You should go back and find @curmudgeon’s thread about his daughter, who chose Rhodes, with a sweet scholarship, over Yale for undergraduate. She was a star there, and ended up at Yale for med school. There is a lot to be said for being the top of the middle than the middle of the top. (actually should probably say “a big fish in a small sea”, since Rhodes, U of SC , Miami-Ohio or RH - none are really “middle”. They are all excellent options. )
Bloomberg gave a lot of money to JHU for financial aid. It appears they are putting it to good use.
Has your D had an opportunity yet to speak with scholarship winners and honors students at the 3 schools? Has she spoken with current students?
Has she had an opportunity to speak with current/future students at JHU?
Thought I was quoting the comments about 8 years of school with two kids back to back…our fun is 3 kids back to back, 12 years of college in a row. Not planned that way, should have been a year overlap with the first two and a year break between 2 &3, but 2 repeated 1st grade.
Ours were 4 grades apart, so 8 years back to back tuition , full pay (but at least at our state schools). Still no fun! Good luck as decision time gets closer!
@KevinFromOC, regarding JHU, note that WWWard states in #2722 in the USC Class of 2024 Applicants Thread, as an alum, “Concur. I would not even let my daughters apply there,” in response to Microrapter’s Comment #2719, whose mother (PhD JHU alum) hated it there and would not allow Microrapter to attend if accepted. You might want to reach out to them for some insight regarding the strong feelings expressed, especially given the extra money involved with that choice. Even though they were made a while ago, those stood out to me amidst the decision day chatter… good luck!
JHU definitely had the reputation of being super cut throat but my D visited a number of times when we still had our home in Baltimore and was surprised at how supportive and collaborative the engineering students were. She got to sit in on chem e courses the week before exams and the vibe was still really good. Students didn’t seem stressed, were working together, and there was a very nice rapport between the profs and the students. It might be different for pre-med but she really was pleasantly surprised with the engineering students and profs. (And I believe Kevin’s D is planning on engineering??)
I don’t know that I’d stretch the budget for JHU but I would take concerns from a generation ago with a grain of salt.
I have no personal feelings regarding JHU. Just putting it out there, in case he wants to pursue it further. IMHO, all advice/comments on CC should be taken with a grain of salt. Cheers!
I think the OP needs to determine whether JHU is affordable, and whether the family can afford any hidden/future expenses that might arise.
Once there is a final list, I think it’s up to the student to determine fit. She needs to do the research, speak to students, profs, etc.
She will get an outstanding education at any of these schools. It’s soon time to pass the reins to her…and let this be her decision. The OP could take a step back and keep himself available to help discuss concerns etc.
JHU has a lot of pre-meds competing for A grades to get into medical school, so that may be the source of the school’s “cutthroat” reputation. But that does not mean that a non-pre-med student in a major not heavy with pre-meds will encounter that type of thing.
We’ve given JHU a second look, but that’s as far as it got. We just can’t justify that difference in total cost of attendance, especially when JHU would be all need based which means that number could change as opposed to merit based (I liken it to having a fixed rate mortgage vs. a variable rate one).
Looks like my daughter is deciding between Rose Hulman and South Carolina, and that Miami is fading. After 12+ years of playing hockey, it’ll be tough to give it up, but that moment has to come sooner or later. It might actually be tougher for me missing watching her play than for her missing playing!
@KevinFromOC Your D can always play intramurals or get into a new club sport. That’s what my former varsity athlete did, and it’s been great. She loves her new club sport and it’s nice that the time commitment is less so that she still has time for other extracurriculars.
She has 2 great choices. Good luck to her with the final decision!
Also, she may be able to pick up ice hockey again down the road (if she misses it) in a rec league depending on where she ends up living. A son was an all state volleyball player in high school . He played club in college and still plays primarily in coed leagues regularly in his city, participates in tournaments (good exercise ) and he is in his late 20’s.
South Carolina sounds great and may be a less risky choice, unless she really feels she has evaluated Rose Hulman enough to be confident it would be a good fit for her. Two great, very different schools.
Good luck with the decision!
@KevinFromOC your daughter needs to look at the big picture. At Rose Hulman, Engineering is THE thing. At South Carolina, there are tons of options. If she wants to pick up a minor or two, or even take some elective courses outside of her major field, there is a lot more to choose from at South Carolina.
Plus…look at the perks to the McNair Scholars. It’s not just money. The opportunities there are plentiful.
I can’t recall the bottom line OOP expenses for MiamiOH or U ofSC (funny that the 2 contenders both have names that have to be differentiated from the other with the “other” similarly named school) but IMO, at this point, its best for your DD to talk to students who currently attend, and especially to other McNair scholars and Presidential fellows. I agree with others who suggest that, although we don’t know really anything about your DD, RH is a tough fit for many. A friend’s son went there. He is very conservative and he was happy there. But said the big social event was going to the WalMart. If you/she needs the full ride, then thats the best reason for keeping it in the running. Otherwise I’d jettison it as probably not a great fit.
I can’t recall what honors options were offered to her at Miami (engineering honors?) but both the Presidential Fellows at Miami and the McNair at SC are great options that will provide lots of perks and will groom her (you mentioned she may not interview well- they can help her with this). At this point, Its hopeful that she will be driving the opportunity to talk to students at both schools, look at virtual tours. She should have a list of questions about things that are important to her. Both schools are kinda preppy, so she might want to ask about that. Ditto for the housing on/off campus. The housing at Miami has, IIRC, apt options right on the edge of campus . Does the undergraduate size (Midsize vs large - 17K vs 26K) matter to her? At this point if both are affordable, I’d step back and let her drive this ship.
And if there is any update about what the schools’ plans are for reopening and when, that would be a huge factor, IMO.
@jym626 this kid would have $0 in OOP costs with the McNair Scholarship at South Carolina…and in fact, the school allows stacking of awards…so she likely would have extra money in the bank.
Plus the McNair has wonderful other perk.
Miami came in at their price point, I believe. $15000 net cost.
RH was also a full ride. Two different awards which together made a full ride.
It sounds like your D is making great progress if 4 choices are now down to 2, and the two are so vastly different that it should be easier from this point forward, and to have money as no object for these remaining options no less!! Definitely a difficult position of having visited one but not the other, however with your D having spent several years in boarding school I suspect it could be relatively easy for her to consider RH as a four year extension of what she currently has: a small community that lives and learns together within the confines of campus borders. If the thought of that familiarity to what she has known already is comfortable to her, then she moves on to the next consideration. If the thought of more of the same is confining or leaves her in wonder or want of more, then I think she has her answer. I would almost go one step further and have her consider that McNair could actually be the best of both of those worlds.
I simply could not counsel a friend, client or child to choose Miami of Ohio at 15k over South Carolina as a McNair scholar. The same price and honors - sure - both are really excellent.
Rose Hulman is a true focused institute of technology and I’m not an engineer, so I can’t offer any insight. It does get favorable posts when I see it mentioned.
Anecdotally, South Carolina was never a name you would hear as a school of choice for the New England area students that I could recall. It’s not the case over the past several years, it’s very much what I would categorize - a school on the rise or with momentum - but this is just from my personal vantage point only.
Also, recalling my experience in college 25 years ago, few, if any of my actual classes still resonate with me today. They are vague moments and recollections.
The memories of the sunny day with the marching bands, football games with friends, the varied intramural sports and clubs, sitting with friends in the open spaces during the springtime - these memories still resonate as if it were only yesterday.
Plus the large and engaged network of classmates/alums who remain friends, have been important in meaningful ways for me.
That was my personal experience and I can’t speak for others.
That’s what my mind conjures when thinking of the great southern flagship universities.
That trip down memory lane aside, with the level of academics, strong reputation growth and the residential life of a large flagship campus - South Carolina would be hard to dismiss.
As a McNair scholar and for free. I would not hesitate for one moment.
It’s also a pretty nice climate from September through May.
Miami would be about $9K total for tuition, room, and board. There’s a chance they might kick in a little more if we press it with them, but I don’t want to do that unless she would choose Miami over UofSC.
With a recent additional departmental scholarship that stacks with their provost (for NHRP) and McNair, tuition, room, & board at UofSC would be about -$8K (note the negative sign in front).
Rose Hulman is at exactly $0 for tuition, room, & board.
There has always been two votes for which college she attends - my daughter’s, and my checkbook’s. My checkbook approves of all 3, so at this point it is up to her. I just want to make sure she has all the information she can get and is not overlooking anything to make her decision.
Both Miami and UofSC have extended their deadline to June 1, but Rose Hulman has not - they are still May 1.
And yes, @jym626, I noticed that as well. I can’t just say she’s choosing between USC and Miami, even though UofSC and Miami Ohio came first!
Is there much of a difference in travel expenses to/from the schools? She’d fly into Cincinnati or Dayton to get to Oxford, Ohio. Are there direct flights to those or to Columbia, SC?
And thanks for clarifying which schools were offering stackable awards. That’s what I couldn’t recall as it’s hard to keep up with all that.
What is she doing to help her make her decision? What matters to her? We haven’t heard that piece of the equation.