How many colleges are there, really?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Isn't a lot of it regional though? Plenty of middle/upper middle class families in the DMV send their kids to places like UMBC, Towson, CNU, Radford, St. Mary's MD, etc.

And any mention of them on DCUM elicits sneers that such schools are for mediocre students...

I think that talk is getting to my child through her friends, which is really unfortunate. To be fair, she IS a mediocre student AND Radford would be a nice fit for what she wants. I really think she should apply, but she just is adamant that she doesn't want to. It is by far the best curriculum for her AND the cheapest of all options.

I'm working on her.

My son was also a mediocre student from the DMV and is now a Freshman at Radford. Ad I say this as a Harvard graduate. It turns out to be a great choice--lots of faculty engagement (even as a Freshman), professors that are great teachers, small class sizes and a great support network. I think my son would have been lost at the much larger (and prestigious) that admitted him. Radford knows its student body and has responded accordingly. Keep on ignoring the DCUM sneers.

Thanks. I have a trip with her alone this weekend. We will chat.

Her other in state choice is ODU, which is admittedly in a more exciting area and they have football. That said, I still think that she is being goofy saying she doesn't even want to apply to Radford. It is limiting her options and Radford's class options in her fields of interest are better than ODU's.

I highly recommend doing a trip to Radford to see the school and community. It is not as isolating as it appears to be. Virginia Tech is a short bus ride away and there are lots of fun places to go in the immediate area. Depending on what your daughter wants to study, York College of Pennsylvania might be worth exploring--they are generous enough with merit aid (even for 3.0 students like my son) to make the tuition competitive with Virginia in-state. I liked the school a great deal--my son not so much.

we actually have been down there because she did a summer program 2 years ago. She liked it then, but currently isn't cool with it. They are going to be opening a new arts building next year which I think will improve her outlook, but she's being a pill.

Her current list is a huge range of different types of schools. There is one in PA - not York, though.

We visited Randolph during Private College week and she really liked it there.

It sounds like you have some good choices. Are you looking at VCU--I understand that they are great for the arts. Radford was not my son's first choice until he attended their Admitted Stduents event (called highlander Days). Attending that event completely changed his mind--largely because the day included quality time with the faculty in his major department. He was then completely committed to Radford and we put down a deposit that day. If you can convince her to apply (a big if, I understand), going to Highlander Day might help he make a decision. Plus, the new arts building might be open at that time. Is she a dancer? My son is good friends with several very happy dance majors.

yes, she is a dancer. She would combine it with exercise science in some way. Her goal is getting a 4 year degree, and that seems her easiest path. She doesn't plan a career in dance, maybe teaching on the side. They have one degree with business and pedagogy included, which I think is a great combo for what she wants to do. Radford also wouldn't require her to take foreign language.

VCU is BFA only, which is more for dancers who are headed for professional careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:USNWR lists about 1850 schools but ranks only 400 national universities and 200 LACs. I wouldn’t send my kid to the bottom half of the ranked schools, so I’d say there are 300 schools that are credible for most UMC families. But, more realistically, most UMC would want a Top 100 university or Top 50 LAC, so maybe 150 schools.

About 150 or so, as you reference, are under consideration for my kids.

That's it.

[Anonymous]

Two. Harvard and Bozo's Midwest. Trash and Mecca, respectively.

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Anonymous wrote:I know there are 4,000. But how many are there that anyone UMC who attended college themselves would want their kids to attend?

I wouldn't exclude schools that "nobody's heard of" because I really like the high quality selective SLACs and would gladly send a kid there. But it seems like there are tons of small bible colleges and a million regional state schools that would just be odd for a student from the DMV to attend as an OOS student. Then once you throw out all the for-profit schools and community colleges, how many are left?

The Princeton Review includes somewhere between 350-400 schools they consider high quality.

This. And Fiske is similar with about 320 schools. Any of those can potentially provide a quality education for a student willing to put in the work

I’m curious how Fiske chooses which schools to leave out. I couldn’t find VCU, but it makes USNWR’s list.

Yes I was very surprised that Fiske didn't include service academies. They are colleges and pretty high ranking ones, at that! My DD is a "freshman" (plebe) at West Point now, and a year ago we were trying to figure out the key differences among the service academies like USMA (West Point) and USNA (Naval Academy) (career trajectory, service length requirements, etc) and that's when I realized they weren't in Fiske.

What were they, other than location and what service you'll end up in?