<p>While it may not look like progress, my DS has narrowed his acceptances to these four schools, but is now stuck and is having lots of trouble deciding. Because of scholarships, they will all end up costing within $5000/year of each other, so we're not factoring the price in. He would be in the Honors program at Duquesne and no special tracking at the others. We understand that Centre is ranked much higher than Duquesne and Elon and Allegheny fall between the two.</p>
<p>As far as "feel" and "fitting in" he's really happy with all four. As far as size goes, he's fine with tiny Centre, smallish Allegheny and medium Duquesne and Elon. He's not particularly interested one way or another in the out of campus environment, so the city vs country aspect isn't troubling him.</p>
<p>Our family is moving to Pittsburgh this summer which would put us very close to Allegheny and Duquesne, also something he's fine with, and actually doesn't concern him one way or another. This will also put Centre and Elon about equally as far of a drive away from our new home (roughly 7 hours).</p>
<p>We did a lot of due diligence before applying and they all are strong in his prospective major and have excellent to decent study abroad options.</p>
<p>He knows he's lucky to be choosing among good options, but there's no one thing that is really tipping the balance, and he clearly doesn't know how to decide. We've visited all of them, but can't go back again. </p>
<p>I guess what I'm looking for are thoughts on any of these schools or ideas on how to help him decide. Anybody have some ideas? Thanks very much!</p>
<p>Many parents would have knocked the top priced institution off the list, and would have told the kid that $5,000 x 4 = $20,000 which could buy a decent car. Or $5,000 is a bit less than the freshman year Stafford loan, so go cheap kid, and you won’t need loans. Would those arguments fly in your household?</p>
<p>Is there time for him to visit any of these again, and see if he has a strong sense of one being a better fit? 7 hours drive makes a very, very tight one-day round-trip. How does everyone feel about almost always needing two days to get the kid to/from school? Are there any issues with public transportation between these institutions and your new home-base? Some families are fine with that, others aren’t.</p>
<p>Where does he see himself working? I know Centre places most grads in the KY/OH/TN area and I am sure the others do similar in their region.</p>
<p>Grad schools won’t care that Centre is higher ranked. All are very good schools and will provide an adequate education.</p>
<p>While Centre is highest ranked, as yourself…what does this higher ranking buy me?
Better career placement? Probably not.
Better grad school placement? No.
Higher salary? Probably not.
What then??? Is it worth it then? </p>
<p>It is really a question of which he likes best. If all else fails, choose the cheapest.</p>
<p>There has to be something that stands out. Quality of dorms? Male to female ratio? Academic calendar? Availability of mass transportation? Weather?</p>
<p>A 7 hour drive can get very old, very soon.</p>
<p>Happymomof1 - thanks for your thoughts. Our daughter goes to college 13 hours away so we’re used to dealing with the distance (which is different than liking it!). So that’s not really swaying him. I get what you’re saying about the price. We actually had him one of his favorites knock one off his list because it came in more expensive than the rest and wasn’t appreciably better. We’ve also pointed out to him that if he goes for the one that’s $5000 higher we won’t be able to help with study abroad, fraternity dues, etc. So maybe that will make a difference in the end.</p>
<p>Haystack - thanks to you too for writing. I hadn’t really thought about job placement after Centre, but we feel like our son will get a lot of personal attention at a small (tiny) school and he really thrives when he has a connection with his teacher. I won’t be disappointed if he chooses the cheapest, however!</p>
<p>FlyMeToTheMoon - I queried my son yesterday on your stream of thought and his problem right now is that he can’t prioritize what factors are THE most important to him. </p>
<p>My son has a close and long-standing relationship with one of his teachers he respects a great deal and I suggested that he talk this over with her and get her thoughts. He really liked that idea, so he’s seeing her tomorrow. Maybe hearing the thoughts from an unbiased, uninvolved smart person will help clarify – much like how I posted this question to you! Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>We went into the visit and application process expecting to find a “Holy Grail” school and were surprised never to have a moment where the sky parted and a voice from on high said, sonorously, “THIS IS THE SCHOOL”. While there were a number of schools D ruled out after visiting, she also wound up admitted to several that she really liked and that we felt were all great choices. In her case, the $ differences were substantial, and she let that be the deciding factor, because she wanted the ability to join a sorority or study abroad.</p>
<p>If the level of personal attention Centre pays to their students is anything like the attention devoted to applicants, your son would be a lucky guy. They truly rolled out the red carpet and nailed every detail when we visited their campus. The Centre alumni we know (not all in the region, BTW) are a passionate group – they are what initially put the school on our radar – and strong alumni connections would be helpful in your S’s eventual job search. While our D ultimately received more $ from another school & is very happy there, we are all now big Centre fans. </p>
<p>Elon has garnered a lot of “buzz” in our area over the past few years. Think they are becoming better known outside the SE.</p>
<p>The study abroad issue is something your son needs to consider along with summer summer work requirements.</p>
<p>My son chose the cheapest option from his choices (I think he also liked it best). This allows us to pay for…1 semester study abroad, 1 summer study abroad, no work in the summesr just to make money for school. Instaed, over the summer he plans on doing some archaeological digs in Europe and in the US and whatever else we can think of. Sure beats schlepping food.</p>
<p>My daughter is considering two of the same schools - Elon and Allegheny. I really like both schools, but they are different. </p>
<p>Elon has a 4-1-4 calendar, Allegheny has traditional semesters
Elon has a higher percentage of female students
Both colleges are up-and-coming in the rankings
Elon felt more “preppy” than Allegheny, and has a bigger Greek scene
Elon has warmer weather (Bet you hadn’t figured that one out on your own :-)</p>
<p>Allegheny is more academic focused and known for academic rigor, while Elon is known more for balance and for engaged learning. A very high percentage of Allegheny students go on to grad school within 5 years.</p>
<p>Elon has more modern and up-to-date facilities. Elon’s buildings are very pretty, inside and out, and many were recently built. I thought Allegheny’s campus was very pretty on the outside, but the buildings are older and the insides weren’t as up-to-date as some other colleges we visited.</p>
<p>Good luck on the decision. My daughter is also still deciding. It isn’t so hard to know what the differences are, as compared to trying to figure out which feature is preferred. They are young - how do they know if they prefer feature A or B, when they have never experienced either A or B?</p>
<p>We’ll be visiting Elon tomorrow. Duquense is also on our list later this summer when school is back in there. 'Duquense is only a two hour drive for us and that might make a difference. Guess we’ll find out more later this summer.</p>
Thanks for your thoughts.</p>