<p>We are having a tough time here. S did not get into first choice school. He did get into others to which he applied, and some with merit money. He did get into Kenyon and we went to visit this week and as you know, tour guide is everything, and the tour guide was cold and so not warm/fuzzy. It gave us a bad taste of the school, and the student body as well did not seem warm and welcoming as we interacted with them. Was this an off day? </p>
<p>So we are left with Kenyon with no money offered, some middle ground LAC's with some merit money which he has ruled out and honest I don't know are worth the balance due after scholarship, and finally a state LAC UNC-Asheville (Honors college) which is an absolute bargain with his scholarship.</p>
<p>Part of me feels stupid to turn down a school like Kenyon, part of me feels like Asheville may be a good solid start. It is a rising star for sure. He cannot decide and is really torn up. He is a very bright kid NMF, and wants rigor and challenge. Kenyon would mean two jobs for me for four years. Asheville would mean grad school covered, ability to do study abroad, and retaining money he was given by his GF for a down payment on a house one day.</p>
<p>Do students get any merit money as transfers? Is it dumb to start one place and regroup with a thought in mind on transfer next year? If you say no to Kenyon because of the money, are they likely to take him as a transfer next year?</p>
<p>Just needing some parent thoughts as deadlines loom....</p>
<p>Good question. Way back, when it all started, he loved the school, talked to friends about what a great place it was and was set on it. It is a really great place. Then two unfortunate things happened, several teachers told him he should “reach higher” than it and, he had an overnight and did not feel like it was an intellectual “fit” for him. Thus began the world tour of colleges for us, and his worry about feeling “challenged” and with kids who have an equal desire for intellectual pursuit vs. partying.</p>
<p>$240,000 for a school where he doesn’t think he fits doesn’t make any sense. (Hey - $240k where he DOES think he fits doesn’t make a lot of sense either.)</p>
<p>There’s usually no merit aid for transfers.</p>
<p>Maybe he can visit Asheville a second time?</p>
<p>My daughter did get a merit scholarship as a transfer student, although it was not a huge sum ($5,000).</p>
<p>If he isn’t crazy about Kenyon, I’d find it hard to justify spending the extra money – not to mention from what I’ve heard, Asheville is a much more happening place than Gambier, OH…</p>
<p>I would recommend another trip to Asheville, this time make it targeted towad meeting with professors and doing another overnight (this time make sure it is not a party night like Thursday or Friday-if that was part of the problem). He really liked the school before, and he may really like it again. </p>
<p>Because transferring usually means no money, isn’t it smarter to start at the place with merit aid so you can save up if he does transfer?</p>
<p>Well, if he’s really ruled out the middle-ground LACs, then I’d say UNC-A is the logical choice. And, I’d think enrolling there with a plan to transfer out is unwise. Subconciously, he might never give it an honest chance to fit him. Plus, transfers don’t usually get much merit aid, if any. </p>
<p>What’s wrong with the LACs, anyway? Just curious.</p>
<p>Mini’s right, there is little to no money for transfers.</p>
<p>As an in-state NC resident UNC Asheville is a bargain. With a scholie offer it is FANTASTIC.</p>
<p>If he really dislikes it, depending on his grades, he could apply to transfer to UNC CH. Do not know if they would offer the same scholie but with a less than 25% acceptance rate for freshman it is difficult to get in. The transfer rate is much, much lower but applying for junior year from another UNC he would have a better shot and the cost for 2 years would be much less than 4.</p>
<p>As you know many of the schools in the UNC system started out as smaller, private schools and when absorbed into the UNC system retained much of their original school culture. The HBCU’s, LACs (Asheville), School of Fine and Performing Arts all are very individualized and unique.</p>
<p>Again UNC Asheville is a beautiful campus, beautiful locale, great, small classes and other students who really want to be there. $5807 tuition for the year, again is a bargain plus a scholarship. I don’t know Kenyon’s tuition, I am sure it is higher, much higher.</p>
<p>Carolina’s tuition for next year is $7500, so a little more but not much more if he is looking to transfer.</p>
<p>Did he apply to any other schools that award merit money for NMF? </p>
<p>Congrats to your son on UNC Asheville with a scholarship!!! </p>
<ol>
<li><p>None of you liked Kenyon and they offered no $$ and you are having trouble saying no the them? </p></li>
<li><p>He plans on going to grad school and if he chooses Ashville you will be able to pay for undergrad, grad school plus leave him with money for a house or whatever else when he is done?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If he is going to grad school, that will be more important in terms of school “status” than the undergrad if that is what you are worrying about.</p>
<p>If you have to work two jobs to cover Kenyon, that is a pretty big risk in this economy. There are a lot of people having trouble finding one job, let alone two. But if you are sure you can pull that off it is your choice. </p>
<p>If you plan to transfer, merit scholarships are not usually an option. They save those offers to try and lure freshman that they would like to attend. </p>
<p>If he is a good student he should be able to excel at whichever school he goes to and that will be most important when he is applying to grad schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, I guess part of the problem is bridging the gap on how Kenyon “reads” and what we saw and felt. It was weird to say the least, as we were both prepared to fall in love based on what we saw. Some I wonder, is the southern warmth feel…just a plain culture difference for sure, and some I just don’t know.</p>
<p>Carolina (UNC) is on the radar, but I think he needs a smaller school to start. And it is a good thought about transfer to carolina if he doesn’t just fall in love with Asheville. I think he feels like he would be settling, and I don’t agree. </p>
<p>I agree, another visit would be a great idea.</p>
<p>What does your son like about both schools? Can he articulate the pros and cons of each? If he cannot provide good reaons to choose Kenyon over UNC-A, then I would agree with the majority here and take the scholarship. To be honest, I’m not sure why Kenyon is even on the table, still, and I don’t think it’s worth it from the working-two-jobs perspective.</p>
<p>Just to note, my D and I did not particularly like Kenyon either (no flames, please - it just wasn’t our cup of tea.) How did your son react to these two, culture-wise? I thought that they were very different in feel.</p>
<p>Did he stay overnight in the honors college? If not, that might make a difference. Our experience with the big state Uni was there were many kids there who partied harder than they studied, but there were also plenty who were more serious about their studies. It took until Sophomore year for the flunkies to depart. First term was rough and transferring was considered. But by Soph year the work started to gel with the play for a greater proportion of the student body. FWIW. Note: this dynamic plays in all colleges; it is more pronounced (at least it appears so to my family which has various big U experiences) in the local U.</p>
<p>I would really like to strangle teachers that tell kids they are aiming too low. They started to do the same thing with my DS until he told them that money mattered and he needed a school to really love him, not just accept him. I hope that your DS can fall in love with his options. There are advantages of being a top student wherever he goes and having the financial freedom once he graduates. </p>
<p>Remind him that once he starts school in the fall it won’t matter where else he was accepted, or why he chose X school. He was rewarded for all his hard work with $.</p>
<p>Did this feeling come up after he was accepted and told people (fellow peers and faculty at his high school?). Maybe things were said at school and that made him doubt his choices when he initially and after a visit liked the school? </p>
<p>If this is the case he needs to stop listening to them and trust himself.</p>
<p>Part of this is maturing and growing up. others were causing him to doubt himself and he needs to develop the confidence in his choices. He liked the school (UNC Asheville) initially and for good reason. It’s a great school.</p>
<p>He’s the one attending and maybe having another visit will help. He just needs to go with an open mind.</p>
<p>Again it is a fabulous option. He should be proud!</p>
<p>Kat
UNC-A has 3700 undergrads, small public uni</p>
<p>I agree with this advice from MizzBee. I also agree with others that going to Kenyon full pay when none of you is excited about it doesn’t seem like the best choice.</p>
<p>He really needs to dig in and explore what UNC Asheville has to offer to him specifically. </p>
<p>Talk to profs and students in his intended major (if he has one). </p>
<p>Find out more about the honors college and what it means. Smaller classes with other honors students? Better content and fewer multiple choice tests? Some honors colleges really change a student’s experience and some don’t much.</p>
<p>Is there honors housing?</p>
<p>My S is still deciding between schools. One private top forty research university and our state school. I told him both will have 5,000 serious and smart students. it’s just that the state school also has 25,000 other students who range from smart and studious to some mix of not-so-much. In other words, don’t knock public schools (not that you are…) for having a range of students. Bright engaged students will find their peeps there.</p>
<p>Totally agree w/ Kat. You will also find that quite a few of the kids who head off to far away shangri la LACs and other large Uni’s come home to the local U. They learn that college is school and there’s not reason to pay through the nose for a good solid basic education. You’ll see. A whole crop of kids come home after one or two years. Happens all the time =). Those high school teachers are judged to a certain extent on how “high” their students leap. Take what they say with a large hunk of salt.</p>
<p>I think teachers mean well and clearly think a lot of your son. The problem is these types of comments while meant to be supportive, feed into the ideas kids get during senior year of HS that where they are accepted and matriculate determines their ultimate value. Reading your post, Asheville honors sounds like the clear winner.</p>
<p>I think the teachers mean well too, but gosh did it make him feel bad. We did not dislike Kenyon, just did not walk away with the wow factor. thank you all for sorting through, the other school is guilford and goucher. With 22K left to pay after scholarship, it doesn’t seem to beat out UNC-A. Shangra la is a good way to put it, Kenyon is far away and hard to get to as well for us, so add travel into the mix…</p>
<p>Don’t get caught up on the Name Game. Obviously Kenyon gets a lot of love here, but for most of the world, people have not heard of this school outside of the geographical area. A state school will have more name recognition nationwide, even if the academic recognition isn’t there, especially a NC state school as most people aren’t going to make the distinction between the various campus outside of your general area. If it is a bargain, why not? What is holding you back other than you think you should send your son to the “name brand” school.</p>