Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WVU has an average entering GPA of 3.6 and Delaware has a 4.0. What does your schools Naviance say? 3.2 seems too low for Delaware, but you’ll have to check.

Is that 4.0 from schools that inflate grades?

It’s an average. I’m sure some inflate but not necessarily all. Each undergrad class at UDel is around 4,500 students so surely there’s a range of students coming from different types of high schools. More important and relevant is checking your high school admissions data for each particular college.

Anonymous wrote:WVU has an average entering GPA of 3.6 and Delaware has a 4.0. What does your schools Naviance say? 3.2 seems too low for Delaware, but you’ll have to check.

Is that 4.0 from schools that inflate grades?

I would focus more on the acceptance rate than the stats like average GPA, and also if you have Naviance or SCOIR, that would be really helpful to look at. Your school may have better success than what the overall numbers show. For example, our HS has over 70% acceptance rate at Penn State (vs. their published rate of 55%) and our students' stats are no better than the average. Presumably they like the OOS money and they know kids from our school are well prepared for college . . .

WVU has an acceptance rate of close to 90%, I'm sure your DD will get in there. I hate to say it but it's where kids go from our school that have trouble to getting in elsewhere (the average uwGPA of kids from our HS going there is 2.75, the average wGPA is 2.6 because the weighted only includes academic classes and these kids are not taking honors/AP).

UD is a bit of a reach but definitely apply. I'd also consider Indiana University, Michigan State, maybe Alabama, for sporty school in a town/small city. My DS has a slightly lower GPA and is also looking at Oregon, if she's willing to go that far--sports culture, Eugene is cool, 80+% acceptance rate but lower OOS. He's also looking at University of Utah, U Cincinnati (but may be too "big city for your DD"?), Miami of Ohio, UC Boulder, and UConn (UConn is in the middle of nowhere though). Ohio U as a safety. I don't know of these schools' strengths in her specific area of interest, so you'd have to look into that. Also some of these, including UD, are pricey out of state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Pitt and Penn are not easy to get into. They are probably harder than UDel.

I went to Penn State and transferred to Pitt. Did not like the isolated, homogenous feel of PSU. It was not liberal artsy at all (Pitt is).

Given all that, I'd be willing to spend a year at a Pitt branch campus to get a shot at transferring cleanly to Pitt. Pitt Johnstown maybe?

My family just looked at Drexel. It reminded me a bit of Pitt. I think it's more expensive though.

I read that Drexel is doing terribly, financially.

PP. That may be true. But it's a big school so they can probably recover or get bailed out. And they have an interesting practical experience focus. The facilities seemed in good shape when we were there.

Pitt had to be bailed out in the 1960s or so...originally it was fully private.

Many schools are financially vulnerable now. I worry about the small ones. Not enough alumni and continued shrinking could cause a death spiral. My kid I took to Drexel actually wants to go to a school like that.

I have visited Drexel. I don't think Drexel has much school spirit. Also, it is very expensive.

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

3.2 is not going to get into Pitt or Penn State State College. Unlikely for Delaware though it might depend on the major. Yes for WVU.

I also recommend the Awesomely Average Kids yahoo group. Lots of good ideas and very supportive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Agree with VCU, it's not just for artsy kids. There are also preppy and sporty kids there.

My personal experiences with WVU is not good, coming from my oldest and a few close friends (both male and female).

The challenge with schools like WVU is that a student has to be willing to ignore distractions and remain focused. Yes, virtually all schools have a party culture but WVU’s is fairly extreme. Students who focus do well there. A friend sent his kid there - an accounting major at the top 5 percent of his class. Working for the Big 4 now. The kid completely slacked in high school thinking Maryland was an easy admit (yikes). He did work hard at WVU as a result and had his fun in reasonable doses. My law review colleague is on the WV Supreme Court. Sent two of his three kids out of state because he was concerned about their maturity and their ability to avoid distractions. The one who attended WVU was mature and is a PhD clinical psychologist today. You can succeed at WVU - need to keep your eyes open. This kind of school was not in my kids’ interest whatsoever but it is an option for some. Need to be focused.

This is very true. I have a kid majoring in Engineering at WVU. Very focused students there have great opportunities while still enjoying the big school, big sports vibe. WVU would wasn't and would not be a good fit for my other kids.

Another WVU mom of a DC in their Nursing program. It was (and still is) a good fit for our child. Sneer all you want but their nursing program has a very high NCLEX pass rate (100% for the past three years in a row). Their merit money made our 4.0UW/TO kid a better deal than almost all other in-state schools here in in VA. As for peers, our DD likes to say she's the dumbest one in her apartment; the rest were literally valedictorians back home (which is OH, PA, and WVA).

Party scene is definitely there if you want, plenty of other options if you don't. They have an insane about of outdoor activities and the sports culture is big without being overwhelming (like an SEC school might be).

It's not for everyone but it definitely has options. While the downtown campus might seem a big dingy, it's an "old" college town in a state still on hard-times. The people are super friendly and the faculty has been very supportive.

For the right student, it can be the right place at the right price.

Eastern Carolina University and Coastal Carolina would be perfect!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Pitt and Penn are not easy to get into. They are probably harder than UDel.

I went to Penn State and transferred to Pitt. Did not like the isolated, homogenous feel of PSU. It was not liberal artsy at all (Pitt is).

Given all that, I'd be willing to spend a year at a Pitt branch campus to get a shot at transferring cleanly to Pitt. Pitt Johnstown maybe?

My family just looked at Drexel. It reminded me a bit of Pitt. I think it's more expensive though.

I read that Drexel is doing terribly, financially.

PP. That may be true. But it's a big school so they can probably recover or get bailed out. And they have an interesting practical experience focus. The facilities seemed in good shape when we were there.

Pitt had to be bailed out in the 1960s or so...originally it was fully private.

Many schools are financially vulnerable now. I worry about the small ones. Not enough alumni and continued shrinking could cause a death spiral. My kid I took to Drexel actually wants to go to a school like that.

Ohio University (OU) is similar size to WVU.
Her stats are great for OU.

D2 hockey draws big crowds.

Anonymous wrote:CNU has a kinesiology major.

How is CNU better than WVU? I am genuinely curious. WVU seems to offer a lot more.

CNU has a kinesiology major.

Anonymous wrote:If you are more of an average student, I think WVU will come in much cheaper than Delaware. I have a freshman, and we looked at Delaware (didn't like it) and applied to WVU (never looked at it). His merit package at WVU made it under 35. Delaware was a little under 60. I was guessing that he would not get a lot of aid. Most average kids get in but don't get a lot of aid. Kind of like Indiana.

Agree, but your student does need to put in the work to keep that merit aid. It's pulled very quickly, and while I've seen kids turn it around, the merit aid may still be pulled after bad two semesters of partying.

If you are more of an average student, I think WVU will come in much cheaper than Delaware. I have a freshman, and we looked at Delaware (didn't like it) and applied to WVU (never looked at it). His merit package at WVU made it under 35. Delaware was a little under 60. I was guessing that he would not get a lot of aid. Most average kids get in but don't get a lot of aid. Kind of like Indiana.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Agree with VCU, it's not just for artsy kids. There are also preppy and sporty kids there.

My personal experiences with WVU is not good, coming from my oldest and a few close friends (both male and female).

The challenge with schools like WVU is that a student has to be willing to ignore distractions and remain focused. Yes, virtually all schools have a party culture but WVU’s is fairly extreme. Students who focus do well there. A friend sent his kid there - an accounting major at the top 5 percent of his class. Working for the Big 4 now. The kid completely slacked in high school thinking Maryland was an easy admit (yikes). He did work hard at WVU as a result and had his fun in reasonable doses. My law review colleague is on the WV Supreme Court. Sent two of his three kids out of state because he was concerned about their maturity and their ability to avoid distractions. The one who attended WVU was mature and is a PhD clinical psychologist today. You can succeed at WVU - need to keep your eyes open. This kind of school was not in my kids’ interest whatsoever but it is an option for some. Need to be focused.

This is very true. I have a kid majoring in Engineering at WVU. Very focused students there have great opportunities while still enjoying the big school, big sports vibe. WVU would wasn't and would not be a good fit for my other kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about VCU? Pitt? Penn state?

Pitt and Penn are not easy to get into. They are probably harder than UDel.

I went to Penn State and transferred to Pitt. Did not like the isolated, homogenous feel of PSU. It was not liberal artsy at all (Pitt is).

Given all that, I'd be willing to spend a year at a Pitt branch campus to get a shot at transferring cleanly to Pitt. Pitt Johnstown maybe?

My family just looked at Drexel. It reminded me a bit of Pitt. I think it's more expensive though.

I read that Drexel is doing terribly, financially.