<p>Here is the deal... My S whittled it down to a decision between UMass Amherst or Salve Regina by May 1st... and has actively pursued Providence College since being waitlisted.</p>
<p>UMass Amherst ~ Instate, double major in communications & sports management, w/ intent on getting his masters in Sports Management after that. Commuting is even an option, but jury is still out on that part. Tuition $12K/yr (commuter) or $20K/yr resident.</p>
<p>Salve Regina ~ Newport, R.I. Pell Honors Program, Trustee Scholarship $9500 each year. Major in Marketing, Minor in Sports Management. Tuition approx. $45K/yr before scholarship.</p>
<p>Both are in areas he loves and offer enough internships, clubs and athletics to keep him happy. Size not a factor. His main focus is just to position himself in the best place possible at the end of the road. He knows what he wants in the long run, it is just a mattter of how he gets there.</p>
<p>Providence is a shot in the dark, but what if??? He would major in marketing and its $50K/yr. He updated his app, sent a letter of intent and an extra letter of recommendation from an alum hoping it would help.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your time and any advice you may have. We really appreciate it! These decisions can be so hard... :)</p>
<p>My daughter (who is a freshman) began the transfer process from Salve in October 2009- one month after she started!- what does that tell you? This school is not what it seems, there are very few activities offered, the food is terrible, and the academics are not that strong. Go to the college search section of this site and under state search, go to RI and that will bring you to Salve Regina. My best advice is to read maddancer’s post- says it all and says it best.(I have attempted to post the link below) I wish we had read that before my daughter enrolled. She will definitely not be there next year! Unless your son is heavily involved in sports, i would say stay away.</p>
<p>Thanks agreeagree for your thoughts and the link! I can’t believe all the mixed reviews on Salve! The campus and location is incredible, but that only keeps you enamored for so long. I hope your daughter has found the perfect school for her. At least she realized right from the get-go that it was not for her. Has she chosen her new home yet?</p>
<p>As for my son, he chose UMass Amherst. Who knows if we will hear from Providence, but in the meantime, I am glad he is excited about Plan B. He really feels that UMass has the most to offer. Double major in communications and sports mgmt, tons of extracurriculars and athletics… he should be well entertained! lol :)</p>
<p>Update: Guess who just got off the waitlist at Providence! We have until May 10th to decide and our fin aid packet should be here on Thursday. Talk about pressure!!</p>
<p>Congrats to your son on PC and on his clear vision of what he wants – very good for an 18 year old!! Would he self design a major at PC, I don’t think they specifically have sports management. He may want to talk to some folks up there before switching from UMASS. We’ve definitely talked to students there(PC) who have done communications. Advising is also supposed to be quite good, so possibly it all gets worked out that way. Either way, sounds lilke a kid who will do well no matter where he lands.</p>
<p>If the choice were UMass or Harvard, I’d say $50,000 is worth it. But it definitely is not worth it to spend that kind of money for mediocre schools such as Providence and Salve Regina, especially if he can handle a large sized school.</p>
<p>Thank you for your thoughts, it really will be a tough choice! UMass definitely has a lot to offer. Once the Prov fin aid packet comes in we should have a better handle on things. We will go for a visit on Saturday too. Either way I am proud of him and will support him in anyway I can.</p>
<p>The size of UMass was initially intimidating, but when we went to Accepted Students Day, he was fine. It is a large school, but it really does not feel that way when you are there. I guess the undergrad resident population is only around 10,000. We are from a very small school/town, so it will be different, but he says he will go out of his way to meet his professors, volunteer and basically just do his best to make himself known.</p>
<p>Oh my mind is going a mile a minute! I am doing my best to come off all relaxed around him. I really want him to be comfortable and happy with whatever decision he makes ~ and with those two options, how can you go wrong? :)</p>
<p>So the Providence packet was overnighted… no mention of any money. I called and it is being sent separately. We will visit on Saturday to get a feel for it. </p>
<p>BUT… my S is now becoming unsettled because the school, and a few other adults that he has the upmost respect for are ECSTATIC about Prov. One GC told him it was worth it no matter what the cost. I’m starting to wonder… is Prov’s impressive reputation just a New England thing? There are so many mixed reviews in regards to its stature, some say its great and others deem it mediocre. </p>
<p>Just trying to get a real handle on this. No doubt he will get a great education wherever he goes but how does one decide?</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone being impressed by a Providence College degree. I am sure there are some smart graduates of the school, as there are of any school, but $50,000 a year is a lot to pay for something that isn’t measurably superior to something that costs $20,000.</p>
<p>Hi, Tiki,
Here’s my thinking. The scores of UMass and Providence students are extremely similar in general qualifications: For providence, the SAT scores are Reading: 530-630; Math: 530-640; ACT 23-28; UMass has scores of Reading, 520-630; math 540-650; ACT, 23-28. But there are a lot of extremely bright people who go to UMass because they can’t afford a more expensive private school. Meanwhile, if a student CAN afford a private school, then if the kid was really a top student, he’d be more likely to go to a higher ranking one, such as Amherst (reading 660-760, etc.). If this were twenty years ago, I’d say forget the cost, just let kids go where the fit is better. But these days, the financial difference is so staggering that unless a kid is getting something REALLY special for that extra money, such as prestige or truly unique opportunities, it’s better to have a less expensive undergraduate experience and perhaps save some money for grad school. (I also think that certain kids have special needs, such as ADHD, that may necessitate a small school).I do not actually mean that there aren’t great things about Providence–I’m sure there are. But there are great things about UMass, too, such as a fantastic location and the opportunity to take classes at all of the five colleges, including top schools such as Amherst and Smith. The Amherst area has a real college feel and is a safe, fun environment. And the alumni network of Umass is much larger than Providence’s. If money is no object, either one wil be okay, but I don’t think people are going to be impressed any more with one school than the other.</p>
<p>I visited both schools recently and liked both schools. </p>
<p>There is no way that your out-of-pocket costs at Providence College are going to be anywhere close to UMASS. And I don’t see how the additional cost at PC turns into something of value over UMASS down the line. I see it as both traveling in a car just one is going to cost you a lot more per mile traveled. For what? </p>
<p>I agreed with Endicott’s points. Additionally, PC has VERY little flexibility in their first two years of curriculum. It’s their way or the highway. That CAN be a good thing (for some students) or it can be quite constricting.</p>
<p>Thats the thing, I really did my UMass research these past few weeks and came to realize what great opportunities it has. Now I am trying to figure out what Providence may have that will be of greater benefit. I guess tomorrow will tell…</p>
<p>Also, USNews has Prov ranked #2 in national universities-north, Villanova being #1 and Loyola Maryland #3. I guess I need to spend a little more time understanding those rankings and the validity of them.</p>
<p>Let’s say you find them valid … then what? It still get’s down to Endicott’s point about peer student at both schools. Are those US& News rankings going to get your son a good job when he graduates or get him into a good graduate school? Nope. </p>
<p>Guessing that PC is going to give your son 14K in grants, that means the bottom line cost will be about 150K by the time he graduates. That said Providence College is a fine place to spend 150K.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for helping me out with this. I keep trying to play devil’s advocate with this whole thing in hopes that I will see every angle. For some reason, in the back of my head I keep saying… imagine if he chooses Providence, and then decides to go for his masters in sports management at UMass. What would be the point of the undergrad from Prov? I’m not taking anything away from the great education he would get at Providence but if he is going to want/need a masters anyway then why spend the money on the undergrad? Like Endicott said, its not Harvard. In my opinion a degree from Dartmouth or Harvard is definitely worth the money because it positions you into a whole different tier of alumni and opportunity.</p>
<p>CTYankee, I see your point on both counts. I guess the mixed reviews on Prov is really what is throwing me off. I also think people in my area take UMass for granted because we look at it the way it used to be as opposed to what it is now. They really have made get strides in recent years. They had a record # of applicants: 31,300 this year. Their selectivity will continue to rise due to that increase of apps and the economy.</p>
<p>I agree with you, Tiki. Some people here on CC say that where you get your undergrad degree is not as important as where you get your grad degree. I do think people in Massachusetts underestimate UMass sometimes, but outside of Mass, people aren’t as aware of any distinction that would make it better or worse than any other state university. And by and large, when people know that someone has gone to a flagship university, they usually think that’s a pretty sensible choice. Often, what really matters is what advantage you take of the opportunity when you’re there–internships, jobs, special classes–those things are what really position you for a job. I am sure there are all kinds of great hands on sports management opportunities at UMass–doesn’t every team need help? Or, writing sports articles for the paper, or anything like that. </p>
<p>I’ll come clean and say I AM paying full tuition for my kid to go to a private college–but it’s one of the top colleges in the country, and I would not have paid that for a second tier college, even if it were a good fit, just because I do believe at this college, he’ll have truly unique opportunities, and if he weren’t getting those I would not want to pay the extra money. And this means that after his bachelor’s degree, he’s totally on his own. If he had gone to our state U, he’d have some extra money for grad school. It sucks to be mercenary, but more than $100,000 is something to consider carefully! Besides, a school like Umass can be really fun, lively, and full of a million opportunities to shine.</p>
<p>Oh Endicott… sigh. What an exhausting experience! We have been non stop since Saturday. Lets just say I am SOOO glad we all had talked about this prior to going so I was confident that either way my S would be ok.</p>
<p>Saturday- we went on the tour. Worst tour ever. It was given by two senior girls who really did not do the school justice, were not all that knowledgeable, and did not want to be there. Fortunately we could see past that and truly get a feel for the campus on our own afterwards. We started off with 16 people in the tour and ended it w/ 7. lol</p>
<p>Providence is beautiful and you definitely can see your dollars at work. He loved the sense of community and really was impressed by it. He had a few questions that need to be asked so we followed up w/ that on Monday. Mostly his questions were in regards to internships/job placement, etc. His admissions counselor has been great, right from the get go. Answered all his questions and his decision was made. IF… the money was doable, he would like to go to Providence. He knows he would be good at UMass, but really felt he would stand out at Providence and that would bode him well at the end of the road. </p>
<p>The $$$ came in yesterday. Sadly it was not what we had hoped (or even close). Because he was waitlisted, there is no merit money or any shot at merit money for the subsequent years. If he had a shot at merit then maybe we could have rationalized the $ for the first year in hopes of more later. If it was Dartmouth, I would have pulled out all the stops, begged borrowed etc knowing he would come out w/ a whole different spectrum of opportunity and alumni. Providence offers him a lot but the difference between the schools was not enough to justify more than double the cost. </p>
<p>I’m sad for him, but he made the decision to call it a day as he/we did not see the numbers changing enough even if we were to file an appeal. I did say we would give it all we got if he wanted us to. He said he would be fine going to UMass and if he kicks butt maybe he will transfer in 2 years…or maybe not, who knows. He just wants to get past this unsettledness and embrace his next four years. Can’t say I blame him. </p>
<p>I really want to thank you Endicott and everyone else for helping us on this matter. It has been one heck of a ride. My advice for everyone who goes through the application process in the future: if possible, VISIT the school! Interview if possible too. A few schools we spoke with say it sometimes does make the difference between candidates if all else is equal. They say it shows interest and intent and schools love that. It could mean the difference between accepted and waitlisted.</p>
<p>Endicott, I forgot to congratulate you and your son for ending up in a top notch school! One of my nieces graduated recently from an ivy and the opportunities that she has been offered both during school and post grad are like no other! I know many argue that no education is worth X amount of dollars (big bucks) and honestly after what I have seen this past year… that is crap. It is the difference of playing in the big leagues vs the little leagues or minors, with the salary range to prove it.</p>