Rowan has offered my son the best scholarship of the schools he’s applied to and I hope he will be accepted in the Honors program, which I think will be a great fit for him. His ego has him leaning towards the higher-ranked schools. I want to take him back for a 2nd look so he can look more specifically at depts. related to his major (vs. quick tour that touched on everything but didn’t give great detail on anything). Should I go on a school day? Should I set up with admissions, with science dept? TIA for advice!
Couple of thoughts:
- Be very clear about finances. If the higher-ranked schools are not doable financially, have that conversation now, not later.
- Check the school’s schedule to ensure classes are in session (e.g. not on spring break). Touring an empty campus is much less informative and more difficult to get the “feel” of the campus.
- If possible, the student should sit-in on a class. These are often very valuable experiences.
- Visit the department(s) for his academic interests. You will likely be able to have a brief welcome from someone in the department and gain visibility to related activities (e.g. study abroad, internships, research opportunities)
- If offered, consider scheduling an interview while on campus. It’s good to gain experience interviewing and talking about his/herself.
- Visit the campus offices for other activities the student may be interested in (e.g. a sports coach, LGBT office, debate club, music/band). The directors for those activities typically love to meet prospective students.
- Think about your response if he’s just not feeling it at Rowan. Are you going to let him choose his school, or will financial aid + scholarships be the deciding factor.
Good luck!
Excellent advice above!! One of the best responses I’ve read on CC, good job @magtf1
I would look not just at the scholarship money offered but the TOTAL cost of each school over 4 (or more) years.
I would have a spreadsheet and show them the cost of x amount of loan vs y amount of loan in a monthly payment. If your senior doesn’t have money savy and a budget, now is is the time to get it. 
Help them understand flexibility after graduation is gone if you have a fat monthly loan payment to make. Do they want to HAVE TO live at home after college? Big difference in CHOOSE to vs HAVE to.
Rowan is on spring break next week, so do not visit then.
I would also see about meeting with some students - honors science - someone at your child’s level would be great.
Best of luck, Rowan is an excellent choice.
BTW - easy access to Philly via bus that stops on campus. Can get right into Reading Terminal Market…yummm!
Two fantastic answers so far. Heck, @magtf1 provided a great itinerary. Better than a formal tour. Just one more thing: Eat the food at the Student Center. Dinners in the main dining hall, I think, start at 4 PM. That’s the best time to get the best cross-section of buffet and to-order food. Sample all of it, make your own waffle for dessert. There are plenty of other places on/off campus to try (including the downstairs eateries), but they are more changes-of-pace to freshmen. You’ll just want to know which meal plan to get.
Don’t go this week…Spring Break. Campus is busiest Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are generally light with classes.
As far as “higher ranked schools”: Son graduated HS in 2009, the height of the economic downturn. Our investments went to crap (not worth what we put into them). Top 5 of 500 in HS (a decidedly middle class SJ public school) . Three of the 5 went to Harvard, another to Bucknell. My son, who wanted to be a civil engineer, chose Rowan over other schools (including Cornell).
Thanks to the grants & scholarships, he graduated in four years with minimal debt (he took out a little loan for more deluxe housing - Townhomes & RoBo apartment). 100% of his Rowan '13 engineering classmates got jobs in their chosen fields or went to grad school. My son has worked on projects, first in North Jersey and now in MD with graduates of many “name” schools - and he tells me that he doesn’t take a back seat to any of them.
Bear in mind, no matter where you go, that many kids change majors - usually 2nd semester sophomore year. Professors tend to flush out non-committed students in favor of the committed ones. Sometimes the “grass is greener” in another major, or your student discovers a new passion. Sometimes, especially at other “highly-ranked colleges”, popular courses are in lecture halls with a couple hundred other students, or needed courses aren’t available when your student needs them, or classes are taught/graded by a grad assistant rather than a professor (who’s spending time on his/her own research or attending to grad students, and unavailable to plebeian undergrads). That has not been an issue at Rowan, and I hope it never is.
If you haven’t, check out my “Why Rowan” post. Did it originally in 2011 and updated it last year, based on my son’s experience and mine from visiting. I’m a nearly 30-year recruiter, so I’ve visited many campuses and seen many, many results. They are all great (or not so great) in their own way. Wherever your student sees him/herself succeeding and getting return-on-investment is the way to go.
Good luck!
One more thing: Just show up, rather than go through Admissions. You’ve had the “nickel tour”, now you are performing due diligence on your major financial commitment. If you like what you see, you can always talk to Admissions later. Park in the big lot on Carpenter Street behind the soccer field - don’t think you’ll need a pass there, so you won’t be rushed. Just check it out to be sure I’m right. Make a day of it.
Reach out to the department chair. We’ve had great luck with them setting up one on one tours for our kids that were so much more informative than canned tours that don’t go in to any detail about the desired major. So many tours just point at the science building - we’ve had faculty and students take us around and show us all the equipment and talk about the research students are conducting.
You should be able to find the department chair’s email on the departmental faculty page.
Thanks all for such helpful input. In my mind, being in an honors program at Rowan (with almost no debt after 4 yrs) would serve him better in the long run than attending U of Rochester with no honors program and a ton of debt. I remember being a teenager and thinking more about the brand and the image than the actual education, so I disagree but understand his point of view. I intend to help him see the whole picture, but in the end it is his decision (we will help him out as much as we can, but even if I had an extra 50k per year in the bank, I wouldn’t give it to him for an undergrad degree!). We will plan our Rowan visit as recommended above to get a real feel for the school - thanks for the advice on the tour vs. the dept. chair. I appreciate all the input!
Where does your son want to go?
He applied & was accepted to Binghamton, Rochester, TCNJ & Rowan. He liked the vibe at Binghamton the most, but because Rochester is more selective he thinks it’s a better choice. We are going back for a 2nd look to all 4.
@QueenJackie I’ve been to all 4. Son, in addition to the generous offer at Rowan, was offered a soccer scholarship to Binghamton and played a tournament in Rochester.
A key consideration is where does he want to live and work after college? Entry level opportunities are best in the area/region around the college. Often say that the best choice is the school where he sees himself succeeding the best, but if he doesn’t see himself living there after college, it’s a bit of a red flag.
OTOH, sometimes kids just want to try someplace new and meet new friends. They fear that it’ll be the same ol’ same ol’ if they stay in state. What I’ve found, from personal and my own kids’ experiences, is that the friends had the same desires. They are still friends, but the relationships you develop in college (and later in the biz world) are different than the ones you developed in grade school/high school. (Mainly, your friends in grade school/HS saw you at your dweebiest and can’t be fooled).