<p>These are the four choices. GW, PITT and American with merit money. SUNY Binghanton OOS. Major is political science for now - may change to government, public policy, etc. Least expensive would be PITT. Doesn't really like American, so I don't know why I put it into the mix! GW would be first choice, but not sure about not having a campus and eating in restaurants all the time. Any feedback?</p>
<p>GWU is a really really great place for anything even remotely related to politics. If finances aren’t an issue, I would really consider GWU! The not having a campus thing is also something you need to know if you like or not so def visit and see!</p>
<p>“GW would be first choice, but not sure about not having a campus and eating in restaurants all the time.”</p>
<p>Doesn’t GW have any residence halls?</p>
<p>Try this calculator. It includes some non-financial criteria as well as financial ones. Maybe it will help: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Advanced Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)</p>
<p>In my book, cheap is good. I’d vote for Pitt unless there were serious overriding factors and the difference could be paid without any loans.</p>
<p>PITT is a full ride. I blame myself for my DD not feeling love for the school. All of these schools were safeties. I thought she would get into one of the schools that she loved. She got into her first choice school but cannot afford it. She was waitlisted at the other. We did not visit PITT on Honors Day with the right attitude.</p>
<p>Any way possible to squeeze in another visit to Pitt?</p>
<p>That is a lot of money to give up based on a couple hours (I assume no overnight) visit. </p>
<p>I would decide between a DC school and the least expensive. Since American is not really liked, I’d narrow it down to GW and Pitt.</p>
<p>Some people can make the most of an arranged marriage. Others remain bitter all of their lives about not getting to marry for love. What kind of person is your daughter?</p>
<p>If she is potentially the bitter type, it might be a good idea to suggest that she plan a Gap Year, and reapply to places that she really likes and that will be affordable for your family. If she’s the kind who can make the best of a situation, and Pitt is the place that your family can truly afford, then help her sort out her feelings as she packs her bags for Pitt. A quick read through the various forums here will show you how many families are opting for Pitt because of the scholarship offers. Your daughter would be in the company of many smart, talented students there.</p>
<p>Congrats on the full ride to Pitt! That must mean your daughter won the Chancellor’s Award. Very impressive.</p>
<p>My daughter is at Pitt and loves it. She has had a full-tuition scholarship, and she’s graduating in May with honors, a psych major. That is a strong department at Pitt. I don’t know anything about the poly sci department, however. I think the best of your daughter’s options, given her interests, is GWU. It’s an urban campus, but there must be dining halls there! Best of luck.</p>
<p>I agree with what happymomof1 is saying, above!</p>
<p>Thank you all. She does not want to do a gap year, which I had suggested to her. She does not have the Chancellor’s award - she never applied for it since she never planned on going! She has the full tuition scholarship. If for some reason she cannot maintain the GPA in college, I can afford PITT. If she loses the merit at GW she will need to transfer. I am trying to figure out how we can fit in another visit. Time is running out!</p>
<p>Same thing happened to my son, he was accepted to UPenn his dream school but we cannot afford it. He received a full scholarship from UPitt and it was also a safety school for him. He has decided to attend UPitt, not wanting to graduate with debt and putting a financial stain on the family. I have a friend who is a college advisor and she always raves about Pitt. She has sent many kids there and they all love it. There Honors program is one of the best. It’s a hard decision to make, we want the best for our kids, the question is can you sleep at night with a huge debt…</p>
<p>OP, is it you or your daughter who is unsure about the not having a campus/not having dining halls? Given that she likes American least of the four options, and that Pitt is a possibility, it doesn’t seem that not having a campus is an issue. Pitt does have some green space, but it’s not as well-defined. For not having dining halls, that’s an individual issue. GWU (and especially the Elliott school) was very high up D1’s list, but she regarded the food plan as a significant drawback. </p>
<p>If your D’s plans will include grad or professional school, see if she’s interested in splitting the difference in cost with you. You agree to help with grad school costs in exchange for her taking the lower-cost option now. I’d encourage her to talk to people at the Pitt Honors College and see what they’ve offered for students with similar interests to hers. Have her look at the possibilities for cross-enrollment at Carnegie-Mellon. Then compare that to the possibilities for internships etc at GWU.</p>
<p>Can you run down your costs for each? Also, how much of that would have to be borrowed by you or your daughter? That will help us sort things out. </p>
<p>For instance, since she has the full-tuition scholarship at Pitt, that leaves room and board, books, fees, and incidentals. So I imagine that would be around $10,000 a year, give or take. Also, how about transportation? Are you looking at airfare, etc.?</p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies. We went to visit American last week and now it is back in the running. More than likely it is a toss-up between Pitt and AU. AU has the size school she is interested in and has great advising and internships; however, she is somewhat concerned about maintaining a 3.2 in the AU honors program to keep her merit scholarship, even though she is a high school honors student, because if she loses the scholarship we cannot afford the school. She wants to major in political science and is very active in Model UN, but she does not live and breathe politics and has other interests as well. The Honors Program at Pitt is less restrictive and you need a 3.0 to keep the scholarship. However, the budget cuts at Pitt are also problematic. There is only one poli sci advisor for over 600 students. When we met with him there were plans to hire an additiona advisor; I just learned that this plan has been scrapped. All thoughts appreciated!</p>