No :))
@howToDecide2017 @VPDad We are also West Coast (CA). S was accepted into UC Irvine and two other UCās Irvine in particular is known for their CS program (which is Sās interest), however it is very unlikely he will matriculate there. S strongly wishes to attend a smaller more intimate environment and feels he needs that due to some ADHD issues. So his final contenders are all small privates (East Coast). Top 4 that he will visit again next week include Brandeis, WPI, Lehigh & Lafayette (not necessarily in preference order). some have merit, some donāt. In any case cost of attendance at the privates will be well in excess of UCās. I wonāt go so far to sayā¦we will pay the difference gladly, but will say we are trying our best as parents to be cost neutral. If it were not for Sās individual circumstances, we might feel differently.
@howToDecide2017 @chel17 S was only interested in UCLA and UCB. Got Waitlisted at UCLA and UCB is due today. If he gets into UCB then weāll have a tougher choice. Smaller class sizes, intimate learning environment and IBS scholars are all pluses in favor of Brandeis. Iām just confused about how no scholarship is offered to an IBS Scholar!?
@VPDad You might be able to appeal the merit aid? what were S statās I have no idea how Brandeis or any other school decided on merit. seems kind of a black box, but in some cases loosely correlated to stats. Our S got 15K annually at Brandeis, 10K annually at WPI, nothing at Lehigh, nothing at Lafayette. We qualify for 0 need aid, so that might play a role as well? Stats are
3.8 UW, 4.16 W GPA
1470 SATII (770M, 700Lang)
Many APās,
Many ECās
Good Leaderhip
Good luck today with UCB-Go Bears!
We are in the same boat as you. Kid wanted a smaller feel and only applied to the UCās because as a CA resident that is what we do. In at UCās including LA, merit at several smaller colleges, including LACās. No idea what she wants at this point.
@chel17 S got $15k/y at UW, $25K/y at Saint Maryās and other merit scholarships at smaller colleges. Are you planning to attend the NorCal event in the first week of April? S signed up for that and Iāll definitely bring-up the merit scholarship question.
@VPDad I think the Nor Cal event is the 3rd. S and husb (Dad) will actually be East that week visiting again schools to try and finalize pick from top 3-4, so I will probably not attend, since just me in town. Let us know what you find out. You might try connecting with fin aid office prior. Are you located in Bay Area?
@chel17 Yes its on the 3rd in San Mateo. Thanks for the advice. Iāll contact the fin aid soon. Weāll be visiting Brandies on 4/23 and some other East Cost schools. Yes, Iām in the Bay Area. Iāll post here what i find out after the event.
CA people (and on the UC topic) ā for me the deal breaker with the UCs is their grade-deflation policies, which wonāt be changing anytime soon. Top 17% (only) can get Aās (at UCLA/UCB etc. well its 20% if counting A-minus groups) and this holds even if 50% of the class studies hard and does really well on exams. Its a total gamble (well, maybe not if I had applied to UCSC or UCR) but since I applied to the 3 most competitive UCs only, it would be a gamble and could change graduate school and career plans for forever. I donāt mind large class sizes of UCs, but the grade curve is too risky for a pre-med or similar competitive pre-professional applicant. Maybe Iād choose UC IF (emphasis of if) I had no grad school plans, for the convenient location warm weather and lower tuition, but such is not the case. Parent suggested I try UCLA or UCB 1 year (1st year) and just drop out and switch to a private school if GPA under 3.7 or 3.8 first year, but that sounds horrible! (Leaving new college friends and all being part of this/my āhorribleā opinion.) ā Crazy parent suggestion? (Vs. logical budget-driven idea).
@howToDecide2017 - Thanks for a very informative post.
Does anyone know if the āAlumni and Friendsā scholarship is renewed every year?
@howToDecide2017 (or anyone else) ā what is the current situation with grade deflation at Brandeis? There are some older CC posts stating that science grades in particular are significantly deflated, but these are old posts. Whatās the real deal regarding grade deflation at Brandeis now?
Should I create a Sage account to view financial aid even if I am not entirely sure if I am going to Brandeis yet? Also do they send a letter about financial aid even if you did not get any money?
@mamafid ā Iām not an insider, but I thought Brandeis was much like other private LACs (and privates in genāl) in that some extent of grade inflation had been the norm (at private schools in genāl) and so was to be expected. I heard Princeton had tried to stop grade inflation, limiting Aās to max 35% (but 35% is still a very large number! compared to 17-20% at UCs !) Maybe you know more than I do about Brandeis grading curves in sci??? Pls. share ā¦ Or maybe we all only believe what weāve read here on cc(?)
Hi everyone, we had a great visit today and ate in Sherman Dining Hall, which has a regular side and a Kosher side for food but seating together for everybody, however you eat. It was not bad food as has been reported in the past! Everything was very clean and modern and tasty. Plenty of options. The salad bar looked crisp and fresh and not old or wilty. Thereās an allergy area too with its own refrigerator, toaster, etc. I feel my D will eat just fine there. Dining has been upgraded!
We still have not seem a dorm room. The guideās key did not work.
@howToDecide2017 I have no additional information myself. I searched āgrade deflationā in the Brandeis forum and come up with those old posts regarding grade deflation in the sciences. I didnāt search āgrade inflationā but will try that too.
@mamafid I have a little bit of an odd opinion on the subject of grade inflation/deflation. The majority of the schools of interest to S require incredibly high performance prior to college entrance. i.e. the majority of the kids accepted will be in the top 10% of their peer group and many in the top 1 to 2% in the nation. In this case, I have a lot of sympathy for the removal entirely of a curve based system for gradingā¦after all these are super smart kids, that have all worked very hard to enable the college choices they now have. When they matriculate into College all will be competing against similarly positioned kids, each previously at the top of their class. RPI as an example has interestingly removed maintenance of a minimum GPA as a criteria to retain financial aid. While this opinion may be controversial, I believe it is entirely reasonable that many more students than 15%, 17%, or even 30% can earn the right to top scores (Aās) in schools at this level
Agree with chel17 above, but its too bad that UC Berkeley doesnāt see it that way. Fortunately I think many high- and high-ish/top or top-ish tier private schools would agree with chel17, which is good!
@redpoodles ā by chance did you visit their athletics center during your tour, and if so, is there a track?
Someone should post a Niche review to let more ppl know that the ādining has been upgraded!ā (as per redpoodles above.) This is definitely some good news!