<p>runners enjoy the team and coach at Wash U. That’s a deal maker in my book! great school and a great team/coach. full fare will be about $240,000.00 over the next 4 years, hopefully they have aide (scholarship, merit, something)</p>
<p>Wash U :)</p>
<p>As of now, we’d have to pay over $40k a year for Wash U. Gulp.</p>
<p>I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by congratulating you on raising such an accomplished son. You must be rightly proud of him.</p>
<p>With respect to the Susquehanna offer, it seems to me that you have to consider employment prospects four years from now. I have no doubt that your son will excel there, but you might want to ask what jobs their best students are getting in the current market.</p>
<p>With respect to Texas, the question is obviously how important it is for him to run intercollegeiately. Only you and he know that.</p>
<p>To an outsider, this looks like a real tough one.</p>
<p>It might be worth discussing with the coaches the possibility of money granted after freshman year. I’ve heard of this happening to several athletes successful in their sport early on.</p>
<p>if you could guarantee better opportunities and a better 4 year experience, significantly better, would you do it?</p>
<p>160k over a persons lifetime isn’t so much.</p>
<p>what’s the cliche, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”</p>
<p>so 4k a year over 40 years, a Wash U grad will make 200k++ a year for forty years, if a high income is what they want.</p>
<p>But then I factor in what my friend advised me. She was a biology prof at Bowdoin for years. She knows my son wants to study biology and go on to grad or medical school. She said it’s her belief that biology at SU won’t be that different from anywhere else, and it would be better to stay out of debt. SU does have an excellent acceptance rate to medical school. Of course, I KNOW he wouldn’t be exposed to the same level of teaching or students at SU, so that’s the other side.</p>
<p>He would also be a star at SU, and the profs would be so thrilled to have a smart motivated kid that they would give him individual attention…
The GPA is more important than the school for med school.</p>
<p>That’s true, OldbatesieDoc. </p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your thoughts. We head out tomorrow morning at 6 am for the 8+ hour drive to Susquehanna. Tomorrow night, they’re having a special presentation and dinner for the kids accepted into the honors program. DS will spend the night with a current student in the honors dorm, and then Saturday is Accepted Students Day. He’ll get to say hi to the coach and watch a little of the meet that SU is hosting. I’m hoping he meets a really cute coed who convinces him it’s the place for him! :o</p>
<p>^^^That made me smile.</p>
<p>Last yr while at BC, our kiddo was looking at the board/map to figure out where we needed to be when a very nice looking student asked if kiddo needed help. Kiddo’s mouth about dropped open …stunned…Kiddo was quite flustered. It was cute to watch!:p</p>
<p>Maine, best of luck to you and your son on your visit to SU. I really like what oldbatsiedoc had to say. And 40k a year, with grad school looming in the future, is a huge undertaking in my book. I know your son will find the fit that is best for him!</p>
<p>MaineLonghorn – Will be very interested in hearing how the SU visit went. S had similar issues in his application/recruiting process this year and we’re friends with kids/families with WashU and Rice ties. Top marks for both schools. S applied to many schools, some where close to a free ride was likely for academics, but we ended up letting him apply ED II to Bowdoin, so we were spared the dilemna of choosing among the various combinations of level of sport/academics/aid when he got in. Financially, it will be very hard, but not impossible, so I certainly understand your Wash U situation.</p>
<p>One of my best friends and her daughter are Rice alumnae. Another friend’s very smart, pretty, fun-loving daughter went to Rice and it was perfect for her. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in a hard science, but loved playing club sports there and participated in the Baker 13 (the bi-monthly naked runs around campus). She got into a great grad program and she and her husband, also a science grad student, live quite well with research grants, teaching assistantships, and free tuition. This is the advantage of being a science grad student, something to consider in deciding whether to spend the $ undergrad or grad. I assume med school, if that’s what S really wants, is a different story.</p>
<p>On the flip side, another girl I know opted for a free public education, turning down top private schools, and then went to an Ivy law school, which she wouldn’t have been able to afford to attend if she’d gone to the pricey undergrad school.</p>
<p>I think that for grad schools you can get in if you do very well no matter what the undergrad school, and with the increasing number of Honors programs and colleges, that’s a benefit for students who choose the less expensive school. </p>
<p>I graduated from a Seven Sisters college and later got my graduate professional degree from a public school while I worked full time. In the job market, no one ever asked me about my grades from my undergrad school; it was enough that I had gone to that school. My college experience was very special to me. That’s where all my memories are. Grad school was about getting through it and going on into professional life. I’ve had that in mind for my S in this process, that he should go to a top school where he can play his sport, be challenged academically, and develop close friendships. Then, if he wants to go to grad school, we’ll see how much we can help him.</p>
<p>Off-topic but interesting…Stanford released their email decisions today, six days earlier than scheduled. The Stanford applicants are receiving the emails now. Good luck to any athletes awaiting news!</p>
<p>I am using an SU computer right now, so I will keep it short. I am really impressed with the school - will have to get DS’s impressions when we leave. He DID get into Amherst, which was a big surprise! Something else to factor in.</p>
<p>royal73, thanks for your thoughts. I HAVE pointed out to DS that if he goes to SU, we will be able to send him on an overseas program. It’s not a bribe, just the truth! SU now REQUIRES the kids to do some kind of global program, for at least two weeks.</p>
<p>I promise to write more later! It’s been a very informative trip.</p>
<p>Excellent news on the Amherst admit… several of my son’s best HS friends went there and were extremely happy with their experience… raved about their professors… </p>
<p>Just wonderful that your child has such tremendous choices… congrats to him… and the 'rents…</p>
<p>Congratulations on Amherst, what a lucky kid to have so many great choices! It is so nice to see hard work rewarded.</p>
<p>Well, Amherst! That’s terrific, especially if track is in the picture and if the $ is better than Wash U, assuming S is seriously interested in the school.</p>
<p>Congratulations on admissions to Amherst - what wonderful choices! We also know a runner who had a terrific experience at Amherst - seems like your S can’t make a bad choice among these options!</p>
<p>Getting into Amherst is HUGE - that is so fabulous, and I hope your son is as proud of himself as he should be for being accepted into so many extremely good schools - SO great!</p>
<p>Awesome, and think how valuable the Amherst alumni network is as a resource…</p>
<p>Thanks, guys! Now we’ll wait for the FA package! DS would be so thrilled to work with the Amherst coach. Not to mention the academics, lol.</p>
<p>He found out today that he was waitlisted at Rice. A disappointment, but he’ll move on. I’m kind of surprised he got into Amherst but not Rice.</p>