Ok, choices for DD are down to Harvey Mudd, Wash U and Univ of IL. She is an Engineering major. Have visited all 3 schools.
Harvey Mudd - She fell in love with Harvey Mudd. She liked the kids, she said the kids “got her”; fit is high as she is not the most social kid. and the 5Cs were def a plus; easy access to all campus’. Cost- highest of all. Would def have to take out some loans. Doable but it would be painful. Maybe worth it to attend one of top Eng schools? Far from home. We are Midwest but have fam in LA who could look out for her.
Wash U- went to admitted student day. She felt the school was pretty but “basic”. Engineering not tops but lots of flexibility. Students seemed really nice. Campus was nice. Everything was “nice”. Got a pretty generous fin aid package so financially it’s a plus.
U of I - she had a good weekend visit. Liked the students she met. Of course huge school but everyone has been welcoming so far. All the engineering societies have reached out. Decent campus. State school so she would at least know a few kids on arrival. Affordable. Not sure how accessible profs are or if she would be lost. One of top 10 schools for Engineering in the country. Feels like she would be giving up an exclusive school- HMC for State.
Welcome. Congrats to your daughter for having such wonderful choices! Personally I like the idea of a child going to a different part of the country for college. That can be life changing. The weather in Southern California is really nice! However, you say it would be painful financially. That’s huge. Painful for her or you? Lots of young people regret saddling themselves with debt. Only your family can decide what’s financially right for you. Good luck and keep us posted!
Are you saying Engineering is not tops at Washington U of StL? It is very very good and if you are getting merit schoarships that make it affordable I would definitely consider it.
Every kid I know ( and being from Illinois I know tons) has been very happy at Illinois. Obviously engineering I s hard every where but Wash U Is said by many kids here to be hyper competitive. Given the affordability and the great job placement results u of i engineering has, I’d strongly consider that.
Did she get some merit money at WashU, or was it all need-based aid? If the latter, it wouldn’t hurt to go back to Mudd and explain the financial situation – loves Mudd, but WashU is a whole bunch cheaper – and ask if they could re-review your award? The worst that would happen is that they would say the $$ does not change.
Given May 1 is next week, she could ask WashU/UIUC for an extension since you are awaiting an financial aid review…
HMC sounds like the best for further, but how much in Lian’s would you be taking for her?
If not affordable, WashU would be the happy medium - better learning conditions then at z public university and affordable thanks to merit scholarships.
WOW!! Getting into Harvey Mudd is quite a feat! The STEM superstars at my kids’ school get waitlisted left and right. I hear you on the pain of loans, but it’s hard to say no to what is obviously her perfect fit. Wash U’s reputation is improving, are the loans less painful for accepting that school?
Every kid I know ( and I know tons) has been happy at U of I. I’ve heard more mixed reviews from Wash U mostly around how hyper competitive it is. I wouldn’t choose that for an engineering student over U of I.
Are you in the Chicago area. If so, I wouldn’t discount the ease of transportation. While St Louis isn’t far, the busses and train to Champaign make the trip much easier. California is a whole other story.
My daughter loved WUSTL (ended up not applying because she got into her ED school) - but it is a lovely campus, and the engineering program seemed to be high quality and a good size (big enough but not to big that undergrads disappear). It’s got a LOT of super rich kids and VERY few lower income ones (see recent NY Times article on this). In fact, they have the number one largest gap between those two percentages. This won’t matter to some students but will matter to others. But again - WUSTL is amazing.
If you haven’t hit up Harvey Mudd for more money, I’d do it ASAP ASAP - Send an email right this second with a pdf of the offer from WUSTL and swear up, down and sideways that Mudd is the first choice BUT YOU NEED MORE MONEY. Give your phone number. And then around 11am their time, CALL THEM. Yes, they will be very busy today but they still be working very hard to get every admitted student to accept.
I don’t think we have the information to know this. It depends on what “painful” means. It could be–“D has to take out the federal loans, and we’re skipping vacations for the next four years, plus putting off the kitchen remodel.”
Or, it could be “150K in private loans, and we will never retire.”
So I think to help out, we need a better idea of what the differences in finances are.
Again I agree that only you know how much pain is bearable.
If pain is bearable, sounds like clearly HMC
If HMC is out because of money… It sounds like she doesn’t love Wash U. Too bad, because seems like easy middle ground. But maybe she actually prefers Illinois? My understanding is that engineering there is top notch. Don’t be afraid of the state school–lots of kids thrive at Illinois (and other big state schools).
I also say look at the end result…she will go to school with smart kids at all colleges, and she will have opportunities for great jobs at all 3 colleges…so why take out painful loans? It is okay to say “We need to pay for our retirement/next kid’s college” so you can go to this top 50 engineering school instead of a top 10.
Also if you want to be selfish, the other two schools are in the midwest…she may end up with a job in the mid west…but a HMC she may end up in California
I like @profdad2021’s suggestion. Harvey Mudd would be my first choice. (They waitlisted my kid while Harvard accepted him!) But I would never recommend making a painful financial decision. I spent a few years in southern CA while my now husband was finishing up his PhD at Caltech and loved being in southern CA. It was great to explore another part of the country for a few years.
If HM won’t cough up more money she should go to WUSTL and not look back. She’ll get a great education there.
