Anonymous wrote:Duquesne
Richmond
Villanova
American
McDaniel
Bucknell

Duquesne (over 3 hours away)
Richmond (only 3200 students)
Villanova
American
McDaniel (only 1500 students)
Bucknell (only 3500 students)

Duquesne
Richmond
Villanova
American
McDaniel
Bucknell

6k to 8k is a very narrow range. Another vote for Loyola Maryland, though it's only 4k undergrad. Lots more choices if he is willing to look further (especially west), consider plane flights, or consider LACs.

Very nice GPA, but just as a point of clarification, I would not consider test optional as "high stats." As a hedge against the uncertainty of the future, consider having him take the August test. (I understand anxiety over the test, though for my kid that's anticipatory rather than during the test itself, in other words, the bark is worse than the bite. A score might be a nice reference point. My kid ended up choosing a safety for his stats, he is a couple hundred points over the average SAT score for his college, though his score netted a nice merit scholarship, out west, 6k undergrads.)

Anonymous wrote:I like the ideas of TCNJ and Rowan. If you visit, you should also swing over to Philly and look at St. Joe's. I don't think they have a journalism major, but it's a very nice school, and they have some cool pre-professional communications programs, like food marketing and pharmaceutical marketing.

Ithaca? They have a small-scale journalism program, I think.

Oh, I guess Ithaca might be a little too far away. But not by much ... maybe a 4-hour trip?

I like the ideas of TCNJ and Rowan. If you visit, you should also swing over to Philly and look at St. Joe's. I don't think they have a journalism major, but it's a very nice school, and they have some cool pre-professional communications programs, like food marketing and pharmaceutical marketing.

Ithaca? They have a small-scale journalism program, I think.

Anonymous wrote:My DD wanted something very similar. Didn’t like the sweet LAC vibe that my husband and I kept showing her, didn’t want a tiny school or a giant one (no to UMD, eg). Didn’t need to be in the middle of a city but didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere either. Needed friendly vibes, a range of kids (reacted negatively to any kind of striver/tool type of student body). Wanted a diverse school. Chose UMBC. Good luck!

How much of a commuter school is UMBC? That is my major concern with it.

Anonymous wrote:What does "not feeling the liberal arts vibe" mean?

Maybe Rowan in NJ?

Same question, we are new to college search

Anonymous wrote:My DD wanted something very similar. Didn’t like the sweet LAC vibe that my husband and I kept showing her, didn’t want a tiny school or a giant one (no to UMD, eg). Didn’t need to be in the middle of a city but didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere either. Needed friendly vibes, a range of kids (reacted negatively to any kind of striver/tool type of student body). Wanted a diverse school. Chose UMBC. Good luck!

This sounds exactly like my son. Thank you for this - where else did your DD apply?

My DD wanted something very similar. Didn’t like the sweet LAC vibe that my husband and I kept showing her, didn’t want a tiny school or a giant one (no to UMD, eg). Didn’t need to be in the middle of a city but didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere either. Needed friendly vibes, a range of kids (reacted negatively to any kind of striver/tool type of student body). Wanted a diverse school. Chose UMBC. Good luck!

UMBC!

Anonymous wrote:Villanova.

You missed the down to earth and low stress requirement.

American

Anonymous wrote:The College of New Jersey - exactly three hours from DC. Has a journalism program.

I work with a young lawyer who went to TCNJ for undergrad not too long ago -- she is smart as a whip, a real go-getter, and raved about TCNJ. She highly recommended it when my DC was looking at area colleges that weren't to far from Northern VA. Never visited (COVID!) and my DC wanted to be closer to NYC, but it sounds like it might be a possibility, OP.

What does "not feeling the liberal arts vibe" mean?

Maybe Rowan in NJ?

Villanova.