<p>Everyone says I should take advantage of Cali's universities because they are highly ranked and will look good when applying to jobs. However, I don't feel like they'd be a good fit for me because they are so big and I prefer small schools where everyone knows one another and where your professors know you by your name. I want to attend a LAC like Smith, Occidental, Scripps, Reed, Mount Holyoke, Lawrence, etc. but when I mention them nobody has ever heard of them. Should I choose a school I'd feel comfortable in or one that will look good on a resume and may have more research opportunities?</p>
<p>There are small schools and LAC that also “look good” on job applications. However, if you don’t put in the work, get good grades, and pursue internships, co-ops (this all depends), etc, it’ll all mean nothing. </p>
<p>Yes, prestige matters to a point, but you can still find ways to stand out.</p>
<p>A those schools are excellent with excellent reputations, where you will get a great education, no doubt about it. They all offer good research opportunities, at Lawrence, for instance, it is built into the curriculum and culture. In today’s highly competitive job.market, it does help to get research and internships during your college years.</p>
<p>You aren’t instate for CA are you? I’ve never heard anyone instate say Cali. If you are, you’d better talk to your parents about costs because you can’t beat instate tuition and those other schools are very expensive. But maybe you qualify for need, or have good enough stats for merit.</p>
<p>Prestige matters to a point but if you don’t like a school you simply don’t go. All those schools are fantastic if you like them better you should go.</p>
<p>Haha I just type Cali because it’s a lot faster and feels weird to actually spell it out; I actually am in-state and have an EFC of 0 so I may actually end up getting better FA packages from LAC’s that meet full-need. It’s great to know that they all offer good research opportunities and have a good reputation.</p>
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<p>Note that schools that “meet full need” generally do expect a student contribution or self-help (i.e. loans and/or work earnings), typically between $4,000 to $10,000 (UCs tend to be in the $8,500 to $9,500 range). Use the net price calculator on each school to see what the actual net price after applying financial aid grants (not loans or work) is.</p>
<p>Also be aware that EFC may be calculated differently at each school (UCs use federal methodology based on FAFSA; others may require additional documentation). So run the net price calculators to be sure, rather than applying blindly.</p>
<p>Smith and Mount Holyoke may have some advantage in that they have a cross registration agreement with nearby University of Massachusetts - Amherst, which can expand the course catalog (at the cost of commuting). They also have an arrangement that allows their students to register at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst career center to get more exposure to employers who may not bother with smaller colleges individually.</p>
<p>However, be aware that there is always local bias in employer recruiting of new college graduates.</p>
<p>I have done the net price calculator for some private colleges already and most of the money I would receive would be in grants with very few loans. I’m good with work-study programs because they’ll contribute experience. My family income is <30,000 so my EFC is definitely 0. That is some great info to have of Smith and Mount Holyoke, it sounds great to have connections to the resources of a larger school.</p>
<p>Be sure, however, that you have at least one safety school that you know you will get into and know that you can afford. Perhaps two or three if you want to cover the risk of a safety not actually being a safety.</p>
<p>Note that many smaller colleges consider “level of applicant’s interest”. This is a signal that they do not want to be safeties, so they may reject or waitlist high-stats applicants who appear to be using them as safeties without showing sufficient interest (having visits recorded (yes, hard to do if you are low income), writing a lot of interest in the specific school in the essays, checking the admissions portal, etc.). See the admissions tab on the specific school at [CollegeData:</a> College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Student Loan, FAFSA Info, Common Application](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com%5DCollegeData:”>http://www.collegedata.com) to see if “level of applicant’s interest” is used.</p>
<p>Barnard is another LAC with access to the courses of a big university (Columbia).</p>
<p>For smaller schools, you may want to consider the offerings in your possible major(s), as many small schools have specific strengths and weaknesses that are more obvious (e.g. not very many courses in a subject that is not one of the stronger ones at the school). Take a look at course catalogs, and also look at the schedules to see how often each course of interest is actually offered.</p>
<p>That is great advice, all of it. I am looking at course catalogs and also student reviews.I would love to attend Barnard but I feel it’s a very far reach for me. My safeties are Hampshire college, and the CSU’s and UC riverside are my last resort. The website you listed is very very helpful, thank you:)</p>
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<p>Can you afford the transportation cost from California to Massachusetts ? With a zero efc, you will be hit hard with those plane tickets.</p>
<p>From your other postings, you seem to be advanced (calculus as a junior in high school) and interested in math. You may want to consider that many LACs can be rather limiting in math offerings for math majors who are advanced, since many such students take graduate level courses as undergraduates (upper division and graduate level math courses tend to be small, even at big universities). Also, some cautionary posts about LACs for PhD-bound math majors:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1529498-lacs-st-e-m-majors-3.html#post16182540[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1529498-lacs-st-e-m-majors-3.html#post16182540</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1414683-prestige-versus-cost-7.html#post15052836[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1414683-prestige-versus-cost-7.html#post15052836</a> (#94, #97, #99)</p>
<p>@xtremepower: yes, i have grandparents that will be willing to help</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus: Wow you just made me completely re-prioritize. I didn’t realize LAC’s had limited courses. What if I attend Mount Holyoke or Smith, which have access to UMass Amherst?</p>
<p>You may want to PM the poster in those other threads for specific recommendations if you want to major in math but want to attend a LAC or other small school.</p>
<p>Great idea, thanks!:)</p>