<p>lol. Well, I only had one shot at it. 
Keep a good attitude. Denison ain’t chopped liver.</p>
<p>BTW, my kid was accepted to Yale and Amherst but attended a school a good bit like Denison. She did just fine, had an exceptional 4 years, loved her school, and so would you …if you take advantage of everything they offer. Make a decision and don’t look back.</p>
<p>If I understand: It is the choice of Vassar at 30K a year verses Denison at 32K a year minus the GI Bill money. It looks to me that the GI Bill money equates to about 12K a year making Denison about 20K a year.</p>
<p>Hate to throw a wrench in the whole Denison decision, but if Vassar originally thought your parents could afford 40K a year, can’t they afford the 30K a year? Especially since the savings appears to be 10K a year in switching schools.</p>
<p>If you are wanting to go to Vassar just for the name, then it probably isn’t worth it. If Vassar is more of a match with what you want to study, you do have a huge decision to make. </p>
<p>Do well with your undergrad at Denison and then go to Vassar for grad school!!</p>
<p>Well, Vassar doesn’t have a graduate program but I understand what you’re saying. And no, I don’t want to attend Vassar just because of the name. It is all around the better match for me particularly with regards to theatre, international studies and study abroad.</p>
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<p>^^Wise words from curmudgeon, quoted for emphasis.</p>
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<p>^^Your own wise words, quoted for emphasis. You are having to face a major life disappointment, something that comes to everyone. The smart people pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and then embrace – yes, embrace! – the choice that’s open to them. You seem like a thoughtful, perceptive person, so you will understand the old saying “Bloom where you’re planted.” YOU are in charge of what your educational experience will be, and if you determine to be happy and fulfilled at Denison, then you will be.</p>
<p>It stings right now – totally understandable. Give yourself a day or two to grieve. De-friend the Vassar facebook page (don’t say goodbye, that will only make it harder). And then start falling in love with Denison. Explore every corner of the website. Find info on classes you want to take, recreational things you can do. Decide which student clubs or activities you’d like to investigate once you get there. Look at all the pictures of happy students. Get yourself a t-shirt and keyring at the online store. Look for things to love about it. Join THEIR facebook page, fer cryin out loud!</p>
<p>BTW, my D is at one of those midwestern LACs, not far from Denison, and probably not very different from Denison. She loves it. There’s some kind of LAC magic in that part of the country, and you’re in a position to take advantage of a opportunity to get a really wonderful education. I have a feeling you’re going to thrive there! :)</p>
<p>Part of me wonders if there isn’t some kind of misunderstanding with Vassar. I guess I don’t understand the GI money isn’t. Many schools use outside scholarships to replace loans and the student contribution. Are you positive this isn’t the situation? If it isn’t, Vassar isn’t very nice and maybe, just maybe, things are happening for a reason.</p>
<p>Vassar is very good in theater, yes, but international studies and study abroad aren’t its strong suits. I haven’t looked up Denison’s study away program, but the best programs are not the ones that are school sponsored anyway. My girl applied directly into a school abroad and went like a local and her FA followed her. If I get a chance, I’ll check on Denison for you.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, every time I’ve looked into Denison I’ve been very impressed with their school. Perhaps if you contacted a professor in the theater department there, you’d feel better.</p>
<p>For most people taking the merit aid offered is better than the gap year because the momentum can be difficult to recreate. You might also want to look at the list of schools still accepting app’s. The list indicates whether or not money is still available.</p>
<p>I don’t know your stats, but your acceptance indicate that you are a very attractive candidate. If you are really interested in theater, I might call up SUNY Purchase and wave your impressive credentials and see if there’s a spot. The SUNY schools are very inexpensive, even for those out of state. There theater program is well known and a bunch of household names went there.</p>
<p>However, I want to reiterate what others have said: Denison is a fine school.</p>
<p>Good luck, whatever you decide.</p>
<p>I took a look at Denison with an eye toward your interests. First of all the list of programs and majors is impressive. Any school that offers both Classics and Queer Studies as majors honors both honors traditions and is cutting edge edgy. Bravo Denison.</p>
<p>As for study away, there’s an impressive array of programs accepted. Funding may be a bit of problem – they weren’t that explicit.</p>
<p>The theater department really encourages its students to study away and its home page says it places its students in internships in NYC and other theater companies around the world. Sounds good to me!</p>
<p>The GI bill is an entitlement, not scholarship money. It will change your parents’ EFC, but it should have no effect as scholarship money. We use my husband’s GI bill for our son’s tuition; he goes to a very expensive school so this is a huge help. The major effect was that he “lost” his work-study.</p>
<p>Be sure the financial aid office staff understand the difference between the GI bill and other programs (like the Yellow Ribbon, which is NOT the same). Since the program is only about 2 years old, they may not have enough familiarity with it (we had problems getting it established but now things go quite easily and our son gets his money on a regular basis, directly deposited into his bank account). Also be sure your Dad is in contact with the Veteran’s Administration rep to smooth things along.</p>
<p>^^ I’m not familiar with the GI Bill and ramifications, but in general, any resource that can be used to pay for college will reduce need-based aid. It doesn’t have to be labelled “scholarship” to have a detrimental effect on EFC. Work-study is need-based, which would explain why your son lost his. The OP is in the same position, but he/she had more aid to lose.</p>
<p>Bump. 
Thanks you guys!!</p>
<p>So what did you decide?</p>
<p>My two cents: go with your dream school and borrow the money for the first year. That gives you time to work on options for year two.</p>