Anonymous wrote:OP, as the parent of a freshman who is already thinking about this stuff, I appreciate the way you've framed the question.

Mine seems pretty adamant about no cold and a bigger school with sports, so I'm curious to see how much that sticks once we start visiting places....

These were two big ones on my kids list too, but once we visited they decided they didn’t want an SEC/Maga school (their words not Mine) so it was quite difficult. Ultimately, they dropped the warm weather requirement.

OP, as the parent of a freshman who is already thinking about this stuff, I appreciate the way you've framed the question.

Mine seems pretty adamant about no cold and a bigger school with sports, so I'm curious to see how much that sticks once we start visiting places....

Mine said he wanted big, rah-rah school spirit types on the east coast. Didn’t care about prestige at all and on Scoire all of them were basically safeties (Penn State, South Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, etc). Got in everywhere, most with generous merit money (were full pay). Almost immediately upon starting decided he was wrong and really should have applied to urban schools and that all his friends were going to “good schools” except for him.
My lesson learned was 16-17 year old boys can have no clue. We toured plenty of places that weren’t state schools and he said he didn’t like them at the time. But probably should have applied more broadly so he had different options in the spring. Not sure if he’ll transfer.

Anonymous wrote:My child wanted urban, preferably with an integrated campus, cold weather, minimum medium sized, and definitely nowhere in VA. No rah rah schools and preferably no Greek life, but as long as it wasn't prevalent, the presence of wasn't a deal breaker.

This is pretty much my kid as well. Plus access to health internships.

Mine wanted diverse, urban mid-sized schools in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic with strong programs in government/political science. Sports/Greek scene not a consideration.

I’m loving these answers! So interesting.

Mine wanted mid-size east coast or Chicago, no further south than Duke. Didn’t want very rural or NYC, so no Dartmouth or Columbia. No interest in Greek life, wanted very driven peer group, less pre-professional vibe dominating, and an energetic campus with ample social life opportunities outside of partying as a non-drinker.

Anonymous wrote:Mine wanted mid-sized in or near a small or large city, East Coast or Midwest. Didn't need big sports life (but would have been fine if it was there), wasn't set on going Greek (and then ended up rushing). Seemed indifferent to weather. Was not focused on the appearance of the campus (and then ended up at at a beautiful campus). Midsized + urban(ish) was hard to find.

Curious which school was their final choice?

Mine wanted mid-sized in or near a small or large city, East Coast or Midwest. Didn't need big sports life (but would have been fine if it was there), wasn't set on going Greek (and then ended up rushing). Seemed indifferent to weather. Was not focused on the appearance of the campus (and then ended up at at a beautiful campus). Midsized + urban(ish) was hard to find.

My child wanted urban, preferably with an integrated campus, cold weather, minimum medium sized, and definitely nowhere in VA. No rah rah schools and preferably no Greek life, but as long as it wasn't prevalent, the presence of wasn't a deal breaker.

Mine applied to Catholic schools: ND, BC, GU, HC, PC, CUA, Fordham.

Added in Duke and UMD.

Got into all but ND (deferred and rejected) and Duke (waitlisted).

According to her Scoir, Duke is the only reach (far reach), which is crazy. ND, GU, and BC categorized as targets.

My kid applied to 9 of the 18 Big Ten schools. Safeties, targets, and reaches, all in the Big Ten.

Anonymous wrote:How would you describe the collection of schools your kid applied to without using any selectivity metrics. Location? Size? Public/private? Other criteria? If they had an outlier did they go there?

Interested in some of the criteria kids use that aren’t just selectivity.

First kid applied to large state schools in the northeast and mid-Atlantic. Ended up attending the one outlier they applied to that wasn’t in the northeast/mid-atlantic.

Second kid mostly applied to mid-sized catholic schools. Attended a mid-sized catholic school.

Third kid, TBD.

Affordability. If OOS public or private, potential for merit aid.

Primarily mid-Atlantic and West Coast SLAC institutions that include women’s colleges and more artsy/creative schools. Also applied to a couple mid-size Jesuit universities.

How would you describe the collection of schools your kid applied to without using any selectivity metrics. Location? Size? Public/private? Other criteria? If they had an outlier did they go there?

Interested in some of the criteria kids use that aren’t just selectivity.

First kid applied to large state schools in the northeast and mid-Atlantic. Ended up attending the one outlier they applied to that wasn’t in the northeast/mid-atlantic.

Second kid mostly applied to mid-sized catholic schools. Attended a mid-sized catholic school.

Third kid, TBD.