My DD is trying to decide between a Stamps Scholarship at a mid size Southern University and a small liberal arts college. She has been awarded the Stamps Scholarship at the first which will cover full cost of attendance plus a stipend. The other university is offering full tuition plus a stipend but not the prestige of Stamps. She prefers the second university. We feel very blessed to be in this situation of two wonderful schools and offers but are struggling to decide between prestige of a national award and best fit. Advice welcome.
I am sure that many Stamps offers get turned down. The saying that came to my mind when I read this post was “No matter how beautiful she is someone somewhere is tired of her s#%^”.
Congratulations on her excellent options!! I agree that many Stamps offers must get turned down – it is safe to assume that the students who qualify for the scholarship will often also have other excellent options available to them. Don’t discount fit as part of the decision process.
Hmmm, I think the last two “words” in that quote in post #1 got reversed from how I always heard it…
Yes, for the OP, great problem to have. Congrats to your daughter. For sure, people turn down Stamps scholarships, often no doubt for full rides at a better fit institution.
I talked to someone once who was an alternate Stamps scholar at Georgia Tech and got the scholarship when someone turned it down for an Ivy. (Mind boggling.). But, yeah, there are alternates for a reason.
Nice problem to have!!! Congrats!!
If someone is choosing between, say, the Stamps at Mercer vs a full tuition and stipend at Smith, this would be a no brainer. In your circumstance, its not just about the Stamps, its about the overall college experience. Keep us posted!
My D turned down a Stamps at one school for a cohort scholarship at another (also full ride). She ended up being awarded the Stamps there too (no extra money with it though, just the other benefits). The Stamps yield at the first school was really high though.
I’m not sure what this even means but it doesn’t sound very uplifting ?
@mom23dramaqueens we have young people in similar situation when it comes to being blessed with scholarship offers. Our daughter made her final decision about which full ride she was going to take by determining which would be the best fit for what she wanted to major in and where she felt internship and other opportunities would be the best. She also wanted to be on the east or west coast in a major city. This was one of the reasons she turned down both Brown and University of Chicago. I hope this was helpful.
@trippfolsom yes thank you. I think she is coming to that. We simply will not pay for the more prestigious schools she got into (Vandy, WM, etc) and she has (mostly) decided that even though the school may not be as “prestigious” as others or she may not be “in love” with it, she will still be given many opportunities due to it’s location, connections and the benefits that come with Stamps no matter where you go to college. Prestige can be found in grad school! Which we will gladly pay for if she graduates debt free from undergrad. Thank you for your reply.
@mom23dramaqueens you are so welcome. Since Covid-19 my kiddos is so happy with her decision.
@mom23dramaqueens
Encourage her to go to the college that offers the most opportunities, where she can visualizing enjoying herself and thriving over the next 4 years. My DS also was accepted at many tip top colleges, but chose the west coast U that offered full tuition [ there were not Stamps Scholarships back then] and ended up getting his PhD at Caltech- one of the most prestigious U’s in the world. That might not have happened without the opportunities his college offered to top students.
Congrats!