<p>The Jefferson Scholars Foundation funds the Jefferson Scholars with private funds. </p>
<p>@tanboyrunfast " They also didn’t allow me to apply to Georgetown because it’s predominately Catholic."</p>
<p>Interesting. As a Catholic, I would say that there are only a few truly Catholic colleges in the US. Ave Maria in Florida, Franciscan in Steubenville, OH and perhaps University of Dallas would be examples. The vast majority of large Catholic Universities are indistiguishable from a host of other private colleges. They do not adhere to Catholic policies and they do not serve as centers of evangilization. Notre Dame, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Fordham, etc are all Catholic in name and imagery, but not in terms of anything that resembles actual Catholicism.</p>
<p>I could understand if you were Catholic and wanted a Catholic education to avoid Georgetown or Notre Dame, but your posts seems to imply that you and your family are not Catholic and fear the Catholicism in the university setting. Go to those schools for a rigorous education in certain fields of study, but don’t avoid them for the religious reason as they are essentially ‘a-religious’.</p>
<p>@shawnspencer,
The flagship is the University of Colorado, Boulder. Since she was into the sciences/pre-med, that would have been a good choice. In the end, daughter ended up at Northeastern University in Boston. She went there because she was very much interested in their co-op program (paid, full time internships) and because she received enough merit/FA that made NEU attendance cost only about $7,000 a year more than at UCB. We felt that for what she was getting at NEU (in addition to the life experience of living in Boston) that was a reasonable investment for us. We nixed her initial idea of going to Boston University. Just not enough reason to pay what would have been probably a good $20,000/year more to attend BU. </p>
<p>Torveaux, you think that having a priest living in a dorm, saying Mass every day is just a normal thing that any school does? Notre Dame has that and I don’t think you’ll find it at other colleges in the US. Non-Catholics will feel welcome and involved at Catholic schools in the US, but if all the religious stuff bothers someone (as the posters’ parents seemed to be concerned about it) then don’t go to those colleges because there IS a catholic presence. Crucifixes on the walls, chapels/churches/cathedrals on campus (and the center of the campus), prayers/masses before all events and meetings. It’s there, and will not be changed.</p>
<p>My niece goes to USD, and I think there is a feeling on campus that is different than at other non-religious schools. It doesn’t mean a non-religious person can’t go there and be involved, just that it is there.</p>
<p>@Torveaux - Georgetown is almost 70% Catholic from what they told us, and there is almost no atheist presence. Anyone who doesn’t share those beliefs will most likely feel uncomfortable, and a lot of trips and activities are religiously oriented, so if you don’t take part in religion, your choices would be limited. </p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - we’re not really in the financial aid bracket, so we’d be paying significantly more for schooling, relative to the people who are in state. And compared to a private education, there’d be much less personal attention, with larger classes and such. </p>
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<p>Check your math. If you buy 10 lottery tickets your odds of winning are 10 times better, regardless of what date you buy them. </p>
<p>^I think he was referring to lotteries with drawings on different dates, not purchasing them on different dates. If you buy 10 tickets for the drawings taking place on the next 10 days, it does not increase your chances of winning, since those are independent events. By analogy, different schools are different “events” as well.</p>
<p>Say what? If you toss a coin 8 times, do you have 8x probability of heads/admit? Or would that be tails/reject? What if your app isn’t strong? So many what ifs. Highly competitive admissions isn’t random selection. </p>
<p>Sorry in advance to everyone for my off-topic post in response to another post.</p>
<p>@Torveaux I have to disagree with your characterization of Notre Dame as university that isn’t truly Catholic. I am a student there, and I’ve actually heard more than a few of my classmates complain that ND, is “too Catholic.” There are actually a number of rules and policies (that some students object vehemently to) that are based upon Catholic beliefs. For example, it is against university rules for any student to have sex with another person unless he or she is married to that person (technically this rule even applies when we are not on campus, such as during breaks). The LGBTQ student group is not allowed to use their student group as a platform to advocate for legalization of gay marriage because it is against Catholic teachings. Condoms are not sold on campus, let alone given out for free like they are at many other colleges. No meat is served in the dining halls on Fridays during Lent.</p>
<p>In addition to rules and policies, Catholicism is present everywhere on campus. Every dorm has Mass every Sunday, and most have Mass at other times throughout the week. Many dorms have priests who reside in the residence halls (yes, even women’s dorms). All of our big events (freshmen arriving, first day of class, Junior Parents Weekend, commencement) include a large Mass as part of the festivities. Many of the men’s dormitories go around campus singing Christian Christmas carols toward the end of the first semester. I have actually been excused early from a mandatory class activity in order to attend Mass.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, why do you believe that Notre Dame is not truly Catholic?</p>
<p>Anyway, going back to the topic at hand, I can see why you wouldn’t want your child to go to a school like Notre Dame if they were raised non-Christian. While people who are non-Catholic and non-Christian are certainly welcomed and respected at Notre Dame, there’s no getting around the Catholic identity of the university. If you are a non-religious person who is uncomfortable around organized religion, Notre Dame probably isn’t the place for you.</p>
<p>We have X amount available for each child and that was made known to DS. It’s approximately in-state COA (for a directional) times 4. That is our basic restriction. I persuaded him to apply to 4 schools even though his preferred school was a financial and academic safety. He did end up attending that school but I felt it was important to have options.</p>
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<p>You are operating from the assumption that kids have some sort of entitlement to a parent-funded education wherever they please.</p>
<p>I was operating from the assumption that as a parent, I had a moral obligation to fund my kids to receive a degree in the state where I live, via the same university system where I received my education, and where their father and grandparents were educated. </p>
<p>I"m going to add that any way it went, it still was whole lot more money than I thought it would cost when my kids were born and that I could reasonably have planned for. – so even the in-state education was essentially a luxury commodity that was beyond my ability to pay out of current income. I had to borrow, my kids had to borrow. Many of my kids’ peers got their 4-year degrees by starting at the community college & living at home. </p>
<p>There are other parents who simply set hard dollar limits at what they can pay – for example, $20K, $40K, etc. There are many kids posting on CC coming from high income, high EFC families who cannot afford their dream schools because they don’t qualify for need based aid, but these days even a parental generosity to the tune of $40K a year falls short of the typical COA for an elite, need-only college. </p>
<p>The cost of the in-state public is not “arbitrary” - it is the going market rate for the commodity of a college education. Those of us who are willing to commit to subsidizing the kid to attend a residential 4-year college – taking on housing costs on top of tuition costs - are already being generous. </p>
<p>Setting a number based on the cost of an in-state public isn’t an arbitrary restriction – rather, it is allowing a student a measure of additional choice;.The parent is saying: here is what I will do for you, and here is what it will cost. You also have the freedom to choose a different path, and apply the same funds elsewhere. </p>
<p>Agree, calmon, not arbitrary at all. Even full pay at an instate option is a stretch for most people. </p>
<p>@twoinanddone Mass is said at most colleges every day. They are called Newman Centers. It is not like everyone is expected to attend at a Catholic college. Sure, there may be religious symbols around and that may make some people uncomfortable, but the Catholicism on campus at Notre Dame and Georgetown are window-dressing. The priests or brothers who live in the dorms or on campus are not doing religious teaching, they are there in the same role as a house parent on some campuses. Some teach classes, but they are as likely to be math or history as a religious course. Notre Dame and Georgetown (as well as many others) actively defy and oppose Church doctrine in many areas.</p>
<p>@tanboyrunfast - wiki shows 41% Catholic at Georgetown. If you are atheist and don’t want to see or be around anything that is religious, you are going to have a hard time in life. The thing to truly consider is ‘are they trying to actively convert me?’. The truth is that Catholic Universities SHOULD be, but they go out of their way to NOT convert students. Most of the major Catholic Universities embrace policies that are in direct contradiction to Church teaching. The religious trips and such are more about the history, art and architecture of an area that happens to be of Catholic origin rather than anything that is intended to make you Catholic.</p>
<p>@Torveaux - I should have been more clear. I meant that a lot of social life is centered around worship groups. These groups have retreats, for example, to go skiing, or they just meet during the week, have parties, etc. Even if the Catholic number is only 40-50% (I believe they told us when we visited that it was high 60s – I must’ve heard wrong), the number of non-religious people is very low. You’re also required to take several theology classes at Georgetown, something that I have no interest in. </p>
<p>I understand that students at Georgetown wouldn’t have tried to convert me, but I still would have felt out of place at a school where a lot of students share a religion. There are thousands of universities in the United States, many of which aren’t religious, and I was able to find a perfect fit at one of those schools. If Georgetown had been a perfect fit, I still probably would have pursued it, despite its Catholicism. But ultimately the school I chose was one that I would’ve have chosen over any school in the US. </p>
<p>Sharing a religion does sometimes mean sharing a perspective. But complaints about Georgetown? You think social life is centered around worship? Everyone’s got the religion bug to the same ardent degree, as if it’s Liberty U? And don’t forget, post grads outnumber undergrads there. </p>
<p>Fwiw, G doesn’t even appear on the Newman Society’s list of recommended colleges for Catholic kids. Nor do PC, BC, HC, ND, LMU, Fordham, etc. I get that your top choices were considerably more competitive. Can we leave it there? You visited, chose what you chose. I’ve got friends who are non-Catholics there and they have been happy, continued in their own traditions- or none. This boils down to: good for them, good for you. At your college, going forward, keep an open mind. </p>
<p>While many universities have Neuman centers, most are off campus,not a part of the university unless it is a Catholic school. At my big flagship, it was about 3 blocks from campus. At my daughter’s school, also a state school, it is across the street. There has been a controversy about some state or private schools building dorms owned by the Neuman center, but on the school’s land. Too much church presence on state land. My other daughter has this housing option at her private school (non-religious) and there is a non-demoninational center on campus where Masses and other religious ceremonies and rites are held.</p>
<p>You can think there is not enough religion, others (like OP) think there is too much religion on Catholic campuses. I just think it is a mistake to think Fordham, G’town, Holy Cross, BC, Notre Dame, etc are not religious schools when they are. You can’t change them, so don’t go if it bothers you.</p>
<p>calmom I completely agree- your position is essentially where I am at with my D15. We have an exclellent in0state flagship. We feel it is our obligation to provide that to our children. Including living on campus. This is not going to be an easy thing for us ( don’t just have it in the bank). Both my kids think they want to go out of state. They know that the difference in price will be something they earn through merit and part time work. They both think it is reasonable. If I did not have an excellent in state option, I would feel differently, but we do. Many people I know have the same basic thought. It is not arbitrary. SOme of them could afford more, but don’t feel it is necessary or their obligation to provide more than that. I think it is an exclellent rule of thumb for middle class parents who won’t get much FA but don’t have deep pockets…</p>
<p>@mitchklong check your math. Separate tickets to separate lotteries? = no increased chances. If 10 highly selective schools each accepts 2,000 of 20,000 (10%) applicants? and you apply to all 10? what are your odds? 100% of getting in to any one? or 10%?</p>
<p>@lookingforward if you don’t think highly selective admissions is random? read the CC boards on IVY day! </p>
<p>Highly selective admissions is not “random” – it’s just that many applicants have very slim odds of admission no matter where they apply. Some have much higher odds of admission because of hooks or a personal accomplishments – and those who fit that category do not need to apply to a huge number of colleges to increase their odds – they just need to be able to accurately assess their chances and apply to the schools where their chances are strongest… </p>
<p>Same with the people with lower odds of admission – they probably would do much better with an approach of “how can I improve my qualifications or presentation so as to improve chances of admission at College X” than the more common, “I have no clue what to do to get in, so I’ll just apply to Colleges, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y & Z on the theory that if I fling enough stuff around, it’s got to stick somewhere.” </p>
<p>It’s not random. The CC results threads are just some kids and they don’t come close to mirroring what a full app includes. Just because you see a slice doesn’t mean it’s accurate or even representative. For the most selectives, it’s not even just what they accomplished, it’s also how they present it and what that conveys. </p>