@aquapt You saw me and raised me one. Excellent come back, well done. And yes, I owe you!
Hi, you mentioned that your scholarships are probably taxable. I just know this from my sister being a Gates scholar, but⊠any money you receive that is not used for tuition, books, and required fees is taxable as income. So letâs say your college -or Elks - gives you scholarships and grants that cover room and board, travel, personal expenses⊠all those parts of the Cost of Attendance that are not specifically tuition, books, and required fees (such as lab fees that are required) ) - is taxable, if you have scholarships and grants that cover those. Usually she had about $14,000 a year of taxable income. Here is the link to the IRS page that tells you what is and isnât taxable.
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421
Let me know if you have specific questions. My mom had to really study it but ended up helping quite a few other Gates scholars understand the taxable / not taxable situation. Doesnât matter whether it is Gates, or your college, or another scholarship - the taxable /not taxable part is going to be the same.
Hi @Kelvin82! Checking in to see if youâve done any visiting of your final choices yet?
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kelvin82 I had lost track of you for awhile â so glad to catch up and learn of all your great acceptances. Congratulations!
The good news is that your strategy of aiming high for generous schools is working. You have some excellent options and I canât wait to hear your thoughts as May 1st draws near.
So yesterday was bruin day at UCLA and my mom and I went to visit the campus. The event was very DIY; we chose our own events and their times. The campus is really compact and pretty. I didnât like how the dining halls and the dorms are separated from the lecture halls and classrooms. I sat in on 2 classes, one of which was about graphene and supercapacitors taught by Professor Kaner. I really liked his lecture and that he interacted with the audience by letting us feel the graphite. The other class was about urban politics in LA. I sat in the front of the lecture hall. Compared to the classes I visited at DiscoSwat, I wished that the professor could have engaged us by asking questions. There were lots of people walking around. On the housing tour, I thought De Neve was quite nice. The guide emphasized the lack of air conditioning in the dorms, but said that it was great for getting first years into the lounge and meeting other students. The triple didnât feel that bad but it was not as big as other collegesâ dorms. The students were bubbly and had a lot of school spirit.
The tour guide emphasized that professors are available during office hours which would help make large class sizes seem small. She also mentioned that she was able to do research at the beginning of her freshman year in a neuroscience lab and stressed that we would be taught by brilliant professors such as Terence Tao. She also emphasized that UCLA alumni love to help current students with finding internships and externships. She also said how a large school could be made smaller but a small school could not increase its size.
The campus felt safe at night and my mom appreciated that security guards walked around.
Sadly, I was not able to go into the dining hall to see how good the food was.
Feel free to leave any comments and/or concerns. Thanks for reading
@Kelvin82 - Are you visiting USC while youâre in the area?
Also, can you please refresh my memory re: your choices at this point? I remember Colby and Swat were in the mix, as was USC. Was there a Claremont or two in there? Are you still considering UCSBâs CCS?
While it is true that you can sometimes make a large school smaller, making a small school larger is also quite possible with consortium schools (e.g., Swat has UPenn, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford; the Claremonts are effectively one large campus with five separate schools; the 5-College Consortium in Amherst).
When my D sat in on a small humanities honors seminar at UCLA, the students remarked that it was the only similarly-sized class they had had in their entire experience there.
I hadnât seen that you reported back after Swat â what was your experience there? Where else have you visited since getting your decisions?
@LoveTheBard My choices are UCLA, UC Berkeley, regents at UCSD, USC, Swarthmore and Colby. Planning to stay on the waitlist at Amherst, Williams, Pitzer, Scripps, Carleton, and Wellesley.
Office hours donât make a large class feel smaller. Especially when there are 100s students and not all can be seen during the one or two hours (v. âOpen door policyâ for a class of 30 at some colleges on your list).
There are lots of good things to UCLA but the school wonât ever feel small :).
@Kelvin82 I am late to this discussion but read each of your posts. You are a remarkable person and will undoubtedly add value to society. Congrats on the UCSC Regents! My D (CCC transfer) was awarded that as well, and it will be turned down (if and only if) she gets into UCB.
Given that your financials are not going to be of concern, the best answer will be what fits best for the long-haul. What program matches your interests, where you want your career to be, how the campus, professors and fellow students who will become your network all work together for your future.
There is another thread her on CC regarding waitlists. It is a good read.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2070370-are-waiting-lists-out-of-control.html#latest
@LoveTheBard I am visiting Swat and Colby next week for their admitted student days. I plan to visit USC on April 24th. I couldnât make it down to UCSD because their date conflicted with UCLAâs admitted students program.
Thanks for checking in Kelvin82 and please keep us posted.
âŠI will pm you. 
Have a great trip East to see Swat and Colby - I look forward to hearing your impressions of those schools as well as USC. Are you visiting Berkeley? On the face of it, I would think the College of Chemistry at UCB would be more of a draw than being a chem major at UCLA. Safe travels and keep us posted!
Any news?
Tick tock tick tock tick tock
Hope it is taking this long because you have too many great choices! I (and assume others), check this thread everyday looking for that little ânewâ notice!
Haha, sometimes I wish I didnât have that many options, so it would be easier to choose among them. When I visited Swarthmore, I hyperventilated at the coldness (the temperature was in the 50s). Luckily, I bought a warm fleece jacket, and Parrish Hall was well heated. The campus was really pretty. There were cherry trees blooming and the skyline formed by the trees lining Magill Walk was beautiful, especially in the early morning.
Interacting with Swatties was fun. I could definitely sense their nerdiness; one guy wore a cape to express his love for Harry Potter. The admissions committee also had a board game night where Swatties and prospies got to mix. I really liked that down time was encouraged. I also toured the campus, and one thing that struck me was that the tour guide made a point to greet almost every person who she passed. I liked the intimacy of the community.
The food at Swarthmore was one of my main worries. Coming from suburban California, I love the diversity of food options I have around me. I read online reviews which complained that Sharplesâ food was âgreasy and repetitiveâ. Although yes, some of the food could be improved on, but overall, it was nice. I liked that there were vegan and gluten free options, and I also appreciated that there was a wok and a panini press to take advantage of. (But, the Chinese food needs major improvement)
@Kelvin82 Philly is a fantastic food city - Chinese as well as other Asian and all kinds of cuisines - so you would have that to explore when you have downtime to get off campus, as well as the cityâs amazing museums and music venues.
Good luck with your decision. Take the time you have if you need it. One of my kids didnât make the final decision until 5/1.
Take the decisions one pair at a time. How was the Colby visit? Does the fact that youâre reporting just on Swarthmore mean that Swarthmore has won out over Colby in the East Coast division of your decision bracket?
Seriously, I know a father/son pair that literally scheduled the sonâs decision process like a March Madness bracket. By such-and-such day he had to pick the winner between one pair of schools, and so on, so that there was just one pair of front-runners left on the day of the deadline. Not a bad approach at all IMHO!
Sounds like your Swat visit was pretty good, overall! Food-wise, I think the Asian food is a weak point in a lot of places, even in California. My D had a memorably disappointing teriyaki bowl when we visited Scripps, and you wouldnât think that would be hard to get right! On the whole Scripps/5Cs food is outstanding, but the Asian items are hit-and-miss, and I think thatâs true all over. (Wok access is a step in the right direction!)
How was the USC visit? (Iâm sure @CADREAMIN is on the edge of her seat, waiting for your USC report! 
)
Colby is colder than Swarthmore. If that matters to youâŠ
Believe it or not, Philadelphia is actually a whole growing zone different from ours in Hudson Valley New York. Spring comes sooner and fall lingers longer.
Ya, pushing USC may be in @kelvin82âs best interest. 