Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have her check out University of California at Davis (that campus started out as the UC "Farm") and also Cal State San Luis Obispo (SLO)

I know it's not to your question but just wanted to throw that out there

OP here. Funny. DD is looking at UC Davis; UC schools require the essay SAT so she is taking that soon.

She definitely should also look at CP SLO if interested in CA. Excellent agriculture program and it's much less expensive for OOS students. As I recall, Davis was around $60K OOS vs. $38K for CP SLO.

Anonymous wrote:After affordability, the single most important thing to worry about for undergrad is fit. Is it that she doesn't want to be rejected from top schools or that she doesn't want to feel stupid if she goes there? She needs to find where she'll be the happiest, so she can do her best work.

+1 It can be a big confidence builder to go into a school where you will likely be one of the top students with greater access to opportunities vs. feeling like you are middle of or trailing the pack.

After affordability, the single most important thing to worry about for undergrad is fit. Is it that she doesn't want to be rejected from top schools or that she doesn't want to feel stupid if she goes there? She needs to find where she'll be the happiest, so she can do her best work.

Anonymous wrote:Have her check out University of California at Davis (that campus started out as the UC "Farm") and also Cal State San Luis Obispo (SLO)

I know it's not to your question but just wanted to throw that out there

OP here. Funny. DD is looking at UC Davis; UC schools require the essay SAT so she is taking that soon.

Have her check out University of California at Davis (that campus started out as the UC "Farm") and also Cal State San Luis Obispo (SLO)

I know it's not to your question but just wanted to throw that out there

Anonymous wrote:OP -- before you said it, I wondered if your DD was afraid of rejection or maybe even afraid of getting into a school like Cornell and feeling like she won't belong. I would strongly encourage her to apply to one reach. Have you visited Cornell? If not, I would do that and then see what she says.

There is some merit to this. In our house the deal is this— mom and dad get input on the search process because it’s a huge financial commitment by us, we want to make sure the kid has all the info they need to make a good decision, and we aren’t paying for a degree with no realistic path towards a decent job. And we define good job pretty broadly. Mom and dad can veto a college going on the list if we just would not pay for an education from that college. (We haven’t had to). As part of the college application process, we looked at a couple schools because I felt like they were really strong in everything my kid wanted and would be a good fit. One made the college list and kid puts it in the top tier. One was a bust. One college we didn’t visit is going on because it is so strong in their area but it’s a geographic mess to visit, and I want my kid to leave their options open. But when the dust settles, the kid can attend any college on the list that we can afford. Because no colleges are going on the list we can’t live with. Otherwise, we are looking a fight in April.

So, I think it’s fair to ask your kid to visit and consider a college. Or add a college of you can’t realistically visit. But if they consider it and say no, that’s it.

Anonymous wrote:OP -- before you said it, I wondered if your DD was afraid of rejection or maybe even afraid of getting into a school like Cornell and feeling like she won't belong. I would strongly encourage her to apply to one reach. Have you visited Cornell? If not, I would do that and then see what she says.

Encourage? Who is paying for the applications? If I am paying for the applications as the parent, then I get some say in what applications go in. If my kid were doing this, I would say "I'm paying for all this. Pick one reach you think you could live with. You apply. We'll visit and you can decide what you think." If the school says "No" or the kid decides "No," I'll abide. But I would definitely be pushing the issue with my kid.

Anonymous wrote:What you need to learn is that your kid is a grown up now. I am learning it and it is liberating. You can't keep stifling your grow kids with your wants and desires. Don't be like my FIL who is still sending idiotic group texts about which colleges are the best, how you must finish college, what's ranking of the college your kid choose.... It only makes him look insane(he does it to show how unhappy he is that his oldest grandkids dropped out of college, and that one granddaughter is off to 500ish ranked college in the U.S.). So, learn to support your adult kid and choices, you can always tell her you won't pay for this "lame" college, and then shut up when you never see her for more than 2 minutes.

+ a million

OP -- before you said it, I wondered if your DD was afraid of rejection or maybe even afraid of getting into a school like Cornell and feeling like she won't belong. I would strongly encourage her to apply to one reach. Have you visited Cornell? If not, I would do that and then see what she says.

Anonymous wrote:Mine did too. A week before school started he said he didn’t want to go, that he should have listened to everyone’s advice. I think it will be ok but I felt terrible for him.

Can you expand? Your DS only applied to safeties and then decided it wasn’t what he wanted?? Can you share his stats and school list (you don’t need to share his choice unless you want). Thank you.

Op, my DD has narrowed her list down to 12. 2 are reaches, the rest are safeties or soft targets. She has SAT in mid 1400s and 4.2 gpa (w). So very like your DCs. I think it’s great that she’s focused on schools below her target. She’s more likely to get non-financially based aid think merit aid.

It really isn't tragic for a kid with a 3.75 uw GPA and 1400 SAT to "settle" for VA Tech. Those stats seem about right for her to consider it a match, depending on the HS. My DS has a ton of friends headed there this year with similar stats and they are not in the honors college. In our HS, a 1400 is below average for UVA or W&M - maybe it's different elsewhere.

My DS is going to one of the schools on the list next week. He had a 4.0 wGPA and 34 ACT/1490 SAT when he applied. It's a good fit for his major. I considered VA Tech a low reach or high match for him based on his GPA, but he didn't apply there anyway (they don't offer what he wants to study).

Mine did too. A week before school started he said he didn’t want to go, that he should have listened to everyone’s advice. I think it will be ok but I felt terrible for him.

When my child (who wanted a SLAC for science) visited Wooster, they talked up the fact that this OSU campus was in town.

https://wooster.osu.edu/home

Might one of those schools might be a good fit for your child?

Anonymous wrote:For her major, there won't be many other schools OP.

I grew up in NC and NC State might work. Great school. I don’t think it gets the recognition in the DMV it should.

But PPs are right, the good solid land grant colleges are the ones that do what she wants well. If she goes to one and comes out at the top of her class, she should be looking at great grad programs or jobs. A SLAC, Ivy, prestigious private (Vandy, Wake Forest, Emory, Rice, Wash U) is not going to give her what she wants.

I have a kid with stats higher than OP’s kid. Looking at SLACs, because that’s right for them. But for environmental/ Ag science, I would be pushing OP’s kids list. Maybe looking also looking in the Midwest (Indiana, Kansas? I don’t know these schools as well).

Your kid knows what she wants to do. She’s looking at field with great career potential. And she will get a great education while easily having her choice of schools at price point 1/3 that of a SLAC.