<p>I've just received my college decisions and I have no idea how to decide between the ones that accepted me. I am not a picky person at all. I pretty much liked every college I visited, which is why I applied to so many.</p>
<p>My family is not wealthy and it would be a stretch if I went to an expensive school, though we wouldn't starve. I like cities, but a suburb setting would be all right. Both medium and small schools appeal to me in different ways. I'm not crazy about Greek life/major partying, but I like to have fun, am always involved in a lot of things, and definitely want to be somewhere where things are going on. I do debate, like to ski and run, and am interested in practically every subject. If I had to pick right now, I'd say I'm leaning towards linguistics/cognitive science, foreign languages/international relations (study abroad is important to me), and maybe physical/computer science. I'm planning to go to grad school and should probably save up for that.</p>
<p>Should I be attracted by the prestige/good name of one over the financial aid/benefits offered by another? Which would you choose? Why?</p>
<p>I am trying to decide between:</p>
<p>William & Mary + possible full ride/summer stipend
Amherst
Swarthmore + possible summer stipends and possible financial aid package with no loans
Georgetown
Carnegie Mellon
Brown (Wait-listed...should I wait?)</p>
<p>If you get a significant amount of money at Swarthmore, that seems like the best mix of prestige and lower cost to me. That said W&M is also a great school, and the full ride make it look very appealing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm planning to go to grad school and should probably save up for that.
[/quote]
Or not. If by grad school you mean a PhD program, they are free. In fact, you get paid to go to grad school! At the best-funded schools it comes as several years of grants, at most others you are required to work part-time as a TA or RA. Some schools will give some of the aid as loans, although the savvy grad student will pick programs where the department or advisor has sufficient funding to avoid this.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The steady trend of financial aid at Yale has been toward full funding for all Ph.D. students, and few schools can rival the breadth of support that Yale provides. Of the approximately 530 Ph.D. students entering the Graduate School in the fall of 2006, all were offered a financial aid package consisting of four years of full tuition, at least four years of stipend support (minimum $19,000 in 2006-2007), and comprehensive health care coverage.
[/quote]
For professional schools and Master's programs its typically out of your pocket, though.</p>
<p>"Or not. If by grad school you mean a PhD program, they are free. In fact, you get paid to go to grad school! "</p>
<p>That depends on what you're majoring in. Hard science doctoral programs tend to be "free." Things like the arts, humanities, social sciences tend to cost the student big money depending on the program.</p>
<p>When it comes to professional schools -- law, medicine, business -- they can cost big bucks.</p>
<p>All the schools in your list are great and will provide great education and about equal career/grad school opportunities.</p>
<p>If you don't mind slightly conservative student body, W&M looks like the best option financially, next would be Swarthmore. Narrow the list down to those two. What is the cost difference for you between them ?</p>
<p>Swat or W&M with no debt after graduation?! Wow! All are great schools. If you like Snow and want a small school than Swarthmore is a great deal.</p>
<p>If you want sun and and larger campus environment you cant pass up W&M</p>
<p>How long will the debt last if you go to the prestigious school? How long will people be impressed by where you went to school? I bet the first will last much longer than the second.</p>
<p>But these are all prestigious schools...William & Mary is hardly an unknown, second tier school. I would think that the student body there would be pretty impressive as well. </p>
<p>To the OP, this is certainly a hard decision, but a free ride for W & M seems like a very attractive position. The finaid at Swarthmore seems decent as well...those would be the two that I would be considering most strongly, if I were you.</p>
<p>I cut Tufts out for financial reasons, and because when I visited I liked it less then Georgetown, which I have been accepted to. I also cut out Duke for financial reasons, and because I just don't like it (I'm a UNC fan :cool:). If I were going to pick a bigger university, it'd be William & Mary or Georgetown.</p>
<p>
<p>I agree, but I may not get it.</p>
<p>
[quote=Hanna]
You need to have final financial numbers in front of you to make this call.
</p>
<p>So as of today I've gotten all of my financial aid packages. Swarthmore, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, and Duke all expect an equally large contribution from my family. This means, in Swarthmore's case, that even if I am accepted into their scholars program, their claim of replacing my student loans with grants won't do much since they expect too much from my family (however, that scholars program would also include a $4,000 stipend every summer which is very attractive). Tufts also made an offer of no student loans which is similarly undercut by the fact that they expect so much from my family.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Amherst's package is (for whatever reason) far better ($10,000+ difference). The letter included with the package talked about how they use some formula different from the federal one to calculate financial need and that, as a result, all of my grants, loans, and work study would come directly from Amherst College with no connection to the federal system. Is this something to worry about, or a good thing?</p>
<p>I've heard about people bargaining with financial aid offices. Even if I don't end up picking Amherst, would I be able to show this kind of package to Swarthmore, for example? Actually, I was told that just being a finalist for this scholars program at Swarthmore means they'd do a lot to get me to go there even if I didn't get into the program itself. But even if they did oblige and improve my package, wouldn't they be able to drop the improvements the next year when I reapply for aid and they already have me as a student? Also, if I did get into the scholars program at Swarthmore, I couldn't use the summer stipends as a bargaining chip at another college (like Amherst), right?</p>
<p>
<p>You will regret it
</p>
<p>This is along the lines of what I've been feeling...especially after visiting classes at Amherst. However, I also feel that way about Georgetown to a degree. People have been strangely silent on that one. Are Amherst and Swarthmore really that much more prestigious than Georgetown? How do they compare to Duke (which seems to be very high up in the rankings lately)? And what about Brown? (I know I can't consider it an option right now, but even if I could, how would it compare to the options I have?)</p>
<p>I'm probably overthinking things a great deal, but it is a rather complicated situation--I am very torn. Thanks again for the advice!</p>
<p>
[quote]
but how long will the effects of peer stimulation last if everyone around you is a freaking genius? A long, LONG time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nonsense. It is more important to be surrounded by hard working, dependable, nice people. In any case work will be much more important in terms of peer stimulation. And, the differences among the schools under discussion are so small as to be meaningless especially when discussing the students attending. In any case graduate school is ten times more important for intellectual stimulation.</p>
<p>Today I was offered the scholarship at Swarthmore. It is an amazing program (mostly centered around summer stipends and other extra benefits), and I am negotiating with their financial aid department to see if they can't meet Amherst's offer as far as the EFC from my family goes.</p>
<p>However, I very much like Amherst (with the no requirements, etc) and, again, they did offer me a great financial aid package.</p>
<p>So I guess it's come down to: Swarthmore scholar vs. plain Amherst student. Please help me decide!</p>