I’m a current senior and I have gotten into both College of Charleston and ASU and I’m super happy that I did but now I’m stuck. Both schools are very different. ASU is huge, has a lot of opportunities and job options, is way cheaper than CofC, has a great grad school that I have considered going to after I finish undergrad, is in a major city, is extremely far from home, and is on the West Coast. CofC is in the south, is relatively close to where my family lives, is very expensive despite scholarship money, has a lot of majors that I am interested in (I am leaning more towards science and/or history type majors), has smaller classes (I do better in a smaller class setting), and it is beautiful (I love the campus). I don’t know anyone from either schools or that has gone to either so I was hoping for some input. I love living in bigger cities (I was born and raised in Atlanta and love it) and I prefer a bit more diversity. Thank you!
Sit down with your parents or whoever it is who is helping you pay for college, and run the numbers: https://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml Don’t forget to include your own best estimates for travel to and from campus a couple times each year.
What do you need to do to keep your scholarships at both places?
How did both end up on your application list?
My kid hasn’t yet applied but these are her two top choices. Very different schools and both have their strong points. My advice to her would be to go with the more affordable school overall (travel included) for undergrad if intending to go to grad school. The less debt the better.
If taking loans please look at the total amount spent on paying them back and remember the interest starts adding up the day you take out the loan. Adding grad school could mean a lot more spent on interest. I know many young adults who really had no idea about the long term debt they were taking on and how that would impact their lives.
Another consideration is whether or not you were admitted to an honors program. You want to be as competitive as possible when applying to grad school.
If you wouldn’t mind could you please share the amount of aid/merit $$ each university offers you?
Need more information about you & your graduate school & career plans.
Without more, it comes down to size, cost & location–assuming that you have been admitted to the Honors Colleges at both schools.
ASU wins on cost, while College of Charleston clearly wins on the basis of location. (Desert versus Charming, Historical, Oceanfront City.)
Size of the student body is a matter of personal preference.
FWIW ASU has the better football team.
This poster hasn’t been back since posting this one post on 4/14. Guess we won’t know what they decided.