<p>My daughter applied to too many colleges, thinking she'd see them when she got in and wasn't quite sure what she would study, etc. She's pretty sure she wants to major in Business, but has her Communnications days as well. She would like to go to a big school with good sports, but she doesn't want to be a number. She wants to be with down to earth "chill" people. She has "narrowed it down" to:</p>
<p>-Indiana University-Direct admit to Kelly School of Business with $9,000 metit $ per year
-University of Miami (Flordia)- $20,000 per year merit scholarship-Business
-University of Wisconsin- no Scholarship, no direct admit business
-University of Washington- So far hasn't been invited to Business School
-UC Davis (CA resident) as Communications major, could switch to Managerial Economics.
-UCSB- Major?
-Chapman- Business with $15,000 per year merit</p>
<p>Would love some opinions/help!!!
Thanks!!!!</p>
<p>Well, she’s certainly got a wide variety of schools. Just as a suggestion, if finances are at all important, stop thinking about the amount of merit aid, and start thinking about the direct cost (that is, cost of attendance - merit aid - grants) A really expensive school that gives a 15,000 merit award may still be a lot more costly than another school that doesn’t give merit but has relatively low costs. And, if money doesn’t matter, quit thinking about the merit $ anyway.</p>
<p>By “good sports” does she mean football and basketball, Division I style? I don’t think Chapman has that, and I’m not sure that UCSB or UC Davis are known for their big sports either. (Though UCSB certainly has lots and lots of kids engaged in sports – Davis does too probably.)</p>
<p>Hard to see the appeal of Wisconsin with no admission to business. Ditto on Washington. The UC’s aren’t generally known for business, though certainly lots of kids end up in business or in b-schools for graduate work.</p>
<p>I’m not thinking about the scholarships other than bottom line. Chapman and Miami and Chapman come out to same cost as typical OOS tuition. Indiana is very close to the UC’s, a tiny bit less. I think she feels IU would be great for her as far as their outstanding Business program, but it’s the easiest school (as college in general) that she got into and she’s still focusing on how hard she worked in high school… Also, she wonders what she’ll do there if she doesn’t do business. She’s thinking of Wisconsin because it’s a great school, possibly the best in the group. UC’s are good because of the prestige and close to home. Miami we hear so many mixed reviews regarding the Business school and the kids that go there (clubbing group?).</p>
<p>Personally I think Indiana for business is > than Wisconsin, but others may disagree and if business is what she wants, then Indiana is probably at the top of the list for me. “Easy” is in the eyes of the beholder. If that is her impression, that IU will be the easiest, I’m not sure it’s a meaningful impression. If by Communications she means broadcast, the competition post school will be greater in California than in the midwest and chances are she would start at a small town station somewhere. Indiana and Wisconsin are both “chill” colleges either would fit that bill and both are Big 10 for sports, campus life, etc.</p>
<p>I know nothing except that Bloomington is a stunningly beautiful campus. Lots of folks who go to Madison stay there (like my bro) and love the “chill” vibe of the city.</p>
<p>U of Washington is a huge school with a huge in-state population (a lot of them from the surrounding Seattle area and many freshman go home for short bits on weekends). It may be hard to find a “group” if your DD is not affiliated with an interest group, sport, club or sorority. It can be hard socially for out of staters. People are “chill”. Sports are big. No clue about the business school.</p>
<p>And it doesn’t matter if the school “overall” isn’t as selective…she’ll be in the more selective business school. Who cares what the stats are of the students in other majors? Right?</p>
<p>I second that U of Washington is huge. Pretty campus. Strong sports fans. True story: a mom I knew got a bill for dining and housing and fires off a check. A couple of weeks later her kid calls and says “Mom, they’re saying that my housing isn’t paid and I need to get it paid ASAP or they’ll move my stuff out.” Mom goes into hyper mode. Turns out all the money had been deposited to dining (lots of dinner bucks!). To get things straightened out, the kid has to stand in line at the dining office and then again at the housing office. (Mom tried to fix things over the phone to no avail). </p>
<p>So, does not sound like terribly user friendly. Another kid we know has had a fine time – but she’s a real self starter and enjoys the challenges. </p>
<p>Where does D want to work after college? U of Washington could be good if she likes the idea of being in Seattle for a career . . . a long way from the beaches of California or Florida but a nice quality of life . . .</p>
<p>My D got in UW honors and also a great offer from NU in Boston. My S goes to UW. I’ve been researching - we are trying to decide. I would miss D if she goes East. UW depts. vary widely in how competitive it is to get into - business school, engineering, design, architecture are very competitive so if you want those don’t be lax first year because you need to beat out others I think. Gorgeous campus but most kids seem to move out of dorms after one or two years. Lots of opportunities if you are assertive about getting them. You have to like Seattle and the weather here which is not as cold as much of the country gets. My D says she would miss the music scene here. The bad is the budget cuts affecting state schools…</p>
<p>Does she plan to be employed in California when she graduates? If so then there’s something to be said for attending an in-state U. It’s not necessary but it can be helpful in that more local employers may be more familiar with the programs at the more local colleges, may be more likely to recruit from them, and may have a better understanding of the level the students are there - i.e selectivity. But not a big deal if she plans to work for a major firm that’s nationwide/global perhaps.</p>
<p>For students from California it can be a bit of a shock and sometimes depressing to spend winters in the midwest or NE. Of course it might make her appreciate California more but there can be an extra bit of homesickness as a result but this varies completely by the kid.</p>
<p>I’d question passing up decently ranked in-state state colleges for also decently ranked OOS state colleges unless you really feel that they offer a significant advantage. Don’t forget to factor in travel hassle and costs.</p>
<p>My daughter wants to come back home (California) when she’s done. Seattle is the closest out of state, but the point of going out of California is to AVOID the budget cuts. I don’t really want to pay OOS tuition at UW if they’re having the same problems as us- she could go to UCD or UCSB for that. </p>
<p>It really does seem like UW is not user friendly. My older daughter applied there for Vocal Performance and they set her audition date & time during finals for her. When I explained this they didn’t care and wouldn’t change her audition date. She revoked her application and ended up at IU for Music. </p>
<p>Little sister wants to be sure that if she goes to IU it’s because it is the best place for her…not because she’s following in her sister’s footsteps.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of hype about budget cuts and some realities but the key questions are exactly how any cuts would affect your D’s experience at whatever college she goes to. For example, if your D’s a business major and they cut the courses for ancient polynesian languages, it’d have ne effect on her. If they freeze prof salaries for a year it’d likely have no effect on her. The other point is that there aren’t a lot of states immune to budget woes at the moment so going from one state U to another because of perceived budget impacts might not be so effective. Even many privates are having budget issues nowadays.</p>
<p>At least at UCLA (where I have a kid currently attending) I haven’t heard of many actual major impacts to the current students because of budget issues although that could vary by major I suppose. There has been some impact on UC admissions but your D has already been accepted to a couple of the UCs. Students still seem to have no issues in graduating in 4 years (or less) unless they decide to switch their major a couple of times or decide to take a fairly light load.</p>
<p>There are a few other older threads regarding budget impacts in California on the UCs and CSUs but it seems that for the UCs at least, the people who actually currently attend or their parents aren’t noticing much in the way of impacts versus what other posters that don’t have kids at the UCs are saying.</p>
<p>I see budget cuts as a reality, not a hype. Not all states are affected by them. Wisconsin received $87 million in 2007 for its business department. Indiana has a ton of resources as well, especially for its business and music departments. My kids have gone to California public schools since Kindergarten, until my older daughter went to IU. Going to a school that has money to spend makes a huge difference. She got into every class that she wanted without any problem. Classes were small, faculty accessable, facilities clean, repaired, new… The costumes and sets for their operas were amazing. She even got a single dorm room = no roommate.</p>
<p>I went to SDSU many years ago, and majored in business which was at that time an impacted department. I had to take several lower division courses at the local community college because I couldn’t get them at my school. </p>
<p>Schools need money to function properly. Good education costs money. Unfortunately, our state chooses not to put much into education.</p>
<p>^^ It sounds as if you’re convinced that the UCs are severely impacted by the ‘budget cuts’ and have already discounted them. I disagree with that conclusion but that’s just my opinion of someone who has a student currently in a UC (but not the ones your D was considering). You’re comparing what an experience many years ago at a CSU to an $87M infusion into the Wisconsin dept 3 years ago, to whatever is happening to specific UCs (or any of these other colleges under consideration) today. It’s not an equivalent comparison. </p>
<p>However, given that you’ve already discounted them for whatever reasons, it should make your choices easier at least since you can have a smaller list to choose from.</p>
<p>UC Davis is definitely stronger in intercollegiate sports than UCSB. Davis is Div. 1 and is one of only three UCs to field a football team (and they are playing Berkeley in football next season for the first time since 1939).</p>
<p>However, that’s only a UCD vs. UCSB comparison. If she is REALLY serious about bigtime sports she should pick one of the Big 10 schools on her list or U. of Miami.</p>
<p>Of the schools on her list, Davis seems like the best compromise. It has the community feeling within a bigger school, it would be one of the least expensive and she’d be close to home. (Travel every holiday is both expensive and a big time drain.) She would also make contacts in her field that might help her find California employment when she graduates.</p>
<p>I have yet to meet a Davis student who isn’t positive about their school and their experience.</p>
<p>Good luck! She has some nice options- can’t go too wrong, imo.</p>
<p>I agree with the last two posts. We are going to see Davis next week and I have high hopes. If she likes it she just needs to figure out a major. I know she feels Business is very practical but I don’t think she’s extremely passionate about it. She doesn’t see herself at UCSB…too much partying she says. Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>Well, right now the sports scene at UW>>Indiana and the school spirit is pretty much tops. Madison is a bit larger and more happening than Bloomington. IU tends to be much more Greek dominant and more conservative. Kelly probably has a small edge over UW SOB but it is small. The UW SOB is much smaller and the new facilities are awesome–and completed. The money UW got is paying some dividends now with some big-time recent hires.</p>