S1 got loans to transfer to a more rigorous school with a more motivated student body…huge difference. S2 thrives at a top LAC.
The BASU is not missed inspite of pension disbursements and helocs. Just one old guys opinion.
Wow, you are in an enviable position. Congratulations!
If you decide to go the more fiscally prudent route, be proud – a full scholarship is an amazing achievement!
It sounds like you are thinking long term, and wondering if the investment in Bowdoin would be worth it. So like most everyone else, I don’t have an answer for you. Only some ideas to think about, and support.
Are you sure your family situation won’t change at all? Any siblings entering / finishing college? Any private school tuition for siblings, or medical or dental expenses? If I remember correctly I think Bowdoin takes those into consideration (you would have to check)…
We just visited recently and I remember hearing that Gov is huge there.
It seems a shame not to be able to come up with a couple thousand dollars and thus cut down loans to subsidized loans. It sounds like you are getting generous need-based aid, so I am assuming you are middle income. Do your parents get a tax return? If they do, would they be willing to sacrifice it for three years?
Work study and summers can be what you make of them. Normally work study just seems to cover personal expenses and if you really make it stretch, save toward next semester’s books.
A terrible last idea but I have to ask: can you ask Bowdoin to review their already generous offer to see if they can find an extra thousand or two which would be justifiable under their own particular financial aid formula? I know it sounds like a hard thing to do but if you look into how they do it, and how to enlist their help, it just might turn up some more aid. It is NOT asking them to match a merit scholarship, it is just clarifying THEIR formula, in case you missed something.
Graduate debt free. It’s a huge advantage especially if you are going to law school. You can make the most out of a state school. It’s really up to you.
One of my nephews went to Bowdoin. It’s a nice college. However, since you want to go to law school, I’d save your money and take the free ride to OSU.
Bowdoin is great. Did you visit? Go where you will be happy. Debt level acceptable for quality of school. As long as you love it. Great connections. Internships. Wall Street. Preppy.
What about travel cost? Did you calculate that in? Whether flying solo or parents driving you and paying gas and hotel cost, consider it. Not a deal maker/breaker but we underestimated the impact of this with our first child so I like to remind others of this.
Also, is Bowdoin grants or scholarships? Remember, grants are NOT usually guaranteed. They are can be removed for just a bout any reason at the college’s discretion, not just for parents’ income increases.
I am a believer in taking full rides at good schools as it relieves all financial pressure, planning and consideration and if your parents will let you have some of the money they would have used for Bowdoin, it could mean fantastic summer abroad studies, etc.
That being said, Bowdoin is a great school. If you think you will be happy there and are willing to work summers to help with the cost if it goes up, then it would not be a bad choice. Did you visit Bowdoin? How did you like it? I love LACs if they are affordable, but very little trumps ‘free’ at a good school. With Bowdoin, how do you feel about the rather remote locale, weather, etc?. Also, if you can hear at the 11th hour, take a day and go to OSU and meet with the honors program. See if you can have a student in it show you around and give you the inside scoop.
You really are in a GREAT position. Congratulations too you.
Bowdoin is not in a remote location. In terms of Winter yes Maine has winter as does Ohio. The difference is there is a lot to do In Maine during the winter. It is also much sunnier and overall vastly more scenic.
@hosefb I agree with the advice to find out more about what the honors program at OSU entails - sometimes there is also special housing offered honors program students, etc. What I’m suggesting, is that being within the honors program at OSU might go some way towards giving you a “smaller” feel within the larger OSU world, since that does seem to be a concern.
Have you visited both places?
It doesn’t do much good to be in a place where there’s lots to do if you don’t have the money to go do it. A debt free education is a gift. I wouldn’t turn it down for scenery. You don’t have to go to Maine for that anyway. My niece attended an affordable state school and used the money she saved for summer trips across the US and Europe. But saving for law school is good too.
Bowdoin’s financial package comprise of grants, not scholarships. And I talked to a Bowdoin financial officer yesterday, and they reviewed my situation and took it down to $6500 parent contribution( parents already paying for private school educations and repaying loans don’t think they could contribute this, though I could cover it through potential scholarships) with a $2000 student contribution(work study or what I earn during summer at my internship). When I visited Bowdoin I didn’t “fall in love” like many do, however I did recognize the motivated and driven student body, individual attention, and that “feeling” that you matter. Also, when I visited Bowdoin it felt slightly remote, perhaps that is because I’m from a bigger city. I’m torn between not giving away the chance to get a premium LAC education that none in my family would ever dream of, or going to my state school for FREE but always feeling average. I really want to go to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Columbia Law… If that matters. Any more suggestions? Thank you so much!!! This is a difficult decision, and I am pretty much making it on my own. @OnTheBubble @ReturningFavor @thermom
Also, I’m interested in spending my summers interning for NGOs, completing service-based projects, and working in my Congressmen’s offices. Does school name recognition matter when applying for internships? Is Bowdoin an unknown, or is it pretty known in the political/professional world?
Most say take the deal at the state school. Not me. S1 was in an honors program at a good private school but he observed that his peers were coasting. He transferred to a more competitive school then had to up his game. He gained energetic, hungry peers who compete at the highest level. Profs are the same way. He took out extra loans to make it happen. When he visited he old friends he knew he made the right choice.
You really sound eager for Bowdoin. S2 attends a similar school where half the kids were valedictorians. I felt he would struggle because he was a jock. He thrives with kids who got 800s.
I tell S3 to chill but he seeks a similar LAC. Glad to see some fire in his belly. Sadly we can’t get the Bowdoin coach’s attention. S3 has other options…we’ll see.
My wife and I struggled to put ourselves through a blue collar college and we paid our loans off at age 33. We are proud of our history, but know that our kids can do better. Decades ago I said that you go to Harvard for the Rolodex…and recent experience proves that to be true.
If I were your parents and could stretch to cover it rather than having you take out loans, I would encourage you to go to Bowdoin. I am a big fan of LACs and am willing to pay a premium for the small classes and extra attention from professors. But I’m also allergic to debt, and with law school in your future plans I would take the OSU offer very seriously. Plus it sounds like you aren’t quite as persuaded by the LAC experience and might actually be happier at a bigger school in a city. Is this right? Bowdoin is an outstanding college and well worth a little sacrifice to attend, and I think it would serve you well in getting summer internships, but I’m not sure that makes it the right choice in your particular financial situation.
@hosefb sending you a PM when I get time later today.
I can only further tell you this. My oldest turned down a free ride at a good school and reasonable cost (no loans) at an excellent LACs to go to an Ivy. To him, the name and future connections were worth the student loans he has to take out and getting no help from us beyond tuition we contribute. He must work a lot in the summer and school year to be there (and to have pocket money). It is not the choice I would have made, but he is happy with it right now. He wanted the best education and school he could get and make work. He wanted a name and he wanted bright, driven kids to learn with as a whole (not a pocket in honors).
HOWEVER, my next one turned down an Ivy and some good LACs for a full ride at a decent school. She wanted no debt and no stress beyond getting great grades. She wanted to not have to work all summer, but to travel and volunteer. She liked the idea of not being in a crazy competitive environment. She is very glad that she made the choice she did. If the name matters, she will reach for it for graduate school. She realized that PLENTY of kids from good schools, state schools, etc. go on to great graduate/law/medical schools (though now she is not overly interested in ‘name’).She is a fairly big fish where she got the full ride and gets lots of opportunities, more than my son. But, he gets the name recognition and is surrounded by bright, competitive kids. That’s what he wanted.
My thought on Bowdoin is that it is known and well respected to those who know and follow education. It is a top 5 LAC fairly consistently. But it is not known to the average person, especially outside of the NE.
I mean it when I say that with your choices you likely cannot go wrong. BUT, ask Bowdoin what determines whether or not grants are fully renewed each year.
The financial freedom to take unpaid summer internships and explore other opportunities is significant. Working for an NGO or Congressperson’s office is unpaid work, so would conflict with the OP’s need to earn money to meet the student contribution portion of Bowdoin fees. Honors student perks can go a long way in creating opportunities for close faculty relationships and other significant benefits. Spend some time researching the honors opportunities at OSU and see if there is an admissted student event for Honors only students.
Law school admission is largely gpa and test score driven. Being at the top, whether OSU or Bowdoin, is matters most for law school admissions. Financially, the top law schools do not give merit, and students are financing over $150, 000 in loans. Starting out with $30,000 in undergrad loans adds to the burden.
I would suggest the OP research the Honors opportunities in more detail, and get a clearer picture of costs at Bowdoin., including travel and responsibility for work study and summer earnings.
Congrats to the OP on such great choices!
I know this doesn’t exactly answer your question, but I would do a microanalysis of the cost of attending both schools before making a decision. For instance, does the OSU deal cover fees?
http://registrar.osu.edu/feetables/Web_AU14_Fee_Table/FeeTables_AU14.pdf (plus student government fees, fees for dorms open during winter break, etc.)
How much will your social life cost at each school? Do most kids go off campus on Saturday night to go to bars (pricey) or attend on-campus keggers (cheap). Is there a cost to using the workout room or attend football games? How much will it cost to get to and from school? How is the dining plan structured? Is the food good enough that you’ll want to eat on campus or will you eventually end up feeling the need to get food outside the cafeteria? Does your OSU scholarship restrict the dorms you can live in based on cost? Would it matter if it does? Does either school offer paid summer internships or research? If so, how hard is it to get a slot? Does the OSU package include work-study? I would assume Bowdoin’s does. Is this good or bad? Are you likely to get solid work experience for your resume such as a TA position, or will you end up washing dishes in the dining hall?
I can’t comment on what your experience at OSU would be like but I can say that if you attend Bowdoin you will get to know your professors well. I recently visited my alma mater, a peer of Bowdoin. As I had a little extra time I stopped by the office of one of my former professors, who 30 years later was still at the college. He wasn’t my advisor, I didn’t even major in his department, and I hadn’t seen him since graduation, yet when I explained who I was he said, “Oh yes, I remember you. You were in my [name of course] class. (I was) You were quiet but thoughtful. (I was) And your hair was different. (Yes, totally different)”
When I applied to grad school I had a similar experience. 5 years out of undergrad I contacted 2 profs (neither the one described above) and both remembered me and were happy to write a recommendation. This might not have impressed me had I been a standout student, but I wasn’t; the structure of the school and the low student-teacher ratios created an atmosphere in which it was hard not to get to know my professors.
While Bowdoin might not be particularly well known by average people outside New England it is well known and respected by law schools and law firms. If you plan to stay in Ohio the OSU name might carry weight it might not in other parts of the country. We all seem to be partial to schools in our back yards.
Bowdoin may be regarded as scenic, however the school’s relationship to nature appears conflicted. The Offer of the College is certainly promising and remarks, “To count Nature a familiar acquaintance.” Nonetheless, a polar bear was “secured” so that his “spirit” could be the “Guardian Spirit” of Bowdoin and is currently displayed in the fitness center. Even within the proximity of a solid philosophy department, archaic conceptions visibly persist here, in this case one that is myopic in its anthrocentric interpretation of nature.
Bowdoin’s good, @hosefb, but perhaps not advanced. If for whatever reason you decide on OSU, you might do better there in at least some ways. However, turning down the highly selective, undergraduate-focused Bowdoin would not be easy, and I’m far from recommending you do so.
sp: anthropocentric.
Go to Bowdoin. Congrats, you are smart and worked hard to get accepted to a top school. Your goal was to go to a school like that. You made the price even better and is easily jusifiable. Going to Bowdoin is better.That is why rich, and highly educated people send their kids there. I was Natl. Merit. I went to an ok school. I regret not going to a better school. You can do it. My son and his friend go to elite libearal arts colleges. They are better. Classes are amazing. Internships and opportinities are better. Go to Bowdoin. You will be a big success. In life many find that the biggest regrets are the regrets of the things you didn’t do.