i got into too many schools...help?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>i got into too many schools...if u were me where would u go? (im from ny, i want a balance of social and academic atmospheres-nothing too cut throat or not serious enough about academics)
oh and i wanna major in political science, possibly double major in art</p>

<ol>
<li>Berkeley (not really considering anymore)</li>
<li>UCLA (love this school but its really expensive)</li>
<li>USC (also expensive)</li>
<li>UDel </li>
<li>American U School of Public Affairs</li>
<li>Tulane</li>
<li>Muhlenberg (probably too small for me)</li>
<li>SUNY Binghamton</li>
<li>Lehigh</li>
<li>Brandeis</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
</ol>

2

<p>Usually price factors in at least a little bit. Is money no object? or are these eight about the same price for you?
4. UDel
5. American U School of Public Affairs
6. Tulane
7. Muhlenberg (probably too small for me)
8. SUNY Binghamton
9. Lehigh
10. Brandeis
11. Boston University </p>

<p>Which are easy to get to from your house, and which are hard to get to from your house?</p>

3

<ol>
<li>UDel</li>
<li>American U School of Public Affairs</li>
<li>Tulane</li>
<li>Muhlenberg (probably too small for me)</li>
<li>SUNY Binghamton</li>
<li>Lehigh</li>
<li>Brandeis</li>
<li>Boston University </li>
</ol>

<p>What are the FA packages for each? How much is out of pocket and how much is in loans?</p>

<p>What is your likely major and career?</p>

4

<p>no, theyre all different prices. id have put down my deposit on ucla already if it wasnt so expensive
Binghamton is the cheapest bc im from NY
the california schools and Lehigh are the most expensive
political science major
the hardest to get into would be ucla usc and berkeley</p>

5

<p>If money is an issue you shouldn’t be considering UCLA or other schools with big price tags that you’d have to take large amounts of loans just to pay for.</p>

<p>What are your cheapest and affordable options for you and your family. We can help you from that list of options…</p>

6

<ol>
<li>UCLA (love this school but its really expensive)</li>
<li>USC (also expensive)</li>
<li>UDel affordable but my dad hates having to pay oos rates for some reason</li>
<li>American U School of Public Affairs affordable but one of the more expensive ones</li>
<li>Tulane 20,000 scholarship & honors. but my brother is going here and i dont want to go to school with him</li>
<li>Muhlenberg 12500 scholarship but im not really interested in such a small school</li>
<li>SUNY Binghamton cheap b/c im in state but im really not interested in it</li>
<li>Lehigh expensive.</li>
<li>Brandeis affordable but im not really interested in it</li>
<li>Boston University affordable with fin aid but no campus which i dont like</li>
</ol>

7

<p>and as for money in general i come from a pretty rich area in a middle class family
the only obstacle for my family is that my twin brother is also attending school next yr. hes going to tulane with a 25,000 scholarship though so its very affordable (he chose it out of brandeis bu bing & tulane)</p>

8

<p>Sounds like you are down to Delaware or American University.</p>

<ol>
<li>UDel affordable but my dad hates having to pay oos rates for some reason</li>
<li>American U School of Public Affairs affordable but one of the more expensive ones</li>
</ol>

<p>How are the political science and art departments at each? Can people who are not art majors take art classes at each of these? (This is an important consideration.)</p>

<p>What are the class sizes like at each, and what is the student to faculty ratio? Are there good support systems for freshmen? What are the graduation requirements at each? Do you like the distribution requirements? Would you live on campus? Do you like the dorms and the food? What are your favorite EC’s? How strong are they at each? How do the two schools compare in that respect?</p>

<p>How convenient is it to get from your house to each campus? Will you have a car at school freshman year? Can you park it there?</p>

<p>Are you looking for a school with minimal Greek presence (so most of the social life will not revolve around fraternity parties)? Or a strong Greek presence, because you know you want to be involved in Greek life at a school with a lot of fraternities and sororities?</p>

9

<p>also consider that the California universities are getting serious funding cuts because California is going broke so the UC schools would probably not be worth your money</p>

10

<p>I would go with American. It sounds more affordable than the others, you want to be a political science major. It makes sense.</p>

11

<p>what worries me about american is that its good for political science but i dont want to go to american for anything but poli sci
and all i liked about it was the program…i like bigger schools for some reason lol
but turning down ucla for udel just doesnt seem to make sense to me…it comes to be like 15000 difference i think for my parents taking out money my grandparents offered me
and if im going to a state school ucla is going to offer me more opportunities than udel u know?</p>

<p>college is such a tough decision!!!
i love all of you for your input =]</p>

12

<p>15,000 difference the first year and then, perhaps, 16,000 difference the second year and 17,000 difference the third year and 18,000 different the fourth year? perhaps $66,000 difference over the course of four years?</p>

<p>Suppose you got a great job. Say it pays $45,000 per year and you take home $36,000 per year, or $3000 per month. You would work 21 months of your life to come up with that $66,000.</p>

<p>Suppose your parents made $100,000 per year. Suppose they take home $72,000 per year or $6000 per months. They would work eleven months to come up with that $66,000.</p>

<p>If you are talking about a $15,000 per year difference for your freshman year, that ends up being a very big difference.</p>

<p>UCLA is wonderful in many programs but for an undergrad studying government in these times of CA budget cuts, who could say it is definitely a better choice than UDel?</p>

13

<p>UCLA and Berkeley get little of their funding from the state. It is fascinating how people completely ignorant of the realities of the UC system comment on it. NO there is not a mass exodus out of the UC system. UCLA is STILL the most applied to school in the country and UCLA and Berkeley could survive WITHOUT state funding if they had to.</p>

14

<p>Sorry! I thought it was hard for undergrads to register for the classes they needed because there were fewer sections of classes in the UCs in general because of budget issues - I read that here on cc, but I should not believe everything I read. </p>

<p>For a grad student in the sciences, I think UCLA truly trumps UDel. For an undergrad in gov/poli sci, is it definitely a better choice, given that it is far more expensive?</p>

15

<p>MidwestMom, it’s hardER but still doable, most kids have no problem finishing in 4 years, but given the cuts, students probably do have to be a bit more proactive, assertive and orgainzed than in other schools. At least that’s the experience of my extended family with a ton of kids currently in the UCs. That said, like you, I’d also question the extra tuition for a family where money is a concern.</p>

16

<p>not sure why Tulane is out of the discussion; economically feasible, honors…yea, so your brother is going; so are more than 1,000 other freshman…pick a different dorm; different classes…different interests…it’s no different than if another kid from your HS would be going…but if you want a “bigger” school, go w UDel or UCLA (depending on your stomach for debt)…</p>

<p>I still like the Tulane option for you…just my opinion…</p>

17

<p>We could all chime in on how seldom the OP would accidentally run into the brother. I like Tulane, too.</p>

18

<p>i actually put off tulane before i knew my brother was going there. it just didnt feel like a good fit to me when i visited you know? (i did a overnight there)</p>

19

<p>

This guy has no idea what he is talking about. You look at his posts and he has an opinion on almost every school comparison out there. But to this specific point, here is a link that completely discredits his statement with regard to UCLA [California</a> Budget Woes Hurt University System : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123035049]California”>California Budget Woes Hurt University System : NPR)</p>

<p>Here is a pertinent quote for those that don’t want to link:</p>

<p>

I am sure the same applies to Berkeley as was discussed for UCLA in this story.</p>

<p>I mean really, these are state schools. Of course they depend on the state. The budget line in the California state budget is billions. How could anyone say they don’t depend on that? And if the funding weren’t important, why did they have to raise tuition 33% or whatever it was? Unbelieveable.</p>

20

<p>On the UCLA board, I thought your only two choices were UCLA and Delaware.</p>

<p>But then you augment the list and rattle off names like Brandeis, Cal, USC, etc.</p>

<p>Dude, why you holding out on us? ;)</p>

<p>Let me see, I think you said, something to the effect of, 'we’re from a rich area, but my family’s middle-class."</p>

<p>I know really that rich kids tend to say the same thing, “we’re middle class.” Then I would find out they lived in Hidden Hills or the Hills of Beverly or somewhere like that. Or they would say, “we have the shoddiest house in a multi-million dollar neighborhood.” It’s hard to read you as it is them, it really is.</p>

<p>I don’t have any recommendations, because I tend to want to advise people to save money, save for those who have loads of money to burn.</p>

<p>So if you can get mom and dad to shell out, and not have any debt, then by all means come out to the left-coast, you’ll love it.</p>

<p>And for those who’ve said UCLA has budgetary woes, then realize that UCLA’s expanding its frosh class to more internationals and out-of-state students like you who will pay full tuition.</p>

<p>Some said that UCLA and Cal are not worth o-o-s tuition, but both schools have very successful grads, and for those foreign students and oos’ers who want a taste of CA, then both might fit the bill of satisfying their desires. I think UCLA is more the quintessential CA school than Berkeley, but some will beg to differ.</p>

<p>Best of luck…</p>