Is Villanova University worth it?

[sax]

<p><a href=“Commuting Scholars Award | Villanova University | CollegeXpress”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/scholarships/commuting-scholars-award/5767/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“Introduction to College Scholarships”>Introduction to College Scholarships;

<p>Commuter scholarship looks like kids have to live at parents home and that average award is around $5500. One site states that there are 26 of these available…</p>

<p>Conflicting info but the application deadline has passed anyway.</p>

[MYOS1634]

<p>Perhaps Villanova is aware that its reputation is mostly strong among Catholics in the local community or wider area, and in order to get them to attend without discounting too much, while freeing up space for full pay students coming from other areas and needing dorm space, they offer “commuter scholarhips”?
It could be a trade off: live on campus at Arcadia or St Joe’s or commute to Villanova?
Can another phone call be made?</p>

<p>Since OP’s daughter was willing to go as far as DC for a Catholic school, she has other choices if she and her parent are willing to look.</p>

<p>Perhaps OP’s daughter can only imagine teaching in Catholic schools - this would explain why schools such as West Chester and Penn State were not considered; in which case her take-home pay is likely to be in the $1,200 range tops. Any loan repayment above $100/month for 15 years would be too much.</p>

[jym626]

<p>Pulling up a seat and popping popcorn.</p>

<p>In the long run, if someone can afford to pay <<<whatever amount="">>> for something others consider a luxury (be it a car, a second home or an education) who are we to say whether its worth it or not? </whatever></p>

[halfemptypockets]

<p>Here’s what the VU website says re: Commuter Scholarshsips

Partial tuition scholarships are awarded each year to outstanding students commuting from their families’ homes who have demonstrated superior academic achievement and have exemplary SAT or ACT scores with a preference given to students who have a demonstrated financial need. Candidates for the Commuter Scholarship must apply to the University as commuting students to be eligible for consideration. Awards totaling $354,000 were offered to 29 prospective students for the 2013-14 academic year. A scholarship committee reviews qualified applicants, and recipients will be notified on or before April 1.

</p>

<p>I know it says preference is given based on financial need, but all three families I know who have been offered it had zero need, although one did apply for it. </p>

[sally305]

<p>@ucbalumnus: yes, I HAVE fast-forwarded to that scenario in my head a few times! The only factor that you didn’t account for is that maybe my son will marry someone with the sensibilities of his sister, and she will keep him away from the bank accounts.</p>

[sally305]

<p>

Pulling up a seat and popping popcorn.

</p>

<p>Of course you are. :)</p>

<p>

In the long run, if someone can afford to pay <<<whatever amount=“”>>> for something others consider a luxury (be it a car, a second home or an education) who are we to say whether its worth it or not?

</whatever></p>

<p>We’re not. In this case, the OP is talking about cashing in (part of?) his 401K to make Villanova viable. HE does not seem to want to do it, but is having trouble facing his daughter’s disappointment. </p>

[mom2collegekids]

<p>“Commuter scholarship looks like kids have to live at parents home”</p>

<p>lol…there’s no way for a school to really know that. A student’s parents can live within commuting distance, but the student takes an off-campus apt and commutes from there.</p>

<p>“In the long run, if someone can afford to pay <<<whatever amount=”">>> for something others consider a luxury (be it a car, a second home or an education) who are we to say whether its worth it or not?"</whatever></p>

<p>Very true. But this discussion concerns having the student take out large co-signed loans which will likely be too burdensome for a newish teacher…unless she can live at home for 5-10 years after college and have her parents provide living needs (food, shelter, phone, insurance, etc)</p>

[MYOS1634]

<p>LOL, I think it’s called “commuter’s scholarship”, not because it rewards students for being commuters, but because it’s a way to decrease costs for local students who otherwise can’t afford the school: it saves $12,000 in R&B AND it saves $10,000 from tuition, which may make it almost affordable for some Catholic families in the area, who may then resort to penny pinching to complete the gap. Much easier to do for Villanova than to give a $22,000 scholarship…
Alas, it seems that this ship, too, has sailed, since students are supposed to apply as commuters and since OP wanted his/her daughter to have the full experience, the daughter didn’t apply thus and can’t qualify now. :s
I wonder if it’s due to poor guidance on the part of the daughter’s high school or the parents not knowing enough, or being too optimistic, or just bad luck :s.
However, it does cruel from Villanova. And the admissions/FA office’s reply that it’s take it or leave it doesn’t reflect better on the school.</p>

[oldfort]

<p>mom2c:

While that may be true for someone going into finance/investment banking and is Wall Street bound, that isn’t really true for those who are just STEM majors of some sort. Even a MIT EE degreed person isn’t going to walk into a $100k job, and certainly isn’t going to quickly double salary. He’d be lucky to walk into a $80k per year job,

I compete for those graduates with Google and FB. I know how much we have to pay up. We can’t touch those graduates with 80K base.</p>

[mom2collegekids]

<p>@oldfort
then why aren’t the avg salaries of the grads much higher?</p>

[MYOS1634]

<p>@M2CK: because most STEM grads aren’t being hired by Google and FB. </p>

[oldfort]

<p>I would imagine average salaries at MIT, CMU, and Caltech are quite high.</p>

[oldfort]

<p>We can’t afford to pay as much as FB and Google, so we do lose a lot of good candidates to them. I try to entice them with the wonderful opportunity of working with me, but it doesn’t always work.</p>

[MomofWildChild]

<p>There is somewhat of a dilemma for Phila area kids who are bound and determined to stay right there in the area. I was a Phila area kid who was bound and determined to get OUT of the area!</p>

<p>You have Penn, which is highly selective (and expensive if no aid). You have Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Swat, which are much smaller and also quite selective. You have Villanova and Drexel- neither of which I feel are worth what they cost- but at least Drexel has the coop thing going for it. You have tiny Ursinus. Then you drop to Temple, West Chester, St. Joe’s and drop some more to Widener. </p>

<p>Seems like UDel would have been a good application to submit for the OP’s daughter. Still close to home but probably priced a lot better than Villanova. </p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>

@sally305

I HAVE fast-forwarded to that scenario in my head a few times! The only factor that you didn’t account for is that maybe my son will marry someone with the sensibilities of his sister, and she will keep him away from the bank accounts.

</p>

<p>Assuming that he is willing to delegate household financial management to the frugal spouse (as opposed to fighting over money, a common cause marriage failing)… but are frugal potential spouses more common than spendy ones, given the general trend in the US to overspend one’s income?</p>

[LucieTheLakie]

<p>

As someone familiar to this area and school, I feel it is important to consider the viewpoints of students and families in this area and in local Catholic schools. To the student who has gone through 12 years of Catholic school, whose Faith is really important to them, who probably knows many people who’ve attended Villanova (their own teachers, family and neighbors), who hears about Villanova in the local news (not just for Basketball!!), Villanova can be just a natural school at which to see oneself. Around here, it’s like Apple Pie, CYO sports, a sunny day and church on Sunday, if I can make an abstract analogy. There really isn’t any other way to describe it.

</p>

<p>With all due respect, Villanova is one of several Roman Catholic colleges and universities in this area and is hardly the only one that attracts students for whom their faith is really important to them. St. Joe’s, LaSalle, Rosemont, Cabrini, Chestnut Hill, Neumann, Holy Family, and Immaculata are all RC institutions of higher education. Villanova just happens to be the most prestigious and most expensive. “Apple pie” for the upper middle class maybe, but filet mignon for everybody else.</p>

<p>This region has a very strong RC population and most of the larger secular institutions have active Newman Centers on campus, as well. As I said up-thread, the vast majority of my neighbors whose kids have attended RC schools for 12 years, including schools like Malvern Prep, St. Joe’s Prep, and Devon Prep, send their kids to Penn State!</p>

<p>Also, according to the Chronicle of Higher Ed, only 16% of Villanova students came from PA in 2010, so they don’t need to throw money at local students who want to attend there. They’re now competing for kids who can’t quite cut the mustard for Boston College or Georgetown.</p>

<p><a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=216597”>http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=216597&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[ucbalumnus]

<p>

@oldfort

I would imagine average salaries at MIT, CMU, and Caltech are quite high.

</p>

<p>From the list [url=<a href=“University Graduate Career Surveys - #69 by ucbalumnus - Career Opportunities & Internships - College Confidential Forums”>University Graduate Career Surveys - #69 by ucbalumnus - Career Opportunities & Internships - College Confidential Forums]here[/url</a>], you can look at the career surveys of MIT, CMU, and other schools.</p>

[oldfort]

<p>@ucbalumnus - thanks for putting all of those links in one post. Few years back when I was trying get the info, it wasn’t so easy to get. I think it pays for students to look at those stats and visit potential school’s career center to figure out “life after college.”</p>

[sally305]

<p>

are frugal potential spouses more common than spendy ones, given the general trend in the US to overspend one’s income?

</p>

<p>Although many young adults (I’m thinking 20s-early 30s) have the mindset that they DESERVE nice things without working for them (the “everyone gets a trophy” crowd), I am guessing that many others have been affected by their parents struggling to maintain their position in the middle class. </p>

[LucieTheLakie]

<p>Not sure why we’re debating engineering schools when the OP’s DD wants to become a teacher (or at least plans to major in English and Secondary Education). </p>