<p>My son is losing his mind trying to choose. Emory full pay, Chapel Hill IS, Tulane honors and 22K scholarship.I have feelings about it, but I'd like to see other comments.</p>
<p>He's interested in biology, but I don't know about grad school plans.</p>
<p>Has he been to visit all 3 schools?</p>
<p>Does he have any preferences?</p>
<p>Are you able to pay for Emory/Tulane without loans or undue economic hardship?</p>
<p>As a NC resident I am partial to Carolina. Daughter applied/accepted to Tulane but went elsewhere. Son also applied/accepted to Emory but went elsewhere for undergrad but ended up at Carolina for grad school, and yes, he LOVES it.</p>
<p>Loves living in Chapel Hill, has been to the football and basketball games…loves his specific school.</p>
<p>Kat
gotta love that NC in-state tuition!!!</p>
<p>Thanks Kat. Yes, he’s seen all of the schools and I don’t think he’d have any loans.
I think he sees that there are good and bad points to each of the schools, so no clear preference.
We just got back from Tulane, and they give a hard sell, so I’m not going to ask again for a couple of days.</p>
<p>I realize there is the age old debate at work here also. Feelings being equal, should you always go to the best school you got accepted to? Of course I’m very aware that there’s a 35K difference between Emory and Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Best school for him.</p>
<p>Daughter that was accepted into Tulane was also accepted to Univ of Penn, turned both down to go to UNM. Son in med school now turned down several higher ranked med schools (for research not primary care) for Carolina.</p>
<p>Again the finances, obviously, can only be decided by your family. But in our family it played a huge factor and that was BEFORE all the economic nastiness. Son’s decision was last year so economic factors really played a large part, especially with what is going on in healthcare.</p>
<p>If your son is thinking bio, he might be thinking med school and for that finances really do come into play.</p>
<p>Kat
is the $35K difference per year?</p>
<p>Emory should really be put aside. There is absolutely no justification for paying $140k over UNC here. I suspect that head to head, FOR THE SAME PRICE, more than half of those who know both schools would choose Carolina. Tulane is a bit of a different story. Different vibe, certainly, than Chapel Hill. Could justify the “modest” extra $50k or so to attend. Even at the same price, would not be my choice. Academically would consider Emory and Carolina equals. Tulane, selectively so, with several departments much weaker (or gone) since Katrina.</p>
<p>All 3 schools, IMO, have their own merits, but different “feels” to each. We have several friends with multiple generations of UNC-CH grads. It is an incredible school and the town cannot be beat, IMO. If your child’s major is offered at UNC, and he/she can deal with the sometimes hassle of getting registered for the classes they want, then CH would be an easy choice. Emory is an excellent university, and while both UNC and Emory are huge schools, CH has more of a campus feel to me. Was just on Emory campus last week and the growth is exponential and very spread out. DH spent his freshman year at Tulane in the 60’s, and ended up transferring to Georgia Tech. Tulane is also a great school, but for the cost and opportunity, UNC-CH would be the clear winner.</p>
<p>Does he have any thoughts about med school? If so, Chapel Hill seems like it would leave your family with the most flexibility. Several friends are lamenting what they spent on undergrad costs for kids who’ve now headed off to med/dental school, since the expectation (of the school) is that parents will continue to be responsible for financial support.</p>
<p>If he is unable to decide, it seems like the large cost difference can easily break the tie, especially as an intended biology major (no medical school => not very well paid job at graduation; medical school => expensive tuition).</p>
<p>Posting my same response from your other thread on this topic, as each thread has slightly different suggestions:</p>
<p>All great schools, and the same choices my s looked at (he was wl at Vandy, to give you an idea of the 4 schools he applied to, if its at all similar to your s). I agree that as much as I like Emory, its really hard to justify full pay when you don’t have to (ie you have good options). If Emory is a top choice for your son, ask the FA office to do a reconsideration in light of the merit money Tulane gave you. Warning, it got us nowhere when we tried 4 yrs ago (Emory gave DS 6K in merit $ and didnt reconsider a dime even though Tulane gave DS the DHS and NMS). And for us, Emory was local and DS wanted to get away (though he subsequently spent a summer at Ga Tech, which was a great experience but reinforced his love of Tulane).</p>
<p>For my DS, UNC would have been OOS, and its a different choice as an OOSer than instater in terms of feeling a bit in the minority. Its a wonderful school in a charming town. But I have to underscore what FC said (btw happy birthday FC!) That the faculty are so available at Tulane. My DS just surprised us for the weekend and showed up this morning for the holiday weekend. We took a walk to breakfast and he was relaying several stories about experiences with several different professors. They were great stories that reinforced how accessible the professors are. That is , IMO, a really important advantage of a smaller school who care a lot about their undergrads. </p>
<p>Then there were his great Mardi Gras stories (went to the Baccus Ball hosted by Will Farrell) and final 4 stories, and jazz festival plans.</p>
<p>Good luck with a tough choice.</p>