Rockhopper Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 (edited) I'm trying to help my senior narrow some college choices. We just moved to south Texas a little over a year ago, so I don't have a good feel for the nuances of different colleges, and fear there are some we're missing altogether. Ds is a very smart kid but not highly motivated. He wants to have the benefits and lifestyle that going to college would offer him, (and frankly his skill set is definitely toward the academic and not the hands-on) but doesn't have definite career goals or passions yet. He has a chronic medical condition which demands constant attentiveness and care. Between these things, he will need a pretty supportive environment, both academically and residentially (to coin a word). He'd prefer a small liberal arts school and we need very generous aid. His test scores should put him in full-tuition scholarship range at at least some schools (I've checked my alma mater for a comp) but he doesn't have a really impressive list of ECs or leadership. Ideally he'd like to be within a two-hour drive of San Antonio but is willing to go out to 8 (a one-day's drive, basically). Dh is a Baylor grad but I think it's too big and too expensive. Ds has visited UIW and was pretty "enh" about it. We considered Texas State but I think it's also too big. We're currently discussing a visit to TLU but I don't know much about it. Oh, Hazlewood Act is an option (and that certainly helps a lot with $$) but I don't know that any state schools are small enough. Dh is still active duty, so I don't think this is an option after all. I'd really appreciate any wisdom, suggestions or first-hand knowledge of schools that might be a fit. Edited November 1, 2017 by Rockhopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Schreiner is a small liberal arts college in Kerrville, not too far from S.A. I don't know much about it but I do know someone that goes there and loves it. It's a beautiful area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 Schreiner is a small liberal arts college in Kerrville, not too far from S.A. I don't know much about it but I do know someone that goes there and loves it. It's a beautiful area. Never even heard of it! I knew it was worthwhile to ask here. :-) Off to Google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Trinity University. Very small, in San Antonio (also, very expensive). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Have you looked at Southwestern (Georgetown, TX) or Trinity University (San Antonio)? They are both small liberal arts school, fairly selective, and offer merit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Maybe the University of St. Thomas in Houston? It's pretty close to the medical center, accepts lots of CC credits (basically the TX Core Curriculum) and is in a very nice part of town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 If he has competitive test scores and is at all interested in business, consider St. Mary's University in San Antonio. They have a Greehey Scholar's program that pays full tuition, room and board, and other activities (such as study abroad) for four years to qualified students. I know some students who double major in business and another major to be able to get the financial benefits. University of Dallas in Irving is a small, liberal arts school which would be a much more "Catholic" environment than St. Mary's. TCU in Fort Worth is larger (about 10,000 students--so still smaller than Baylor). As private schools, all three of those will have similar costs; so it would depend upon how competitive he is for financial aid at each school. If you want to consider a state school for financial reasons, I have known students who have attended both Texas A&M Corpus Christi and UT Galveston and had good experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Trinity University. Very small, in San Antonio (also, very expensive). Have you looked at Southwestern (Georgetown, TX) or Trinity University (San Antonio)? They are both small liberal arts school, fairly selective, and offer merit. I hadn't really even considered Trinity. Mostly because all I knew was that it was expensive! But it's worth looking. Southwestern is another new to me option, and Georgetown is nice! We'll look at it for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Maybe the University of St. Thomas in Houston? It's pretty close to the medical center, accepts lots of CC credits (basically the TX Core Curriculum) and is in a very nice part of town. Another one I hadn't known of. I don't know if he'd even consider a school in Houston, but there'd be some comfort for me there because we have a couple of churches that have partnered with my kids (our small church doesn't have a youth group) for youth trips, retreats, etc. so he'd have some people who care for him nearby. As nearby as one can be in the Rhode-Island size city of Houston, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Before my daughter got really sick and everything changed, she wanted to go to Trinity. It's a really amazing school. They will work with you on cost and getting aid. University of the Incarnate Word is also supposed to be really good. I go to church with one of the theater teachers there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Rice is not super small, but it's a good school and in South Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) If he has competitive test scores and is at all interested in business, consider St. Mary's University in San Antonio. They have a Greehey Scholar's program that pays full tuition, room and board, and other activities (such as study abroad) for four years to qualified students. I know some students who double major in business and another major to be able to get the financial benefits. University of Dallas in Irving is a small, liberal arts school which would be a much more "Catholic" environment than St. Mary's. TCU in Fort Worth is larger (about 10,000 students--so still smaller than Baylor). As private schools, all three of those will have similar costs; so it would depend upon how competitive he is for financial aid at each school. If you want to consider a state school for financial reasons, I have known students who have attended both Texas A&M Corpus Christi and UT Galveston and had good experiences. Honestly we hadn't even looked at St. Mary's. We've been to a couple of volleyball games there and that's pretty much the extent of my knowledge of it. I guess we should take a closer look. In fact, in reality we've been avoiding schools in big cities and particularly in SA. I guess if (a) he wants to be close to home, and if (b) financially and medically it's best for him to be close to home or even living AT home, we should probably start looking in our own back yard. We'd also not even looked at Corpus Christi or Galveston. In general his life goal is to not be in south Texas, and moving *further* south is in direct opposition to that, but again given parameters (a) and (b) above, maybe we should. I think another thing at work is *my* perhaps erroneous assumption that Catholic schools in SA would be a difficult social fit for a non-Catholic kid. Edited November 3, 2017 by Rockhopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 I know little about it, but what about Stephen F Austin in Nacogdoches? I remember it being on my radar in a positive way for a brief period of time last year but for the life of me I can't remember why. I'll look again. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Before my daughter got really sick and everything changed, she wanted to go to Trinity. It's a really amazing school. They will work with you on cost and getting aid. University of the Incarnate Word is also supposed to be really good. I go to church with one of the theater teachers there. I'm sorry about your daughter's illness. It's so hard when life turns upside down. So hard. And especially when it's our kids. Does UIW have a good theater program? Ds is heavily involved in theater this year. I think it'd be neat to stay involved in college but I'm not sure how interested he is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 Rice is not super small, but it's a good school and in South Texas. I've always had the impression that Rice was pretty cut-throat/competitive? And pretty heavily focused on engineering/hard sciences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I've always had the impression that Rice was pretty cut-throat/competitive? And pretty heavily focused on engineering/hard sciences? We are looking at Rice. They have a very strong music program. Acceptance race for whole school is 14%. But yes super competitive, ACT score > 32 is probably necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I've always had the impression that Rice was pretty cut-throat/competitive? And pretty heavily focused on engineering/hard sciences? The 75th percentile for SAT math is 800--meaning that at least 25% of the students have a perfect math SAT score. The average SAT composite is 2200--which is 99 percentile for the SAT exam. The rankings for the 2nd and 3rd most competitive schools to get into in Texas will--change from year to year but Rice is #1--and the other schools say "so far in the distance we aren't even in the same ball park" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Does UIW have a good theater program? Ds is heavily involved in theater this year. I think it'd be neat to stay involved in college but I'm not sure how interested he is. I don't really know personally, but the guy at church says it's a great program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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