<p>Thanks for all good questions and comments.</p>
<p>Our contribution to the selction process was to help D compile a list of schools that had good programs in her area of interest (environmental science) and to help her visit all of those she had interest in. We also wound up convincing her to visit several that she had little interest in. None of these were overnight visits, just the canned info/tour/lunch program that many schools seem to have.</p>
<p>After the visits, she came to the conclusion that she really wants to attend school in a big city, and jettisoned a number of schools that would have been a good fit for her otherwise. As one poster above suggested, once she idealized Columbia and NYU in her mind, she really stopped thinking logically. </p>
<p>She chose and paid for the actual applications. Some of these – both omissions and additions – came as a surprise to her dad and I. While are not afraid of D, as someone suggested above, we have raised her for 18 years and know that because she is obstinant and highly emotional, some battles are just not worth fighting. School choice is one of those. We have set financial parameters, but ultimately she is the one who has to live at the school and to deal with the relative quality of the education she gets there.</p>
<p>We did insist she apply to at least one VA state school, because we know we can afford the in-state tuition even if we have to pay out of pocket. Thus we have the William & Mary option on the table. </p>
<p>Fortuantely, no hard decisions are required until the end of April, so we will continue to sit with the information we have, continue to reason with the mule, and see what happens next. :)</p>
<p>okay, what else? For example, San Diego State has a 30% acceptance rate and a 30% 4-year graduation rate. Obviously it’s not considered a top-tier school, but I’ve never heard it described as not rising to the level of mediocre. I’m not meaning to argue, I just would like to understand. What else, if you don’t mind? Especially if there are many commuters, then there must be plenty of students who are working full time while going to school. Of course they won’t graduate in 4 years.</p>
<p>I’m biased. I am a William & Mary grad. My dream school was the University of North Carolina because I thought Chapel Hill was the coolest place on earth in the 70s. I didn’t even apply because we were very low income and were so naive about financial aide that it never occurred to me or my parents that, based on my stats, I probably would have received great financial aide to any school I wanted. </p>
<p>I never regretted going to W&M though. Now that I live out of Virginia, I can’t tell you how many people have argued with me that it is a private school, even after they learn I went there. </p>
<p>As I said, I’m biased but what a shame if she turns down W&M for any of the more expensive schools on that list. Save the money for grad school - in New York.</p>
I wouldn’t spend a penny of my hard earned money to send my kid to a school far below her capabilities just to teach her some kind of lesson, then spend more of that hard earned money on the school she transfers to because transfers don’t get good financial aid. This is a terrible plan all around.</p>
<p>@thumper1 W&M has sent out likely letters so it’s possible that the OP’s D got one of them. However, no merit aid has been awarded yet at W&M, so I’m a bit sceptical of the OP’s story. I asked twice about that inconsistency on the other thread, and never got an answer. And it seems by the OP’s posts that she hasn’t actually taken any advice given seriously yet keeps asking for it. I have an inkling that it may be a ■■■■■, but I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now.</p>
<p>I do not know the deadlines for applications, but SUNY ESF(environmental science and forestry) has interesting programs and is attached to Syracuse University, which is of course, in Syracuse. SUNY tuition is pretty reasonable.</p>
<p>So, yeah, something’s rotten in Denmark. I feel stupid for having played into this. Other thread says ED rejection from Columbia, ED II acceptance from NYU. OP indicates “significant” merit from W&M, which is implausible based on the “facts” presented (checked against W&M website). RD deadline for William & Mary was Jan. 1, with admission decisions sent out April 1. As far as I can discern, no merit awards would have been made yet for RD applicants. Merit notification goes out either in March (Monroe Scholars) or at the time of admission notification (William & Mary Scholar Award). There is a prestigious scholarship program (Murray Scholars) for which potential students are required to submit additional information (scholarship winners selected and notified in April).</p>
<p>kpgriswold - I’m glad your D has a couple good options. She also has you to provide a little perspective. A lot of kids start out wanting something in a college that is really very peripheral to education - big city, small idyllic campus with rolling hills, no cold weather, big Greek presence, etc. Usually during the application and decision process, the kids realize that they probably won’t get everything they want, but end up happy that they got what they need and a couple things they want. </p>
<p>Need - education in an area of interest
affordability without huge debt</p>
<p>It looks like she already has a couple options that meet this need, so she deserves congratulations on having choices and earning her way into good schools.</p>
<p>If none of her viable choices are making her happy, you and she should search for more choices and contact admissions offices to see who will accept a late application. Some will say no, but she might find one that says yes that makes her excited. </p>
<p>I hear you when you say she’s headstrong and won’t necessarily do what you say. That’s fine. Your job is to make sure she understands what you can afford and that you’re not taking on huge debt (you would have to cosign for huge loans if she wanted them, so it would still be you taking on the responsibility of debt). </p>
<p>Take a deep breath and know that many students every year go to colleges that they aren’t all that excited about and have wonderful experiences. It sounds like she may need a little life experience to teach her that sometimes making the best of what you think isn’t a perfect situation is part of life. It sounds like she still needs to learn this lesson, and ending up at a great school like William & Mary is a pretty painless way to learn it, so if that’s her worst case scenario, life is good!</p>
<p>Help her and encourage her to do more work now to look into schools with late deadlines or that will accept applications past their deadlines, and also stay positive and non alarmist about her current choices - maybe she will relax and start to feel better about her options!</p>
<p>I posted this on the other thread and am posting here to save others from spinning their wheels.</p>
<p>Something’s rotten in Denmark. OP refers to an ED rejection from Columbia, ED II acceptance from NYU. He or she references “significant” merit from W&M, which is implausible based on the “facts” presented (checked against W&M website). RD deadline for William & Mary was Jan. 1, with admission decisions due April 1. As far as I can discern, no merit awards would have been made yet for RD applicants. Merit notification goes out either in March (Monroe Scholars) or at the time of admission notification (William & Mary Scholar Award). There is a prestigious scholarship program (Murray Scholars) for which potential students are required to submit additional information (scholarship winners selected and notified in April).</p>
<p>I saw on the W&M thread that some applicants got likely cards. So it is possible OP is referring to one of these. I am not sure about the merit decision. I also think that the OP is avoiding answering the question for some reason.</p>
<p>as absweetmarie mentions, a lot of this does not quite make sense. I don’t think this is a ■■■■■, but rather a parent who is discussing a hypothetical situation-- she probably expects to receive a large amount of merit from William and Mary and BU, though decisions have not been released yet. Correct me if I’m wrong, but William and Mary is not a school notorious for good merit aid, so I wouldn’t exactly count on that. Regardless, given her interest in an urban environment, I doubt she would like it there, even if it is the most prestigious of her options.</p>
<p>BU seems like a perfect fit for your daughter. Considering her acceptance at NYU, she will probably receive a good merit package. The school has a great reputation, ranked by US News at #53 for national universities (NYU and William and Mary are both #33), and has a great urban environment that she will enjoy. Have her attend admitted students days at both William and Mary and BU, and she may realize either that an urban environment isn’t as important to her as she previously thought, or that she likes Boston just as much as she likes NYC. If she starts out at either uni and decides she still wants to attend school in NYC, she can transfer to one of the MANY NY schools (Fordham, Hunter, maybe even Columbia or Barnard if she does well in college).</p>
<p>If it is a hypothetical situation, then for heaven’s sake JUST SAY SO! People here often put themselves out to offer good advice, loking up stats and facts and so on, and do not take kindly to being jerked around by false stories.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I suspect that OP should have said, I anticipate …</p></li>
<li><p>If OP is in VA, as I tend to think, even without aid, W & M may come in affordable</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So OP didnt word the inquiry exactly right, no matter. The important things (imho) are</p>
<ol>
<li><p>NO ONE has responded - oh St. Johns is a great school (for someone who could get in at W & M and wants NYC experience, not a commuter school), just not well known.</p></li>
<li><p>NO ONE has said borrow oodles for NYU.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So given the facts as I beleive them to be, OPs DD is left with the following choices - and only these choices. </p>
<ol>
<li> Go to W & M, and consider transferring to a good NY school</li>
<li> Go to W & M and take a summer in the city at NYU or Fordham</li>
<li> Take a gap year (and maintain freshman status, do not take ANY courses anywhere, volunteer, work or write the great american novel)</li>
<li> If BU comes in with good aid, go there.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>I know a crying screaming teen is not easy (believe me, I know). But OP, you have the upper hand. YOU can say, no one is going to sign loans for you.</p>
<p>PS – St. Johns is right for some kids. But not this one. Great BB team and a pharm school (I think).</p>