College of Holy Cross, MA vs Providence College

<p>While I agree that Holy Cross is stronger academically and has one of the best alumni in the country (ranked 5th in that category I believe), Wheaton is the better school of the remaining three. Stonehill is a slightly better than average school and PC’s reputation is not as good as once was. First of all, PC is situated in what has become a bad area of Providence. Wheaton however has a fairly strong alumni itself. The academics are rigors and it’s considered a prestigious LAC. I’m not sure what D is looking for aesthetically, but there are other intangibles that make Wheaton a better choice than PC</p>

<p>Here is my take;
Schools as they rank academically (HC, Wheaton, PC, Stonehill).
As far as pre-med is concerned, No doubt HC might help with name recognition when applying to TOP MED SCHOOLS in the nation. However, your daughter, might benefit from, PC association and proximity with Brown, and may even get access to their pre-med tutorial services, pre-med voluntary services at the teaching hospital etc… thus giving her a great advantage should Brown be one of her choices for med school.
So if name recognition is most important - go for HC…
If affordability is important - Wheaton might be the route to go…, and
If environment and pre-med opportunities is more important - PC would be idea…l, mainly because of its proximity- access to Brown, but the same can not be said to HC proximity - access to (Harvard, BC nor BU)</p>

<p>I should add that HC still has a good admittance rate into many prestigious medical schools above all four schools.
Best of luck to your D.</p>

<p>tag & ccco2018: That is is the first time I heard Wheaton, MA is better school then Providence College. I did not know that. I always though PC was good school and better than those two. </p>

<p>Pre-med: You are right though that PC is proximity -access of Brown. That is huge plus. </p>

<p>We heard back from some schools and some of FA has changed.I made mistsahe on Wheaton cost.

  1. Holy Cross, MA: $57K - ($8,000) (Grant)= $49,000
  2. Providence College, RI: (Accepted to Honors Program): $57.5K - $18,000 (Merit) + $8,000 (Grant)= $31,500
  3. Stonehill College, MA: $52K - $20,000 (Merit)= $32,000
  4. Wheaton College, MA: $59.5K - $20,000 (Merit) + $9,000 (Grant) = $30,500
    ** Grants are not guarantee every year because our income can change. </p>

<p>PC, Stonehill, and Wheaton, MA are very close in the cost.</p>

<p>HC is very tough getting money from them and they do not give Merit scholarships. I do not know how they think I can afford over $50,000 a year. I make good money but not rich. I make well over six figures and own couple of rental properties. However, I do not make money off rental properties. Who are they giving money too people who make no money. I look at my self as upper middle but cannot afford over 50K a year. </p>

<p>It kills me that I can not afford to send my D to better school like Holy Cross. I really hate it that I cannot afford to send her there without borrow money. The difference would be approx. $17,000 a year and about $68,000 between HC and the other schools. That is a lot of money. I would have to borrow that money or sell one or two of my real estate properties (rentals) to pay for it. I do not make money off the rentals. The rent I receive pays the mortages. I have three rental properties that I was trying to keep for another 20 years for retirement. Selling one or two could hurt my future too. Alot of tough decisions. Its sound like I am hearing from alot people it’s not worth going in more debt paying for better school. </p>

<p>This process is very stressfull. I appreciate everybody opinions. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Many schools offer only need-based aid. Folks in your situation may liquidate assets (sell a rental property), or choose the merit money at a lower-ranked school. (The college offers merit money for that very reason.)</p>

<p>Looks like there isn’t much difference between Providence College and Wheaton College in terms of what you’d have to pay. Did your D completely rule out Wheaton College? I live in MA and I know two young women who’ve graduated from Wheaton (close high school friends of my youngest D). They both loved Wheaton and have done quite well–one got a job after graduation working in the development department of a large university and one has gone to medical school (Wake Forest). Both went to Wheaton because they received generous merit aid. They were accepted at other higher-ranked schools. One of the kids studied Arabic and was able to take courses at Brown because Wheaton didn’t have the higher level language courses she wanted to take. I think they both enjoyed the supportive environment at Wheaton and contact with faculty mentors. I don’t know that much about Providence, but I’d encourage you to take another look at Wheaton.</p>

<p>Providence, Wheaton and Stonehill are excellent colleges, but Holy Cross is definitely better than all three.</p>

<p>However, you should save your money and the daughter should not go to Holy Cross. Too costly.</p>

<p>Personally, I do think that Providence College is a little better than Wheaton and Stonehill… but not by a big margin. Daughter should go to the one she likes the most. All can prepare her well for medical school.</p>

<p>Holy Cross is by far the highest ranked of the colleges listed but people do get into medical school from all sorts of colleges. In the end, college is what you make of it and the medical schools will be well impressed if someone is at the top of their class at a lesser school especially if they ace the MCAT. </p>

<p>All the comments are quite accurate, but like required-details shared; “HIGH GPA & MCAT” will be a plus in med school application than an AVERAGE GPA & MCAT scores, regardless of undergraduate institution.
It does seem like your choice is becoming clears with the AID offers, since that is the major issue at hand.
PC - and a likelihood of getting TAGGED by Brown. Not guaranteed but better chances as a neighboring LAC few with shared interest and resources.</p>

<p>Give up on HC, it is not worth it. NOT IVY…and you will need money for her grad school! </p>

<p>I went to PC for a year, then transferred to HC. Graduated last year and now do graduate work in DC. Despite my transfer, I consider both schools very fine institutions with a quality education. I would, of course, give the nod to HC being more rigorous. I was not a pre-med student, so I unfortunately cannot help with that much. I do know that the pre-med program has a good reputation and HC has had a decent number go into the medical profession and post-bachelors work.</p>

<p>I think what is incredibly important is working your hardest and putting your best effort forward. It won’t help if poor grades were present at either institution.</p>

<p>I would say go with the most affordable option. Both schools have kids that love their campus and the professors know their subjects and are very open to their students.</p>

<p>Frankly, I think it is a rather good problem to have! Good luck!</p>

<p>CHG0913: what made you leave PC? Did you have a scholarship from PC and Holy Cross. PC gave my D Merit Scholarship but we received no money (need-based: Grant Scholarship) from Holy Cross. </p>