Can Oklahoma really be that inferior?

Parents Forum
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<p>quote [To the OP: is OU your state school? If not, then did you and your son even consider it before you found out that he would be getting a full scholarship no matter what? If the answer to both questions is "NO" then I would suggest not applying. Instead, your son will probably be fine at your state university where being NMS should cause tuition to drop to nearly nothing.]</p>

<p>This scenario is the exact opposite of what happened with my older s. He had been accepted at a higher ranked school and was set on going, in fact for Christmas people gave us blankets, sweat shirts, etc. for that college. He had recieved offers from schools offering the NMF free ride (ASU, MSU, OU, etc.) but none of them were in locations that he could see himself living in. When he got the offer from Florida, he thought, "HMM, I could see myself there, the offer is good, let's go check it out." This was in February. We flew to Gainesville, he was feted by the Honors' College and made to feel extremely wanted. This was unlike the reception he had received at the higher ranked college, which was more like, "Yea, whatever, your accepted, come if you want." He left Gainesville feeling like he would be happy there, and thankfully, it has turned out to be a great decision. I don't know if we will ever get him back to Texas. </p>

<p>The offer he got from UF was for waiving of oos and quite a bit of money per year that pays for everything, tuition, rent, food expenses, and books. The offer he got from UT would only have paid 1/2 of his freshman tuition and less the next year. So, no, the state school offer wasn't as good as the oos offer. </p>

<p>My s is now on the UF surf team and sailing team, travelling and competing, and is pretty much having the time of his life. And, doing well academically and enjoying his classes. It turned out to be a good "fit" and we would never have thought of it in a million years if the offer had not come in the mail. For us, Thank God we didn't throw it in the recycle bin!!!</p>

<p>edit: I obviously don't know how to do the quote thing - can someone explain?</p>

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<p>SBdad--don't be too despairing on Michigan. Three years ago, my S was offered 15,000/yr, with lesser stats than your S's, andhe was out of state. MIchigan really wants good students like your S.</p>

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<p>Great story AG54. I found myself smiling at his awesome EC's and the fact that he has time to have fun instead of working at the school cafeteria for spending money.</p>

<p>One of the benefits of this site is that students are able to track what is going on at the different colleges they apply to. I did not know about likely letters at all and found it beneficial to see the perks some kids were being offered prior to admissions. Kinda lets the student knows where he falls in the pack.</p>

<p>For example, at Cornell some kids were already being offered research positions as part of their "financial aid" package. And it was easy to track major scholarship winners (Duke) so you knew the decision was already made.</p>

<p>Anyway, it's best to keep an open mind and have many choices.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
My s is now on the UF surf team and sailing team, travelling and competing, and is pretty much having the time of his life.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh, to be young again....</p>

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<p>That feeling wanted part is a big deal to some kids , isn't it? It was to my D, too. Folks have mentioned before that these major scholarship winners at Duke, UNC, Furman, Clemson, WashU and others (I can attest to the first 7 weeks at Rhodes ;)) are not just given money but it's enrichment and recognition and programs and ... well, it varies but the point is - some kids like it. Some kids like it a lot.</p>

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<p>I will also add to curmudgeon's post - that part of it is the relationships that form. UF is a huge school, but my s has made true friendships with a few advisors and profs at the Honors College. These people are "cool" (his word) adults that he can go to for advice or just to hang with. One of them emails him to let him know when good bands are coming to town, and they often run into each other at the shows. This community feeling in a large state u is, I feel, instrumental to making the kids comfortable with their choice and comfortable with their environment. I don't know about other state college honor programs, but our experience has been great! My sr S is applying to a UT honors program. He may not have a cut dog's chance in h**l (cur, you may be the only person to get that colloquialism), but it is definitely worth giving it a shot!</p>

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<p>;) </p>

<p>ag54, Plan II or Business Honors? (I'm hoping you say Plan II. I'm enamored with that program. ;))</p>

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<p>Nope, sorry, he's trying for business honors. His dream in life (right now) is to be an accountant (no offense to you accountants out there, but it doesn't sound too dreamy to me! ;)). He has the GPA, rank, and tons of leadership, but his test scores may be too low for acceptance in the honors program. Oh well! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!</p>

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<p>Being from Michigan, don't settle for a lesser school. Counted 10-20 mailings each from ASU and Case Western last year- how desperate can some schools be for good students? You will notice that the best schools (ie noted for their academics) send the least amout of unsolicited mail. Also consider the costs of travel when considering deals; in time and money. Look at the ACT/SAT 25-75% numbers for schools, they will give you an indication of where most of the student body is academically; stay away from schools where your son is significantly outside the norms.</p>

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<p>Ouch...Case Western is an awesome school!</p>

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<p>"The offer he got from UF was for waiving of oos and quite a bit of money per year that pays for everything, tuition, rent, food expenses, and books. The offer he got from UT would only have paid 1/2 of his freshman tuition and less the next year. So, no, the state school offer wasn't as good as the oos offer."</p>

<p>The thing is you never know. ag54, it is good that your son likes UF and that he is going for free. How much would the UT tuition have been though? It couldnt be exorbitantly expensive and even if your son took everything in loans it would still be very managable debt. However, if your son loves UF it is an added bonus that he is going for so little. You did the smart thing by atleast considering the offers you got from schools for full rides. </p>

<p>If the OP's son can imagine himself at OU then he should take them up on the offer. If he is like me and wouldn't really want to go to Oklahoma over other schools, it is not good to push the college on him. NMS semifinalists are in the top 1% of the state, and i think should get some cash from the state's schools. Michigan isnt the most expensive college instate (better tution rates than my state school) and small scholarships should make it pretty affordable. I have a friend who had similar stats on paper and got a full ride (shipmans) as an OOS applicant.</p>

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<p>There were over a dozen National merit finalists in my son’s high school in NC. Three (including son) accepted a NM scholarships from UF. Although the scholarships are sometimes called "full-ride" they are actually not, but they are close. Someone in the city chose an Arizona school, however most enrolled into UNC-Chapel Hill.</p>

<p>In my scientific discipline, the top scientists teach and carry out research at Cornell. If you check their biography, you will see that many obtained their undergraduate degrees at state colleges. </p>

<p>My son presumably will go on to graduate school and as such a debt-free education at a good school seemed like the best choice. Moreover, if someone is a National Merit Finalist, then they should have the intelligence to do well in a GRE or other test and be admitted into a top graduate school.</p>

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<p>SBDad,</p>

<p>Count my vote for visiting OU to see if your son likes it. After all, for several years, OU has successfully enticed many NMFs to attend with excellent financial incentives. There must be a lot of NMFs running around campus and you might want to factor that in when you evaluate OU. Like V8J's community, many NMFs in our town are attracted to colleges like ASU, OU, and UF because of their good financial packages.</p>

<p>By the way, I'm a University of Texas fan and I admit that OU is my least favorite college in the country. Nevertheless, I encouraged our son to look into OU when he applied to college 3 years ago as a NMF. Fortunately, our son agreed with Curmudgeon's assessment of UT's Plan II program.</p>

<p>Curmudgeon,</p>

<p>Ag54 is too modest. I think her son is graduating from high school as valedictorian - just like your daughter if my recollection is correct.</p>

<p>Ag54,</p>

<p>Here's how you do quotes: ["quote"]your quote here["/quote"] only don't use quotation marks. I had to put quotation marks in to keep my example from reverting to the quote function.</p>

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<p>Venkater,</p>

<p>The University of Texas has gone to flat-rate tuition that currently charges $3,000-$3,500 a semester for in-state residents. This does not include fees and other assessments. Tuition is scheduled to increase next year to $3,400-$3,900 a semester and there is rumor it will continue to increase in the coming years.</p>

<p>The National Merit Scholarship applies if the student listed UT as the first choice institution. It pays $3,000 the first year ($1,500 a semester) and $2,000 a year ($1,000 a seemster) for the following 3 years provided the student maintains a minimum GPA. In our case, we pay double because our son is pursuing a double major. Clearly our tuition costs are nowhere near many private colleges but they are approximately $16,000 a year before the scholarship and $14,000 a year with the scholarhip. </p>

<p>Housing, however, is a completely different story.</p>

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<p>Texas - 28
OU - 10</p>

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<p>Should have been 21-10, possibly 14-10</p>

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<p>DRJ4 said:
[quote]
The National Merit Scholarship applies if the student listed UT as the first choice institution. It pays $3,000 the first year ($1,500 a semester) and $2,000 a year ($1,000 a seemster) for the following 3 years provided the student maintains a minimum GPA.

[/quote]
DRJ4, you have that backwards! From the UT website:
[quote]
$13,000 Total Four-Year Package; $4000 for the Freshman year*; $3000/year for three years

[/quote]
And what do you mean that you pay double tuition because your kid is doing a double major??? You say:
[quote]
In our case, we pay double because our son is pursuing a double major. Clearly our tuition costs are nowhere near many private colleges but they are approximately $16,000 a year before the scholarship and $14,000 a year with the scholarhip.

[/quote]
I'm confused. That's not how it usually works!
[quote]
From the UT website in regards to tuition. Students who pursue simultaneous majors in more than one college will be charged the higher college rate. They will not be charged fees in both colleges.

[/quote]
Talk to me here! What on earth do you mean?</p>

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<p>Just a quick update on my crazy UF son - this is from an article in the Gainesville newspaper about the homecoming parade</p>

<p>
[quote]
Some groups made a party of the occasion. The UF Surf Club had dozens of people on its party-on-wheels float, complete with a surf-rock band and beach-bar look.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>(I'm trying the quote thing, I hope it works!!</p>

<p>Anyway, as I said the UF scholarship has worked out for my s, he is both enjoying a great academic environment and a great overall college experience!</p>

<p>To the poster who said the UF is not a full ride - last year when he lived in Hume (the honors dorm) it didn't cover all of the expenses, this year he is renting a house with 3 other guys, and the stipend covers all of his tuition, rent, and food expenses for the year (living off campus is much cheaper than Hume). Of course the scholarship is not covering all of the extras = like I wonder how much he put into that float!!! :)</p>

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<p>Anxiousmom,</p>

<p>You are correct. Our son pays his college expenses directly and I foolishly commented based on my faulty 3-year-old recollections rather than looking up the information. I apologize to everyone and I want to thank you, Anxiousmom, for reading this and requesting a correction.</p>

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<p>My D is in a similar situation, but wants to go to the pharmacy program. Oklahoma would allow her to continue to use the National Merit for up to 5 years even in the pharmacy program (about 70 units undergrad, then 4 yrs pharmacy) and most of the other NM scholarships won't let them be used for anything beyond undergrad - so with her ap's, she basically would get only 1 year's worth rather than the full benefit. How much is it worth to go somewhere higher ranked, especially in a field that has such a shortage?</p>