Where to start - care to swap notes?

[Second Time Around]

First of all, I apologize since I assume this question gets asked twice a day here, but I was unable to find any threads that matched it when I searched (although I know they must exist if I enter the right search terms!).

 

Also, even though this is my 'second time around' my first time child went off to a residential school for his final two years, and a school teacher recommended his current college to him.

 

So, I'm staring at the process for almost the first time. With DS no. 1 I did purchase "Colleges that Change Lives" and "the Right College". I'm using these right now (probably out of date by now?) together. I'm finding lots of nice sounding colleges that exist in both books - looking for political/religious tolerance rather than ultra liberal approaches, and small, nurturing quality schools rather than the hyper selective/competitive ones. I highly recommend both these books to others.

 

I guess I'm interested to hear what other approaches people have used to discover similar types of college, especially when the child is less interested in broad liberal arts, but leans more towards the math and sciences. I'd love for my son to go to a Great Books program at St. John's for instance, but I don't think he'd see the relevancy of that path, when he wants a career that involves animals, horses, the great outdoors kind of thing.

 

Just wondered if there are any similar souls out there who'd care to share their thoughts and paths?

 

Thanks!

[creekland]

I guess the #1 way I found colleges to check out was to check with potential future employers and see which colleges they recommend. Both of my boys have ended up at colleges originally recommended to us this way.

 

In general, I asked around (many people) + read threads on the internet when they seemed to pertain. I also compared their scores (SAT/ACT) to those of the freshmen stats for each school. I looked up their climate (not meaning weather) in books or with online reviews (Princeton, Fiske, Choosing the Right College). Then we visited to get a feel for the place assuming it passed the other "tests."

 

If you have some colleges you like, check out scores to see if they "fit" and then plan some road trips if you can.

 

I also do google searches for my colleges, but if you do that, be prepared to read not only some good, but also the bad and downright ugly. No college is perfect for everyone. You need to figure out first whether you believe the writer or not (did they exaggerate or were they simply a disgruntled bad fit), then whether or not what was said matters for you. Dorms, food, sports and the like simply don't matter to us. Academic education, opportunities, and similar minded academic peers do.

 

Are you looking for a more rural location w/animals and the great outdoors? Any particular area of the country?

 

My Alma mater, Virginia Tech, was great for that sort of location, but it's hardly a small LAC. Radford is very close by, but I'm unsure if they have animals or what their science reputation is like.

[Second Time Around]

Thanks, Creekland. Doesn't have to absolutely be rural. I know DS would like access to great places to explore, however. At the same time, I don't want him to get lost in a huge city campus.

[JennW in SoCal]

I too started with Colleges that Change Lives, and from what I understand, the book hasn't changed much since it was first published. I believe the most recent edition has simply added postscripts from students who graduated from each school.

 

Beyond that book, however, I browsed and surfed the internet obsessively! The more useful sites (aside from the college acceptances list from this board) include:

 

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/ Take everything you read with a grain of salt as there are lots of very competitive high achievers populating this board! But there are some terrific threads on the parent's board, such as lists of colleges with good merit aid.

 

http://collegeprowler.com/ This has student reviews of campuses. Again take everything with a grain of salt, but still somewhat helpful. There are threads where people compare schools, which can be really enlightening.

 

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search Not a perfect search engine, but you can search by region, size and etc. The college board site also gives useful stats about admissions.

 

http://nces.ed.gov/ I liked this site for stats for specific colleges as, unlike the college board, it gives ACT average scores.

 

I also loitered in Barnes and Noble reading the most recent college guides such as Fiske.

 

The most helpful thing we did was to visit colleges. I took my ds early in his high school career to area campuses, one huge state campus and one small LAC so he could get a feel for the differences between the two types of school. In the spring and summer of junior year I picked a couple of areas of the country to visit, chose a handful of schools in each area, then took my ds to visit those schools. He discovered he preferred rural over urban, wanted a small liberal arts but with strong science departments.

 

And that is how he has wound up getting ready to move to rural Ohio this fall to attend a small LAC and major in math (or physics or ???).

[SkateLeft]

The most helpful thing we did was to visit colleges. I took my ds early in his high school career to area campuses, one huge state campus and one small LAC so he could get a feel for the differences between the two types of school.

 

That's pretty much what we did also. In the beginning, my daughter only knew that she preferred to stay in the midwest, and wanted a strong chemistry or chemical engineering department.

 

After some college visits, she decided she wanted a small to midsize school, and preferred primarily engineering schools over LACs. She wanted to be able to sail, cross-country ski, and be at a school with lots of outdoor opportunities. She also decided that she wanted to be in the top 10% of applicants, to better her chances of merit aid. Her first choice school is Michigan Tech, in the upper peninsula. It's the perfect place for her.

 

Now she's got a list of 5 schools, and is just waiting for application periods to open! :willy_nilly:

[creekland]

Visiting types is great. My guys haven't liked the exact same colleges, but they have been able to figure out preferences in types by going on visits...

[Nan in Mass]

My middle one discovered his college by accident, before we were looking for colleges, on a visit that had nothing to do with college. He got his older brother interested in it. Youngest's first choice is a similar situation - a visit that had nothing to do with college, before we were looking for colleges. That left us doing "type" college visits just as a sanity check. I tried to include a big pubic university, small state college, biggish private, tiny private, non-traditional (Hampshire), rural, suburban, and urban. I had no luck getting mine to visit colleges right in the city - they refused. We also considered near and far. Mine didn't want to be out of New England and they have traveled enough that I was pretty sure they knew what they were talking about so I didn't push that.

 

Some other considerations (other than major/program, of course, which comes first) are the boy/girl ratio, the in-state/out-of-state/international student ratio, the price, the amount of financial aid, the amount of sororities/fraterities, the percentage of commuters, and the percentage of students in the dorms versus percentage of students living off campus. Is there housing for all the students or just housing for freshman? All of these put together give one some idea of what the campus and student body are like. Is the campus dead on the weekends? In the evenings? Are the new ties the students make on-campus strong or are students still "playing" with their high school friends? Are the students involved in clubs and intramural sports or are they "playing" off campus? The graduation rates tell you whether they have any chance of finishing in 4 years. The freshman retention rate tells you something about the admissions strategy (let everyone in and weed out versus admit a few and make sure they finish) and the happiness or determination of the student body. Those are the things I looked at, anyway.

 

Nan

[creekland]

 

Some other considerations (other than major/program, of course, which comes first) are the boy/girl ratio, the in-state/out-of-state/international student ratio, the price, the amount of financial aid, the amount of sororities/fraterities, the percentage of commuters, and the percentage of students in the dorms versus percentage of students living off campus. Is there housing for all the students or just housing for freshman? All of these put together give one some idea of what the campus and student body are like. Is the campus dead on the weekends? In the evenings? Are the new ties the students make on-campus strong or are students still "playing" with their high school friends? Are the students involved in clubs and intramural sports or are they "playing" off campus? The graduation rates tell you whether they have any chance of finishing in 4 years. The freshman retention rate tells you something about the admissions strategy (let everyone in and weed out versus admit a few and make sure they finish) and the happiness or determination of the student body. Those are the things I looked at, anyway.

 

Nan

 

Great list, Nan!

[sepuld]

I am a homeschool grad who graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2011. I'm preparing to go on to grad school in the fall to pursue a vocation as a theology or philosophy professor. What was helpful for me:

 

1) Good college guides. Try ISI (Choosing the Right College), which is about sound academics from a classical (also conservative) perspective. Other good guides: Colleges That Change Lives and Cool Colleges.

2) With respect to academics: do your homework. Find classes that speak to you (student), professors you'd like to study with, a curriculum structure that makes sense. You can (and I did) reference these in your admissions essays.

 

3) Suggest alternatives if you want to bring something to your child's attention, but ultimately, listen to your child. They will not be happy if it is a school that was your choice, not theirs, and if they are not happy, their experience will suffer academically and in other areas.

 

4) Do not be afraid! Jesus speaks this injunction throughout the Gospels. You both have come so far, and you can make it up to the next stage of life . . . even if you both feel like weary hobbits trundling up toward Mount Doom at times.

 

(One little secret: Often, even with the most eclectic colleges, once you are deciding between two equal options, you can't go wrong. So relax!)

Edited July 5, 2012 by sepuld

[sepuld]

Also, is it all right if I post here? I had my mother's permission to do so.

 

(Currently I'm at home for the summer before heading off to gs).

[Gwen in VA]

I've discovered (with child #4) that you can learn a great deal by poking around on college major and department websites. The websites vary ENORMOUSLY and give an interesting window into the college and what it thinks is important.

 

I've been looking at music and math departments, and I've noticed --

 

1) Many discuss internships; some don't.

2) Some have subfields and certificate programs in more applied areas; some don't.

3) Some list competitions that the students often compete in and/or do well in; some don't.

4) Some give links to resources -- math communities, job listings, math puzzles, math quotes, etc.; some don't.

5) Some have many students doing research and discuss profs' research on readily available pages; some don't.

6) Some websites give a "glad you're here -- we're excited about math and our program"; some give a "here are some facts. Now go away" feel.

7) Some specifically mention prereqs for grad programs and how they mesh with the program at the school; some don't.

 

I realize that a website isn't the be-all end-all, but the types of things that the department feels are important enough to list or give links to DO give some idea of what is important to the math department!

 

I wish I had spent more time hanging around department websites for my older two!

[Teachin'Mine]

Also, is it all right if I post here? I had my mother's permission to do so.

 

(Currently I'm at home for the summer before heading off to gs).

 

Yes - definitely!!! It's great to hear from the student who has been there and done that. Your words of wisdom are appreciated! :001_smile:

[sepuld]

Thank you! :001_smile:

[MicheleinMN]

:lurk5:

[AK_Mom4]

Here is a different look... we live too far away from anywhere to visit schools. DD18 wants to study music, so we knew she would have to audition and that means $$$$$$ to fly somewhere. In state was not a good option as they didn't have the major she wanted.

 

We actually started college research using College Board's school find (the SAT folks) to get a list of college that offered the major she wanted. Then, she researched those on College Confidential and the school websites. In the end, she narrowed it down to two schools and emailed back and forth with their admissions and music departments to get info. She flew down to audition at her first choice and auditioned with her 2nd choice when a visiting professor came here to run a workshop.

 

In a month, she will be heading off to her 2nd choice school (they made the best offer for her). She has never been to the campus and doesn't actually know anyone - but the older sister of a friend has offered to give her a tour when she gets there. :tongue_smilie:

 

It's quite the adventure!

[Kareni]

To begin, I/my daughter did a search of colleges that offered the major my daughter was interested in. Then I did a search for colleges that provided the best need based financial aid. Using those two lists, generated a shorter list (perhaps thirty schools) that provided the major and the likelihood of good financial aid. We did this when my daughter was in tenth grade. At that point, she sent a letter to the college departments requesting information. That, and computer searches, helped her narrow the list down further. She ultimately applied to ten colleges. Nine of those colleges were obtained by the above method; the tenth college was a late addition after she visited it while attending a conference. While she was accepted to that tenth college, it provided (by far) the least financial aid of any of her eight offers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mathwonk]

In our family, I had a preferred college for my son, (my alma mater), but he had another one in mind, even without ever visiting there. He got into mine but chose his and loved it. He still lives near there. So just suggesting to consider whether ds has an idea of a favorite place, no matter how unlikely it seems?