Summer USA Trip
Apr 1st, 2019 | 12:43 PM
#21
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,896
Likes: 0
If I were looking at colleges, I would look first at
1. Academic Fit
2. Financial Fit.
For academic fit, I would look at the college's own website but also reviews and deeper reading. I would also think about whether this is a college where I could not only get admitted, but whether I would thrive there? If you are seriously thinking pre-med, you want a college that would be supportive in helping you get through organic chemistry etc. but also in helping you apply to med school. Smaller schools can often have an edge in that situation.
For financial fit, go on the college's own website. By law they have to have a net price calculator somewhere on their site. Plug in the numbers and see if the college makes sense for you and your family. Some private schools offer more merit scholarships than financial aid, so visiting their website or calling the admissions office would be worth doing. If you have good grades and are in the top 25 percent or so of applicants, you are the one likely to get those scholarships.
Understand that out-of-state publics (often referred to as OOS) can be more expensive than a private school where you receive either financial aid or merit scholarships. So Georgia, Tennessee, Houston, Virginia Tech might in fact cost you more. Some OOS publics are notoriously expensive like Penn State. And if you are thinking pre-med, one goal to consider is keeping loans down because you will take more for med school.
NYU, Penn and Georgia Tech are highly selective. Additionally, NYU is nationally known for not giving good financial aid or merit aid. It also can be difficult to find housing in Manhattan and there are not enough dorms for four years.
So for your criteria, I would add the following schools:
College of William and Mary--in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. This one is public but is said to be on the more affordable end. Near DC as well.
Vassar--a great school, go into the city for the weekend if you want but a beautiful area to live in. Topnotch school that gets forgotten. Solid aid.
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania has both proximity to places on the East Coast, but also has good aid and good support.
Emory (both campuses), also in Georgia. A friend's daughter just visited. They really, really liked it.
Elsewhere:
Willamette University or Lewis and Clark in Oregon.
Grinnell College gets forgotten and yes it's in Iowa. It has great aid and great teaching. Consider it.
1. Academic Fit
2. Financial Fit.
For academic fit, I would look at the college's own website but also reviews and deeper reading. I would also think about whether this is a college where I could not only get admitted, but whether I would thrive there? If you are seriously thinking pre-med, you want a college that would be supportive in helping you get through organic chemistry etc. but also in helping you apply to med school. Smaller schools can often have an edge in that situation.
For financial fit, go on the college's own website. By law they have to have a net price calculator somewhere on their site. Plug in the numbers and see if the college makes sense for you and your family. Some private schools offer more merit scholarships than financial aid, so visiting their website or calling the admissions office would be worth doing. If you have good grades and are in the top 25 percent or so of applicants, you are the one likely to get those scholarships.
Understand that out-of-state publics (often referred to as OOS) can be more expensive than a private school where you receive either financial aid or merit scholarships. So Georgia, Tennessee, Houston, Virginia Tech might in fact cost you more. Some OOS publics are notoriously expensive like Penn State. And if you are thinking pre-med, one goal to consider is keeping loans down because you will take more for med school.
NYU, Penn and Georgia Tech are highly selective. Additionally, NYU is nationally known for not giving good financial aid or merit aid. It also can be difficult to find housing in Manhattan and there are not enough dorms for four years.
So for your criteria, I would add the following schools:
College of William and Mary--in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. This one is public but is said to be on the more affordable end. Near DC as well.
Vassar--a great school, go into the city for the weekend if you want but a beautiful area to live in. Topnotch school that gets forgotten. Solid aid.
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania has both proximity to places on the East Coast, but also has good aid and good support.
Emory (both campuses), also in Georgia. A friend's daughter just visited. They really, really liked it.
Elsewhere:
Willamette University or Lewis and Clark in Oregon.
Grinnell College gets forgotten and yes it's in Iowa. It has great aid and great teaching. Consider it.
Apr 1st, 2019 | 01:49 PM
#22
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
If I were looking at colleges, I would look first at
1. Academic Fit
2. Financial Fit.
For academic fit, I would look at the college's own website but also reviews and deeper reading. I would also think about whether this is a college where I could not only get admitted, but whether I would thrive there? If you are seriously thinking pre-med, you want a college that would be supportive in helping you get through organic chemistry etc. but also in helping you apply to med school. Smaller schools can often have an edge in that situation.
For financial fit, go on the college's own website. By law they have to have a net price calculator somewhere on their site. Plug in the numbers and see if the college makes sense for you and your family. Some private schools offer more merit scholarships than financial aid, so visiting their website or calling the admissions office would be worth doing. If you have good grades and are in the top 25 percent or so of applicants, you are the one likely to get those scholarships.
Understand that out-of-state publics (often referred to as OOS) can be more expensive than a private school where you receive either financial aid or merit scholarships. So Georgia, Tennessee, Houston, Virginia Tech might in fact cost you more. Some OOS publics are notoriously expensive like Penn State. And if you are thinking pre-med, one goal to consider is keeping loans down because you will take more for med school.
NYU, Penn and Georgia Tech are highly selective. Additionally, NYU is nationally known for not giving good financial aid or merit aid. It also can be difficult to find housing in Manhattan and there are not enough dorms for four years.
So for your criteria, I would add the following schools:
College of William and Mary--in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. This one is public but is said to be on the more affordable end. Near DC as well.
Vassar--a great school, go into the city for the weekend if you want but a beautiful area to live in. Topnotch school that gets forgotten. Solid aid.
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania has both proximity to places on the East Coast, but also has good aid and good support.
Emory (both campuses), also in Georgia. A friend's daughter just visited. They really, really liked it.
Elsewhere:
Willamette University or Lewis and Clark in Oregon.
Grinnell College gets forgotten and yes it's in Iowa. It has great aid and great teaching. Consider it.
1. Academic Fit
2. Financial Fit.
For academic fit, I would look at the college's own website but also reviews and deeper reading. I would also think about whether this is a college where I could not only get admitted, but whether I would thrive there? If you are seriously thinking pre-med, you want a college that would be supportive in helping you get through organic chemistry etc. but also in helping you apply to med school. Smaller schools can often have an edge in that situation.
For financial fit, go on the college's own website. By law they have to have a net price calculator somewhere on their site. Plug in the numbers and see if the college makes sense for you and your family. Some private schools offer more merit scholarships than financial aid, so visiting their website or calling the admissions office would be worth doing. If you have good grades and are in the top 25 percent or so of applicants, you are the one likely to get those scholarships.
Understand that out-of-state publics (often referred to as OOS) can be more expensive than a private school where you receive either financial aid or merit scholarships. So Georgia, Tennessee, Houston, Virginia Tech might in fact cost you more. Some OOS publics are notoriously expensive like Penn State. And if you are thinking pre-med, one goal to consider is keeping loans down because you will take more for med school.
NYU, Penn and Georgia Tech are highly selective. Additionally, NYU is nationally known for not giving good financial aid or merit aid. It also can be difficult to find housing in Manhattan and there are not enough dorms for four years.
So for your criteria, I would add the following schools:
College of William and Mary--in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. This one is public but is said to be on the more affordable end. Near DC as well.
Vassar--a great school, go into the city for the weekend if you want but a beautiful area to live in. Topnotch school that gets forgotten. Solid aid.
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania has both proximity to places on the East Coast, but also has good aid and good support.
Emory (both campuses), also in Georgia. A friend's daughter just visited. They really, really liked it.
Elsewhere:
Willamette University or Lewis and Clark in Oregon.
Grinnell College gets forgotten and yes it's in Iowa. It has great aid and great teaching. Consider it.
Thank you so much for these options! I will discuss them with my Family and will come back on here if I have more to say. Thanks again.
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 03:29 AM
#26
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,876
Likes: 0
Thank you so much for these options! I will discuss them with my Family a
Are you consulting with your school college guidance counselor? As a grandmother with a granddaughter in pre-med at UNC-chapel hill (paying OOS tuitition and who also was interested in NYU) I am beginning to wonder how you are making this decision. And with so many excellent universities in your home state with excellent biological sciences departments. I even spent a year at Berkeley in microbiology. Great food in that area!
Are you consulting with your school college guidance counselor? As a grandmother with a granddaughter in pre-med at UNC-chapel hill (paying OOS tuitition and who also was interested in NYU) I am beginning to wonder how you are making this decision. And with so many excellent universities in your home state with excellent biological sciences departments. I even spent a year at Berkeley in microbiology. Great food in that area!
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 06:39 AM
#29
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Thank you so much for these options! I will discuss them with my Family a
Are you consulting with your school college guidance counselor? As a grandmother with a granddaughter in pre-med at UNC-chapel hill (paying OOS tuitition and who also was interested in NYU) I am beginning to wonder how you are making this decision. And with so many excellent universities in your home state with excellent biological sciences departments. I even spent a year at Berkeley in microbiology. Great food in that area!
Are you consulting with your school college guidance counselor? As a grandmother with a granddaughter in pre-med at UNC-chapel hill (paying OOS tuitition and who also was interested in NYU) I am beginning to wonder how you are making this decision. And with so many excellent universities in your home state with excellent biological sciences departments. I even spent a year at Berkeley in microbiology. Great food in that area!
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 06:59 AM
#30
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,876
Likes: 0
I think I would take Houston off your list for a lot of reasons. Georgia Tech for other things.
Good pre-med--Davidson College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, Furman University, Emory, Tulane, Florida, Pittsburgh, Penn, U. of Colorado,
Good pre-med--Davidson College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, Furman University, Emory, Tulane, Florida, Pittsburgh, Penn, U. of Colorado,
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 09:06 AM
#31
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,304
Likes: 0
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 09:22 AM
#33
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,304
Likes: 0
And your main criteria for this trip are food and sights? If you want a sightseeing trip in the South and are looking for great food, great. Let's not pretend this has anything to do with visiting colleges though, unless you're planning to take a year off between high school and college.
Apr 2nd, 2019 | 11:26 AM
#35
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Ok so to clear up a few things. I am planning on taking a few weeks in June (After my Europe Trip) to go to a few states and tour their colleges. Touring colleges is my main priority don’t get me wrong, but whats the harm in finding some good areas or eateries around there. Also I am not going this fall, I will be going to community college first, and then transfer from there.
Apr 3rd, 2019 | 11:41 AM
#36
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 8,389
Likes: 0
If colleges are really the priority then you should make a list of feasible colleges by:
1. Consulting with your school guidance counselor on attainable schools based on your grades and standardized test scores and understanding what you need to achieve in community college in order to transfer somewhere.
2. Consulting with your parents/responsible adults on financial feasibility if they are going to assist at all (cost of living would be a factor even if all they are going to do is pay your housing or something)
3. Considering how easily you can transfer from a community college. In Virginia, you can transfer to a public university from community college and all your credits will transfer and you are guaranteed admission when you meet certain GPA criteria. If CA offers something similar, as much as you want a change of venue, it is a worthwhile consideration.
Then you can plan a fun road trip based on the above (if you can rent a car, which is unlikely given your age). Have fun, explore and check our great places to eat.
Your approach to finding a college is unconventional to those of us who have done it or guided others through it because you don't seem to have narrowed any options and just seem to be looking all over the map. That's understandable, it's an overwhelming process. But this board isn't the place to get that advice on how to narrow it. Have people in your family attended college or are you first generation? Seek out someone who has recently been through the college selection process and you will likely have more success.
There's not a thing in the world wrong with exploring food and attractions near colleges that you are considering--but your initial approach is one that is, as I said, unconventional and potentially ineffective. Good luck. Have fun. Certainly some people here can point you to some good websites for making good choices about college, too.
1. Consulting with your school guidance counselor on attainable schools based on your grades and standardized test scores and understanding what you need to achieve in community college in order to transfer somewhere.
2. Consulting with your parents/responsible adults on financial feasibility if they are going to assist at all (cost of living would be a factor even if all they are going to do is pay your housing or something)
3. Considering how easily you can transfer from a community college. In Virginia, you can transfer to a public university from community college and all your credits will transfer and you are guaranteed admission when you meet certain GPA criteria. If CA offers something similar, as much as you want a change of venue, it is a worthwhile consideration.
Then you can plan a fun road trip based on the above (if you can rent a car, which is unlikely given your age). Have fun, explore and check our great places to eat.
Your approach to finding a college is unconventional to those of us who have done it or guided others through it because you don't seem to have narrowed any options and just seem to be looking all over the map. That's understandable, it's an overwhelming process. But this board isn't the place to get that advice on how to narrow it. Have people in your family attended college or are you first generation? Seek out someone who has recently been through the college selection process and you will likely have more success.
There's not a thing in the world wrong with exploring food and attractions near colleges that you are considering--but your initial approach is one that is, as I said, unconventional and potentially ineffective. Good luck. Have fun. Certainly some people here can point you to some good websites for making good choices about college, too.
Apr 3rd, 2019 | 12:59 PM
#38
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 19,356
Likes: 4
Agreed though, probably not if you're not 18.
