<p>As May 1 is approaching I suspect many students have finally made their decision to attend (or not attend) UD. I thought it might be helpful for those students who are still undecided to hear from the students who have made their decision. So Delaware-Why or Why Not?</p>
<p>My D will be attending UD. Her first choice was UMD but she received a merit scholarship from UD. We explained to her that if she goes to UMD, we will be tapped out. That means she will have to get a job starting sophomore year and that she could forget about study abroad. At first she was very disappointed but now is getting excited about UD. </p>
<p>She joined the accepted students facebook and said that within minutes she had a load of requests to be her friend. She even found a roommate already. She said everyone is very friendly. We went to the Decision Day and wherever you walked there were students greeting you and asking if you needed help. This was not the case with UMD. I think this made my D feel very comfortable with her decision.</p>
<p>My son picked UConn over Delaware. I thought the 2 choices were very similar (size, price, majors offered, etc.), but Delaware had more of a “college town” feeling to me. I also think Delaware has a much better study abroad program. I hope he made the right choice.</p>
<p>^^I have one more week to convince or I guess discuss my nieces choice to attend NC State over Delaware. She likes Delaware but she loves NC State. Mainly because we live in DE and she vacations every year in NC. The issue is she is an OOS student paying her own way and we estimate the cost at NC State to top 100k over 4 years vs. 2,500 at Delaware. I had a similar choice 20 years ago between an ivy league and full ride at Delaware. I chose the ivy league and could not afford to finish. While I understand her choice I am so worried about it.</p>
<p>Amazhon:
I hope your neice has the money saved or has some source (ie parents, other family, etc. ) to pay the 100K difference for NC State. I hope she is not planning on borrowing this amount. It would be my perspective as a parent that I would not want to see my D owing this amount upon graduation, especially if she had the option of attending an excellent school like UD for so so much less. Even if she had the money from some source it still would not make much sense to me. Perhaps she might go for the idea of attending UD but attending some summer sessions at NC State. HS seniors often don’t have the sense of the responsibility of what it is like to owe money, especially this amount. The “Love” of attending a school very rapidly diminishes once you get the first loan repayment statement (and will be getting it for 10 years). I don’t believe the return on the investment would be worth the cost. Just my perspective. Best of luck to your niece, she is at an age where she needs to begin to make some responsible decisions for herself, before she gets herslf in a position where i’m sure she would rather not be.</p>
<p>Why not ask her to give UD a try for a year? She could always transfer if she hates it. I told my D that hoping that once she gets there and gets involved in the sorority or other clubs, she will be very happy.</p>
<p>That is definitely a thought. She has visited UD three times. Stayed overnight. She said she was surprised by how much she liked it, but she has fallen in love with NC State. I feel so guilty pressuring her, but as the earlier poster said, I’m not sure she understands the impact of having those loans later.</p>
<p>We were in the same boat. I told my daughter she doesn’t understand how good she will feel when she comes out of school without loans but she will appreciate it later on.</p>
<p>I think it is wrong to influence a child’s decision based on money, I was deciding between several far cheaper schools that Delaware (I’m out of state) but when picking schools I picked based on where I felt I belonged and couldn’t be happier. I’d rather be happy and in debt than miserable settling at another school. When I go home over winter break and for summer I take some required classes for my majors at my community college (way cheaper), if I wasn’t a double degree I could easily graduate in 3 years instead I’m doing 5-6 years of work in 4, I’ll graduate with 2 degrees and 3 minors. There are other ways to cut down on costs, just have to be creative.</p>
<p>^Thank you for that feedback from a student’s perspective. i’m not sure I agree going into debt and how much should not be a factor. its important to be happy, but it is not fun to be a graduate when friends go on trips and movies and dinner and your stuck at home paying off student loans. or you want to start a family, buy a car, or house. she doesn’t dislike Delaware like she did Penn State. I wouldn’t push a school she couldn’t see herself at. IMO, but I am here for other opinions and appreciate it.</p>
<p>I like the idea of shaving a year off by taking cheaper classes at the community college. I hope that works well for bio majors following a premed program. she could use the extra year to study for her mcats I guess and earn a bit of money.</p>
<p>Every students financial/life circumstances are different. For some students who do not have the financial resourses to pay for college and get little or no merit scholarship money the cost of college can be extremely expensive and burdensome if the student has to take out large amounts of student loans. Unlike public education, a college education is a privilege, not a right. For these students cost is an appropriate factor to consider when looking at colleges. While I would not force a student to go to a particular college they would feel unhappy at I find it difficult to believe that a student, in their college search, would only be able to find just one college they would feel comfortable in attending. The maximum federal Stafford Loan amount that students can get is around $24,000 for 4 years total. Student loans from other sources (ie Sallie Mae etc.) often have very high interest rates which begin to accrue once a student gets the money, which can add up to alot more money over 4 years. Additionally this can be progressively stressful if a student then plans on attending Graduate or Professional School post college. Sr’s in HS are beginng to enter early adulthood. One important goal in this stage of life is to begin to make responsible decisions for themselves. Ultimately good foresight is much more rewarding then poor hindsight. College loan debt has surpassed credit card debt as the largest amount of public debt in this country. Unfortunately many students have had to default on their loans because they could not afford to pay them. This has major negative implications in their lives which often can take years to resolve (talk about being unhappy). Just my thoughts.</p>
<p>We wouldn’t let my son attend any expensive schools, because he will hopefully be going on to dental school (mega bills). I didn’t think it would boil down to that, but it did. I still think he will get a great education. Also, check to see if the med schools frown upon taking classes at a community college. I know you have to go to a 4 year University if you want the credits to count for dental school.</p>
<p>Shelly has the right idea. The aduults in the family simply should not let a child make a decision that is harmful to them … period. If the alternative to UDel was an Ivy or soemthing very specialized, well then maybe, and then only maybe. But for NC State, that is just silly, immature and irresponsible.</p>
<p>I agree that cost, unfortunately, has to be a consideration, and that teenagers often don’t have the benefit or understanding of just how constricting loan repayments can be. Especially after seeing the economy of the past few years & all the long-term unemployed with great credentials and remaining student loans… do you or your child really want to set themselves up for that possibility?</p>
<p>Especially when looking to go on to grad school - - I’ve often been told it will be the GRAD school most looked at by employers… so pay as little as you can for undergrad (as long as the school/program is still a good one), and spend the bucks later for the prestige of the GRAD school…</p>
<p>On a non-financial note, however, I can say that, having attended Delaware 30 years ago & my son now there as a freshman, if your child gives the UofD a chance, I really think they will end up LOVING it & finding their niche there!</p>
<p>She is putting down her deposit today. Thanks for your feedback.</p>
<p>Amazhon:
Congrats on your nieces’s wise decision. I sent you several PM’s. I hope you got them.</p>
<p>Where did she decide to go after all?</p>