Decision Time Looms ...or Help Me Choose My LAC

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am going to add my question to the already swollen list of posts seeking help in making a final college decisions. One thing to note is that I enjoy sociology a great deal but I don't know if I would want to major in it or not.</p>

<p>The Choices:
Carleton College
Lawrence University</p>

<p>**The Cost:<a href="after%20FA%20and%20what%20my%20parents%20can%20chip%20in">/b</a>
Carleton College: $18,300
Lawrence University: $4,300</p>

<p>The Pros and Cons</p>

<p>**Carleton College<a href="approx.%201900%20students">/b</a>
Pros
--Reputation
--Closer to home
--Sociology
--Likelihood of having a car
--Lots in common with students
--No frats/srats</p>

<p>Cons
--Expense
--Classes I sat in on were less engaging (I doubt that this is the case across the board, but it was my experience)
--Academic rigor (I definitely don't want an easy college, but I don't know if I can handle Carleton hard)
--Less "downtime" not devoted to something specific</p>

<p>**Lawrence University<a href="approx.%201400%20students">/b</a></p>

<p>Pros
Cost
--Rigorous but more manageable academics
--Class I sat in on was amazing
--Interesting freshman studies program
--More down-to-earth students</p>

<p>Cons
--Huge musical presence because of the con (I like listening to the radio and everything, but music isn't my big thing)
--Less prestige
--Farther from home
--Freshmen can't have cars
--No Sociology</p>

<p>If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate their sharing of it. I can't believe I only have 5 days to decide!</p>

2

<p>Go to Lawrence...Carleton is a great school but in the long run (primarily for financial reasons) you'll be happy...</p>

3

<p>I agree with poster #2</p>

4

<p>I disagree. The difference in reputation is too large to overlook. And a school closer to home will be a little more convenient and economical so you will pick up some of the financial shortage that way. I'd go with Carleton.</p>

5

<p>Carleton, better school, cause I've heard about it :p</p>

6

<p>Though it has been said before, I'll repeat it. Where one goes to undergraduate college makes little difference. Go with where you feel you will personally get the most out of it.</p>

7

<p>Lawrence offers an Anthropology major or minor in lieu of Sociology. It looks like one of their larger departments. </p>

<p>If you are looking to cut expenses, the car should be number one on your list. </p>

<p>How are you going to make up the difference in cost at Carleton? Loans? What amount of your FA is already loans?</p>

8

<p>Midwesterner, I included the cost of the loans I recieved as part of my financial aid in those figures since I would still have to pay them back. My Carleton package included $2,625 in loans, and my Lawrence package included $5,875 in loans. The amounts I listed, though, were the costs after gift aid and the approx. $8,000 my parents will pay.</p>

9

<p>So, even though Lawrence is handing you $5,875 in loans, your parents are picking up part of them and you total cost of attendance is $4,300? That's a good way to figure it. </p>

<p>I think Lawrence will give you a good education at a manageable cost. Attending Carleton means having $70,000 plus in loans when you graduate. It is going to affect what kind of job you take, where you live and whether you can consider grad school while you are in your twenties.</p>

10

<p>Also carleton has work study. How does that fit in?</p>

11

<p>Good point, IceNine. I forgot to mention that I got 2,225 in WS from Carleton and 2,549 from Lawrence.</p>

12

<p>are you kidding? the different between Carleton and Lawrence is huge...i think enough to warrent a difference of $14k a year.</p>

13

<p>When my brother graduated from Williams and moved to NJ, noone had heard of it. When he moved to Seattle, noone had heard of it. Made my parents mad. Made him mad. My guess is you will have a similar experience at Carleton if you relocate anywhere away from MN. Go to Lawrence and save yourself decades of financial grief!</p>

14

<p>Well I dont know who your brother talked to but EVERYONE here in NY knows about Carleton and other top LACs</p>

15

<p>Employers and grad schools easily know the difference between the two, so a lot of the decision to me has to be with want you want to do.</p>

16

<p>Psh I know about Carleton and applied there and im in NC... I loved Carleton... its a great school and I would personally say if it was me deciding I would think it was worth the extra. It is just that though; a personal decision.</p>

17

<p>Carleton is a wonderful school that lots of folks have heard about. But you will get an equally fine education attending Lawrence. And you will have an equally bright future whichever you attend, but with significantly less debt if you go to Lawrence.</p>

18

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

19

<p>I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and the wealth of advice I received. I have made my decision. I will be a part of Lawrence University's Class of 2010! Checking the little "NO" box on the Carleton reply form was quite possibly the hardest think I have ever had to do, but I am (fairly) confident that I made the right choice. When I really thought about it, I found that I was clinging to Carleton mainly because of its prestige. I really did love the school, but it wasn't worth the enormous debt it brought with it. Even if both colleges had cost the same amount, I don't know which one I would have chosen. Thank you all for helping me discover what I believe was in my heart all along.</p>

<p>Angela
Lawrence Class of 2010</p>

20

<p>Well good luck to you Angela and just make sure that you work even harder now during undergrad if you hope to go to grad school.</p>