Use the search feature on College Confidential. You can plug in estimated SATs (using PSATs), GPA, public/private, academic area of interest and all sorts of other factors. I've found it quite useful.

In Maryland, the honors college at University of Maryland has a very good reputation, and excellent admissions rates to medical school so I am sure PA schools as well. For a smaller and probably less competitive to get into, but very good school , St Mary's is also public but has the feeling more of a small liberal arts college. Penn State also a good choice, has its own PA school which is very good.

21:07 - 21:08 here. My point exactly.

Any state school is fine, OP. But you will not get in state tuition (obviously). Some are better than others. UMass, by virtue of it being in Mass, will come across nicely. First hand, I can tell you that it is a party school. It is in the middle nowhere. Consider the location of your candidate schools. if they are in the middle of nowhere, you may want to reconsider, depending on your childs demeanor.

South Carolina/ Columbia?

Pitt has a good reputation for premed track due to the proximity of UPMC and other Pittsburgh hospitals. I imagine it's good for PAs as well with lots of opportunity for internships and shadowing.

William & Mary? Might need higher GPA, though. I always heard it referred to as "public ivy".

UF! I know it's a bit farther, but Florida still has relatively low tuition, and a good reputation. Large student body, so lots of diversity. It worked for me!

Limiting it to public...

UVa, W&M, Va Tech as previously posted (but the others on that list are private or UMd which you don't want)

UNC
Rutgers
UMass
UVM
U of Delaware
plus some of the SUNY schools have good reputations - Stony Brook or Binghamton, maybe?

Thanks for the quick responses.

Daughter's GPA is in the 3.5 range. She's in a magnet program at her school, so she takes mostly AP courses. So, she's not top of the class, but she's doing well. She hasn't taken the SAT yet (she's a junior).

Private is out. Scholarships, based on her GPA, won't buy her a full ride and hubby and I make $104k combined. Not enough to pay a large portion of a private school bill. Of course, if this becomes an option, that's great. Just want to have a working list of Universities for her to consider. She's getting TONS of mail/literature now, but would like to know which schools DC professionals (her possible future bosses) find reputable.

ps. I attended UMD-CP, but want my daughter to go further away to experience an entirely different environment.

UVa
W&M
Va Tech
UMd
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown

What kind of scholarships OP? You need to be specific so we can tell you what types of schools will consider your DC.

What kind of grades and SAT scores does the kid have? Not necessarily numbers, but are we talking about someone at the top of his class with excellent test scores, more average, somewhere in between? It makes a big difference and may narrow the options significantly.

If scholarships are an option, why not consider private universities? Sure, the price tag is more but the FA could be a lot greater too.

Need some recs. Scholarships will more than likely be an option, but husband and I will be footing some of this bill.

Would prefer a school that's at least 2 hours away. Preferably 4-5. Would also prefer a diverse student body (student will be a minority). Major will be something science related (for career as physician assistant).

TIA for recs! Student will likely move back to this area after graduation, so would like a school that has a good/great reputation in Metro DC area.