@jdcollegedad - VA Tech is notorious for having bad tours. It has been going on for years. They are lucky they have a good reputation since if students made decisions just based on tours, no one would apply.
@mountainmomof3 The tour can definitely make the difference! I talked with my D a few minutes ago, and she wants to visit again when her cousin who is a freshman there can take her around. Plus, my older son has a friend that is a third-year nursing student at UD. Unfortunately, they werenât available yesterday to spend time with my D, but the personal connections should help next time. In the end, I want her to own the decision and have the best possible information.
@MomMartha - I think you meant me.
I thought the VT tour was great but since I am not the one attending I didnât get to decide. 
@jdcollegedad - our cousin just graduated in nursing from UD last May. She had an incredible experience and was wistful when describing it to my son last Xmas and said she really misses it. She had great academic opportunities as a student while also very involved in club sports. Most importantly, a job lined up prior to graduation. I would definitely give it another chance!
We head back to UD in a couple of weeks for the Distinguished Scholars Weekend. Looking forward to visiting again and seeing if S19 continues to keep it at the top of his list.
@MomMartha Iâd be curious if attending one of each made sense. When we visited UDel, it was a standard tour, but it was still very busy there. You can try to gauge a feel of what itâs like there on a ânormalâ day. On admitted students day, you also get a chance to interact with other admitted students, and although we have not yet been to one, I would assume there is more of a âcateringâ to the kids since these are all kids they want to convince to accept. I do wonder if you actually see/learn a lot more on the admitted students day, based on the agendas, class sit ins, etc.
@jdcollegedad I highly recommend a school day accepted student visit. My UD2020 and I did this three years ago in March. He set up a meeting with a professor in his major. We met with him for about 45 minutes and he answered all of my sonâs questions, and invited us to the class he had coming up right after our meeting. After that we had lunch and then went to the admissions building for the accepted student session, which only had maybe 8 students there. Immediately following that, there was a tour. They had several students available and we picked the engineering student and got lucky with a one on one tour with her. When we got in the car that day, he knew that UD was the place for him.
For a compare and contrast, I took #2 for a tour in summer of 2017 and it was pretty bad. The audio/visual wasnât working so we got a brochure and someone basically reviewed it for us and allowed Q&A. The tour was lousy also - there was a lot of construction so we couldnât go several places, it rained a bit and basically we got about a half a tour with a not terribly enthusiastic guide. If we werenât already a Blue Hen family, we would have left and he wouldnât have applied.
We did Decision Day in April of 2016 (after #1 already committed - met the potential roomie, got our swag, etc.) and it was a great day. It was also sunny and about 65 degrees. 
Everyone was super nice and helpful. Net net, yes it can totally depend on the day.
UD and TCNJ are so far apart in terms of student experience. My #1 is super driven and independent and advocates for himself very well. Heâs had a couple less than stellar profs and he just figures it out on his own. He loves UD. My #2 is equally intelligent but performs better in a smaller class environment and I think that TCNJ is probably the better option for him (between these two). If only TCNJ had the college town feel that UD has, it would make for a lot easier decisions.
@Sparcky @mountainmomof2 Thanks for the input. We will try to do a visit that combines the people she knows with a visit to the nursing school, hopefully on a regular day. Plus, we are signed up for the decision day at the end of April.
My D has narrowed the field down to UD, TCNJ, UVM and UNH (first visit next week). UConn is pending a decision and merit. Quinnipiac is pending a financial aid appeal. Eliminated Pitt and Fairfield for cost, and Binghamton, Scranton, Rutgers and Seton Hall for fit.
It is interesting as a parent to see a childâs decision-making process, as college is often their first major decision. My D started out wanting to be less than 1.5 hours from home, before seeing her friends choose UVA and Michigan. She loved UVM on our visit, but waivered when her mother emphasized that it would be logistically harder to make it home for a random weekend. As a parent, there is a balance between wanting her to be comfortable with her choice and challenging her comfort zone. There is a recognition that college choice is important, but options are available if it doesnât work out as planned. After the first semester, she probably wonât want to come home except for major breaks. The summer after her sophomore year, she probably will want to live away from home. College is a short 4 years when compared to a working life of 40 years. Overall, she is resilient, and I expect that she would be happy at any of the colleges on her list. Looking forward to finishing this decision to focus on the college search of my rising HS senior.
@jdcollegedad Lots in common! My D also applied to UVM (waiting), Seton Hall (accepted), Uconn (waiting), Bing (accepted, in play), Del (accepted, likely out of play unless they offer more merit). We passed on UNH after visiting. Fairfield is 10 mins from us, so she didnât want to consider it. She also applied to Denver (waiting), Penn State (waitlist), Buffalo (accepted), Clark (accepted, in play), Umass (waiting). She applied to many schools, largely because she really wasnât sure what she wanted in fit. So she figured wait and see who says yes. She originally liked CU Boulder and UDenver, but over time became leery of going to far, and being a flight (and likely at least a day) from being able to come home or have us visit.
Probably going to pass on Seton Hall, weaker in terms of academics, but also the area is rough. Campus literally has a wall around it for safety. I really wish UDel wasnât so far off the mark compared to all of the others in terms of net cost. I was counting on that as an option and it was in her top 3.
My D is still waiting for Udel decision but was admitted to University of Maryland and we visited yesterday. She loved it. We have a family member and friendsâ kids at Udel now. To the comment above about being âwistfulâ during breaks. Same with them. They missed it on break! I recently ran into another senior and she is wishing her remaining time at Udel goes very slow. As for tours. Weâve been on a regular tour. It was awesome. Open house was very well done too. You may have caught on a bad day. One last thought, my d was accepted at many of the same schools you all are listing above (with merit). Not sure why Udel is taking so long with her⊠painful.
@jdcollegedad Funny⊠so as Iâve said, S1 is at UD. His three cousins (all girls) are first years at TCNJ, UVM and UNH. Everyone is in a science-related field. Everyone is happy with their decision! Itâs so personal.
S1 looked at some MA/CT schools. He is happy he didnât go to them. He pretty much lives at school but can choose to come home on a whim since he is just two hours away. And I can run down for a day visit if I want. After Northeasternâs accepted day, I told him he was mature enough to go five hours away, but he needed to be sure that he was ready to pretty much fly the coop if he chose NU. As independent as he is, he realized that wasnât what he wanted.
Can I ask what didnât fit about Scranton? We did the Royal day and S2 liked it but it didnât scream choose me. Their scholarship was low (an appeal got at $1k bone) so their COA is his highest which is pushing us away. For me, it is the least optimal location compared to the other three.
D19 has it pretty much narrowed down to UDel, Scranton and Quinnipiac. All are just under 2 hours away, have her program, and gave her their top scholarships (besides full ride), all will cost about the same, and less than what was paid for Rutgers and TCNJ in state for her siblings. Going to Scranton this weekend, itâs the only campus she hasnât visited.
We declined Scranton too. Cost, location and campus size.
@Mjkacmom Can I ask how much the UofS scholarship is? Is it the full tuition Presidential? My son has a $22k offer which is much smaller on a relative basis than his others. Leaves us with high COA.
Reading the bios of the Pres recipients from prior years, it appears that they more highly value volunteer work than employment. My son worked 14 hours a week since he turned 15. Iâve heard that some schools consider a job as less altruistic and therefore less valued. I see a dependable kid that showed up on time week after week no matter the weather, the homework load, etc, and who didnât have the option to focus on volunteer work. I just wish I knew six months ago the amounts they offer.
@Sparcky Agree that living closer to home provides flexibility and an opportunity to be home as little or as often as your son wants. In my experience, I went to college 1.5 hours away. It was close enough that I could go home if I really needed to, but far enough away that I never wanted to (the bus and train were really inconvenient). Most people were from out of town, so it was rare for anyone to go home except for major breaks. In contrast, her mother grew up in a NYC borough, went to college in Manhattan and has always been a subway or train ride away from family. I would like my kids to feel comfortable living away and to eventually move somewhere that is affordable and allows them to build wealth. Different family perspectives at work!
On Scranton, I was glad that she gave it a look, because it offers great facilities, a quality education, a sense of community and was affordable for us. The area where we live in NJ is affluent and prestige-focused. The kids get into name brand schools, and parents are willing and able to pay full price. Scranton has the stigma of being where less competitive students go (i.e. not UVA, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, Villanova, etc.). With 5 kids, we made a point in the college search of focusing on value rather than prestige. Unfortunately, Scranton was too hard of a sell given the stigma and the alternatives.
In addition, my D was raised Roman Catholic, was a peer leader at church and has done lots of volunteer work. You would think that she would embrace a religious atmosphere like Scranton. After our tour, she commented that half of the students seemed completely normal, but the other half reminded her of the kids in her church activities. Scranton was clear that you can be as much or as little involved in religion as you want, but still has a religious vibe that your son may not like. I personally like that the college owns a retreat house and offers programs there. Plus, if your child wants an accepting, welcoming and supportive environment, Scranton offers that. I didnât mean to offend anyone here, but wanted to share her honest feedback. There is a college for everyone, but Scranton was not it for her.
@mjkacmom Your D has three solid alternatives. Is she leaning toward one and why? Our financial aid is driven by a combination of merit and need-based aid. Although QU offered a Trustee Scholarship, it didnât provide any grants, so it was much higher for us than the others. We are waiting to hear the results of our appeal, but QU is out if the gap canât be closed. Itâs a really pretty campus, but not worth the difference in cost. TCNJ offered a $5k annual scholarship in-state and may offer an additional grant, making it about $14k cheaper than QU. The others are somewhere in the middle.
@jdcollegedad No offense on my part. Iâm interested in other points of view in case I missed something.
My #1 likes to be able to come home, but I know he is never moving home and I encourage that. NJ is too expensive and I plan to leave as well. He has an awesome internship lined up in Baltimore this summer, so that may be his future home.
And I understand about the schools also. At the small magnet school mine have attended, UD is âokâ and Scranton and Loyola arenât even on the map for most of the class, many of whom are from more well to do families. For many, anything short of Ivy or MIT is a failure. We cannot write a check to cover a $65k annual bill. A $30k scholarship goes a long way. Value over prestige for us and best wishes to those who can afford more.
Iâm not religious but went to Fordham and never felt like an outsider. Interesting observation as my son is really not religious. Thanks for the input! A couple more weeks should lead to a decision.
I think D received $38,000 from Scranton. Unfortunately, she is only interested in OOS schools, The IS school that has her program is Seton Hall, got a nice scholarship from them, but itâs 15 minutes from home (and she could walk to the medical school). She wants a 6/7 year DPT program, and her options have solid ones (as did Villanova, but priced way out). At first she felt UDel was too big, but sheâd be in the honors college. She loves the feel of Quinnipiac, but sheâs used to being able to hop on a bus or train to NYC for things (and boyfriend is at Fordham, so more reasons). Quinnipiac might be too isolated? Her friends like doing thing like weekend concerts and ubering to Hoboken, walking the high line in NYC or going down the shore for the day. You know, itâs all about the pictures!
@Mjkacmom Honors at UD is a good addition but FYI my son still has a fair amount of non honors classes in his major that run +/- 75 students (everyone in his major has same section in some classes whether honors or not).
I spent a week at QU for a band camp years ago and it seemed way in the middle of nowhere to my 17YO self.
Best of luck with your decision.
I think the Net Price calculator is only accurate if youâre applying to a program other than nursing. The net price calculator estimated $3000 for my daughter, but we received a letter stating that they needed midterm grades and would hear back by early April. At this point, Iâm not even certain she will get accepted. April is late for college offers (she applied before December 1st), so she will likely commit to another school. Itâs a shame because she really loved U Del. I know that nursing is a competitive major, but itâs still disappointing to have to wait so long.
I just want to thank you guys for the last page or so of comments. I love reading about how kids and their familes come to a final decision. Itâs so hard. My D is from Illinois and she has narrowed her 9 schools down to 3: UW Madison, Boston University, and UD. Madison is close and fabulous but insanely expensive. She hasnât heard from BU yet plus itâs far and pricey. Delaware gave her the most money and admitted her to honors AND has a competitive skating team she could be on, but itâs so far away and thatâs a little scary. We are coming out to visit at the end of march. By then sheâll have a decision from BU and hopefully some Madison scholarship news. I want her to love Delaware, but at the same time, Iâm scared of her loving Delaware. I want her to spread her wings, but Iâm nervous. This whole decision process has aged me 20 years.
@sunnryz Thanks for contributing to the discussion. Your D has some great options. I can relate to the conflict between wanting my D to spread her wings but be safe and secure at the same time. The positive part of being away at college is that there will be a support system of staff and students around her. If my D decides on UVM or UNH, I am confident that she will make it work. On the other hand, being a nursing major makes it hard to transfer, because most direct entry programs take few if any transfers. If she is wavering on the distance, I will probably encourage TCNJ, UD or UConn (if accepted),since they are closer. This morning it hit me that our children will be at college in just 6 months. I will be glad to finish the search and enjoy the time together.