Looking for words of wisdom

Parents Forum
1

<p>Well it's April and I've cut my list of 5 acceptances down to 2 schools I'd like to attend. I like one more, but the other has much better financial aid. One would be Case Western, and the other, Miami of Ohio. Here are a few of my considerations:</p>

<p>1.I don't know if I can do an official case visit. I'm visiting Miami monday with my friend's family for one of their official programs. I have a problem with Case- we can only really visit on the weekends. My parents can't take off work and I don't drive. The other thing is my mom won't take me on college visits so I can only go on my dad's weekends- every other weekend. Thus my only oppurtunity would be April 15th. Obviously, a lot of stuff isn't available on weekends. Is it still worth visiting?</p>

<p>2.Money. I have a pretty low EFC because my schools are all FAFSA based. Thus my dad's income isn't taken into consideration though it'll be a 50-50 split for each parent. At Miami, I'll only be paying 2500ish for loans per year. At Case, I'll be paying 9000. Thus why I've been working my butt off to get some scholarships. All I know is that I'm basicaly garunteed a 1000 scholarship from my church. I'm hoping some of them come through for me. I obviously prefer case. How much in loans is too much?</p>

<p>3.Culture. I prefer Case's culture. If I want it to be social place, it can be. And if I don't want it to be, it doesn't have to be. I've heard more than a few stories (both from friends and others) about how bad the drinking culture is at Miami (as in pressure to drink not the presence of alcohol) and how it's much more of a party school. I'm not realy a party type girl. I also think Case has just more academically minded students. </p>

<p>4.Classes. At Miami, as an honors student, I have to take the honors english course. AP English has taught me that while with hard work I can write good essays, it's not something that I really love or anything. I'm not so thrilled about taking this class. I also find Miami's core incredibly restrictive. I prefer general education requirements or distribution where I have more choices. I like a lot of different subjects, but Miami's core classes seem pretty darned boring. I kind of like the idea of SAGES- it's a 17 student limit discussion based class for your first semester and this format continues and blossoms into the senior capstone project.</p>

<p>and finally:
5.city. I am a city girl. I like an urban environment. Even if I would never take advantage of it, I like the fact case is in Cleveland. Oxford (where Miami is) is very, very, very small. I find the fact of living here for 4 years to be almost oppresive. I'm also thinking this can affect internships. Case just has a lot more resources because of location.</p>

<p>So basically I prefer Case a lot more, but the money is getting in the way. I'm obviously not looking for you to decide for me, but maybe to enlighten me on something I've missed, or just advise me.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Case seems like a much better fit. Perhaps you could make up a good portion of the financial difference with a summer job? Have you asked Case to revisit your financial aid package? It can't hurt to try.</p>

3

<p>I've asked and they've said no can do. I will be working all this summer, probably between 30-40 hours. My feeling at this point is with some financialy sound decisions on my part throughout college, these loans won't be as oppresive as they feel right now. I also talked to one of the financial aid people and scholarships reduce my loans and work study, which is just what I wanted to hear.</p>

4

<p>Celebrian: </p>

<p>If you cannot visit when classes on on, it is not absolutely necessary. Can you get to Case if you and your dad leave right after his work? Then you would have the friday evening and all of Saturday to talk to students and generally explore, and perhaps part of Sunday.</p>

<p>$9k for each year over 4 years is $36k. It's not horrendous (less than a year's tuition, room and board at many top schools). You can work during the school year and summer. See if you can be an RA and get free room and board beginning next year. I think it's worth trying to make Case work since the fit is so much better.</p>

5

<p>My dad gets off work pretty late so I don't think that can happen. I'm trying to see if I can get some visit to Case to happen. My dad has gone from MIAMI MIAMI MIAMI!!!!!!! (his alma mater) to no pressure at all. Which stresses me out more :p.</p>

6

<p>And is there any possibility of taking a bus to visit Case during the week? Maybe you could get earlier on a Friday to be able to visit classes, etc., and your Dad could pick you up on Saturday?</p>

7

<p>celebrain25, it shouldn't be too hard to get to downtown Cleveland. I looked on the Greyhound site and you can get to Cleveland from Columbus in 2 hours 44 mins. for $38 round trip, no transfers. </p>

<p>I think that you really need to go to Case to see if it's right for you. </p>

<p>I also would go to Miami and see what they have to offer also. I don't know a lot about Miami but I remember that one end of campus is the more "arty" side and would maybe be a better choice to live in than the usual "preppy, party" side. As an Honors student you would hopefully meet more serious studious students than ones who want to party all the time. Also Miami is only 45 mins from Cincinnati.</p>

<p>It just hard for me to see you dismiss Miami and a practically free ride before seeing it. (Yes, I hear about Miami and the type of student it attracts and honestly, I don't see you there. But I think that you need to have an open mind about it.)</p>

<p>To be truthful, I went to school in a city and I only went off campus once or twice a semster. Being in a city is not as big a deal as it seems. You are so busy with school and life at school that you don't have a lot of time to go off campus.</p>