It’s not a bad preliminary list as a starting point. Seems you all could do some additional research and a few more tours in the next couple months. It’s normal though for the list to be unfinished and evolving between the end of junior year and Dec of senior year as applications get underway.

DS applied to 4 schools total, and if he'd had his way, that probably would have been 2 (both in-state MD). Got into 4, is going to one of the in-state MD schools. This process doesn't have to be the way this board likes to portray it.

Anonymous wrote:Anybody’s kid reach end of junior year without knowing where they want to apply? I’ve had trouble getting my kid to engage beyond his plan to apply to the popular schools in VA. But he needs to apply to more than 4-5 schools. Isn’t sure of major (but not engineering). Isn’t sure if he wants small or big.
We’ve visited a few campuses.

Kid has decent stats in a way that’s typical for this area (4.0uw with many APs, 1480 SAT, sport, band, leadership positions, summer job, some volunteer work). So fine but no hooks or anything. If your kid took a while to engage, how did things turn out/how did they create their list?

At least he knows he wants to apply to schools in VA. That's more than many juniors, believe it or not. They may even end up adding a few to the list in the Fall-early winter once they know more and if any early unfavorable decisions come. These teens change a lot between spring of junior year and senior year. Some think they want to apply for a particular major as if they are applying for grad school or something, only to not be so sure by spring of senior year. Patience and some nudging. If you can't or don't want, consider a college counselor.

Anonymous wrote:Not in DC area but same. Kid is interested in college but has no list, had other plans over break, etc. And honestly his final grades this semester will make an impact on options as will the June and August SATs. Strong student for school (currently in top 10) but NOTHING like the stats seen on this board. Not stressed, he'll figure it out one way or another and I think he'd do well and be happy at our state flagship if he doesn't (which of course he DOESN'T want at the moment).

In case you didn't know, there is a lot of fluff on this particular forum

You – the parent – can also just pick a few places that makes sense financially, logistically, and in terms of his major. Many kids aren’t that picky. It’s ok to keep it simple.

Yes. My autistic, ADHD, kid had no clue and was entirely uninterested, despite being intellectual with strong grades. I led the process entirely, and we did a college tour the summer before senior year. He approved my list, which was built around his choice of major.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe his list DOES NOT need to be more than 4-5 schools. As long as there is a safety or two on that list, you may be good.

Very true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not in DC area but same. Kid is interested in college but has no list, had other plans over break, etc. And honestly his final grades this semester will make an impact on options as will the June and August SATs. Strong student for school (currently in top 10) but NOTHING like the stats seen on this board. Not stressed, he'll figure it out one way or another and I think he'd do well and be happy at our state flagship if he doesn't (which of course he DOESN'T want at the moment).

Why are you piping in if you're not from the DMV? What do you know about VA state colleges?

Sounds like the poster was offering support by commiserating and sharing that they too have a student without a college list.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the spread of those 4-5 colleges on the list as far as likely, target, and reach? Depending on what that looks like, I’d probably add 1 or 2 more for each bucket. So, try building that way from the existing list with schools that may be similar or otherwise appealing. If you share the actual list, you can probably get more helpful suggestions.

UVA— reach
W&M— reach or target?
VT—?
GMU— safety
JMU— target or safety?

VT is probably a target for non-engineering major with his profile and stats. I’d still consider W&M a reach, but you may want to check your school’s scattergrams. W&M also cares a lot about fit and demonstrated interest (it appears a bit of an outlier as most other schools on the list are much larger).

If leaning towards big universities in the mid-Atlantic states add Pitt, UDel, Penn State, and maybe UMD. It seems he wants larger schools that aren’t too far from home. If he wants more mid-size colleges similar to W&M, consider Wake Forest, Elon, UMW, and Charleston. There are also a bunch of PA-based SLACs that may be appealing (F&M, Dickinson, Gettysburg).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the spread of those 4-5 colleges on the list as far as likely, target, and reach? Depending on what that looks like, I’d probably add 1 or 2 more for each bucket. So, try building that way from the existing list with schools that may be similar or otherwise appealing. If you share the actual list, you can probably get more helpful suggestions.

UVA— reach
W&M— reach or target?
VT—?
GMU— safety
JMU— target or safety?

He has said he doesn’t want an urban campus. I think he might like smaller schools, but he hasn’t said that himself. So I was thinking he could look at some SLACs.

You're making this harder than it needs to be. Who cares if YOU think he "might like" smaller schools? HE hasn't said that. It's his life.

Because the kid doesn’t know so OP is trying to help her DS clarify what he might want. OP, if you’re in northern Virginia a trip to UMW in Fredericksburg is easy. It’s close enough you could even hit it on an early release day in the fall. And if you want him to see really small, Marymount in Arlington is only 1,900 undergrads. Summer classes start next week so there will be at least some kids on campus.

I’m not saying either of these particular schools is right for him, but they are very close to at least get eyes on without travel. A quick trip to Philly could accomplish the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the spread of those 4-5 colleges on the list as far as likely, target, and reach? Depending on what that looks like, I’d probably add 1 or 2 more for each bucket. So, try building that way from the existing list with schools that may be similar or otherwise appealing. If you share the actual list, you can probably get more helpful suggestions.

UVA— reach
W&M— reach or target?
VT—?
GMU— safety
JMU— target or safety?

He has said he doesn’t want an urban campus. I think he might like smaller schools, but he hasn’t said that himself. So I was thinking he could look at some SLACs.

I would disregard GMU, its not a school for a kid who wants the real college experience. JMU is a great safety, everyone is happy there and he will for sure get in with those stats. VT would be a target but their admissions results are unpredictable. Take him to tour VCU this summer just to see if he likes the urban school campus. If he prefers the smaller schools, Mary Washington can be a safety and he is likely to get merit money there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the spread of those 4-5 colleges on the list as far as likely, target, and reach? Depending on what that looks like, I’d probably add 1 or 2 more for each bucket. So, try building that way from the existing list with schools that may be similar or otherwise appealing. If you share the actual list, you can probably get more helpful suggestions.

UVA— reach
W&M— reach or target?
VT—?
GMU— safety
JMU— target or safety?

He has said he doesn’t want an urban campus. I think he might like smaller schools, but he hasn’t said that himself. So I was thinking he could look at some SLACs.

You're making this harder than it needs to be. Who cares if YOU think he "might like" smaller schools? HE hasn't said that. It's his life.

Anonymous wrote:Not in DC area but same. Kid is interested in college but has no list, had other plans over break, etc. And honestly his final grades this semester will make an impact on options as will the June and August SATs. Strong student for school (currently in top 10) but NOTHING like the stats seen on this board. Not stressed, he'll figure it out one way or another and I think he'd do well and be happy at our state flagship if he doesn't (which of course he DOESN'T want at the moment).

Why are you piping in if you're not from the DMV? What do you know about VA state colleges?

He sounds quite reasonable to me. Count your blessings. With those stats he's a shoo-in to at least one of the "4 or 5 popular" VA schools and you're paying in state tuition. What the hell more do you want?

Anonymous wrote:You really need to do actual tours this summer.

This. A lot of this is about fit, which has many dimensions:

Big or small?
- VT and GMU are examples of big. W&M and CNU are examples of small

Urban, suburban, or rural?
Examples: VCU is urban, GMU is suburban, VT is rural.

Interested in fraternity/sorority or not?

How does student housing work?

Lots of other aspects.