A "is this a good college" thread for all college searchers...

[MnMomtoboys]

It was accepted student day at one of the colleges my son is considering. He really liked it and its now high on his #1 list. A big plus is that he was offered a spot in the honors program. He was really impressed with that so hopefully our search will be done.

 

[kacaju]

Can you explain this since we haven't been there yet. How big is the campus and they go by bus to get to class? And what different campuses? Thanks.

Go to the Rutgers website, they do a great job of explaining the different campuses in New Brunswick. In a nut shell there are 5 different campuses at Rutgers
Cook, Douglas, Busch, College Ave and Livingston. They are close together in both New Brunswich and Piscataway NJ. But each campus is very big and yes, they use plenty of buses.
My girls Dr. is in Highland Park and we see the buses all the time going between the New Brunswick and Piscataway. I am not sure how often a student would have a class on a different campus, but as I said, my girls have grown up seeing the buses so that is why she had the *fear* of getting around by bus.
Do to our involvement in 4-H we are at the Cook Campus (in New Brunswick) a lot. I know from going to Ag field day you can walk from Cook to Douglas. She spent the afternoon at the Busch Piscataway campus. I passed Livington getting to Busch...that too is in Piscataway.

 

[disneylovin24]

I visited Rutgers a couple of weeks ago and it was very nice. The location is close enough to big cities while still having a small city right there. I usually do not like large student bodies but I feel like at Rutgers you can not tell how big the student body is because of the spread out campuses. While the spread out campuses did help make it seem like a smaller school, they were still a huge downside for me though because I do not want to spend a lot of time on a bus going from class to class. But, I will probably apply there and use it as a safety.

 

[ctinct]

The link quoted isn't worth the time it takes to read it - the writer talks about the single mother's income and FAFSA, then talks about the father paying part too, etc. make up my mind, either you hve a single mother, or two parents, you can't have both, unless you are trying to cheat the system. Glad FAFSA didn't fall for it, BTW.[/QUOTE]

Can you provide the link you are speaking of here? I'm interested and although I went back a bunch of pages, I could not find it.

Perhaps what is going on here is the difference between FAFSA and CSS/Profile. For FAFSA, usually the custodial parent's info is all that is required. If anyone else wants to contribute to a child's education, whether it be a divorced parent, a grandparent, or a rich uncle, then great. That is their choice, but they are not required to do so.

For most, although not all, Profile schools, the info of the non-custodial parent is required and they are expected to provide funds for college. This is a real sore spot for me, as most high caliber private college require this. My ex has paid child support, but has not seen or spoken to our daughter for years. His child support obligation ends this year when d turns 18. He will not contribute anything towards college, and he will not provide his financial info. I can request a waiver of his info, but at most schools they are difficult to get, particularly since he has been paying child support. So, for my daughter, some great schools are not even feasible to apply to. What irritates me, and please understand that I am NOT by any means knocking two parent families that have one income---I was in that situation once when my ex and I made the decision to have me essentially be a SAHM--- is that the Profile does not say "well, heck, the sahp could have/should have provided some monetary support all these years and through college." My point is the single income two parent family is not penalized for being single income, while a single parent is at CSS schools.

Oh, btw, it certaily IS possible to have a single mother and two parents. I have been a single mother since my daughter was a little over a year (although in practical terms since she was about five months) and she has two birth parents, albeit an uninvolved one. I am NOT trying to cheat the system. I filled out all my financial aid forms honestly. FAFSA and Profile use two different methodologies to figure need. My daughter has applied to two schools that just request my info from the CSS/profile, which is one of the reasons we chose these schools, several FAFSA only schools, and one school where we have requested a waiver of ex's info, but we haven't heard the determination of that request yet.

 

[SydSim]

. I'm not thrilled with the level of the class this year either, but she's going to stick with Spanish for at least 2 years. She thinks she'd also like to take French instead of Spanish Junior and Senior year, so I think she'll do at last 3 years of a language, maybe four.

Thank you all for your insight. And my apologies to the other posters/OP. Didn't mean to takeover your thread.

Just a quick note.....when colleges say that they prefer 3 years of a language, they actually mean three years of one specific language, not two years of one and one or two years of another.

If she is interested in matriculating to a 4-year college, quite a few kids (not all and probably not most) come in with 3 or 4 years of a language, especially the more competitive ones vying for honors programs and scholarships.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that kids don't get into NJ colleges with only two years of a language, just that it looks more competitive to come in with 3-4 (and if you have AP credit, even better! Just make sure that the college accepts it. Rutgers does give college credit for students who score at least a 4 on the AP exam.)

Just thought that you'd like to know, especially if you're weighing the cost. The better her HS record is, the more chances she'll have for merit awards from colleges.

 

[kacaju]

Just a quick note.....when colleges say that they prefer 3 years of a language, they actually mean three years of one specific language, not two years of one and one or two years of another.

If she is interested in matriculating to a 4-year college, quite a few kids (not all and probably not most) come in with 3 or 4 years of a language, especially the more competitive ones vying for honors programs and scholarships.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that kids don't get into NJ colleges with only two years of a language, just that it looks more competitive to come in with 3-4 (and if you have AP credit, even better! Just make sure that the college accepts it. Rutgers does give college credit for students who score at least a 4 on the AP exam.)

Just thought that you'd like to know, especially if you're weighing the cost. The better her HS record is, the more chances she'll have for merit awards from colleges.

We have heard the same. That colleges want to see 4 years of the same language

 

[Robinrs]

Can you provide the link you are speaking of here? I'm interested and although I went back a bunch of pages, I could not find it.

Perhaps what is going on here is the difference between FAFSA and CSS/Profile. For FAFSA, usually the custodial parent's info is all that is required. If anyone else wants to contribute to a child's education, whether it be a divorced parent, a grandparent, or a rich uncle, then great. That is their choice, but they are not required to do so.

For most, although not all, Profile schools, the info of the non-custodial parent is required and they are expected to provide funds for college. This is a real sore spot for me, as most high caliber private college require this. My ex has paid child support, but has not seen or spoken to our daughter for years. His child support obligation ends this year when d turns 18. He will not contribute anything towards college, and he will not provide his financial info. I can request a waiver of his info, but at most schools they are difficult to get, particularly since he has been paying child support. So, for my daughter, some great schools are not even feasible to apply to. What irritates me, and please understand that I am NOT by any means knocking two parent families that have one income---I was in that situation once when my ex and I made the decision to have me essentially be a SAHM--- is that the Profile does not say "well, heck, the sahp could have/should have provided some monetary support all these years and through college." My point is the single income two parent family is not penalized for being single income, while a single parent is at CSS schools.

Oh, btw, it certaily IS possible to have a single mother and two parents. I have been a single mother since my daughter was a little over a year (although in practical terms since she was about five months) and she has two birth parents, albeit an uninvolved one. I am NOT trying to cheat the system. I filled out all my financial aid forms honestly. FAFSA and Profile use two different methodologies to figure need. My daughter has applied to two schools that just request my info from the CSS/profile, which is one of the reasons we chose these schools, several FAFSA only schools, and one school where we have requested a waiver of ex's info, but we haven't heard the determination of that request yet.

Here is the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenna-levine/jenna-levine-26-graduate-_b_823081.html

Anyone who has no clue that a child who has a SINGLE mom or dad and still have TWO parents has been living under a rock. The amount of work and frustration that comes with that doesn't have to be explained or justified to anyone.

 

[disneylovin24]

When I am done with school I will have 3 years of Spanish then 2 years of French. That's the way my school does it though, you can only take Spanish for 3 years and I figured it was better to take French then some art class and I also wanted to take French.

 

[SydSim]

I'm hoping you can all provide some guidance. I never went to college, never applied, never even took the SATs. My DD is a Freshman this year and definitely college bound. I know nothing of the college life or where to even start. I've spoken to her guidance counsellor twice this year and I'm not necessarily confident in her abilities to provide the information I'm going to need. Is there a book/website/somewhere I can go to begin the process of finding out everything I need to know in order to prepare her for the SAT, what kind of schools she should be looking at, scholarships, and what we'll need to know in order to navigate the waters?

I commend you for starting early! Don't let anyone tell you that it's too early to start researching I also have a freshman, Nj daughter and have been researching for some time now.

Here are some pointers:

1. Foster her passions - if she is highly interested in something, find ways to support that (Dd has a love for animals and theater. She does theater camp and volunteers at the Zoo - which leads to my next piece of advice...)

2. Encourage volunteerism outside of any school requirement. I don't recommend volunteering for the sake of college applications, but if you combine volunteering with something that she loves...well, two birds, one stone!

3. When her school has programs for the upperclassmen (about college planning, financial aid, etc.) GO! Having valuable information ahead of time can prepare you for when it is time.

4. Check the school's website for college/scholarship info each year. Schools in our district have lists of hundreds of local scholarships, and some are awarded before senior year. Those who wait until senior year can miss our on earlier deadlines. Oh, and see if you can attend the graduation each year - you'll find out about scholarships that kids received that you didn't even know about.

5.Plan out her classes to not only satisfy requirements, but also feed passions and challenge her. Colleges like to see a student take on challenges (llike honors and AP classes), but don't allow her to take an extremely advanced class in a subject that she absolutely hates and has done poorly in (just to look good on paper). Those classes can be taken at a slightly lower level. Many students take honors/AP classes in math and science, while taking accelerated (not regular or remedial) classes in the english and social studies areas (or vice versa).

6. Start talking to your Dd about finances. Some parents will tell their children that they have X amount of dollars to put towards their college education. Anything above that, said child will have to find scholarship money or contribute their own money. Example: You say that you can provide $10000/yr. If she chooses an in-state public, and does well in HS, she may be able to get free tuition somewhere and have most of her college covered. If she chooses an out of state college or an in-state private, she would have to find ways to bridge the gap. And don't be fooled.....many privates and LACs (liberal arts colleges) offer great financial aid packages which can bring down the cost of a college to close to that of our instate publics. RESEARCH!

7. It's ok to enter college without a specific major, especially since most students change their major at least once while in school. College is the place to learn about yourself. Case in point.......friend's daughter graduated from #1 public HS in Philly, almost perfect SATs, accepted to Harvard - with the intention of being a chef Arrives at Harvard, takes various lower level courses in all different types of areas, starts to like women's studies, then African American studies, then BOOM - finds a passion for AA art history and education. Graduates, gets grad degree from Penn and now works at the AA museum of art (but still cooks a mean dish!) While in college, she explored different areas and found a new passion.

8. Community colleges are wonderful! That being said, for a child that does well in school and wants to go to college, going away and living on campus as a freshman is also wonderful! Everyone's experience is different.

9. January of junior year is a great time to take the SATs - usually less school distractions.

10. Look into SAT subject tests if she has any interest in Ivy league schools. collegeboard has info on them. Start looking now because some can be taken after freshman or sophomore year.

Ok, I'm done (for now). Good luck!

 

[golfgal]

Just a quick note.....when colleges say that they prefer 3 years of a language, they actually mean three years of one specific language, not two years of one and one or two years of another.

If she is interested in matriculating to a 4-year college, quite a few kids (not all and probably not most) come in with 3 or 4 years of a language, especially the more competitive ones vying for honors programs and scholarships.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that kids don't get into NJ colleges with only two years of a language, just that it looks more competitive to come in with 3-4 (and if you have AP credit, even better! Just make sure that the college accepts it. Rutgers does give college credit for students who score at least a 4 on the AP exam.)

Just thought that you'd like to know, especially if you're weighing the cost. The better her HS record is, the more chances she'll have for merit awards from colleges.

Also, if you are only doing 2 years of a language, colleges prefer to see those in your junior and senior year.

When I am done with school I will have 3 years of Spanish then 2 years of French. That's the way my school does it though, you can only take Spanish for 3 years and I figured it was better to take French then some art class and I also wanted to take French.

That information gets sent with your high school profile when they send your transcript. Having 2 languages could be a plus but if you opted to take French vs AP Chemistry, that won't be a plus.

 

[cruisnfamily]

9. Hint - great time to take the SATs for the first time - January during her junior year (the curve is better....shhhhh...don't tell)

10. Look into SAT subject tests if she has any interest in Ivy league schools. collegeboard has info on them. Start looking now because some can be taken after freshman or sophomore year.

#9-What does this mean? I'm very curious about your reference to "the curve"

#10-Is it only the tippity top schools that would need the subject tests? Or would the high end student who's not going ivy but going competitive need to look at these?

 

[disneylovin24]

That information gets sent with your high school profile when they send your transcript. Having 2 languages could be a plus but if you opted to take French vs AP Chemistry, that won't be a plus.

Yup, I know that stuff is sent. I choose to take French instead of an elective so I took it over art or music or something like that.

 

[Sadie22]

#9-What does this mean? I'm very curious about your reference to "the curve"

#10-Is it only the tippity top schools that would need the subject tests? Or would the high end student who's not going ivy but going competitive need to look at these?

I'm fairly certain AP - Advanced Placement - is what was meant here.

 

[golfgal]

I'm fairly certain AP - Advanced Placement - is what was meant here.

The question was about the "curve" for the SAT-AP is totally separate. I am curious to what the different "curve" is too.

 

[allison443]

sorry double post

 

[allison443]

The link quoted isn't worth the time it takes to read it - the writer talks about the single mother's income and FAFSA, then talks about the father paying part too, etc. make up my mind, either you hve a single mother, or two parents, you can't have both, unless you are trying to cheat the system. Glad FAFSA didn't fall for it, BTW.[/QUOTE]

Can you provide the link you are speaking of here? I'm interested and although I went back a bunch of pages, I could not find it.

Perhaps what is going on here is the difference between FAFSA and CSS/Profile. For FAFSA, usually the custodial parent's info is all that is required. If anyone else wants to contribute to a child's education, whether it be a divorced parent, a grandparent, or a rich uncle, then great. That is their choice, but they are not required to do so.

For most, although not all, Profile schools, the info of the non-custodial parent is required and they are expected to provide funds for college. This is a real sore spot for me, as most high caliber private college require this. My ex has paid child support, but has not seen or spoken to our daughter for years. His child support obligation ends this year when d turns 18. He will not contribute anything towards college, and he will not provide his financial info. I can request a waiver of his info, but at most schools they are difficult to get, particularly since he has been paying child support. So, for my daughter, some great schools are not even feasible to apply to. What irritates me, and please understand that I am NOT by any means knocking two parent families that have one income---I was in that situation once when my ex and I made the decision to have me essentially be a SAHM--- is that the Profile does not say "well, heck, the sahp could have/should have provided some monetary support all these years and through college." My point is the single income two parent family is not penalized for being single income, while a single parent is at CSS schools.

Oh, btw, it certaily IS possible to have a single mother and two parents. I have been a single mother since my daughter was a little over a year (although in practical terms since she was about five months) and she has two birth parents, albeit an uninvolved one. I am NOT trying to cheat the system. I filled out all my financial aid forms honestly. FAFSA and Profile use two different methodologies to figure need. My daughter has applied to two schools that just request my info from the CSS/profile, which is one of the reasons we chose these schools, several FAFSA only schools, and one school where we have requested a waiver of ex's info, but we haven't heard the determination of that request yet.

The link that other poster referred to was the article about being $100K in debt for college (2 1/2 years at American University after attending community college for two years). The author of that article stated sarcastically that she didn't get any need based financial aid because "apparently her mother made too much as a NYC schoolteacher." However her school is apparently a profile/css school, so her father's income was looked at, as well as her own, and the article said she was working full time while attending community college. So her financial aid status was based on those three incomes, and added together, that's why she didn't qualify. And actually her father did end up contributing something to her costs.

I have no problem if people complain about the financial aid system, but at least the author of that aricle should be honest about what she's complaining about.

 

[SydSim]

#9-What does this mean? I'm very curious about your reference to "the curve"

#10-Is it only the tippity top schools that would need the subject tests? Or would the high end student who's not going ivy but going competitive need to look at these?

Ok, I didn't want to tell it but you're making meso here goes......


Many HS students take the SATs for the first time in March or June of their junior year, and then again in the fall of their senior year. So, the scores are mostly juniors and seniors. In January, fewer students take it, but there are many middle schoolers that take it for gifted and talent programs (like Duke University's). Therefore, the scores are more likely to be lower, and the curve adjusted, so jr/sr (who are more knowledgeable) will score higher. Example: June SAt - mostly high schoolers taking it so not as many questions thrown out, so the score is what it is. You score a 520, and that's what you get. January, mostly middle schoolers taking it. Collegeboard sees that many students miss quite a few questions, they throw those questions out (middle schoolers haven't been taught a lot of things on the test yet). Now, that 520 score that you would have had, now becomes more like a 560 (roughly - just guestimating, but you get my drift). January is also a good time because there is usually a lull in student activity (fall sports have ended, no finals or AP exams to study for, kids tend to stay inside more because of the weather (so more time to study). Fall is an extremely busy time for seniors.

But you didn't hear that from me


And for #10 - Most Ivy schools require them, many other competitive schools recommend them, and they look pretty darn good at a lot of other schools. My child was a math/science girl (until she hit honors geometry and bio), so I thought that she should take the math subject test after Alg. 2 next year, and the biology one after AP Bio her junior year. Now that she's in HS, she's doing better in her English and World history classes, so she may do things differently. Collegeboard should have the school's recommendation or requirement for subject tests.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, I didn't want to tell it but you're making meso here goes......


Many HS students take the SATs for the first time in March or June of their junior year, and then again in the fall of their senior year. So, the scores are mostly juniors and seniors. In January, fewer students take it, but there are many middle schoolers that take it for gifted and talent programs (like Duke University's). Therefore, the scores are more likely to be lower, and the curve adjusted, so jr/sr (who are more knowledgeable) will score higher. Example: June SAt - mostly high schoolers taking it so not as many questions thrown out, so the score is what it is. You score a 520, and that's what you get. January, mostly middle schoolers taking it. Collegeboard sees that many students miss quite a few questions, they throw those questions out (middle schoolers haven't been taught a lot of things on the test yet). Now, that 520 score that you would have had, now becomes more like a 560 (roughly - just guestimating, but you get my drift).

But you didn't hear that from me

Is this a fact? or just your opinion? I'd like to see a reference to back this up because I find it hard to believe.

 

[tar heel]

Here's what College Board says:

What is the SAT curve?

The SAT "curve" generates a scaled score (200-800) from your raw score (the number of questions right minus a quarter point for each multiple-choice question wrong). This curve is designed to correct for minor variations in the difficulty of the test. If the test is a little too hard (e.g., January, 2006) compared to an average SAT, you will get a higher score than if you had taken an easier test (e.g., October, 2007) and gotten the same number of correct answers. For example, if you get only 3 multiple-choice questions incorrect, for a raw math score of 50 (54 - 3 - 0.75 penalty), on an "easy" SAT you will get a 710, on an average SAT you will get a 720, and on a "hard" SAT you will get a 730.

A common myth about the SAT is that the average test taker should avoid a particular test month if a large group of strong students will be taking the SAT that month, and instead take the test when a large group of weaker students will take the test. The (incorrect) assumption here is that the curve will push down the average student's score in the first situation (large group of strong students) and pull it up in the second situation (large group of weak students). The reality is that the curve only reflects the difficulty of that particular SAT, not the quality of students taking the test. For example, suppose that in a particular month, a large group of strong students take the test. Even if they all get perfect 2400s, your score will be the same as it was had they not taken the test. In the same way, a large group of weaker students taking the test will not affect your score. For those really interested (warning: non-trivial math) in how SAT curves work, see this College Board white paper.

The curves from previously released SAT tests (those given in January, May, and October) are available in this PDF file (6 pages).

 

[SydSim]

Is this a fact? or just your opinion? I'd like to see a reference to back this up because I find it hard to believe.

Well, you will find differing interpretations of the curve (so this is mine, as well as many others), but collegeboard does talk about the curve (see previous poster).

Didn't mean to cause a stir

Since there are different opinions on the curve, I changed my original post.