Another "looking at colleges" thread - this time Mid-Atlantic States to Virginia
 

Dtr. is HS sophomore starting to think about colleges. I want to visit my sometimes-estranged sister in Winchester, VA on car trip this summer. Goal is to combine both.

The college part - she is not really ready for specific favorites yet, but want to visit variety of types - city, suburban; size; etc. Dtr. will not be applying to elite schools, but wants above average academically - that great middle ground of good but less well-known schools, preferably on the smaller side. Basic liberal arts colleges for A-/B+ student. She wants out of cold New England - we are thinking south of NYC to perhaps NC.

I could easily plan this trip in New England, but does someone want to offer a logical itinerary, stopping at 2-5 colleges. Perhaps some state schools in VA or MD. Would venture south of Winchester. Indeterminate amount of time available, but certainly could budget 7-10 days, with a 2 day stop in Winchester (unless I get thrown out sooner).

A day or 2 at a beach would be a nice addition - total driving distances are not a problem - but 300-400 per day max would be nice.

Hi Gail,

I actually live in Winchester! And, my sister's name is Gail....but she doesn't have kids and lives in LA so I don't think we are related LOL :D

Anyway, as for college ideas, there are certainly a million choices in VA/NC. James Madison is fairly large, but might be a good feel for that type of campus since it is just about an hour down 81 from Winchester. You could then head east, maybe stopping at University of Richmond for a smaller, private school, then on towards VA Beach for some sand and surf. William and Mary is just off 64 in Williamsburg which is worth a stop. Other places you could visit in Va...Radford, Mary Washington, Old Dominion, VCU (a real city school in Richmond). More out of the way, but very large would be Virginia Tech. UVA and W&M are probably the hardest to get into, but VA schools are popular so all have gotten more competitive in the past few years.

You might also consider going into DC to visit George Washington University or American University for a city feel.

Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head. My oldest child is in 9th grade so I am just starting to think about schools. I am not really an expert.

Hope that helps! I can also ask around a little more about colleges since I know so many people looking at VA schools right now. And let me know if I can be of any assistance in Winchester. Maybe we could even meet for a cup of coffee. Have a great weekend.

Thanks - that is exactly the info that I needed to get started - I know mainly New England schools. (My son is in school in Savannah but his college search was simple - he is doing a specific type of art and there were a very limited number of schools that offered his major).

I like idea of schools in VA/DC/MD general area since it is either drivable or an easy flight to Boston.

I would make a look at W&M a must but she'll need to get a realistic idea of her chances of getting in from her counselor. Airtran flys nonstop to Boston from Newport News which is 20 min from W&M.

Gail - Check out the forum on collegeconfidential.com.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/

It's a super helpful place -- especially the Parents section.

www.collegeboard.com is where you can check out all colleges and compare and is considered to be the official college info site. They are the ones that do the SAT's and keep the stats on colleges. Their stats will tell you acceptance rates, size of school, %women, location(urban,rural), etc.

I don't think summer is a very good time to tour schools. It's better to go during the school year on a day school is in session, if possible.

Add George Mason University in Fairfax, to the Virginia school list.

My daughter (who graduated from HS in 2004) liked Virginia Wesleyan, and they seem to be trying to put together a class with geographic diversity.

Actually, more detailed than the college board are the individual school's Common Data Sets. When you get a little closer to narrowing down your list, be sure to check these to see where your daughter fits. Here is an excellent place to find all those links:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...ad.php?t=76444

Be SURE to have a couple of schools that she likes on her list where she will DEFINITELY get in - that is, her stats are at or below the 50% mark.

My last 2 cents I promise :) :

When you are first formulating your visiting plan is the best time to be sure your daughter visits safety schools too -- and find one or two she likes.

Too often that first round of visits can be pie-in-the-sky and kids get their hopes up a little too high and are disappointed by their choices once April rolls around.

So just be sure you have a good mix and try hard to not fall IN LOVE with any ONE school (unless it's a safety ;) ).

kybourbon - agree that summer is rotten time to visit schools, but we are just doing first impression drive-thru as part of trip doing other things. Most students in town I live in visit, in my opinion, far too many schools without doing enough research ahead of time. With various websites available, once kids has basic idea of a few facets (could be size, geography, field of study, religious affiliation - almost anything) the pool gets a lot smaller quickly.

And we will have limited time during school year - for some reason known only to them both of my kids have this thing about not missing a day of school since elementary school, excused or otherwise.

wiwl - Collegeboard is who does the common data.

kybourbon, Well, that's not quite the right order. Actually the colleges submit their info to College Board from the data sets, but the data sets sometimes have further info that you won't see sumarized by College Board.

Correct me if I'm mistaken but I also looked at William & Mary when I was looking at colleges and from the rude awakening I had, it is one of the toughest colleges in the country to get into.

I honestly stood a better chance of getting into Duke University (not).

I started at Radford University in Va., then once I figured out what I wanted to do, transferred to Va. Tech. It was the best of both worlds....small start and then on to the big leagues, so to speak. I would have been lost at Tech, as a freshman....never done laundry, always had a curfew, classes on tv.......Transferring is always an option once someone "knows more about his/her self" a little more. 18-19 year olds have no clue about what they want to do with their lives, IMHO. I started out in interior design..ha! Now I teach! Plus, my dad said that I had 4 years to get in and out. That was a major boost!

You might want to look at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Ususally rated as the top public college in the country.

It is a small, liberal arts, all honors college in a stunningly beautiful, historic setting. Many students learn to sail while there and make use of the fleet of sail boats available to students (included in activites fee). The area is somewhat rural but downtown DC is less than 2 hours away. Depending on her major, a semester at Oxford in the UK may be included in the tuition as well.

http://www.smcm.edu/

GoTravel, you are correct. Although William & Mary is a Virginia state university, it is a very selective school. It ranks up there with University of Virginia in selectiveness.

I would highly recommend Longwood University in Farmville, Virgina, about an hour west of Richmond. I graduated from there. They just changed from a "college" to "university" last year. It's still a small school - classes are a great size - 40-50 students for main classes and smaller once you get in your major. A lot of my classes were 20 or less.

It's a great atmosphere - I really loved it there. If you have other questions, let me know. With her grades, she could apply for scholarships. I had a full ride there and was the reason I went the first year over William & Mary, UVA or Tech to which I also got in; but it's because of the place that I stayed for my entire school career.

Thanks again, especially for info on smaller but good colleges I have never heard of. I want to arm myself with info without imposing it upon her - but deciding where to go to college is quite overwhelming for many 16 year olds.

Some suggestions - Two small Maryland liberal arts colleges in scenic locales on the Chesapeake:

Washington College in Chestertown - known for its writing program
http://www.washcoll.edu/wc/visitors/default.html

then on to Annapolis and St. John's College,
http://www.sjca.edu/asp/home.aspx

the Univesity of Delaware has a good reputation and is not far off I-95 - not very small though
http://www.udel.edu/