We always read about posters praising and defending their choices. I would like to hear about any cons of your choices. It may give prospective students and parents a more balanced picture to look at.
I don’t like that they send us a bill. Like, twice a year! 
I can start by our own choice. Mine was accepted at some elite colleges but being a high EFC family we couldn’t afford those, one t20 on half tuition,some second tier privates and state schools on free full rides. In the end he picked a free ride for BS-MD at a low end school in Texas. He does’t like small town nor does he like academic standards, large student body or peer quality. It’s not like he is miserable but experiencing it made him realize he didn’t make a good decision.
Students grow and change over time. The small school our oldest picked felt a little claustrophobic by junior year. But, don’t know what you’d do about it. If the kid hadn’t felt comfortable at a big school as a freshman, she may not have made it to junior year.
I just found it unreal that CC parents never mentions any flaws. How many Utopias are out there? I’m hopeful absolute denial isn’t a pandemic among CC parents.
My daughter came down with mono in her first semester and had to reduce her course load by dropping one required course. She ended up completing that course in the summer after her senior year. The college attributed her graduation date to the following year – not to the year in which virtually all other members of her class graduated – even though she was allowed to attend the graduation ceremony with her (original) class, had her name read, and was even given a special award! Just a dumb administrative rule. Doesn’t mean anything to her career or life but such bureaucratic rigidity can be a PITA.
I think we’re more likely just realists. I’ve never seen people talk about perfect fit, only the best fit for their child. You don’t have to look very far to see criticism of the systems in place at colleges. Look for discussions on disabilities, students not doing well, illness, roommate issues, transferring…They’re all here.
I feel bad for you son if he’s not happy, but I am a little skeptical that a university with a med school, and a direct entry program at that, has low academic standards and attracts “poor quality” peers.
Not in denial- just realistic.
MIT- workload was insanely heavy.
The core is real; the humanities courses are just as hard and just as much work as the required science and math classes. Kid became a much better writer because of it- and became interested in about a dozen things he hadn’t shown any interest in prior to college because of it.
So it’s not utopia, it was exactly as described (I know people think “well the required writing courses must be easy so students can spend all their time in the labs” but that’s not true, and NOT what the admissions folks will tell you). We found it exactly as promised- hard, intense, exciting, challenging, the right place for some kids (it was for ours) and the absolute wrong place for others. A kid interested in math and science who plans to never take another humanities class- MIT is not for you. A kid interested in Computer Science who doesn’t want to take biology (a required course)- not for you. A kid coming in with zillions of AP credits who thinks they’re going to get sophomore standing- not for you. A kid looking for merit aid or an athletic scholarship- not for you.
We found it exactly as promised. And kid loved it. We got lucky. Are these things flaws? It is what it is. I found the bursar’s office incredibly easy to deal with (an outside scholarship which had funky timing-- the university changed the date we would get billed to make sure that the outside money would be credited BEFORE we got a bill); kid found the advising appropriate (i.e. if you wander over to career services they will be incredibly helpful, if you don’t, they aren’t coming to your dorm room to shake you out of bed).
What’s to complain about? I thought the campus was ugly; kid loved it. I thought the food was mediocre- kid didn’t care. The van service is terrific on cold nights btw.
My friend’s D started at PSU main. She was quickly overwhelmed by the size and pace. After freshman year she transferred to a satellite campus and is happily graduating this year. Backwards of how most PSU students do it, but worked for her!
He may change his view on that when he is a senior, assuming he meets the GPA and MCAT to stay in the BS->MD program. No debt, saved money to pay for medical school, and no stressful and expensive medical school application process will be huge pluses for him there.
Many parents, but few students, have complained about that fact that their child’s college is hilly. Some parents seem dumbfounded that their sunbelt raised children have chosen to attend college in a cold, snowy region.
I did not like the administration at D2’s school.
It appears there is one person who can do any one job and if that person is out for the day, no one else can help you. There was a mistake made and she had two files, two student numbers, so if a document came in (like SAT score), there was only a 50% chance it would get into the ‘right’ file. She had troubles throughout her time there on little things like taking one class that was grad level and the records office not considering it as meeting a graduation requirement.
My DW found out a week before she graduated that she could have graduated with honors (Summa) if she had taken one more class. She transferred in with a boatload of class hours but no one informed her she needed to have more than 1/2 the credits from the graduating school to qualify. I had to unscrew myself from the ceiling.
Re: #12
Seems like all assumptions about degree requirements and transfer credit should be verified against written policies from the college, and documented evaluation of transfer credit. There seem to be too many stories of advising errors or (probably more frequently) omissions at colleges that students really need to verify everything rather than assuming.
My only gripe has been the health clinic. You are sick, you need a doctor, the clinic can’t fit you in for two days! Well, he found the local grocery store clinic that takes our insurance and just goes there. Didn’t really seem to bother him.
I was a little annoyed that the Honors college says you get to register early. They why second semester freshman year did a bunch of other freshmen (no more credits than he had) not in the Honors college get to register before he did? He called and they said that was registering early. I don’t get it.
No complaints from me for either of my kids’ schools. They are both out of state. I’ve had to call one when the youngest’s scholarship didn’t show up the second year, and the person that helped me went above and beyond.
We don’t pay anything to either of the universities and the boys handle their own college experiences.
The cost. Schools for our kids were fabulous…but sure wish they cost a lot less!
No complaints about my kid’s three (community college, state U, grad school) institutions. All of them have been the right place for her to be at that stage of her education. But 1) she’s also an easy-tempered person, and probably would have been fine just about anywhere, and 2) she hasn’t had any health or educational or financial crises along the way.
Athletes? Disability services kids? My friend and I argue about who REALLY gets to go first. She claims her daughter gets first because of her special needs and I claim athletes get to go first. In the end it doesn’t matter because both kids get the courses and sections they need but we each think we are right.
Even my kid who had NO priority got all the courses she wanted, so I’m not sure it really matters. My athlete daughter had priority registration but because of an administrative mistake, the computer wouldn’t let her register and she didn’t get a section she needed. I told her to register for the other section which was right in the middle of practice. Coach had it fixed within minutes and I’m sure that other students didn’t mind being bumped from the lab. (:
^^ Trio participants? (It’s a benefit written in to a lot of grant apps.)