<p>I've narrowed my colleges to two or three, but only one has the major that I really, really want to go into. Should I chose the school that has the major that I really want, or should I consider the other schools and other majors that I am slightly less interested in? How important is my major?</p>
<p>Well what’s the major and what are the alternatives offered by the other colleges?Also, which schools are you considering?</p>
<p>There’s a big difference between someone who wants to study geophysics and finds that his college only has majors in geology and physics, and one who also wants to study geophysics but finds that his school only offers geography and a biological based environmental science major.</p>
<p>Id like to major in philosophy. The alternatives aren’t really alternatives, they’re just other majors that I am somewhat interested in such as literature, but like I said, I’d really like to major in philosophy.</p>
<p>If the one school with philosophy is not a safety (i.e. you will be admitted and you will be able to afford it), it would be a good idea to expand the college search criteria. Going to a four year college that does not offer the academics that you are interested in does not make much sense.</p>
<p>Go to the school which offers philosophy if it’s affordable. Philosophy is one of those core disciplines that every school which values the liberal arts ought to have. IMO the lack of such a major says quite a bit about how much the school and/ or student body prioritizes the humanities.</p>
<p>Btw, which schools are you considering?</p>
<p>I’ve actually already applied and have been accepted into the school that offers philosophy. It is Southwest Minnesota State University. Not a very widely known school, but from the research that I have done, it seems to be a nice liberal arts school none the less that prioritizes the education and happiness of it’s students. I’ll be visiting sometime in the coming months to get a feels of the college itself, so I am pretty excited. </p>
<p>The other schools are Bemidji State in northern MN and South Dakota State. Southwest Minnesota State is at the top of my list currently.</p>
<p>Have you considered University of Minnesota - Morris? Also has the liberal arts vibe, offers philosophy as a major. A bit stronger school academically.</p>
<p>My grades are good, but not good enough to get full ride scholarships, so I need to keep price in mind. SMSU is in my price range, where as UM Morris unfortunately isn’t. Although, it certainly looks like a nice school. If anyone who lives closer to the area knows more about SMSU, I’d appreciate any information about it. You can only find so much info about a school online. I’ve actually lived in the deep south my entire life.</p>
<p>Looks like (at list prices) UMN - Morris (about $23,000 per year) is about $4,000 more expensive than SW MN State (about $19,000 per year); neither charges out-of-state additional tuition. Which state are you a resident of?</p>
<p>The lists at <a href=“Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html</a> might give you more schools to consider. Truman State is similar to UMN - Morris in list price, but has some automatic for stats scholarships to lower the price if your HS GPA and ACT/SAT are high enough.</p>
<p>Most websites that I have looked at (including SMSU’s) list the total annual cost of attendance at a little over $16,000. Once financial aid is factored in, c-a-p-p-e-x has my total cost of attendance just over $14000. I’m in Louisiana.</p>
<p>Remember when comparing costs to note whether the totals include only billed costs (tuition, fees, room, board) or those plus other costs (books, personal/misc expenses, travel). The latter can be a few thousand dollars, so be careful about comparing totals with those costs to totals without those costs. The $4,000 difference between UMN - Morris and SW MN State is based on just the billed costs.</p>
<p>No in-state public university in Louisiana with your major is competitive on costs?</p>
<p>Very few schools here in Louisiana offer philosophy as a major. I have visited the few that do, and I was not very impressed. I have to say, I’ve never been a fan of the Bible Belt south, and I’ve longed to get out at the first chance I got since I was a kid. Also, I don’t want to go somewhere where my parents are an hour or two away. It’s not because I want to escape my parents, I love my family very much! I just feel that college should be as much as a growing up experience as it is a learning experience. I don’t want the comfort of knowing that they’re just an hour drive down the interstate if I need them. I want to learn to be fully independent. The two big things that I am looking for in a college experience are knowledge, of course, and the development of independence. I want to come out of college fully independent and confident in my own ability to go out and live in the world.</p>
<p>Have you run the financial aid estimator at the SMSU website itself?</p>
<p><a href=“Estimating Financial Aid | Southwest Minnesota State University”>Financial Aid | Southwest Minnesota State University; </p>
<p>Just warning you that many rural areas are quite similar to the Bible Belt South in terms of their adherence to Christianity and political conservatism. If you find such an environment repressive, don’t assume you can escape it by going to the rural north.</p>
<p>@whenhen , I understand that completely. I have done a lot of research online regarding the town that it is in and the area in general. Ive had a chance to talk online with some people who live or have been in Marshall and the surrounding areas. The consensus seems to be that the area is neither overly conservative or overly liberal in terms of political and social ideologies.</p>