Recommendations for a Midsized (6,000 - 8,000) School within Three Hours

[Anonymous]

68,000 - 22,000 = 46,000 > what OP wants to spend

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The loved Millersville is a puzzle. What did he love there? I’ve been there and know some kids who went there but I still can’t describe it in any way, other than meeting some great professors there.
How about JMU? Temple U? York College of PA?

He thought Millersville had a beautiful campus, was less than a two hour drive, perfect size (6500 students), really supportive professors and counseling dept. It's just in the middle of nowhere, no college town, closest shopping is a 15 minute drive on one lane back roads.
York is on the list, thank you. JMU and Temple way too big.

NP. I am more familiar with the area than the school. Millersville itself is small and sleepy, with mostly pizza shops and the like. The campus is actually pretty close to the city of Lancaster, which has shopping and restaurants (especially on the western side, near the FfM campus). I believe there is a public bus system that connects Millersville to the surrounding area, if he wouldn’t have a car.

If that’s still too remote, there are other schools in the PA system that might be a better fit — what about Bloomsbury or Shippensburg or Slippery Rock?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:68,000 - 22,000 = 46,000 > what OP wants to spend

And $68K is cheap compared to what a lot of SLACs, including my own ($82K a year), are now charging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The loved Millersville is a puzzle. What did he love there? I’ve been there and know some kids who went there but I still can’t describe it in any way, other than meeting some great professors there.
How about JMU? Temple U? York College of PA?

He thought Millersville had a beautiful campus, was less than a two hour drive, perfect size (6500 students), really supportive professors and counseling dept. It's just in the middle of nowhere, no college town, closest shopping is a 15 minute drive on one lane back roads.
York is on the list, thank you. JMU and Temple way too big.

NP. I am more familiar with the area than the school. Millersville itself is small and sleepy, with mostly pizza shops and the like. The campus is actually pretty close to the city of Lancaster, which has shopping and restaurants (especially on the western side, near the FfM campus). I believe there is a public bus system that connects Millersville to the surrounding area, if he wouldn’t have a car.

If that’s still too remote, there are other schools in the PA system that might be a better fit — what about Bloomsbury or Shippensburg or Slippery Rock?

It's been awhile since I've been on its' campus but Slippery Rock is also pretty isolated. Besides, if he is looking at schools like Duquesne and some other ones, he can do much better than Slippery Rock/Bloomsburg/Shippensburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William & Mary fits the size and as a boy should be a good chance there. Does he think it would not fit the "low-stress" requirement?

W&M is widely known as one of the most high stress and no fun universities in the nation

And, yet, when the actual undergraduates are surveyed they data suggests they are among the happiest. I have a kid there and it's rigorous, but not 'high stress' and he has plenty of fun--parties are on Thurs-Sat rather than the every night at some schools but it seems a reasonable balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP - thank you for all the great suggestions. We have added TCNJ, Longwood, Rowan, UMBC and Duquesne to look at. I appreciate everyone's responses.

Add American!!! Very chill student body; he would be at the top score-wise, he would get great merit, and would have awesome journalism internships (and would be correctly advised to NOT actually major in journalism). Major in a subject you would cover (Econ, policy, politics etc) and work for the paper and free lance and build a portfolio).

Except we don't actually know that he would be in the top score-wise.

OP, I strongly suggest have your kid sign up for the test. You don't need to send it to the schools, but while everyone should avoid sending their kids to a school where the average student has a SAT score significantly higher, this is even more important for children with special circumstances. Anxiety definitely counts as one of those. Make sure he goes somewhere he is relatively smart.

Also, no debt, please. You can maybe survive on internship wages in a cutthroat winner-take-all industry until your ship comes in, but you can't do that while also paying off student loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP - thank you for all the great suggestions. We have added TCNJ, Longwood, Rowan, UMBC and Duquesne to look at. I appreciate everyone's responses.

Add American!!! Very chill student body; he would be at the top score-wise, he would get great merit, and would have awesome journalism internships (and would be correctly advised to NOT actually major in journalism). Major in a subject you would cover (Econ, policy, politics etc) and work for the paper and free lance and build a portfolio).

Except we don't actually know that he would be in the top score-wise.

OP, I strongly suggest have your kid sign up for the test. You don't need to send it to the schools, but while everyone should avoid sending their kids to a school where the average student has a SAT score significantly higher, this is even more important for children with special circumstances. Anxiety definitely counts as one of those. Make sure he goes somewhere he is relatively smart.

Also, no debt, please. You can maybe survive on internship wages in a cutthroat winner-take-all industry until your ship comes in, but you can't do that while also paying off student loans.

Actually, let me rephrase the "relatively smart" to "performs relatively well". That is, you want to see how he does on tests after he pays the "anxiety tax".

[Anonymous]

York college ?

[Anonymous]

+1 for American. I am an alum of the journalism and poli sci programs. Both excellent, and the journalism facility is now gorgeous. I had my pick of internships, and worked 20+ years for a national magazine. Others I graduated with have worked for CNN, the Washington Post, the Miami Herald and other respected media (not to mention the many who have worked on the Hill and on prominent political campaigns.) The size is exactly what you’re looking for 6000-7000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Lehigh? 7,000 undergrads, journalism and communications department, and about 31/2 hour drive. When we visited, we had a great tour guide, who raved about the teaching and interdisciplinary academic programs, but none of our kids applied, so I have only limited knowledge. Maybe someone else with more experience can chime in?

I would not recommend Lehigh for a student with anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP - thank you for all the great suggestions. We have added TCNJ, Longwood, Rowan, UMBC and Duquesne to look at. I appreciate everyone's responses.

Add American!!! Very chill student body; he would be at the top score-wise, he would get great merit, and would have awesome journalism internships (and would be correctly advised to NOT actually major in journalism). Major in a subject you would cover (Econ, policy, politics etc) and work for the paper and free lance and build a portfolio).

Except we don't actually know that he would be in the top score-wise.

OP, I strongly suggest have your kid sign up for the test. You don't need to send it to the schools, but while everyone should avoid sending their kids to a school where the average student has a SAT score significantly higher, this is even more important for children with special circumstances. Anxiety definitely counts as one of those. Make sure he goes somewhere he is relatively smart.

Also, no debt, please. You can maybe survive on internship wages in a cutthroat winner-take-all industry until your ship comes in, but you can't do that while also paying off student loans.

Excellent point. I was told I was the only candidate to turn down a job offer with CBS Evening News in NYC - and it was because I couldn’t pay my undergrad student loans on the salary that CBS offered. Ultimately, I had to leave journalism, even though I loved it.

[Anonymous]

Carnegie Mellon might be a good fit depending on your DD’s major. Some majors at CMU are super competitive and hard to get in . But the arts and science are doable with those stats.

[Anonymous]

This is such a helpful thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:William & Mary fits the size and as a boy should be a good chance there. Does he think it would not fit the "low-stress" requirement?

W&M is widely known as one of the most high stress and no fun universities in the nation

I hear this cliche a lot, but never from students who attend. I guess kids sort themselves into appropriate buckets. Yes, if you’re looking for a “Roll Tide” experience, W&M isn’t your school.

I hear it from my daughter’s two best friends who are rising juniors at WM. They weren’t looking for a party school, but they complain that all there is to do is see the old town and eat and everyone is in bed by 11.

My kids the same age as them at W&M and he starts to go out after 11 PM and has had a lot of fun/parties. Maybe they need a new group of friends there? Covid shut things down a bit--esp. for kids who were only in dorms last year, but the place is lively enough for those who want it. There's Greek life, off-campus house parties, bars people go to etc. just like any other college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The loved Millersville is a puzzle. What did he love there? I’ve been there and know some kids who went there but I still can’t describe it in any way, other than meeting some great professors there.
How about JMU? Temple U? York College of PA?

He thought Millersville had a beautiful campus, was less than a two hour drive, perfect size (6500 students), really supportive professors and counseling dept. It's just in the middle of nowhere, no college town, closest shopping is a 15 minute drive on one lane back roads.
York is on the list, thank you. JMU and Temple way too big.

I don’t think millersville is isolated. It is 10 minutes from the city of Lancaster. But yes. It seems rather commuter-y. And Lancaster, while a beautiful city architecturally, is incredibly crime ridden.

I think his ideal PA University is St Joe’s. It is not exactly in the city, but is right on the border between a really nice suburb and the city. Nice student body and an easy drive or train back home to DC.

Within 2 hours, I would also consider Shepherd University in WV.