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OT: College search in the Carolinas

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I can speak from experience on College of Charleston but not the others. My daughter is currently a sophomore at C of C.
She LOVES it but might not fit all your son's criteria:
Pros:
- Beautiful city campus in the heart of historic Charleston. I believe the phrase "oozes charm" was jnvented there! Consistently voted by Conde Nast readers as best city to visit in U.S. Great restaurants, culture, and shopping abound. You'll want to visit him as often as possible.
- Very supportive academic environment. The professors and administrators really care about the students
-Solid academics. Honors program, study abroad, etc.
- Not a commuter college since kids are from all over the country. Lots of CT kids go there.
-People in South Carolina are so polite you think they're goofing on you - but they're not! (unless they say "bless your heart" which means "you're an idiot")
- Great weather with beaches about 15 minutes away.
- For male students- 65% female student body of beautiful charming southern women.

Cons:
- no football program therefor no marching band. Pep band for basketball
- 14 hour drive from hartford
- Lots of northern kids end up staying down there after they graduate so be prepared for that!

I highly recommend flying down to visit if possible. You'll see why so many people love it there.
 
Well, I'll give you some insight on Virginia Tech. I am a graduate of Blacksburg High School (class of 1995), and my mother did a two-year stint there as a professor.

Avoid Blacksburg at all costs. It is tiny and boring. There is absolutely nothing there outside of CFB season. The Blue Ridge is beautiful, but that's all it has to offer. The atmosphere is very conservative, back woods, and openly racist. I can't believe I went through a couple years of high school hearing the N-word, but I did...with some frequency at that.

The hell with Blacksburg. If you go to college there, you get what you invest in emotionally/existentially.
 
alexrgct said:
Well, I'll give you some insight on Virginia Tech. I am a graduate of Blacksburg High School (class of 1995), and my mother did a two-year stint there as a professor.

Avoid Blacksburg at all costs. It is tiny and boring. There is absolutely nothing there outside of CFB season. The Blue Ridge is beautiful, but that's all it has to offer. The atmosphere is very conservative, back woods, and openly racist. I can't believe I went through a couple years of high school hearing the N-word, but I did...with some frequency at that.

The hell with Blacksburg. If you go to college there, you get what you invest in emotionally/existentially.
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Other than that, you liked it?
 
Billybonggg said:
Coastal Carolina University. Environmental sciences/Marine majors have their own research island and vessel. Located in Conway, SC- 12 miles to Myrtle Beach. Small time marching band, but plays at football games.
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Several young men who go to Coastal Carolina work where I do (when they are home for the summer). They love it!
 
Nan, it's an indicator of deep collective Boneyard experience that you got so many good responses to your query about North Carolina schools. Since I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, although half a lifetime ago, I can't resist. I'm surprised to hear that UNC''s current admissions standards make it a stretch for a high school grad with an A- average, but not a lot. Several successful U Conn grads I know say that by its current standards, U Conn wouldn't have accepted them. State universities have come up in the world.

Considering schools in the South I'd take sweeping generalizations about racism, red-neckery, rural simpletons etc with a big grain of salt. Yes North Carolina and Virginia have far too many conservative (sorry don't mean to start anything) yahoos, but it is no accident that some of the better universities in the country are there. i am a real fan of Alexrgct's posts and I'm sorry he and his academic mom had some bad years in Blacksburg, but I know several current V Tech faculty as well as School of Engineering alums, my family has owned property east of Blacksburg for generations, and his comments are no more fair than calling Connecticut Yankees tight-assed hypocrites. If you pick your schools by where you will not possibly hear a dumb ethnic slur, remember that America, wherever you go to college, is not yet a post-racist, highly educated civilization, so why insist on a politically correct mono-culture? As Alex said, you get what you invest in emotionally/ existentially. That's true at any school.

If you and your son want an excellent education in environmental science in a Southern school, look into programs at Florida universities. A friend of mine, a Wildlife Management professional, is interviewing for a research position in the Florida keys next week. She said that one of the appeals is that Florida has some of the best ecology and environmental engineering programs in the country, some in universities we don't usually hear about. They encourage getting work experience in your field while pursuing a degree. I know it's a long way, but beyond a point unless you like very long hours or days driving, visits will be by plane anyway. And think where you'll be when you do visit.
 
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I'm from Charlotte and have lived there since 2000. Currently a Junior at UConn and just went through this process not too long ago, and this would be my advice:

Fly into CLT and check out South Carolina and Clemson first. They're about two hours apart from each other so its doable in one day if you get into CLT early in the morning and are willing to make the drive. The only other school really worth possibly looking at in SC is College of Charleston but I didn't really like it. Coastal is a dump. CofC is 60% girls which is great but at the same time there's a reason guys aren't flocking to go to school there. Much more to do if you're a girl. I loved Clemson and actually had my deposit down to go there until I got into UConn late of the wait list.

As far as NC schools go, obviously take time to check out UNC-Chapel Hill. Even if your son might not be academically able to get in (I wasn't) its still worth the tour of the campus, it's absolutely beautiful. UNC-Charlotte has over 20,000 students and actually has a beautiful campus in Charlotte. They will be D1 football beginning in 2015 and just built a stadium on the campus. Friends who go to school there seem to love it. UNC-Wilimington is a popular destination for kids from Charlotte to go to on the beach but its about 3.5-4 hours from Charlotte and on the coast so not really near any other schools.

NC State is in Raleigh and is a very city like campus. I didn't like it because I wanted a college town but I have friends that go there that love it. The main issue with them is that a lot of their students still cheer for UNC even though they go to state.

Our conference mate ECU is actually a beautiful campus out in Greenville, NC. Sort of similar to what I want UConn to become, the local community has totally embraced the campus and university and you'll find some VERY good barbeque out there. In the same tier academically as UNCC, UNCW, etc

Don't waste your time on UNCA or UNCG

Elon and High Point, along with Wake, are your best bet for privates. I personally wasn't interested in privates coming out of high school and knew I wanted a place with a football team, but between High Point and Elon I would say choose High Point. Yes its in a run down area but the campus is beautiful and from my peers experience, the three kids I know that went to Elon all left because of bad experiences there (one of my fraternity brothers at UConn actually went to Elon freshman year and hated it and my friends who attend High Point all love it.

Overall I'd say check out the following campuses: SCAR, Clemson, UNC, UNCC, UNCW, ECU

Second tier: State, HPU, Elon, CofC, CCU

If there's anything I can offer you in terms of advice don't hesitate to reach out. Good luck in your search and remember to have fun, I remember how incredibly stressful this process was but its all well worth it in the end when you pick the right school.
 
Other schools I forgot to mention that might be a good fit as well:

SC: Wofford, Furman

VA: Washington and Lee- I would HIGHLY suggest checking this campus out. Very good academically and the campus is absolutely gorgeous.

GA: Would really suggest checking out UGA, and GA Tech. Not sure about the other schools (GA State, GA Southern, etc) but GA Tech is beautiful and Athens is probably my favorite college town I've visited.
 
It's amazing how two different people can see the same school so differently. I appreciate the perspectives.
 
Drew said:
Other schools I forgot to mention that might be a good fit as well:

SC: Wofford, Furman

VA: Washington and Lee- I would HIGHLY suggest checking this campus out. Very good academically and the campus is absolutely gorgeous.

GA: Would really suggest checking out UGA, and GA Tech. Not sure about the other schools (GA State, GA Southern, etc) but GA Tech is beautiful and Athens is probably my favorite college town I've visited.
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THWG!!!
 
Drew said:
Other schools I forgot to mention that might be a good fit as well:

GA: Would really suggest checking out UGA, and GA Tech. Not sure about the other schools (GA State, GA Southern, etc) but GA Tech is beautiful and Athens is probably my favorite college town I've visited.
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Athens - we went twice for WBB games - is indeed a neat college town. Although not by any means the only one. I actually recommend visiting Athens for the experience if the Huskies ever play there, although my Georgia cousins went there I don't know anything about the educational experience.
 
So, here's an update....

My son and I flew down to North Carolina. We flew into Charlotte, because it's cheaper than flying into Greensboro, and drove the 90 or so miles to the Greensboro/Winton-Salem area. First, let me say that I have a lot of experience in going to North Carolina. My sister-in-law and father-in-law live in Asheville (it is SO not me) and we have made the drive from Charlotte to Asheville probably 20 times in the last 20 years with stops at just about every exit along the way. It's very Southern in that part of the state, except for Asheville proper which has a lot of transplants from the North, so I was unprepared for central North Carolina. There are a lot of very nice corporate headquarters-types of places along the highway and we saw a lot of towns that would look familiar in New England. Probably more transplants from other parts of the country.

Our first stop was High Point University. The campus is absolutely beautiful, almost too beautiful. There are marble entranceways in the buildings, with antique-furnished sitting areas in the various academic buildings. It was almost creepy. The well-intentioned guides, three students, told us that the school was built to be beautiful so that students would feel comfortable when they went on job interviews in upscale places. Uh-huh. There were fountains designed by the guy that created fountains at some hotel in Las Vegas. There's music playing 24/7 on the main walkway. "It stimulates the mind", says one of our guides; it would make me batsh!t crazy in less than a week. There's an arcade and a steakhouse on campus, for crying out loud, and the steakhouse is part of the meal plan, you know, so that students know how to eat in upscale places. We saw pools (there are 17!)and pinball machines, chandeliers and dorm rooms with kitchenettes but only one academic building. One guide waved at some building and said, "If you're a chemistry major you'll spend half your time there" but we never went in. We never spoke to anyone that told us about placement %, academics, or how the school is different from any other school, steakhouse aside. To me, High Point University screamed Place For Rich People To Put Their Underachieving Darling That Can't Get Into Wake Forest. My son told me he'd crossed it off his list before we left the campus.

Next we went to Elon University, about 35 minutes west. It's a very nice campus, parts have been rebuilt due to a fire some years ago. There are some lovely traditions, like breakfast every Tuesday morning that's open to students and professors alike. All get together in a nice outdoor area and just talk over coffee and muffins. There's also a nice tradition of giving an incoming freshman an acorn (Elon means "oak tree" in Hebrew) and graduating seniors get an oak sapling. Anyway, we visitors met with the Dean of Admissions who went over all the pertinent stuff that High Point neglected - majors, ease of adding a minor, academic props, graduation & retention rates, etc etc. The guide was from Boston (nice job matching the guide with the visitors) and she gave a terrific tour. And yes, we saw the Chemistry & Biology building to get an idea of the resources available. The introduction by the Dean was professional, but personal, and the tour was informative and helpful. Big thumbs up from my son, especially since Elon has a nice Music Dept and I suspect he'll end up with a Music minor. (Yes, there's a marching band)

Wake Forest is also on the list of schools to apply to. It is also a very lovely campus and has the feel of Academia with a capital A. We didn't get the full tour and only limited information as we were there on a weekend. It's a great size for my son, the academics are irreproachable, and there is a marching band, a very good one. He's hoping that the marching band might factor into admissions and you never know. But my husband actually got angry when he found out that Wake Forest University is $59,000 tuition, room & board only, other costs (books, travel, etc) push the cost over $60,000 a year. Yikes.

So, my son will apply to Loyola Maryland, Elon and Wake Forest. He needs a safety school - still looking....
 
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Some thoughts from Virginia.

UVa. may be a stretch academically and not a good fit. William and Mary also may be a stretch.

George Mason is pretty good. The DC winters are much milder than those in Conn.

I don't know much about Marymount.

Mary Washington is in a charming town and is affiliated with UVa.

Old Dominion has nice weather.

Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth may be options. Amtrak services Richmond.

Be aware of but not deterred by the nominal cost. The net cost after scholarships and grants is the key. My son got 2 degrees from Rice and never paid any tuition.

Best wishes!
 
$60K+ per year. Have you considered getting a paper route?
 
Nan, your experience is similar to what my youngest son, his father and I experienced. We visited three "southern" schools.

University of Miami - student tour guide looked bored out of her mind and was wearing pj bottoms and slippers and the group was so large you couldn't really hear what she was saying unless you were right next to her. There was limited discussion about academics except in the full blown admissions presentation where they just kept bringing up how selective they were blah, blah, blah. Didn't enter a single academic building. After all we had heard about how beautiful the campus was, we were unimpressed. The bad vibe started as soon as we stepped on campus and never improved.

University of Virginia was a step up - again admissions presentation was okay, also focusing on how difficult it was to get in. Student lead tour was better, talked about the tradition and Thomas Jefferson's vision. I found the campus absolutely gorgeous. But the fact that all the buildings on campus looked very much the same (red brick, white trim) seemed to be a major negative for my son. Also felt the kids were a bit snobbish.

Georgia Tech was very different. It was the only school that had specific information sessions geared toward majors as well as a more general admissions session. The presentation by the rep for the College of Computing was very personable. He went around the room and asked each potential student to give their name, where they were from, and why they were interested in CompSci. A very interactive session. He really talked up the benefits of a GaTech education, how in demand their computer science graduates were in the job market, and the "family" atmosphere in the CoC. Each incoming freshman would get a mentor for the year, with regular gatherings for food and fun. The vibe was that they really cared about the success and happiness of the student. The campus tour was just as personable - two tour guides and a small group of like three student families. The two guys did a great job of mixing up the information about the campus, buildings, support programs, meal plans, housing, greek life, day to day life on campus, along with really talking with the kids to learn something about them. Tech was our first stop and as we walked back to the car after a nearly full day on campus, my son commented "I can totally see myself here". It wasn't really fair to the other schools. From the minute we stepped on campus, it just felt right.

Your description of your visit to Elon sounds like it was for your son like my son's experience on his Georgia Tech visit.

I advise all my friends whose kids are making the college choice that it is worth every penny of the cost of the trip to visit prospective schools. All the marketing material makes every school look and sound like the place to be and has pictures of the prettiest places on campus. But until you walk around campus, talk to some students and attend the information sessions you can't really get a sense of what living there for four years will be like and whether it is a good fit for the student's personality.

Good luck with the application process. Southern schools love to bring in the diversity of Northern students. That is one advantage he will have as an applicant to a school outside his home region.
 
I honestly cannot comprehend how people can justify sending their kids to college at a cost of $60K/year
if they have in state option, unless they have money to burn. My entire household expense per year is less than that, and thankfully we have no kids! :)
 
Harry Mangurian said:
Have you looked at William & Mary? My daughter had the same interests and went to W&M.
Reasonable cost state college, nice town, highly rated.
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I was able to spend a month at W&M a few years ago and I second this. What a nice place. my instructors were top notch as well.
 
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HuskyNan said:
My Son #2 is starting his college search. He doesn't know what he wants to study (maybe Chemistry or Environmental Sciences) and he doesn't know where he wants to go, geographically, but it needs to be south of, say, New Jersey.

So far we've checked out Loyola in Maryland (the frontrunner), James Madison and Virginia Tech. JMU is a no and Virginia Tech is a maybe but, honestly, driving hours and hours and hours without seeing a single home was daunting. And when we finally did spot some signs of life it was an adult "book" store, one of many that dot the trucking route of I-81. My son was not impressed.

So, we're looking further south. Elon University in North Carolina is a school he really wants to visit but we don't want to go all the way down there to see one school so we're going to visit High Point University, too. We're pondering visiting UNC-Greensboro as well.

Is there anyone familiar with that area that can offer some opinions on the colleges? My son is quiet but very social and needs a school that has an active and involved student population. He's currently in marching band and would love to be in one in college but it's not a must-have (he can do pep band).

One last thing - he's a good student but a A- type so Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill are out.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
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My son did a great deal of research while looking at science programs for his undergrad and more recently for his Masters. He said he'd be more than willing to give you his email to start a dialogue with your son and possibly answer some questions about what he found while searching schools. My son did mention that Environmental science has many different degrees (ie advocacy, research, legal etc) and depending on what direction he wants to go would help determine the best programs and schools. My son is 22 and very easy to talk to.

Has he looked into NC Wilmington?
 
Hi Nan, Might I suggest Appalachian State U. in Boone, NC. My son just graduated their and already has a job with the National Parks Service. They are sending him to Alaska this summer where he will supervise 30 high
school Jrs. and Srs.

It is a gorgeous campus winter and summer, and their is a lot of exciting things to do outside of class. They do not get a whole lot of snow, but their are still part-time job opportunities in snowboarding, and skiing instruction. They also have full-time opportunities for kayaking instruction, plus world class rapids.

My son had never been on skis, snowboard, or been down rapids until he arrived as a freshman, and he is an instructor in all 3. Needless to say, we are all so proud of him. He is making his way in the world his on way, and Appalachian State U. had a lot to do with it.

Check it out !
 
WBFan2004 said:
My son did a great deal of research while looking at science programs for his undergrad and more recently for his Masters. He said he'd be more than willing to give you his email to start a dialogue with your son and possibly answer some questions about what he found while searching schools. My son did mention that Environmental science has many different degrees (ie advocacy, research, legal etc) and depending on what direction he wants to go would help determine the best programs and schools. My son is 22 and very easy to talk to.

Has he looked into NC Wilmington?
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I've been told UNC Wilmington is more of a suitcase (i.e. commuter) school. If my son were certain he wanted Environmental Science he wouldn't mind but he's really undecided so the college experience is very important to him.
 
Nan,

Like I said before, I'm 21 and have lived in Charlotte since 2000. Just went through this process three years ago so I remember it very well.

A couple other schools worth looking at (if youre looking for a safety school) would be ECU, APP, and UNC-Charlotte, although those are all a lot bigger sized student bodies than what you'll get at HPU, Elon, and Wake Forest.

One school I would HIGHLY suggest looking at for your son is Washington and Lee University in Virginia. It is like Wake Forest on steroids. Campus is GORGEOUS and is about 2000 kids. Very good academic school.

Don't mean to bore you/guide you in one direction or another but if you or your son wants any other opinion on schools down here DM me and i'll give you my email. Hope I can help.
 
HuskyNan said:
I've been told UNC Wilmington is more of a suitcase (i.e. commuter) school. If my son were certain he wanted Environmental Science he wouldn't mind but he's really undecided so the college experience is very important to him.
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Yes... the schools with the UNC prefix (UNC-G, UNC-W, UNCC) have had that suitcase reputation for years.... though Charlotte has added a football team with a great on-campus stadium to try to keep more students on campus on the weekend. I was gonna suggest Guilford College here in Greensboro.... but based on what I've read.. its probably too small of a school for your son.
 
Huskynan

I livd in NC in the 1980s and then moved to CA.

Just a few facts and suggestions.

1. UNCG was a women's college and still has a very large percentage of women. Its standard is a lot lower than UNC Chapel Hill or Charlotte.

2. Charlotte is a good choice for A- students. I have no idea about the quality of life there.

3. Please consider CA if you are trying to get away from cold and snow. If you are looking for private colleges, my suggestions are

(i) Claremont Colleges: Pomona (liberal arts) and Harvey Mudd (for science and engg)
(ii) University of San Diego

You will love the school and the weather. Guaranteed.
 
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trb123 said:
Huskynan

I livd in NC in the 1980s and then moved to CA.

Just a few facts and suggestions.

1. UNCG was a women's college and still has a very large percentage of women. Its standard is a lot lower than UNC Chapel Hill or Charlotte.

2. Charlotte is a good choice for A- students. I have no idea about the quality of life there.

3. Please consider CA if you are trying to get away from cold and snow. If you are looking for private colleges, my suggestions are

(i) Claremont Colleges: Pomona (liberal arts) and Harvey Mudd (for science and engg)
(ii) University of San Diego

You will love the school and the weather. Guaranteed.
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Harvey Mudd is an outstanding college but my son is concentrating his search on the east coast from Baltimore to North Carolina. There are a ton of great schools in that area.

He's decided he wants a medium sized school with student populations of 4000 to about 15,000, although he'd consider a slightly larger school. He regretfully has crossed So. Carolina off his list for this reason.

Every time we look at a school he finds something he wants and something he doesn't want. But's been an illuminating experience for my son as he learns more about himself.
 
HuskyNan said:
Harvey Mudd is an outstanding college but my son is concentrating his search on the east coast from Baltimore to North Carolina. There are a ton of great schools in that area.

He's decided he wants a medium sized school with student populations of 4000 to about 15,000, although he'd consider a slightly larger school. He regretfully has crossed So. Carolina off his list for this reason.

Every time we look at a school he finds something he wants and something he doesn't want. But's been an illuminating experience for my son as he learns more about himself.
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I think the size consideration is really important. That was the one thing I didn't like about the Rutgers experience, the school was just so big and you were just - really - a number. At least in some ways.

Unfortunately, for me, cost was the driving factor. The family budget ensured 4 years at RU, but could only promise one at Wesleyan, my first choice. I think I was accepted at Lehigh, but that was always a back-up; Yale and another long shot didn't want me and I decided not to apply to RPI, although a friend of the family would have "sponsored" me.

My point is that the only thing I regret about college is not having the smaller school experience, so it is really key that your son stick to his guns about what it is he wants, while (of course) recognizing that you can't always get it.
 
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