Help selecting schools to apply to
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| We moved here late in the last school year from the west coast and have a rising senior who would like to go to college somewhere in the east and/or eastern Midwest. Stats are 1300 SAT, 3.75 weighted GPA pursuing an IB diploma. Would prefer a somewhat diverse college - not 80% white. Greek life and big time athletics are not a requirement. Unsure about a major, so would need somewhere that has a variety of options. We’re not familiar with schools on this side of the US and are looking for help. Thanks. |
Anonymous
|
big school or small school?
urban, suburban, or rural? what’s the budget? |
Anonymous
|
I think small to medium - at least 3,000 and maybe up to 15,000. No preference on the setting - a pretty adaptable kid. We could afford $45,000 per year.
Thank you for your help. |
Anonymous
|
Go to bigfuture.com and enter your child's stats.
The website will return options that are a good match. |
Anonymous
|
OP, what state are you in?
Many private colleges run $50-70k. There are some out of state publics and lesser known colleges that will be less, but in-state schools may be a good place to start. |
Anonymous
|
Fiske is a good resource. It is organized by state. You can start by identifying the schools he would be a good match ( there is a little box with admission stats for each school) for and then read the two page summary for each school he would qualify for to see if it a good fit.
Perhaps someone else with greater knowledge can weigh in about whether naviance would allow the OP to search for schools other students from their high school with similar stats have gone to Also OP is your child just starting an IB diploma program or was he in one in his old school? |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the replies. We’re in VA. He was at an IB school before we moved and is at an IB school now also. Thanks for the website recommendations. I will go read them for possible matches. I will also go read the thread about sending your kid to a school you’ve never heard of. |
Anonymous
|
OP, if you haven't already, I'd send an email to his school college counselor and ask for a meeting ASAP. That's where you're going to get the best info because the counselor will know what colleges kids like your DC have gone to.
Virginia in-state schools he should look at are JMU, VCU, George Mason, Mary Washington |
Anonymous
Yes, and your son should get recommendations from his old teachers, since these won't know him. There may have been some paperwork for the juniors to. Have done and your kid needs to get on that. |
Anonymous
| Not too late to try to get that SAT score up a bit. |
Anonymous
|
My dd is a rising senior at an IB school in Va.
Christopher Newport is about 5,000 students and a great liberal arts type atmosphere. I highly recommend going for a visit soon, and consider scheduling an interview. They have Early Decision and Early Action for admissions due in November. Also look at Mary Washington, for another smaller school. Virginia Tech offers a lot of credit for IB classes, but it is huge. JMU is a little smaller than VT, and worth a look If your ds might like an urban environment, look at VCU in Richmond |
Anonymous
| CNU is totally overrated. Your kid should apply to JMU, Tech, VCU, and GMU and decide from whichever of those accepts him. His stats are borderline for Tech but he will almost certainly get into the other three. Don’t apply out of state - VA schools like these are bargains and will cost you far less than 45k |
Anonymous
| OP, you could post some names of schools on the West Coast that your DS would be interested in and we could give you some ideas for similar schools in the east. |
Anonymous
| CNU fits everything he wants. Ignore the poster who hates it and take a look for yourselves. I know 4 kids from our neighborhood who have been very happy there, and two more that just started. |
Anonymous
| How about Univ of Pittsburgh? Not as cheap as instate but still pretty reasonable. |