First off, this college app process has been eye opening ! I admit I was unprepared and failed as a parent. Instead of leaving the picking and discussing up to DD and her college counselor I should have stepped in and taken charge because it is a mess.
DD has been all over the place when deciding on colleges. Applied to a lot of schools (15 — not counting a few others)all over country, and now getting results back. Feeling bad about not doing more research earlier but whatever, now we are here.
Need help narrowing results as we wait for more results and possible merit money/financial aid.
It is interesting how her true feelings about schools are coming out as we receive results — she was really bummed about being rejected from in state UNC and didn’t care about being deferred from OOS Clemson b/c so many others
As I stated above we are waiting for financial aid letters. Some schools will most likely be eliminated once we know true cost.
Her intended major is neuroscience/ biology
No SAT submitted (counselor told her not to) so merit aid if any will prob be low
Please help with OOS school programs for this
So far she’s gotten in to UMD, VTech, South Carolina, Pepperdine, U of Az, LMU
Still waiting on 4 more contenders, already eliminated 5 that were on list
If all these schools end up being too expensive then she’ll most likely end up at community college or Wilmington.
What is the budget? Have you run each school’s net price calculator? Do you qualify for need based aid?
What is her SAT score, please give math and ebrw detail.
First, this season has been all over the place, so don’t beat yourself up.
Second, pretty much all kids learn as they go through the process, and changing views & feelings are the norm, so it’s not just your one!
Third, $$ is going to be the biggest issue: few state unis meet need for out of state students, and merit is usually v limited. Can you afford the ones she for which she has acceptances?
Hi - No SAT
3.89 UW / 4.3 W
Price Max depends on whether I can get a job (currently one income) and if price of school is justifiable (great program, reputation, internships, preparation for getting into grad/med school)
Roughly speaking $50 max (crazy to write that —and going back to pay for kids school) otherwise $30k
Thank you collegemom3717 for being so kind
No reason to beat yourself up. You can only go to one school - and many kids apply all over the country. My kid did both Arizona, UMD, and UNC too.
You just need one affordable. So some of us did 20 - but our kids just go to one!!
It really depends on the budget and her gpa/sat - which i see you now provided.
The public OOS - short of merit - aren’t going to be aggressive - so a UMD, Va Tech will cost more. A U of SC and U of Arizona have great merit - Arizona you know before you even apply.
Even if none are affordable, there’s still options - for example, W Carolina is dirt cheap and you mentioned UNCW - which is a fine school.
So Arizona will be $20K merit with a 3.89 - so that brings you to $35K ish. Fine school.
I don’t know how Alabama works for merit sans test score - but their page shows you can get merit test optional. You might call and ask. Same with UAH. If you had a test score, they have huge merit. Without, I’m not sure.
A WVU will be $30K ish with $10K merit. They have neuro A Mississippi State is $24K after $12K scholarship. You could make the major/minor work there too.
There are solid schools and given this major is headed to grad school, any of these schools are just as good as the next - even UNCW - which by the way is very solid.
Lots of options if you want to pursue them.
Good luck.
I would suggest narrowing down options by eliminating schools that will be unaffordable. For example, UMD has a COA of $58k/year, way above even your ideal (“If everything falls into place”) max budget of $50k.
Good luck. Hope things work out after your daughter has received all her acceptances.
Did she get merit from UofSC? They typically send a letter with admission with a guaranteed minimum. While they used to have “pretty good” merit, I’ve noticed it’s fallen a bit over the years with the rising popularity of the large southern U’s.
What others is she waiting on? If cost is an issue, then I would take out any college she can’t get to by car. The cost of travel has blown up, post Covid - having to pay to fly several times a year adds thousands to the cost.
What is her major? You mention grad/med school - if that is her route, then pick the cheapest option for undergrad, period, and keep that GPA up.
Did she apply to Wilmington? My D21 was rejected outright from UNC too, despite having the stats, so I can relate. Two of D’s friends did a year at Wilmington and then transferred to UNC sophomore year, so she can always go that route.
Mine is OOS at VT and I pay less than $50K (she has a small scholarship).
My D24 sounds very similar to yours (North Carolina resident, similar stats) and is also considering neuroscience leading to med school.
Our budget is also around $50K. We dropped UMD from consideration because it seemed very unlikely to meet that.
Virginia Tech will probably be right at the top of that 50K budget but it has a really nice neuroscience program with multiple options and not too far from home, so we will be applying and hoping for the best.
Arizona looks interesting and nice merit, but D24 is a no on the location.
Like your D, Wilmington is D24’s in state, likely most affordable, option if she doesn’t get into Chapel Hill. D24 loves the idea of a school near the beach, and possible honors college. Big drawback is neuroscience is a minor only. @CollegeNerd67 's idea of starting there then transferring to UNC broadens the appeal of this option.
Thanks for all the replies
It’s reassuring to read that my thought process is similar to many others so we aren’t as lost as I thought
@S-sMo have you visited Pepperdine? We’re in Texas, made CA college visit to tour Stanford, UCLA, USC and Pepperdine. Daughter disliked Pepperdine within minutes; we ended up skipping the tour and drove on to LA. Of the 4 CA schools, she did apply to USC (and got in!), but ultimately decided to attend Texas A&M.
We visited 12 campuses, all across the US, and it was well worth the cost of travel. We scratched off several schools immediately, just by 1st impression.
Nothing compares to in person campus tour.
Do not fret the neuro major…it’s just nomenclature. Your D can major in bio, take plenty of psych, statistics, and a few chem courses and create her own “neuro” specialty. At the undergrad level, the important thing is getting a broad scientific background in the relevant disciplines-- and the study of the brain is behavioral, chemical, cellular, genetic, etc. A college which has a solid bio program is likely to be fine based on her interests. Congrats on UMD- sounds like it was a VERY rough year for UMD hopefuls, especially out of state. She should be really proud of her results right now!!!
You don’t sound lost at all… great results so far. Let’s hope a few come in under budget!!!
Agree on the first impression visits. We have visited Pepperdine. It is a beautiful location.
Congratulations on the USC acceptance- that’s a big deal! AND Texas A&M !!
I’m sure it was really tough to choose.
Blossom — thank you and fingers crossed
Perfect. The location IS gorgeous!! But the buildings themselves were ugly (we thought). It just turned out to not be what she wanted. But we have several friends with kids there, who do love it.
She’s a senior Business Honors major at A&M, has loved every minute! It’s been the perfect school for. She’s headed to law school after graduation. So I agree with what many have said…if you truly think she’ll attend nursing/medical/PA etc school after college…don’t go broke on undergrad.
Religious environment and rules there is a plus or minus?
ucbalumnus —- ? Odd question, but no, it doesn’t bother/affect our decision either way
Yes and no, especially when trying to fit in all the premed requirements. We had to knock a few colleges off D24’s potential list because of conflicts in that regard. Some had the basic BS level bio/chem/stat, but were mostly psych classes. One did the same, but with “neuro” classes replacing the psych. (Complicated by D24 wanting to fit in a painting minor, so she needs a closer fit between major and premed requirements, others might not have an issue).
Far more are mostly a bio degree with neuro classes as the major electives, but it’s worth checking. Additionally, places with only a minor sometimes seem a bit light on interesting neuro electives or research opportunities (they might have to be hunted down somewhere in the bio or psych department).
Unfortunately, if you want in-state neuro in NC, you have 2 choices-- Chapel Hill for the major (good luck, because holistic admissions are unpredictable), or Wilmington with a minor.
First off, you are doing way better than you think. So what if you applied to some schools that aren’t going to work in the end due to finances, location, or not getting admitted?That was us last year, for sure, but it all worked out.
Second, if medical school is a possibility, keep in mind that some medical schools won’t accept community college credits, or really look down on them. Conversely, medical schools will know that Wilmington is a solid school, and will accept any credits from them.
Third, I agree with those above who say that a lack of a neuroscience major is in no way a problem. Neuroscience as a major wasn’t even “a thing” a couple of decades ago, and yet colleges still taught neuroscience. I can promise you that there is not a single medical school or graduate school that will care whether your student graduates with a Neuroscience major vs. a Biology major with Neuro minor vs. just a plain Biology (or Psychology) major with some relevant coursework.
Really, you guys are sitting pretty.
ETA: If it were me, I would NOT go into debt or stress myself out to go to a $50K school if you have $30K options.
I am a neurophysiology professor. I agree with the others that are saying having a “neuroscience” undergraduate program does not matter one whit. My undergrad is in biology (chem minor). It was a cell and molecular heavy program. My PhD is in biology. It was a neurophysiology heavy program. Med schools and grad schools won’t care about a neuroscience major/minor.
Your kid could do research with a prof if they’re interested. That’s a great way to get more specific. I did research with a neuro prof for all of undergrad.
There is neuro content in many bio classes that don’t have “neuro” anywhere in the title. I only took one neuro-specific course in undergrad. You can get plenty of neuro content in your classes without having even a neuroscience minor. Far more important are the general biology and other basic science courses.
That allows you to pick the school based on other factors – good luck!