<p>I'm wondering if anyone here has any first hand knowledge of the school. It's a school I insisted S apply to because it was affordable with the merit he would receive. He was accepted, flew out for the overnight, went to the admitted students day, by all accounts he had a good time, but he insists he doesn't like Chicago? He will be a Bio major, the school indicates 90% of the bio grads are either employed in their field or in grad school. It seems like a good choice to me.... S liked it but he's nervous about going to Chicago. on an aside he did not get into any other affordable schools, he did not cast a wide net as suggested... he did what he wanted to do.</p>
<p>Well, I would tell him that “this” is how much money we can contribute–whatever that number is–and suggest he figure out a way he can afford to go to whatever school it is he wants to attend based on those numbers.</p>
<p>SteveMA, that conversation has not worked… his opinion is that we can co-sign whatever amount we are short or just take out a loan. He doesn’t acknowledge that his slacking off in high school has anything to do with his current situation. It’s not like he doesn’t have a choice he liked, he just didn’t like Chicago (or so he says?), I’m not sure what to do about it… he liked the school and it’s what we can afford…</p>
<p>I have no first hand knowledge of the school - but the school is in Forest Park - which is a nice suburb. It is quite lovely and sedate there - but still in close enough proximity to enjoy the city if he wants to. (I live in the Chicagoland area)</p>
<p>I thought it was in River Forest? :)</p>
<p>It certainly is not in Chicago. Tell him not to go into Chicago and stay in the 'burbs.</p>
<p>mauiluver–gotta love their reasoning—it’s simply a flat out NO, we will not co-sign anything. It’s hard, but even harder when they act like teenagers and think their parents are stupid. Our D had to turn down her top choice because she couldn’t afford to attend. She was one point away on her ACT from being able to afford to go but refused to take the ACT again–all she needed was a one point better in ANY subscore to improve her superscore even–wouldn’t do it. I don’t think she really believed we would not pay the extra $20,000/year for her to attend :D. It’s a hard conversation to have but it is what it is.</p>
<p>Haystack - yep that’s right, River Forest.</p>
<p>Not on topic but there was some commercial on TV last night for a sitcom I think - where the DD who has graduated from college and ‘on her own’ says to her parents “But I am only asking for $1100! Per month…for two years!” haha</p>
<p>SteveMA, oh we are right there with you… we are NOT kidding, the budget is what it is it is not changing, it is not our fault he did what he did in high school. From a kid who said “I can do plenty of average just don’t expect exceptional”, I kid you not… took his SAT’s October of his junior year got a 1980 never took them again and never took the sub tests… CRAZY to think about! All those classes he never studied for and settled for a low B, he still hasn’t learned I don’t think. If he falls below a 2.9 he loses his merit, so he’d better realize it very quickly.</p>
<p>Concordia is in River Forest, but he has to fly into ORD and apparently he didn’t like it. I don’t think he actually visited Chicago (anyone have suggestions for a visit?), he just has in his head the way he thinks things should be… the thing is, it’s not like he didn’t like the school!!! Now I just want to make sure the school is good and he can go to grad school or get a job afterwards :)</p>
<p>I lived in River Forest many years ago. It is a safe, close-in suburb of Chicago, just west of Oak Park, and about 10 miles from Chicago, which is easily accessible by Metra or el. I don’t know anything about the academics at Concordia, but I can tell you that it is a small, self-contained campus in a residential community (River Forest is all residential), but Oak Park, which has commercial and retail, is walkable.</p>
<p>Ha, ha! He didn’t like ORD. That is too funny. I remember when I was younger swearing I’d never fly through Paris again because noone would help me and everyone pretended they couldn’t speak English just for spite and I almost missed my connection on account of it. Wait until he has to drive a car through the Chicago spaghetti everyone going 90 24/7. We have a mom on my son’s soccer team who recruits me to drive her car to games whenever we have to drive through Chicago to get there. Everyone on the planet doesn’t like ORD.</p>
<p>Chicago is fabulous. Chicago suburbs are beautiful. He didn’t like ORD and therefore Chicago is awful??? Argh!!! Kids!!</p>
<p>Jaylynn, I’m feeling EXACTLY that way, I feel like I’m bashing my head against the wall!!!</p>
<p>CelesteroRoberts, what if he had to go through LAX? It would have been like the world ending LOL… I hate to suggest it, but should we take a family trip out there? Maybe a long weekend? If so any suggestions? I don’t think he wants to go to the Lyon & Healy Harp factory 
He actually doesn’t have his license to drive so he won’t be driving anywhere… He really does need to get it though, just to at least have it. The only kid in history who didn’t want his license.</p>
<p>Look into flights to/from Milwaukee. Given the location of the college, the drive down from Milwaukee probably isn’t any longer :D.</p>
<p>yeh, that’s the ticket :)</p>
<p>Don’t know where you live, but Air Tran and Southwest both fly into Milwaukee so super cheap flights too. Then there is a bus for $10-15 from Milwaukee to Union Station, Chicago. Not sure about the last few miles to the university. City bus, maybe?</p>
<p>There’s also an Amtrak station at the Milwaukee Airport now, I think, that will go to downtown Chicago. </p>
<p>A family weekend might be fun. Go see: Millenial Park (with the shiny “bean”), the Field Museum, The Art Institute, any play (“Wicked” and “Billy Elliott” were on an open run that last I knew; could be wrong now), Michigan Ave for shopping, Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Lakeshore Drive, a river tour of the architecture you can only see from the river, etc etc. So much to see and do there.</p>
<p>Adding Second City to jaylynn’s great list.</p>
<p>I’m very familiar with River Forest and Concordia College. River Forest is an upper-income suburb of mostly single-family homes but very walkable (plus sidewalks everywhere), with some racial, ethnic, and income diversity, immediately adjacent to Oak Park, which is very diverse but tends toward upper-middle-income households and has a (easy walking distance from Concordia) decent downtown with stores, multi-screen theatre, many restaurants, and a great public library. Lots of opportunities for part-time jobs and off-campus activities. River Forest is very safe and very pretty.</p>
<p>River Forest/Oak Park are both very accessible to downtown Chicago via both public transportation subway (which runs through bad Chicago neighborhoods but reasonably safe as long as you don’t flash your Apple phone et al) and commuter Metra train (faster and more expensive).</p>
<p>Concordia is very Lutheran, which I’m sure OP knows, and generates a lot of school teachers. It has a music school too. Kids look well-scrubbed and happy. It’s a compact campus. (It recently closed its swimming pool, so there may be underlying financial problems there.) There’ve been reports of petty theft, but no serious crime on campus. Dominican University, a Catholic slightly-large school, is also located in River Forest, and has a similar student body.</p>
<p>Both schools are about half-hour cab-ride (non rush hour) to either O’Hare or Midway Airports. Amtrak station also adjacent to Metra station, so it’s easy to get to either school via train.</p>
<p>If he has a 1980 SAT score, I’d look at Ripon College in Wisconsin, which has rolling admission, before I’d enroll at Concordia. Ripon has a far stronger academic rep, offers great merit aid for that SAT score, etc. It is, however, located in rural Wisconsin about 3 hours north of O’Hare Airport (Milwaukee Airport or Appleton Airport would be wiser choice.)</p>
<p>Happy to answer any more questions re: Chicago and its suburbs.</p>
<p>And people recommending Milwaukee airport don’t realize that Milwaukee’s airport is a two-hour drive to River Forest, while Midway Airport on Chicago’s southside is small and easy to navigate. Perhaps that’s a suitable alternative.</p>