<p>(I posted this on the parent’s forum also, I’m interested in hearing from students on this topic)</p>
<p>My S was accepted to Bowdoin, we were surprised and pleased, until we saw the financial aid offer. I appealed, to no avail. My DS loves the place and gets teary (imagine a 6’2" hockey player) every time we talk about what it will take to send him there. We are from the west coast and in the struggling middle class. If we all borrow and scrimp, we can come up with tuition, but he’ll be totally on his own for graduate school. Is it worth it? He has offers from other good schools with much better aid.</p>
<p>I’d love to get some perspective on what an elite LAC can do for you.</p>
<p>Without knowing more than you’ve posted here, we can only speculate that a “6’2” hockey player" would be a lot less likely to have friends and experiences outside his normal comfort zone at a bigger university. He may already be on the whole Econ/Ibanking glide path even without the added circle of fraternity brothers and maybe even a school of finance to mold his instincts. There’s nothing wrong with that, <em>per se</em>. I’m just saying that LACs offer a way for people to experiment a little before they find that final niche; it might be the same one he started out with; but, you’ll never know until he’s had that chance stretch himself.</p>
<p>Sorry - don’t mean to be mean, but that “business” mold seems like a stereotype that I didn’t think was cued by the description. I took to by 6’2" hockey player literally, as in this is a kid who loves hockey and happens to be bright enough to get into Bowdoin to boot - where he will surely find a tribe. At any rate, I’m with you on the benefits of LAC regardless of the whether or not it is inevitable that hockey players will become bankers (or not). But my thought for hockey mom is that a little reality therapy might be a good thing: it is perhaps not worth it for YOU to go into great(er) debt to underwrite your son’s Bowdoin dream - but it is perhaps appropriate to pass on the debt-dilemma to him. If you don’t feel it is justifiable to allow HIM to take on debt for this dream (which is, after all, his dream and not yours, presumably), then why on earth would it be worth it for YOU to do so? Take guilt out of the equation and see if it balances out on its own</p>
<p>I think I see where johnwesley was going with that and I agree…</p>
<p>The alternative to Bowdoin (not disclosed here) is presumably big state school. Maybe not, but we’re left to speculate. And athletes do tend to be insular…especially at big state. And, in that environment, athletes generally (and this is *all *grossly generalized since we know so little and we’re comparing Bowdoin to some unknown alternative which I get to make up as an amalgam of my personal stereotypes) gravitate to more “practical” (vocational) majors and, among those, they tend to be the majors that leave time to participate in the sport (again, assuming we’re not talking D3…which is still highly demanding). I say all this not out of animosity but because I was a D1 varsity athlete in a sport as insular as hockey tends to be.</p>
<p>So…is it worth it?</p>
<p>There’s no way for us to say.</p>
<p>As johnwesley was pointing out, you’re likely comparing incredibly different experiences. If you were the student and not the parent, I’d probably say “no, it’s not worth it” because if you have to ask that question, you probably don’t “get” what makes the experience so unique or special. Not just about Bowdoin, specifically, but about whatever experience or school this question gets asked about. If you’re a student and asking that question, then you either don’t think it’s worth it or you don’t get what it is that makes the place so unique…meaning it’s probably not going to be worth it.</p>
<p>In your case, you seem to be saying that your S is torn up over this and that HE seems to have decided it will be worth it. I think you’re looking for people here to convince you that that’s the case. Instead, check your budget and listen to your S. He seems to know the answer and why not? Only he can know if it’s worth it for him. More importantly, don’t look to anonymous CC users to answer this intensely personal question an answer that’s unique to you and your S.</p>
<p>To the extent we can help, it’s to point out what johnwesley pointed out – that, as you answer the question, you should understand that you’re probably comparing apples to oranges and asking if an orange is worth it. Your S is saying yes. Your bank account is saying no. It’s a tough decision you’re facing and I don’t envy you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the opinions. I got quite a bit more response over in the parents forum, where we hashed out the school choices and the level of his actual hockey skills. His father and I did decide to pay the extra if that was where he wanted to go, but he made the choice to go to Whitman in Walla Walla, WA. It has no hockey program, but is a great school that shares a lot in common with Bowdoin. The sun shines a lot more on the western side of the Cascades than in Maine, and there is terrific skiing an hour away. He’s seems happy and has found a few compensations for no hockey.</p>
<p>Oops! I meant eastern side of the Cascades! Go Fighting Missionaries!</p>
<p>great school. great choice. congratulations to your son first of all for placing himself in the enviable position of choosing amongst many fine schools and, when Bowdoin did not initially seem doable, for focusing on other options and embracing their possibilities – always looking forward. speaks highly of him!</p>
<p>Hi Morandi, thanks for all the information and kind support here and in the parents’ forum. Bowdoin is undeniably an incredible school where S would have received an amazing education, there is a part of me that twinges with regret. However, left with all the information; academic, social and financial he made the best decision for ALL of us. Bless his heart. </p>
<p>I hope you and your sons have a terrific summer.</p>