<p>She loved the Lehigh campus (accepted) but wasn't given any money.<br>
She was devastated at the cost.</p>
<p>I was impressed with the engineering presentations when we visited Loyola and I think this is the best school for her but I think she wanted to be closer to home - we are just under 3 hours drive away - not too bad. (she originally thought she wanted to study math). </p>
<p>Also got a full scolarship at TCNJ but their engineering program doesn't allow much flexibility for electives which is very important to her. Loyola has the core. </p>
<p>She also was admitted to the honors program yesterday. </p>
<p>She loves participating in band but Loyola doesn't have a pep band. (told her she could start one if she really wanted )</p>
<p>Any words of wisdom out there that may help her decide? She is so stressed as to what to do?</p>
<p>I can give you about 16,000 reasons as to why she should choose Loyola. LOL On a serious note that scholarship could be worth about $70,000 over a four year period. Its something that she needs to factor into her decision but it shouldn't be the only reason. Good luck on her decision.</p>
<p>D said she decided on Loyola. I am so happy as I think it is the best fit for her in so many ways. Her scholarship was actually 15K not 16K but it is still a nice tuition reduction. (Loyola was her number 2 choice)</p>
<p>She is "worried" about the (lack of ) a meal plan, everything is a la carte. I told her no big deal, we just put money on the card. </p>
<p>Any comments as to what is the average $ per meal. She really likes to look at costs of things. She is already thinking about what she can cook in the dorm kitchen.</p>
<p>You are right in that she will swipe her ID and it will automatically charge her meal account for her food. It actually works out to be about the same cost as a standard College Meal plan and could be less based on the number of meals she eats and how much she eats. If she is a modest eater who sometimes skips meals she could actually save money. Cooking in the dorm is not practical and will get old soon. She can get into an apartment her sophmore year and cook there. Tell her not to worry about the meal plan.</p>
<p>I'll put it this way. I graduated from Loyola. My wife graduated from Loyola. My two brothers and their wives all graduated from Loyola. I had my son look at Loyola (we visited four times and spoke at length with the engineering chair). Son is also interested in pursuing engineering. I have to say, if your daughter is interested in engineering, she can do a whole lot better than Loyola College in Maryland. There engineering program is pretty sad in comparison to the larger state universities and the much better undergrad programs at Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Villanova etc. Because of their core requirements, her opportunity to select a single elective will be virtually impossible (please go through the course catalog and try to plan out her four years of classes). Likewise, they offer one single Engineering Science degree with possible concentrations in only a few fields - electrical, mechancial. Son received $15K in merit scholarship from Loyola, but their lack of a serious engineering program and the suffocating core requirements were nails in the coffin for my alma mater.</p>
<p>I'll put it this way. I graduated from Loyola. My wife graduated from Loyola. My two brothers and their wives all graduated from Loyola. I had my son look at Loyola (we visited four times and spoke at length with the engineering chair). Son is also interested in pursuing engineering. I have to say, if your daughter is interested in engineering, she can do a whole lot better than Loyola College in Maryland. There engineering program is pretty sad in comparison to the larger state universities and the much better undergrad programs at Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Villanova etc. Because of their core requirements, her opportunity to select a single elective will be virtually impossible (please go through the course catalog and try to plan out her four years of classes). Likewise, they offer one single Engineering Science degree with possible concentrations in only a few fields - electrical, mechancial. Son received $15K in merit scholarship from Loyola, but their lack of a serious engineering program and the suffocating core requirements were nails in the coffin for my alma mater.</p>
<p>BlueHenDad, thank you for your input. My son was also accepted to Loyola as well as Lehigh for engineering. Since the money aspect will be about the same for each school, we are trying to decide which school would be better for that curriculum. I am glad you gave some clarity.</p>
<p>I do not know much about Loyola's pre-med program. The college's website reflects success in this area. Having lived in the Baltimore area all my life and having been a long-time supporting alumni of the college, I must confess that Loyola is first and foremost a business school. Its other departments/schools pretty much get the sloppy seconds to the Sellinger School of Business. Loyola does not have as strong of a reputation in the sciences. It pains me to say that, but it is unfortunately true.</p>
<p>The web site says that "the acceptance rate to medical school is above national average"! As you can see, that does not mean much!</p>
<p>I would love to see the data on freshman premed and annual number of premed students who get accepted to medical schools !</p>
<p>Even the rate alone does not say much. Indeed, if, for example, each year only 3 qualified students applied & accepted to medical schools. This means an acceptance rate of 100% !!! (This rate does not take into account pre-med drop-outs or those who were "weeded out".</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your info. That helps !</p>
<p>bln-1975, I know you had questions with regards to Loyola vs. UVA vs. William and Mary. The reason why I knew the med rates was because we too were looking at it for pre-med. I heard that although its known for business, sciences were still strong....BlueHenDad's comments are therefore really concerning to me as well. Unfortunately, my son did not apply to UVA or William and Mary, but some smaller liberal arts schools in the area which we are highly considering as possibilities. The problem is the LAC's, although they have other majors like business, are typically known for their sciences only-and if he wants to switch majors down the road, they are therefore limiting. I did call Loyola for further detail on stats with no definitive answer, although I heard they give a great presentation to want-a-be doctors about their program from fellow parents.</p>
<p>I guess we, parents, were born to worry!! ha!ha!</p>
<p>I think our children will be fine with whichever college that they decide to attend! I'll take my D to visit Loyola this coming Saturday, and UVA next Friday (she has already eliminated W&M, which I like very much!). After that I'm sure she will make her decision.</p>
<p>I'd be interested to know which college your son decide to attend in the Fall. keep in touch!</p>
<p>We're going next weekend on the 19th because my son has a research paper due on Monday this coming week--nothing like bringing the choice down to the finish line. I wonder how close we'll get to May 1st, before he finally decides. The more local LAC has way better acceptance rates, has bio/pre-med as their primary focus-but Loyola has (in my son's opinion) more to do around it, and a great business program, if he decides the med thing isn't for him--Tell me how your visit goes and what you decide to do. I do understand that Loyola has a firm relationship with Johns Hopkins re: acceptance.</p>
<p>PS---Nothing like stalking the boards when you've exhausted all other forms of informational avenues- to get opinions from those who have been there.
Another note: All our friends (whom most are surgeons of some specialty or another) say go to the best school you can get into....All the med students we know say...go where you can be the most highly competitive because in the end its all about gpa and test scores.</p>
<p>We spent the whole day at Loyola. My D likes the capus, the dorms and the honors program. The campus looks very safe and the neighborhoods surrounding Loyola look very nice.</p>
<p>However, she insists to visit UVA. I'll take her to Charlottesville this coming Friday to attend The Day on the Lawn (DOTL). I'm sure after that she will make her decision. I'll keep you posted.</p>
<p>We are getting ready to go to Loyola on Sat. the 19th. I'll be anxious to know your d's final decission and I'll let you know what my son ends up doing after he sees it on accepted student's day.</p>
<p>Best of Luck - May 1 is soon approaching!!!</p>
<p>Yes!!!! May 1 is approaching !!! But I think the children (yours and mine) will be fine!</p>
<p>My D feels very bad because she must reject many good colleges, especially, College of William & Mary (her best friend's dream college but the girl got rejected by W&M!).</p>
<p>I have the feeling that your son will like Loyola.</p>
<p>Your feeling that my son would like Loyola was right on the money. He's picking "the fit" over the other college several of his friends are attending.</p>