I need help picking a school in New England

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Our D has to make to pick a school soon. She will be majoring in Biology and wants attend Med-School</p>

<p>She likes HC little better than PC but not much. She know HC is better rank school and they have great alumni. She likes the city of Providence though. I heard the grading curve is tough at HC. Also, I am hearing from other people on CC that the undergrade school you attend does not matter when applying to Med-School. I thought better school like HC would matter but people are telling me it does not. </p>

<p>This is our first and only child if I had to do it all over again I would of had her applied to Honors College at a State U. It would of been lot cheaper. I did not know about those programs when we stated this process. To late now. She got scholarships from Stonehill College and Wheaton College, MA too but she really does not want to attend those schools.</p>

<p>Daughter's Rank by School she got accepted:
1. Holy Cross, MA: $57K - $0 = $57,000
2. Providence College, RI: (Accepted to Honors Program): $57.5K - $18,000 (Merit)= $39,500
3. Stonehill College, MA: $52K - $20,000 (Merit)= $32,000
3. Wheaton College, MA: $57K - $20,000 (Merit) + $9,000 (Grant) = $28,000</p>

<p>** Wheaton: $9,000 Grant is need-based scholarship because my wife lost her job 4 months ago and I appealed the FA (which was $0) that they gave us back in early March and they awarded us $9,000 more this week. However, they will review our income at the end of the year and they could pull back some of the money if my wife gets a job and and our income gos up. Also, we might not receive Grant money every year. It matters what our income is. Therefore, I cannot count on it every year.</p>

<p>Also, HC might give us about $5,500 Grant because I am appealing our FA package which was $0 (other than FA loans). I will find out about the $5,500 by next week. Again, like Wheaton if my wife starts work again that money might go away. Also, it might not be guarantee every year so I do not think I can count on it every year because of our income. HC does not give Merit Scholarships.</p>

<p>HC is my daughters number one school and PC is second. She loved Boston College but did she got waitlisted at BC and Bates College. She thinks Stonehill and Wheaton (MA) are ok but she not thrilled of the schools. Wheaton seems to have different student body than other three schools. I guess little more artsy or earthly. I am not sure that accurate but it seems that way and what I read on CC. We only visit the school once and I am not sure. It could be great school. Also, She thought HC and PC was more of a fit.</p>

<p>Couple questions.
1. The best school on that list above is HC. Is it worth the money vs PC - $17,000 year x 4 years= $68,000 total. I would have to borrow the $68,000 difference too.
2. I know HC is the best school on the list above but I also assumed PC is little better school (not much) then Stonehill College and Wheaton College, MA. Is that true?</p>

<p>Your help would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Wheaton is better than Stonehill and about the same as Providence.
No, HC isn’t worth 68K in debt.
Go to Wheaton for an admitted student day, perhaps plan an overnight there.</p>

3

<p>Holy Cross is a great school, but I don’t think it’s worth that kind of debt if you will have to borrow heavily for the school. Another thing that people have pointed out here in the past is that Holy Cross more or less constrains their pre-med applicants to people they think will be successful in med school admissions. (This information is not on the [url=&lt;a href=“http://academics.holycross.edu/healthprofessions/enroll]website[/url”&gt;http://academics.holycross.edu/healthprofessions/enroll]website[/url</a>], and it actually looks like they are changing the way they do pre-med advising at HC - students no longer have to apply to advising. In the past HC didn’t recommend everyone for med school. But things may be different; I’d email and ask about it.)</p>

<p>Providence and Wheaton sound like the better choices here just financially speaking, and she’s in the honors program at Providence. In my experience at a completely different small college, the honors program didn’t mean much - students took a special honors curriculum, but the honors sections were open to non-honors students and actually most of the students in the classes were non-honors anyway - so basically any student could put together the honors curriculum on their own. (I actually found it a bit burdensome, because they constrained the electives I could take to satisfy certain requirements that weren’t, in my perception, significantly different from non-honors courses.) There also weren’t any special opportunities, lectures, classes, advising, anything, for honors students. I don’t know if that’s something specific to my small college or whether it’s a thing that occurs at a lot of small colleges simply because they are so small, but I would check out what the honors program actually means at Providence and whether it’s a significant extra opportunity.</p>

<p>I think I might go with Providence in this case anyway. She likes it; it’s more affordable than Holy Cross, and as you said if your financial situation changes Wheaton will cost the same amount as Providence. Have you tried appealing at Providence?</p>

4

<p>The reality is that generally the stronger your student is relative to the overall student body of the college in question, the more the college will discount the tuition by offering scholarships/financial aid. The more selective colleges like a Holy Cross will offer less and the less selective colleges will offer more because they want your student to boost their overall stats. All of the colleges on your list are good enough to be a credible applicant to medical school if she gets top grades and a good MCAT score. I would go with the least expensive option that your daughter still finds an attractive option.</p>

5

<p>I have to echo the other voices here. I grew up very near Wheaton and Stonehill (so not terribly far from HC or PC, either). My sister, cousin, and nephew all went to Wheaton. My husband’s cousin’s son is there, now, and very happy. I would not recommend Stonehill as strongly, especially for pre-med. HC is an excellent college, but not worth the price difference. Wheaton and PC have very different cultures, and so I think you should trust your daughter’s intuition about where she’d be happier. Wheaton was a women’s college until fairly recently. It provided a very solid, liberal arts education. She can certainly take a good, pre-medical course load there, but the school did not traditionally focus on pre-professional studies. PC, like many other formerly all-male, Catholic colleges, always had a decidedly pre-professional culture. Wheaton is probably a more nurturing academic community. PC will have a stronger partying scene, along with Big East basketball. Maybe she should research things like internship and independent study opportunities, to see what’s offered at the two schools. They are both good colleges, and those are very nice scholarships. </p>

6

<p>Juillet: I did appeal to both schools and Holy Cross gave us $8,000 in Grant money and PC gave us $8,000 Grant money. Grant money not guarentee for every year. My income can change every year. HC will cost $57K - $8,000 (Grant) = $49,000 and PC will cost $57K - $18,000 (Merit) & $8,000 (Grant)= $31,500. That is still $17,500 a year & around $69,000 - $70,000 total. PC would not give us anymore Merit money because it was to late when I appealed. </p>

<p>She also got accepted to Connecticut College too but they only have need -based scholarship too. CC cost will be same as HC. I agree that HC is way better school and has more prestige then PC but I do not think it’s worth around $69,000 more.</p>

<p>Is it true that HC pre-med program is very cut-throat and HC faculty might note write a student a recommendtion for Med-School?</p>

7

<p>The other thing to consider is that medical school is expensive.
<a href=“https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/index.cfm”>https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/index.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Therefore, it makes sense for the student to avoid debt and save money to reduce total debt after medical school.</p>

<p>Also, it would be a bad idea for the parents to take on debt for the student’s college, especially since the student going on to medical school will not be able to help the parents to pay off that debt until a decade or more after graduating with a bachelor’s degree (4 years medical school, 4 years of residency, ?? years of paying off the student’s own medical school debt).</p>

8

<p>PC is a great school with a strong liberal arts tradition as well as strong pre-professional programs. The alumni conections are very strong. I rarely meet any PC alum that regret their decision and most of my classmates are very successful/happy individuals. HC is not likely going to be a better pathway to med school than PC and the extra expense may not be worth it. Good luck with the decision - your daughter has some wonderful opportunities and any of these schools will provide a great education.</p>

9

<p>We just got word that Connecticut College just gave my daughter $26,382 in CC Grant. This is Grant Scholarship not Merit Scholarship but it is still very good.</p>

<p>Daughter’s Rank by School she got accepted:

  1. Holy Cross, MA: $57.5 - $8,500 (Grant) = $49,000
  2. Providence College, RI: (Accepted to Honors Program): $57.5K - $18,000 (Merit) - $8,000 (Grant) = $31,500
  3. Connecticut College: $60.8 - $26,383 (Grant) = $34,417
    4 Stonehill College, MA: $51.7- $20,000 (Merit)= $31,700
  4. Wheaton College, MA: $58.5K - $20,000 (Merit) + $9,000 (Grant) = $30,000
    ** Grant Scholarship: Do not pay back but the school will review our income every year. This figure can change every year. </p>

<p>I wonder why Connecticut College gave more money to my daughter than HC. Connecticut College gave her $26,383 Grant Scholarship but Holy Cross only gave $8,500 Grant Scholarship. Holy Cross is very tight with their money. HC are supposed to have great alumni and Endowment Market Value of $634,912 and $218,784 per student and they are tight with their money. I do not get it.</p>

10

<p>That’s called “preferential packaging”. The more a student is appealing to a college (due to choice of major, geographic diversity, SAT score, musical instrument player… can be anything they are looking for) the better the packaging. HC doesn’t need your daughter as much as Connecticut does. It’s their loss, and Connecticut’s gain - as Connecticut is a highly selective college that is now a wonderful value.</p>

11

<p>Take another look at Connecticut College. They are very strong in the sciences. What is the percentage of each school’s students who are apply and are accepted to medical school. I would lean more towards Connecticut College.</p>

12

<p>The discounts given are all based on the old supply and demand law. Connecticut College has the least demand and therefore needs to give a greater discount to attract you. </p>

13

<p>I would take the Connecticut college package. It’s only slightly more than Wheaton, and it’s an academically stronger school. </p>

14

<p>What is better school… Providence College or Connecticut College or are their is not much difference? D got into Honors Program at PC. Both Schools have a different vibe. 1900 students vs 4500 students. Both small schools though. </p>

<p>Providence College, RI: (Accepted to Honors Program): $57.5K - $18,000 (Merit) - $8,000 (Grant) = $31,500 Connecticut College: $60.8 - $26,383 (Grant) = $34,417</p>

<p>Cost of both schools are very close. So both schools are in our range as that we can afford with the scholarships.</p>

<p>PC Merit Scholarship ($18,000/year & $72,000/Total) is guaranteed for four years. The Grant Scholarships are based on need-based (whatever that means) and they are not guarantee every year. Our income can swing different directions every year. </p>

15

<p>Perhaps you should merge your 2 threads?</p>

16

<p>Connecticut is a better school overall.
However, it doesn’t mean Providence is bad.
Can your child go and do an overnight at each?</p>

17

<p>No, because we live in Atlanta, GA. I would like her to spend a overnight if we had time. She has been to PC three times with a Campus Tour, Interview, and Shadow a student for a day. She only been to Connecticut College once for Campus Tour and Interview. </p>

18

<p>@deskjet123 </p>

<p>Where is D going? I am sure she will do great where ever it is!</p>

19

<p>@phunt01810 I think the OP is likely the parent of SouthernGirl1, who had 2 threads on this topic. She ultimately chose Providence College as she felt it was a better fit for her.</p>

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<p>Yes, my daughter did choose PC because it was a better fit for her. Thank you for your help and responses. </p>