<p>My D has a tough choice to make. She has been accepted to both Smith and Wellesley among others but has pretty much narrowed it down to those two. Are they really that different? She has been offered a STRIDE at Smith but the financial aid offer at Wellesley is really good. Smith will cost her/us approximately 5k to 6k a year, Wellesley under 2k a year. We just finished a marathon of open campus visits over the last 2 weeks and attended Wellesley's fete last thur/fri and Smith's the week before. She had a great overnight at Smith and a not so great one at Wellesley. Which means she really likes Smith. I keep saying that she has worked so hard to be ranked #1 in her school and to maintain a 4.0 GPA that she should just go where she wants to go as a reward. But, in the back of my mind, I can't help but weigh the financial factor and she is well aware of our financial situation. After reading a lot of discussion here about financial aid and loans etc., I know 20k debt at the end of her 4 yrs is not considered to be much money especially for a top notch education. However, I am a carpenter/builder in a normally very depressed area in a now very depressed economy, a situation that looks likely to continue for at least the next 4 yrs. (now I'm depressed too). So, I guess the question is: Smith w/STRIDE or Wellesley for less money? What would you do? I'm also going to post this to the Smith forum so I may have a range of opinions.</p>
<p>If she really can’t choose and it comes down solely to financial, have you tried to contact the financial aid dept at Smith and see if they can equal Wellesley’s offer? STRIDE seems like a great program but she will also be able to work on research with Wellesley profs if that’s what she wants. My daughter has just decided on Wellesley and we couldn’t be happier for her…but with either of these schools, your daughter can’t go wrong imo.</p>
<p>One further suggestion, although time is getting short. Has your D looked into the research currently being done by the faculty in her intended dept at both schools? That might help sway her by identifying faculty and research she would like to be a part of.</p>
<p>Fit is very important. My daughter toured Smith but didn’t apply. She did apply and get accepted into Mt. Holyoke and at first she was interested in the Five College consortium–but then she came to decide that she really liked the Wellesley campus being quiet and self-contained, and yet only 12 miles from Boston. Not only can she cross register for classes at MIT, Olin, etc., but she liked the access to a large city. Northhampton was nice, but its not Boston. </p>
<p>Good luck. And just know that whatever decision she makes…it will be the right one for her. Again, she can’t really go wrong at this point. Congratulations for all her hard work and getting accepted into two such wonderful schools. Both will open doors to a wonderful future.</p>
<p>My daughter too gets to decide among Smith, Wellesley, and a coed school not in New England, so I know what you’re going through. At the Wellesley parent/alum reception last Thursday, I was in a four person conversation with two Wellesley alums and a parent who has almost precisely the same daughter as Tomboat (I don’t think it’s the same situation, however, as the numbers are different). I mentioned how valuable the STRIDE opportunities could be, including the research opportunities, at which point the Wellesley alums both said, almost simultaneously, that every Wellesley student can do research with a professor if she wants to. One of them said, “Everyone here has the STRIDE research opportunity.” I can’t vouch for the representation, but that’s what was said less than a week ago at Wellesley when presented with a very similar situation.
Both alums, however, said that the fit and feel were more important for the prospects faced with the decision. One of the alums had chosen Wellesley over Smith following her back-to-back overnights. Others on the Smith board’s discussion of this question report the reverse experience. That’s probably the best advice to follow, because as many have pointed out, the money, while real, is going to be a fraction of what comes in and goes out over a lifetime.
Whatever my daughter decides once she’s done torturing herself over it, it’s going to be a good decision. I think the same will be true of your daughter’s decision.</p>
<p>It sounds like your daughter definitely prefers Smith. Is the 6k the amount out of pocket after FA, but not including work study or loans? Is this the amount of money that you would have to borrow annually? Is it the entire-out of pocket amount under the assumption that you have no savings? If it is, that’s not a lot of money, given what people pay for full sticker price, or even compared to what people would pay for a year’s tuition at a community college or a very cheap private religious grade school.</p>
<p>A common argument against letting a kid go to the college they prefer or making your kid pay for college is that the amount that college costs ($50000) is not feasible for a student to finance from their own earnings, as many adults don’t make that much money!</p>
<p>I know vaguely what STRIDE is, but is there payment to the student with STRIDE during the year? I remember Wellesley estimated that students could make about $2000/year at a campus job while I was a student. There’s also summer employment. If your daughter found a job that netted about $5/hour when she subtracted expenses from working (taxes, food, work clothes, gas, some amount of money put toward summer entertainment) 40 hours for 10 weeks would net $2000 as well. Consider it is likely for STRIDE to give your daughter experience to score a higher-paying summer job getting paid to look better for post-college endeavors in subsequent years. </p>
<p>If all these things work out, it is likely that your daughter could be able to contribute to a portion of her education now, such that she would not be in $20,000 debt, but a much lower number.</p>
<p>On the flip side, I would consider if it was likely for your EFC to continue to be $6000 or whether that could increase. Since your choices are Smith and Wellesley, are you local enough that travel isn’t a major financial factor on top of education- that’s a very real, hidden expense.</p>
<p>I was in a situation like yours, where I was offered a full-tuition scholarship (plus money because my need was slightly above full tuition) and a comparable but lower amount to Wellesley. I had grades and rank like your daughter’s and my parents let me go to Wellesley because that’s where I wanted to go. I was very glad they did.</p>
<p>Can your D analyze why she preferred the overnight at Smith to the one at Wellesley? It’s important to differentiate if it’s about “fit” at the campus or if it’s some other factor, such as the particular host(s) your D had. You read about students who had a poor vs excellent tour guide and how it impacts their college decision. However, I also know students who have an experience where the weather/food etc. is horrible but they know it’s where they belong.</p>
<p>Both are great schools, so at least you can be comforted that either choice will be a wonderful education.</p>
<p>Sorry folks, my D has decided on Smith. I did my best for Wellesley (my pick) but I’m not the kind of dad to put my foot down about something this important for her. She has worked SO hard to have these choices that she should definitely get to make HER own decision.
Bye- Bye, Thanks for all the input. I guess I’ll just head on over to the Smith forum now.</p>
<p>That’s okay, Tomboat. They’re sisters, right?</p>