Is the PA one Allegheny? Good call on the search thread on both counts, but if this thread morphs into "what college did you go to, are you trying to get into, or trying to get your kid into?" ... I'm fine with that.
Yep. He's looking at Great Lakes Colleges Association schools. At OSU, I do a lot of 'research' on other universities, a skill set that's proved helpful in the development of a rather extensive spreadsheet of schools that not only is my son considering, but also my step-daughter (also a high school senior). Which is actually an extension of a document begun a few years ago when my then-fiancee's eldest daughter was engaged in the same process (she ended up at Wellesley). It's really quite an impressive data set, if I do say so myself. And for sale to any other parents out there who might be interested in such an invaluable resource. I mean, isn't your child worth it? Make me an offer...
My guess is that if somebody moved into my neighborhood, marketed him/herself as a college placement expert, with a private database and personal contacts, that (s)he could do well as personal consultant. Charge $2000 per student -- I mean, what's a piddling $2000 when junior's future is at stake? -- take on 75 students, that's $150k in income, no capital expenses, and a whole lot of downtime for half the year. Of course it would be a mad rush in the autumn. Like being an accountant, only a different season.
It's actually been a serious point of discussion among a friend who's a high school educator, my wife and I. We have family in Boston who do this sort of thing. A different market there, to be sure, but still. When we start compiling all of the schools we've visited, the data we've compiled, the contacts we have, and the knowledge we possess about how universities operate and are structured, well, it's an interesting opportunity. I don't know that I could quit my day job, but its' the sort of thing I could imagine doing well into retirement. My son has a friend who'll end up going to Ohio State, pretty much by default, primarily because his parents just don't seem to have a clue that a kid with a low 30's ACT, a terrific high school GPA, is a gifted athlete and musician, and is an under-represented minority just might be a rather desirable commodity at, well, just about any institution in the country.
They probably also don't realize that if they are middle or lower-income, that an elite private university might be the cheaper option. As a side note, having been through this, gifted athlete don't mean shit for admissions unless the college coach signals that he is interested (in which case, it becomes a massive plus, worth half a dozen ACT points).
There are private pre-med advisors who charge hundreds of dollars/hour. I read a personal statement by a student who'd gotten expensive help from one of these people that was vastly worse than one the student had written without help.
A friend of my wife, who with her husband is fairly wealthy, paid boatloads of money for one of her kids to get such advising. They would've probably been better off letting their kid go it alone (or better, seek advice from his professors at school, which by all evidence he didn't do) and flushing the $12-1500 down the toilet.
Survey says... The College of Wooster! Early decision; his first choice, though he (and I) really like Kalamazoo College, as well (admittedly, his 50 year old father was smitten by the place, but of course, technically, this is his son's college decision we're talking about). Third choice schools, in general, weren't third choice in the classic sense; all womderful schools, like Allegheny, Beloit, Earlham, Ohio Wesleyan, but marginally less desirable for various, and rather diverse, reasons. Does parenting get easier now? Oh, shit, I have a younger daughter (10) who's recently mentioned she wants go to Harvard. Guess not, then.
B.A Saint Mary's University L.L.B Dalhousie University You better believe if I was 18 again I'd find an apprenticeship and get a trade. Get paid while you go to trade school and make good coin when you finish, at least here in Canada.
I want to go either to Bryn Mawr, or Reed (even though I haven't applied!! TT___TT) I want to go to Bryn Mawr because its a way of escaping away from Houston, where everyone goes to the same college! And they do this Tri- thing with PENN STATE!! WOO! and another college!.
Excellent advice anywhere Sir, including Canada. Wish I had heard it when I was 18. Luckily I landed on my feet, this was due strictly to being lucky to get a good job and working my way up. I am an old guy though and I got the job after the Army and school when the world was different. My B.A. proves only that my father and Army assistant combined for enough money to send me to school. University is a complete waste of time if you are taking liberal arts in any Western world economy. STEM courses are where the actual jobs are from traditional universities or colleges. Other than STEM, go to be a welder, plumber, pipefitter, joiner, carpenter, truck driver or some other actual skill. If you are lumbered with a liberal arts degree try and become a teacher or get a government job, they are the only hope for the young with these degrees. Short of that, go to Uber and drive the STEM, teachers, government and trades people around for good money but long hours.
B.A. in English, California State University Fresno. It took a semester of the teaching credential program and another semester in the M.A. program to realize I'd likely wasted the last 5 years of my life. If I were 18 again I'd have jumped in on the beginning of the 90's tech craze and gotten a couple of simple certifications from the local junior college and maybe a degree in Information Systems. It took me over a decade of stumble-phucking, but I'm in IT now, a field that I have a gift for and enjoy. Many kids would be better off doing as you say, or at least waiting a couple of years to try and figure out what they really want to do for a living--especially those thinking of majoring in the humanities. I'd much rather be a plumber hating my life but able to earn a steady living, than an English Major hating his life while working at Starbucks.
I did 2 years at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. I finished up with 2 years at Penn State-University Park.