my college selection; advice would be appreciated

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hey all,</p>

<p>i am a high school senior who has now recieved all of my acceptances/denials. i do not know exactly what i want to major in, but i am interested in political science and potentially law down the road, or economics and business down the road, but nothing is set in stone yet and keep in mind that i plan on going into college undecided. also, keep in mind that i do want to go to grad school (law/business school, who knows) at an elite institution, most likely a private one too, so that is an upcoming cost.</p>

<p>my situation is that i have narrowed my decision to three choices, but can't decide further...</p>

<p>ohio state, my big in-state school. i am in the honors college which is nice and strong, it is a comfortable distance away from home, i'm super-familiar with the school and like it alot, and the cost is ony about $20,000 overall. also, i'm a huge buckeyes fan</p>

<p>unc-chappel hill... don't know anything or much about it. got in which i'm proud of and going to take another visit soon. might be sorta far away, i don't know anyone, and most kids are from NC which concerns me. also the price is about $42,000 which means if i went there for four years, on my parents buck, i would havta pay for grad school by myself. also, i didn't get int the honors program there</p>

<p>emory. in atlana obviosuly, the only private school i'm willing to consider now. upsides, its a great school. downsides, not exactly the environment i want (bigger, rowdier school, great sports) and it is like $55,000 a year, which would mean i'd have to take about $50,000 in loans out for undergrad overall and have more ahead of me for grad school</p>

<p>so i've applied for financial aid but need-based def isn't coming. got nothing in merit to emory forsure, and i doubt anything will come to UNC, so the prices are final. socially i think i would enjoy UNC and OSU the most, although i would be nervous at UNC being a northerner and outsider in that environment, and moreover being jewish cus there aren't many there.</p>

<p>so this is my issue, and any insight or help is very much appreciated</p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>OSU. Can’t beat the Midwestern values! Save your money undergrad and splurge on grad school. Grad schools don’t particularly care where you went undergrad (esp. law school), and they want diversity, which would give you a leg up on a fantastic east coast or west coast school. I’m in the same boat pretty much- great scholarship to a less prestigious school and zero help from one of the best schools in the country. Ahh, well, best of luck!</p>

3

<p>If you can find a way to pay for UNC or Emory, I would go there. With that said, if funds just don’t come together, the OSU is a great choice. Its good that you are already thinking ahead to grad school. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>did you get all financial aid packages? it does not seem like you did. you might want to wait untill you get all of them and then compare. we did not expect it either, but one the colleges that we applied to covered full tuition with extra and we only have to pay for housing, where the second and third one only covered half of the cost (tuition/housing, etc), even though the one that gave us the most was the high reach. go figure.</p>

5

<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) will help you figure out what all the numbers in your aid offers mean. Emory would leave with you with more debt than would be easy to handle. You should try to end up with no more than the total amount of loans allowable through the Stafford Loans for your undergrad years - especially if you are considering law or business school afterwards.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>So … why are you still undecided? It sounds like you have excellent reasons for picking Ohio State.</p>

7

<p>Ohio State, hands down.</p>

8

<p>thanks for the help so far. someone asked about financial aid and UNC is giving absolutely nothing, and i haven’t seen emory’s yet but i really don’t expect too much at all from 'em. and my parents say don’t let cost be a factor cus between OSU and UNC theyll pay for all tuition anyway, but i sorta think i gotta look big-picture and $$$ should be a consideration</p>

9

<p>OSU-you get the academics(honors program) and the social life/football college experience. Go to OSU, have fun, excel, and have a lot of money saved for grad school at a great school!</p>