<p>DD is being accepted to Carnegie Mellon (Humanities & Social Sciences -- she plans to do Decision Science and was invited to join their QSSS program). Her 2nd choice is UC San Diego (undeclared but may choose Economics). She is on waitlist for UCLA but reading from other thread, we know the chance of being selected is next to none. We are not qualified for aids so the cost difference between CMU and UCSD is $60,000 and $30,000 annually. We are not rich by any stretch, just that we saved a lot from 2 income.</p>
<p>We visited UCSD last Saturday for their Triton Day welcoming new admits. We plan to fly to Pitt around 4/22 to visit CMU. She will have to make her final selection when we return.</p>
<p>DD is a somewhat laid back easy going California girl. She is OK with both schools. </p>
<p>My thoughts about CMU and some questions that we will have to think through:
1. CMU is a much better school and prepares students better for future job market.
2. It carries much higher cost. Is it worth it?
3. CMU is a lot more rigorous. Will DD be able to adjust and not get stressed out?</p>
<p>Note that the econ ranking you cited was for grad programs. Nit-picking, but just wanted to be sure you realized that. At some schools, that bodes well for the UG department; at others, the grad program consumes the majority of the teaching talent and research/$ resources, leaving the UG rather dry. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about UCSD. Re: CMU, my 2011 grad was admitted and very interested, but after visiting, boomed it. Good friend visited and signed up right away! From talking with others, it seems CMU evokes a strong positive/negative reaction more often than some other schools–that’s my unscientific opinion anyway! Point?! Well, if your daughter has the same sort of unequivocal response, thumbs up or down, at least it will be clear where she stands on CMU, and clarity is always helpful! </p>
<p>A couple of things I’d suggest to optimize her upcoming visit and evaluation: (1) have her peruse the course schedule and plan to attend two classes, preferably a freshman class and an upper level class–I can’t recall whether this required going through Admissions, but I do remember an email trail with a professor, so it may have been a direct “I’m visiting, may I visit?” sort of arrangement [this offers a much more candid insight than any en masse class visits Admissions may arrange if she will be there as a part of an admitted students day]; and (2) an overnight in a dorm [if for some reason this cannot happen, then at least plenty of time on campus, eating in the cafeteria, hanging in the coffee shop, etc. to get as much exposure as possible to the social scene].</p>
<p>TXArtemis, thank you very much for your feedback. CMU scheduled a whole month of April for new admids to visit the school. We will be arriving on 4/22 (Sunday), and participate their programs on 4/23 (Monday).</p>
<p>One area that might be important to DD is to study abroad. She is interested in studying in China or Taiwan. She has very limited survival Chinese. We will very much be interested in finding out the availability in that area.</p>
<p>fh2000, we have the same issue with Japanese. It seems many programs in Asian countries are taught in English if you are going on a non-language exchange, i.e., in your daughter’s case, related to her econ studies. Then, the challenge can be finding ways to use the opportunity to improve your survival-level language skill! Obviously, language mastery is a prerequisite to participate in a study abroad program supporting language or “Asian Studies” majors. </p>
<p>S of a friend is an econ/Chinese major at UCSD in his junior year. He’s really enjoyed his Chinese and econ classes. But he’s having trouble getting an internship (and he’s got a GPA north of 3.5) for the summer using the resources at the school. Will that same difficulty translate into trouble getting a job after graduation?</p>
<p>That’s one thing I’d check out carefully as it relates to CMU.</p>
<p>My daughter applied there (waitlisted) but she & I visited several times and I can give you our take on CMU. It’s 60% boy. I got the feeling there was less of a hookup culture and more of a relationship culture. The kids didn’t seem all happy smiley like they did at the LAC’s we visited. They seem driven, and the administration is very focused on the kids getting a job doing their major, not to end up teaching. They said this outright. At the day and overnight event we attended, the presenters all wore business suits/business attire. Career services is available to every CMU grad FOREVER.</p>
<p>I was impressed at the commitment to interdisciplinary studies. Very creative.</p>
<p>The college newspaper was the clincher for my daughter. The masthead was divided into those who were “Bronies” and those who were “Whovians”. CMU shot to the top for her.</p>
<p>Oh, and my kid isn’t driven/competitive at all.</p>
<p>Why do you say CMU is more rigorous than UCSD?</p>
<p>Are you saying CMU would be an additional $120K over UCSD? It’s definitely not worth that IMO. I’m not knocking CMU by any means - just that it’s not necessarily superior to UCSD academically and apparently would be considerably more expensive for you. Have you found out if there’s adequate financial aid in the form of merit/grants that would bring the cost of CMU down to more the ballpark of UCSD?</p>
<p>My S is considering CMU very highly. He was accepted to H&SS and waitlisted at SCS, so we have an insight into two very different schools there. H&SS is not nearly as intense. SCS was EXTREMELY rigorous and had a long list of requirements. So when you say CMU is a better school, you have to be careful because there are different levels there. Some of their schools are top schools and others, like H&SS are less so. But all the schools are interrelated and there are courses in one school that overlap others. It’s very unique.</p>
<p>As far as careers - SCS students get whatever job they want. The companies are lined out the door trying to get them. I have no idea what it’s like for H&SS, but it sounded like the school works very hard to get them jobs as well. We spoke to the head of Creative Writing since that’s what S is interested in besides cs, and he keeps in contact with past students, so he’s able to network with them to help his students find jobs. I think once your D picks a major, she’ll be able to work closely with her advisor to find opportunities. Whether they’re out there, I don’t know.</p>
<p>My S is not really motivated or driven either which concerns me a little. I think he would be fine in H&SS, but I’m not sure he can survive in SCS. Those kids have to be organized and on top of things or they’ll drown. S is smart enough, but he may not have the personality for SCS at CMU. I would worry less about that in H&SS.</p>
<p>We thought CMU was worth every penny for SCS, but I don’t know about the particular program this student has in mind vs. his UCSD options. I’d take a careful look at graduation rates and the availability of courses at UCSD, but I suspect it’s the better deal.</p>
<p>Our friend’s daughter went to UCSD her freshman year… had a very difficult time socially, and transferred her soph year to a LAC where she had tons of friends right away. Put it this way - I don’t think we’ve ever heard of students glowing about their social lives at that UC campus. It has to do with the dorm configurations, student culture, etc. This same friend gave us this advice: Don’t focus completely on curriculum/rankings when choosing a school. Pay close attention to whether the kids are happy and enthused. They’ll work hard wherever they go, so you want them in a school that also promotes friendships and connection.</p>
<p>GladGradDad asked: “Have you found out if there’s adequate financial aid in the form of merit/grants that would bring the cost of CMU down to more the ballpark of UCSD?”</p>
<p>(How do you do Quote on this site?)</p>
<p>I thought DD had good GPA (Weighted 4.2), SAT (2320) and many ECs. From all 6 schools that accepted her, all gave only $5,500 Stafford loan, which we do not plan to take out. I am not quite sure how this works. Could it be because our EFC is high? I called FAFSA and the nice lady told me that mine is the highest that can be. We saved for our 2 kids, but I am not quite prepared for a full cost of private school.</p>
<p>If you want to quote something, type the following:</p>
<p>[qute]then type what you want quoted[/qute]</p>
<p>Of course, spell quote correctly…I had to misspell it so that you could see how to do it.</p>
<p>The two big categories of schools out there are those who give merit scholarships and those who only give money for those in financial need (however they define “need”). A high EFC means that for most schools you won’t fit their definition of “need.” So if you want money, you’ll have to look to schools who give merit scholarships. (Some of the top schools have a “middle class initiative” that could lead to higher income families getting financial aid…but it doesn’t sound like that applies to your situation.</p>