Another one of those NMF dilemma threads

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm currently a national merit semi-finalist, and assuming all went well with my paper work and essays I should be a finalist come february. </p>

<p>One of the schools that I'm applying to, Baylor University, is going to offer me a full tuition, partial room/board scholarship that when combined with other scholarships will leave me with out of pocket costs of around 3k/year. This is super cheap, and naturally, I'm thrilled to get this kind of opportunity. </p>

<p>I recently visited Baylor (it's only 2 hours away), and I really, really liked it. Their honors college offers a program called university scholars that is pretty similar to Brown's "Open Curriculum" in which I could easily double or triple major. It basically wipes out all core requirements (excluding Chapel and Theology, which I am totally fine with) and allows students to take whatever classes they wish. Admission is guaranteed to NMFs, so no worries there. They also offer TONS of other perks to NMFs:Priority registration, a beautiful honors dorm building, individual advising with the best advisors they have, small classes (capped at 19), team taught classes and the like. It seems like an AMAZING opportunity, and it's really everything I've been looking for in an academic environment, especially the open curriculum. </p>

<p>Down the road, I'd really like to do foreign service work. I'd especially like to teach ESL abroad and work with NGOs and Missions. I could also see myself returning to the US at some time and pursuing an advanced degree to become a professor. I plan on majoring in International Relations and one or more foreign languages. </p>

<p>I feel like it would be hard to pursue a career like the one above if I'm saddled with all kinds of debt. It also might be hard to double or triple major elsewhere. Do I have the right idea here?</p>

<p>However, Baylor isn't necessarily the most well known or prestigious school on my list, and I'm worried this could also limit me in the future. Other schools I am applying to include:</p>

<p>USC
Northwestern
Davidson
UT-Austin
Johns Hopkins
UVA
**Maybe Yale, not sure yet..</p>

<p>Academically, I have a 4.0 GPA unweighted, a 35 ACT, I'm currently ranked 1/498 students at my school. I am in or have taken 12 AP Classes and I have recieved four 5's and one 4. </p>

<p>Some of my major extracurriculars include being student body president, a committee head for NHS, Junior and Sophomore Class President, Captain of 2 academic bowl teams, and Head of 2 student council committees. I am also a volunteer counselor at a camp for kids and adults with special needs. </p>

<p>Given my resume and plans for the future, would I be making a bad decision if I went to Baylor because it is free, close to home, offers a great academic and religious environment, lacks distribution requirements, and will likely set me up to live my life without having to worry about debt? Or should I seek a more prestigious university that could potentially open other doors for me down the road while limiting other opportunities because I may not qualify for much aid? </p>

<p>I apologize if this was super long, I just kind of had a lot to say. This has been on my mind pretty often lately and I thought I would enlist the help of this site to try and figure things out. </p>

<p>Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!</p>

2

<p>What are your parents saying?</p>

<p>Will they pay the costs that they’d be expected to pay at these other schools? </p>

<p>Do they want you to accept the merit scholarship?</p>

<p>As far as debt:</p>

<p>YOU can only borrow the following amounts:</p>

<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr and sr 7500</p>

3

<p>My parents say they could cover the costs through private loans. But honestly, the whole private loan process just seems sketchy to me. They have taken out around 80k so far for my brother’s college (he’s only a junior at SMU) and they will be borrowing even more down the line. I kind of doubt that they will be able to pay for it all, because once all is said and done my brother’s loan could potentially be more than 150k. I feel bad because I don’t really want to add to that figure. We’re middle class and qualify for a little financial aid but not too much.</p>

4

<p>It is a fit, you can afford it and you love it. GO!!!</p>

<p>Now a few years ago, I was not happy when my older son chose the less well known university- he was admitted to a “better” school than the one he chose. But he was 100% correct in his choice. He had a great experience, got to be the “big fish” at the school, got amazing experiences (the only freshman who got to travel to China to study the economics of the Olympics, spent two weeks in London studying London theater, etc) and is now in a highly ranked law school. If you are going into a field where you need a graduate degree, THAT is the time to go for higher ranked school. Undergrad is all about fit. Baylor sounds perfect for you and hearing about the program,I wish I had known about it for my younger son. He is also a senior but is done looking and applying at this point.</p>

<p>Good luck and congrats!</p>

5

<p>Thanks TJMom! I’m glad to see your son had a great experience at his school! It sounds like he was given some amazing opportunities! If your son is up for it, Baylor’s application has neither an application fee nor an essay requirement, so all you really have to do is just fill out some info and hit submit. It could be a pretty easy sell!
Thanks again for your reassurance!</p>

<p>If anyone else has any other success stories I’d love to hear them!</p>

6

<p>atxnickg: Your stats are very impressive. You and your parents should be very proud as I know it was not always easy getting there, but you sound like a great student with plenty of potential. Any school would be honored to have you I imagine. As a mom my advise to you is that you should visit each school and see how they fit into your lifestyle. Baylor may not be as prestigious of a school as USC, Johns Hopkins or Yale but they are in large a great school. It is much better to be a success without the debt than a success with the debt. My D has great stats also and is a National Hispanic Scholar. She has had many offers and will most likely be admitted to Cornell, Stanford and USC. Her firsts and second choices however are not the more prestigious schools, but where she can picture herself benifitting the most all around. For her that is a smaller more private school and one that has offered her the financial means to attend. This will allow for her to afford grad school or traveling in the future without the added stress of debt. I think Baylor is a great choice ( on my D’s list actually ) BTW my H was COO of a fortune 500 company. He graduated from a Tech. Trade School and earned his way up the ladder. His co -workers were Harvard grads and he made double their salary. Talk to your parents about what they think you should do and how much they can afford if you go to another school that doesn’t offer as much $$.</p>

7

<p>You’re being very mature about this decision. Go to Baylor, enjoy yourself, do great things. Your undergrad grades will greatly affect your chances in Master’s programs. It sounds like you will thrive there.</p>

8

<p>USC admission comes with half tuition for national merit with a chance to get more merit through interviews if admitted early. However, you won’t be considered for it if you have not already applied (the deadline is usually early Dec).</p>

<p>UT, Northwestern and Johns Hopkins have zero money for national merit.</p>

<p>Some honors schools (business and Engineering) have scholarships upto full tuition at UT.</p>

9

<p>

You have the right idea here. A load of debt will close off a lot of opportunities, especially in the areas you have mentioned.</p>

<p>Choosing a more prestigious school on the hopes that in some unspecified situation down the road some unknown person might look more favorably on that college is a pretty thin reason! What’s going to matter to your future is what you do: grades, getting involved on campus, getting to know some profs, internships, etc.</p>

10

<p>Ann Richards, Bob Bullock, William Sessions, Kirk Watson – all Baylor grads.</p>

<p>Maybe check out this list and see if you still think going to Baylor will limit your future.

[List</a> of Baylor University people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“List of Baylor University people - Wikipedia”>List of Baylor University people - Wikipedia)</p>

11

<p>@Crittermom: Thanks so much for all you said. I’m glad to see that other students, like your daughter, are considering schools without regard to “prestige”. I wish you guys the absolute best in your college search. </p>

<p>@Erin’s dad: Thanks for that! I really do think I’d like it there, and you brought up a great point considering my undergrad grades. </p>

<p>@texaspg: Thanks for those suggestions, I’ll have to wait til April and see if any other schools match what I’m getting. </p>

<p>@MikeMac: Thanks for reassuring me there. I feel like debt would certainly limit me in the future much more than anything else. Thanks for that!</p>

<p>@spdf: I had no idea all those people went there. Thanks!</p>

<p>Thanks again to everyone who has responded so far, it’s great to get reassured as to whether or not I should take this significant scholarship.</p>

<p>I was also notified this afternoon of my admission to the Baylor Honors College! I’m pretty excited. </p>

<p>If you are reading this and feel like contributing, please do! I’d love to hear what you have to say, and this is certainly helping me out a lot in my college search process!</p>

12

<p>atxnickg: That is very exciting about the Honors college!! Congrats! My D has been excepted there as well but unfortunately being part of an NCAA Div! team she cannot be in the honors. : ( but thats ok! She would much rather Ride for the team!! Way to go…I am sure you will make the best decision and never look back!</p>

13

<p>Thanks crittermom! Best of luck to you guys! I hope you guys are both very happy with wherever your daughter ends up going!</p>

14

<p>bump 10char</p>

15

<p>Why not wait to see what options are available to you. If no one offers you a deal anywhere close to Baylor’s, then just go to Baylor. It’s more what you do with your college experience than where you go. Save the money for grad school.</p>

16

<p>College, life, careers - are an awful lot about what you make of it. Many very successful people go to a wide variety of schools - at all levels. In today’s economy, the opportunity to go to school for $3k a year is a gift that I would not dismiss lightly. I would take it and run …</p>

17

<p>See what the other schools offer you and then decide</p>

18

<p>Thanks guys. This certainly is a gift and blessing, I’m not deciding quite yet but all of this conversation is incredibly useful.</p>

19

<p>It sounds to me like Baylor is a great fit for you personally, and I don’t see how it could hinder you professionally. Congratulations! If you decide to go for it, enjoy it and don’t look back.</p>

20

<p>The more I think about it, the more I really think it’s just the place for me.</p>