<p>My college didn't make it so naturally I feel this article isn't perfect ;) But it's an interesting little list nonetheless.</p>
<p>Thanks ^^.</p>
<p>I don’t think this article was especially well-researched. For example, it says of Swarthmore:</p>
<p>“Swarthmore College Nearly half of all undergrads at this small, liberal-arts college outside Philadelphia receive some type of aid as Swarthmore meets 100 percent of the demonstrated need for U.S. citizens. It does so by replacing loans with grants in financial-aid packages, spending $1.7 million to do so from its $1.5 billion endowment. That’s a practice that has become common among several elite schools, including Massachusetts’ Williams and Amherst Colleges and Davidson College in North Carolina. What sets Swarthmore apart is a handful of merit-based scholarships that make it even more affordable.”</p>
<p>But as far as I have been able to tell, Swarthmore has only the McCabe merit scholarship that is available only to residents of some very particular place (Delaware maybe?). So it seems misleading if not factually wrong to say that Swarthmore has “a handful of merit-based scholarships that make it even more affordable.”</p>
<p>And the SUNY system attracts some of the brightest students in the nation? Looks like the author just read these schools’ pr materials.</p>
<p>If you include Cooper Union, why not include Olin?</p>
<p>For OOS northeast state schools, SUNY is a bargain. Yes, there are a lot of very smart NY students there who could not afford to go elsewhere. I think it is certainly a good value for NY ers and some out of staters though I understand the OOS cost is rising this next year. </p>
<p>Virginia has some bargains, or used to, with Va Tech, JMU, GMason, Mary Washington that are very affordable even for OOSers. I found that the costs at southern schools were lower overall, especially the room and board. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why Swarthmore was in there either. Perhaps it does not give loans in the financial aid package and is generous in defining aid. I have never heard that it was any more of a bargain than Middlebury or Williams, both of which meet full aid as well. Though Swarthmore has merit awards, they are very few, last I checked. But things are changing. Just found Bucknell has now started offering merit money when it used to be need only.</p>
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<p>I’m trying to find the inaccuracy in this quote? The only one I can come up with is that there are actually two handfuls of McCabe Scholars receiving merit aid who would not have qualified for need-based aid (12 on campus this year). The McCabe regional scholarships are awarded to students in the DelMarVa peninsula and PA counties immediately adjacent to Swarthmore. There are also McCabe national scholars. These are need-based aid only, but with perks like computer allowance, money for a summer doing research or service overseas, etc. etc.</p>
<p>BTW, one the the McCabe regional Scholars this year is senior Caitlin Mullarkey. Honors Bio major (Honors at Swarthmore is hardcore, requiring oral and written exams in four areas of preparation by panels of visiting professors from other schools – very time intensive). Captain of the women soccer team. All-American track, finishing fifth in the indoor mile at the NCAA Nationals. Dropped her third sport (basketball) after one year. Rhodes Scholar for 2009.</p>
<p>[Caitlin</a> Mullarkey Wins a Rhodes - Swarthmore College Bulletin](<a href=“http://media.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/?p=137]Caitlin”>Page has moved)</p>
<p>I’d say that was regional merit aid well spent.</p>
<p>Oh geez.</p>
<p>There are thousands of schools in the U.S., and the article came up with 20 that are “worth the price”?</p>
<p>The OP is right, it’s an “interesting little list”, and that’s being generous. If your school is not on the list, does that mean you’re throwing money away? Kathleen Kingsbury (the author) doesn’t know me, doesn’t know my family, and I’d bet 4 years tuition she doesn’t know you or your family either.</p>
<p>I’d like to go through her closet and tell her that her twenty pairs of shoes didn’t make it onto my list of footwear worth the price.</p>
<p>Mathmom, that’s the thought I had, too!</p>
<p>What may be “worth the price” for one kid, may not be worth it for another. My son was accepted at one of these schools - a state school yet he is considering a LAC because of the personal attention they are already giving him. It may be worth it for him and us to pay the extra bucks to have professors who know him, where he can play a sport, and not live in a party atmosphere. He will also likely receive more internships and travel abroad opportunities. </p>
<p>I’m not saying the state school is a party school, however one student recently lost his life to alcohol poisioning - for that student and his family it was not worth the cost. </p>
<p>A college that is worth the price is one that is a good fit for your child which prepares him for life - learning how to think and find a fulfilling career.</p>
<p>interesteddad: I guess it depends on what “a handful of merit-based scholarships” means. The McCabe scholarhsip seems to me to best be described as one scholarship that is awarded to several students. The quote would make me think that as a prospective student there are multiple kinds of merit-based scholarships for which I might qualify. A handful of scholars is not the same as a handful of scholarships.</p>
<p>Which is not to criticize Swarthmore or the McCabe merit-based scholarship (singular) or scholars (plural). But I don’t think the McCabe makes Swarthmore more affordable for the vast majority of prospective students.</p>
<p>The author of this article seems to be quite a poor reporter.</p>
<p>Badly researched fluff. Sorry, many colleges are worth the cost to some people and not to others. The whole premise is silly.</p>
<p>Interesting, why include UGA and not Ga Tech? I’ve always felt that if you lived in Ga, that going to GT with the HOPE scholarship was the best educational deal around.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my daughter did not share my opinion.</p>
<p>Agree that it is a poorly researched piece of fluff. Author obviously did not do much research. Only schools that are good deals for any well qualified student should be listed- deals available to only instate students, for certain majors, etc are of no use to the general public. Things like class size are only useful if other factors such as the quality of instruction and students are factored in (a mediocre professor/classmates may make that small class a lot more unbearable than sitting with 100 smart students for fantastic lectures).</p>