Need suggestions for average kid who loves art, writing

[Anonymous]

Our DS is a great kid, but middle of the road student at a top area private. Works hard and is intellectually curious, but his ADHD impacts his focus and has resulted in a highschool report card with a few As, many B+s, and 1 or 2 Cs. He's strong in the humanities with a penchant for art. Any suggestions of colleges we should keep on our "must see" list? We truly don't care about the "name brand" but rather want to focus on finding the right fit where he can really flourish.

[Anonymous]

Local or anywhere? Have you looked at McDaniel College? My best buddy who is a writer graduated from there. And loved it. And today they have good ADHD support.

[Anonymous]

I opened this to suggest McDaniel too. Also Goucher, and Ohio Wesleyan. Are you in VA or MD? I have heard good things about Mary Washington and St. Mary’s of MD if you want instate tuition.

[Anonymous]

We are in DC but DD would go anywhere!

[Anonymous]

Small lac in NE - Colby, Middlebury, Bates, Skidmore - where have past kids in the private gone to? Counselors will have relationship and able to get your kid in. Look at past years’ matriculation.

[Anonymous]

VCU for art and writing. the arts and humanities are a big deal at VCU and Richmond is a supportive arts community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in DC but DD would go anywhere!

I highly recommend looking at state schools along the lines of St. Mary's. That $10k you get from DC TAG is real nice. Might take more work to identify these sorts of schools, but you also might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Also the standard Colleges That Change Lives recommendation.

Small LACs that are legit schools but lack the name recognition. The Midwest in particular is chock full of them, but they are all over. Just have to seek them out.

[Anonymous]

Following.

[Anonymous]

Might be a bit of a stretch, but if he's strong in writing take a look at a place like Kenyon or Hamilton -- both known for strong writing programs.

[Anonymous]

This all depends on what top private and what you mean by middle of the road. I see above that people are talking about Middlebury, Bates, Colby and that might be possible if you're middle of the road at Sidwell but wouldn't be possible if you're middle of the road at St. Andrews, for example.

Being male and looking at art/writing programs is going to be a big boost for your son anyways because many of the schools that excel in these areas have a much larger female applicant pool. What kind of SAT/ACT scores are we talking about? Some schools are SAT optional (Bates for ex) but others like Middlebury have very high SAT averages.

Lots of options at many levels though. My DD goes to a school with a top creative writing program so I did a lot of research in this area when she was looking last year. One school that she loved that was Knox College - they are a College That Changes Lives school and have a well known creative writing program. She got in with a lot of merit money, which was nice, but ended up choosing another school. If you're looking for merit money and a strong writing program I would look at them.

[Anonymous]

I think you should figure out what career path is most appealing and select schools from there. Many of the careers in art/writing aren't going to pay much. Is that okay with him? (If grad school is likely a few years out, then that would probably address the issue.)

There are also many good careers that will pay reasonably well, but if his aim is to end up in those, then you need to make sure the chosen school has that path.

I love the idea of liberal arts schools and would love my dds to spend 4 years in them. The real challenge with them is that they have a narrow set of majors. If a kid started out thinking art and creative writing but later decided to do advertising/marketing, they might need to transfer to a college with a business school. I think many smaller liberal arts schools see a lot of transfers sophomore year for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you should figure out what career path is most appealing and select schools from there. Many of the careers in art/writing aren't going to pay much. Is that okay with him? (If grad school is likely a few years out, then that would probably address the issue.)

There are also many good careers that will pay reasonably well, but if his aim is to end up in those, then you need to make sure the chosen school has that path.

I love the idea of liberal arts schools and would love my dds to spend 4 years in them. The real challenge with them is that they have a narrow set of majors. If a kid started out thinking art and creative writing but later decided to do advertising/marketing, they might need to transfer to a college with a business school. I think many smaller liberal arts schools see a lot of transfers sophomore year for this reason.

I totally disagree with PP about this. I went to a great LAC and was an English major. I am now in tech marketing and make great money. If you go to a strong school with a good reputation and you network well you will be fine. I think many companies are looking for people who can write well and think strategically and don't require someone who is focused on a business degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you should figure out what career path is most appealing and select schools from there. Many of the careers in art/writing aren't going to pay much. Is that okay with him? (If grad school is likely a few years out, then that would probably address the issue.)

There are also many good careers that will pay reasonably well, but if his aim is to end up in those, then you need to make sure the chosen school has that path.

I love the idea of liberal arts schools and would love my dds to spend 4 years in them. The real challenge with them is that they have a narrow set of majors. If a kid started out thinking art and creative writing but later decided to do advertising/marketing, they might need to transfer to a college with a business school. I think many smaller liberal arts schools see a lot of transfers sophomore year for this reason.

Selective LACS have freshman retention rates that are comparable to the Ivies. Nobody with half a brain majors in pre-professional degrees like advertising or marketing. A liberal arts education will develop skills that are transferrable to a broad range of professions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DS is a great kid, but middle of the road student at a top area private. Works hard and is intellectually curious, but his ADHD impacts his focus and has resulted in a highschool report card with a few As, many B+s, and 1 or 2 Cs. He's strong in the humanities with a penchant for art. Any suggestions of colleges we should keep on our "must see" list? We truly don't care about the "name brand" but rather want to focus on finding the right fit where he can really flourish.

Some ADHD kids do best when they can focus on the areas in which they are strong. You might consider a technical school with a strong art program, like Drexel or RIT. Your DS can take the courses they want there, and avoid the ones where he is weak. Also, they tend to have a more hands-on approach that works well for kids with ADHD. Technical schools are not only for science/math types.

[Anonymous]

"Some ADHD kids do best when they can focus on the areas in which they are strong. You might consider a technical school with a strong art program, like Drexel or RIT. Your DS can take the courses they want there, and avoid the ones where he is weak. Also, they tend to have a more hands-on approach that works well for kids with ADHD. Technical schools are not only for science/math types."

I think this is definitely something to think about. Our DS was locked out of several schools due to the level of effort it would require for him to pass a college level foreign language classes as distribution requirement.