder, and UConn (UConn is in the middle of nowhere though). Ohio U as a safety. I don't know of these schools' strengths in her specific area of interest, so you'd have to look into that. Also some of these, including UD, are pricey out of state.

I am curious about the Penn State scattergram reports from your school. Our school lumps all Penn State satellite campuses into Penn State for Naviance. So it looks like the school does well. The reality, though, is a huge percentage of these kids got a 2-2 acceptance, starting out at a satellite campus. These are kids with strong grades and decent rigor. It is not easy at all to get into the main campus.

The numbers I quoted are specifically for Penn State University Park (the main campus), the satellite campuses are listed separately in SCOIR and have their own scattergrams (so I checked Penn State-Altoona just as an example, which has a 96% acceptance (87% from our high school)). I assume that a 2-2 acceptance would show up as an acceptance at the satellite campus (I could be wrong).

[Anonymous]

2 outside the box ideas-
Marshall
Kansas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Agree with VCU, it's not just for artsy kids. There are also preppy and sporty kids there.

My personal experiences with WVU is not good, coming from my oldest and a few close friends (both male and female).

The challenge with schools like WVU is that a student has to be willing to ignore distractions and remain focused. Yes, virtually all schools have a party culture but WVU’s is fairly extreme. Students who focus do well there. A friend sent his kid there - an accounting major at the top 5 percent of his class. Working for the Big 4 now. The kid completely slacked in high school thinking Maryland was an easy admit (yikes). He did work hard at WVU as a result and had his fun in reasonable doses. My law review colleague is on the WV Supreme Court. Sent two of his three kids out of state because he was concerned about their maturity and their ability to avoid distractions. The one who attended WVU was mature and is a PhD clinical psychologist today. You can succeed at WVU - need to keep your eyes open. This kind of school was not in my kids’ interest whatsoever but it is an option for some. Need to be focused.

This is very true. I have a kid majoring in Engineering at WVU. Very focused students there have great opportunities while still enjoying the big school, big sports vibe. WVU would wasn't and would not be a good fit for my other kids.

Another WVU mom of a DC in their Nursing program. It was (and still is) a good fit for our child. Sneer all you want but their nursing program has a very high NCLEX pass rate (100% for the past three years in a row). Their merit money made our 4.0UW/TO kid a better deal than almost all other in-state schools here in in VA. As for peers, our DD likes to say she's the dumbest one in her apartment; the rest were literally valedictorians back home (which is OH, PA, and WVA).

Party scene is definitely there if you want, plenty of other options if you don't. They have an insane about of outdoor activities and the sports culture is big without being overwhelming (like an SEC school might be).

It's not for everyone but it definitely has options. While the downtown campus might seem a big dingy, it's an "old" college town in a state still on hard-times. The people are super friendly and the faculty has been very supportive.

For the right student, it can be the right place at the right price.

Nursing at WVU is an excellent choice. I don’t know who in their right mind would sneer at it. The Post magazine many years ago ran an article about the quality of life for health care professionals in Morgantown. A BSN can travel with filling in gaps for licensing, but an option to live very well in Morgantown is appealing for non big city types. My daughter is a Michigan nursing grad (she received a full ride) and she would tell you that where you go for nursing school doesn’t matter all that much.

Thanks!

Our DD caught a rash of grief from school staff (most her Bio teacher) and a very close family member who thought she could "do better." But when, collectively, we looked at industry options and the prevailing wisdom you stated (doesn't matter where you go), she liked WVU the best and we encouraged her to give it a go. With a direct admit, rolling admissions, and a guaranteed merit aid grid, she had a mostly carefree and super fun Senior year in HS. She's already had fascinating shadow opportunities and has a paying CA job/internship lined up for next semester with an on-campus location and class-friendly scheduling. What's not to like about that?

We didn't know much about the university (except that two beloved medical advisors were Mountaineers, albeit from some time ago) and I have to say we're now fans. WVU has been good to and for our child and as she's said all along: gotta luv the school that luvs you!