<p>I recently received a merit-aid package from a mid-ranked university (think top 150) that would allow me to attend for free (read: full tuition, housing -- no loans). However, I find it hard to believe that I would thrive in, much less, be able to enjoy the campus culture. While it is located in a major college town, I'd rather not have to leave campus to find fun, particularly when there are 7000 undergrads on my campus alone. This sounds extraordinarily melodramatic, but is sacrificing happiness worth it? My parent has essentially said that I will be going there in the fall.</p>
<p>Have you visited the school and its city, or are you just making a judgment based on Internet searches, hearsay and the like? If not, perhaps you should try and arrange a visit trip to find out whether or not you could stand to live there for a few years.</p>
<p>What are your alternative colleges and how much would they cost? If you turn this full ride down, how do you plan to pay for your alternative colleges? Your parents are under no obligation to pay for your higher education, remember. If they won’t pay the cost of other schools because you have a full-ride offer, you might not really have a choice.</p>
<p>If you absolutely 100% would be unbearably miserable at that college, then of course you shouldn’t go. But before you turn down a very, very good financial aid package, you ought to think long and hard about the ramifications of that choice, and decide if your feelings are as strong as you seem to think they are.</p>
<p>Why did you even apply in the first place if you knew you would not go if you got accepted?</p>
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<p>Remind me why you are going to college?</p>
<p>To be fair, the one time I did visit, the school was closed (it was a federal holiday, but immediately after walking on their campus, I went to another school in the city’s tour). I’m also really concerned about the lack of intellectual curiosity on campus, the homogeneity of the student body (it’s 96% black, about 3:1 female to male ratio), and the general laid-back feel of the school.
I’m going back to visit in a few weeks, but I really can’t see myself enjoying my experience at this school for four years. In theory, I have another school I can attend with a comparable financial aid package, but its 13 hours away by car and my mom apparently thinks she’s going to visit me all the time, so I’ve been made aware that if I decide to go there, I will not be financial supported.</p>
<p>@Lydia – as you may have been able to ascertain, I was forced to by my family, since its where the money is at. We’ve been fighting back and forth over the idea of the price of happiness, but ultimately, I suppose all it’s really about is the cash at the end of the day.</p>
<p>@GMT – if you’re implying that I’m focusing on the social aspects too heavily, and not enough on the academic factors, you might be right. But then again, there’s nothing particularly academically superior about the school in question. My SAT score is 450 points about the median, GPA is substantially higher than the average If it’s all about the piece of paper I receive after matriculating for four years, I could do the same at an academically comparable institution, and have a lot more fun while doing it.</p>
<p>If you have a comparable package at a school you like 13 hours away (as in, free ride), then start saving travel money. 
Once you are an adult you can do what you like as long as you can pay for it. See how much a flight costs (including baggage charges and a cab to get to/from the airport) or check out the bus system. Then start saving. If an adult wants to get from Point A to Point B without a car, they do the same thing…</p>
<p>If you want more informed advice than why don’t you name the school and provide your stats?</p>
<p>After you visit the school offering a fee ride, you may find you like it. If you still don’t, you might sit down with your mom and give her a logical argument. A parent tends more to be dismissive of a “I just feel” argument than facts.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how your mom’s threats have any power. With so much aid, she’s not supporting you either way.</p>
<p>I think your mom’s threats are empty. She’s not going to disown you if you choose the other school. She’s just trying to control you with her threats. Any mom who wants to visit her kid often in college is “too close” to her kid and wouldn’t dream of abandoning him.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t believe her threats. The bottom line is that if she’s threatening that if you go to the far away school, then she won’t pay for your travel costs, then that doesn’t make any sense. That would mean that she’s not going to see you since you wouldn’t bother to travel home for holidays. You’d just stay in town or go to friends’ homes with them over holidays. That would backfire on your mom. If she wants to see you during those times, she’d have to pay for travel. </p>
<p>Visit the campus again. If you still find that you don’t like it, then just clearly say so. Remind your mom that attending a school that you don’t like runs the risk that either you won’t do well or you will drop out…and then you won’t have scholarship opportunities again.</p>
<p>Also…get a job ASAP. Including one in the summer that you can work a lot of hours.</p>
<p>the lack of intellectual curiosity on campus, the homogeneity of the student body (it’s 96% black, about 3:1 female to male ratio), and the general laid-back feel of the school</p>
<p>Are you male or female? Are you black?</p>
<p>How much aid did you get from the school 13 hour away?</p>
<p>What do you want to study?</p>
<p>Are these your only two choices? It occurs to me that someone with two generous offers may receive others.</p>
<p>A SAT 450 points above the median would give me pause. College may be what you make of it, but you do sound as if you’d be a fish out of water, and I think there’s a point at which student effort will not substitute for a school with a challenging student body.</p>
<p>Are you talking about Howard?</p>
<p>“A SAT 450 points above the median would give me pause”</p>
<p>University of Texas has medians in 1800 or so. I know there are a whole bunch of 2200+ scorers there and at least one 2400, mostly in the honors programs. Being in the 75%ile or above what earns you those scholarships.</p>
<pre><code> 25th Percentile 75th Percentile
</code></pre>
<p>AT Critical Reading 540 670
C9 SAT Math 580 710
C9 SAT Writing 540 680
C9 SAT Essay 8 9
C9 ACT Composite 25 31
C9 ACT Math 26 32
C9 ACT English 24 32
C9 ACT Writing 7 9</p>
<p>If it’s really going to be a subpar experience, that’s one thing. But, you admit you didn’t get a chance to really explore it. How is it for your major, what research is going on, what activities take place on campus, are there honors opps, what’s the mentoring like, etc? (Many mid-size HBCUs knock themselves out in this respect, really aim to build kids’ futures.) After that, you have to know if you want big fish or little fish.</p>
<p>And, as texaspg notes, medians are just medians.</p>
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<p>If the further away school’s full or near-full ride is need-based, then the parents still have veto power by refusing to fill in financial aid forms, unless the student qualifies for being independent (age 24, military veteran, or married).</p>
<p>Only full or near-full ride merit scholarships would allow the student to escape parental control of college choice.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedata.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.collegedata.com</a> indicates that there are only a few colleges with >75% black enrollment and about 7,000 students. However, all are listed as being under 90% black (it looks like only one of them could possibly be 96% black if most or all international and/or Hispanic students are also black).</p>
<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.6/4.2
SAT Scores: 1990 (6/12), 1950 (10/12) [Superscored 2030 (700 R, 610 M, 720 W)]
Awesome extracurriculars, good/great recommendations.</p>
<p>Deferred ED from Union College – NY [app withdrawn], couldn’t get a comparable package from Rhodes College [app withdrawn], accepted to both Howard University (full ride without books and meal plan), and Morehouse College (tuition only).
I’m really ambivalent about going to either Howard or Morehouse. I feel like the atmosphere at Howard is really party-oriented (as in, that is all that happens on campus), and that Morehouse is relatively more academic, but Howard would only leave me to cover 5k, which would be covered by Pell Grants. Morehouse would leave me to cover 17k, leaving me at the mercy of Pell Grants and whatever institutional need-based aid I get. Both are merit scholarships.
I suppose DC beats Atlanta in terms of location and internships for someone who intends to go to policy school within a few years of undergrad, and Howards Center for Urban Progress would net me some awesome experience, but I didnt get the impression that undergraduates were the ones doing research. I love DC, but after living in a minority enclave of a Mid-Atlantic city, I feel like I need a change, and I dont feel like Im going to get a change at a HBCU in a Mid-Atlantic city.
For what its worth, I have a mentor who went to Morehouse for undergrad, then Harvard for law school. When I asked for his input, he suggested that I go to Howard. His main complaints about his alma mater were the boarding school feel (shirts and ties are a sartorial staple), and the conservatism of the student body. After going to a competitive magnet school, getting involved with all the nerdy activities (I am the captain of the state-finalist mock trial team, and president of the High School Dems), I would really prefer a seriously academic and competitive environment. Neither school meets my criteria, but I feel that Howard meets it less.</p>
<p>PS: As far as medians, I get that they’re just medians, but I have serious academic reservations about a student body where 25% of the student body has scored a 1410/2400 on the SAT. Coupled with the fact that they don’t release a CDS, I can’t actually tell what percent of the student body scored in what range.</p>
<p>Well, I would say that your packages are not as comparable as you seem to think they are.</p>
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<p>Have you gotten a full financial aid package from Morehouse? The maximum Pell Grant you can possibly get (EFC of 0000) is $5,500. You can’t borrow more than $5,500 your freshman year. That would leave a significant gap which may or may not be filled by institutional aid. It’s not an insurmountable gap but certainly would require, for example, more part-time work on your part to cover the cost.</p>
<p>It looks like you applied to only four schools? One of them being one which you didn’t like? Is it too late to apply thru the Common App somewhere else (some places else)? The strategy of the top 25% for SATs is a good one – can you find any where you like with a Feb 1 app date?</p>
<p>What do you plan to major in?</p>
<p>The opportunities you get around the DC area (courtesy the taxpayers!) are far superior to opportunities you get elsewhere. Being a star at Howard will open all kinds of doors.</p>