Need help choosing for the lowest debt!

Paying for College
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@CourtneyThurston I definitely get where my mom is coming from since I’m her only child and once I’m gone she’ll miss seeing me everyday. I’m definitely working on convincing her ,and I think I’m getting through to her little by little.

@vonlost Haha. It’s pretty funny how my mom used to joke that she wanted me to go to school far away, but now she’s totally worried. I don’t think once I’m out of college that she’ll really worry; I think she just worries about me now since it’s the first time that I’ll be away from her longer than a couple of weeks.

@Iz57c4
Thanks for the advice and giving a rough estimate of the net price. I’ll have an interview Friday for the research stipend, so I’ll be sure to ask. My mother and I are trying to fly out sometime this April and Reed is giving me a travel voucher to visit, so hopefully we can work things out. If not, I’ll be sure to do more research on my own and ask if I can have contacts to reach out to any alumni or current students to ask questions.

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@HiToWaMom
I’m definitely attracted to small LACs for that very reason. I hope will be able to work things out to visit Reed.

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@Meganerd2012, your mom will miss you, no matter how far you are.

The biggest adjustment, after raising your child for 18 years, is not being as involved in their life.

Young adults need to have their independence, but it can be hard initially.

I don’t usually call my D at school, because she is either in class, studying, working, or doing things with friends. I text her randomly and then she can get back to me when it’s a good time for her, and I won’t bug her.

Maybe you and your mom can Skype on Sundays, and you can tell her about your week.

Staying in touch, and telling her tidbits about your new life, will help your mom adjust to life without you.

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Conventional wisdom is if you’re planning on med school to take on as little undergrad debt as possible.

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Re Reed, about half the students receive financial aid, and Reed has been meeting full need for all students (and no merit aid) for years.

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^^^ plus 20% students at Reed are on Pell grant. which is a decent percentage for LACs, quite respectable from a socio-economic diversity standpoint.

with that many kids getting big-aid, you won’t feel like an outsider. there will be kids with money and without. At d’s school they all get along great.

BTW - I think you’ll be fine with whatever you decide. It certainly appears that you’re asking all the right questions, considering all the right variables, and taking the reasonable steps to make the best decision. Good luck!

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I think you’d find enough CC parents that live close enough to Reed to help out in a pinch. I live closer to Lewis and Clark, but I’m really like 15 minutes away from Reed. Your mom shouldn’t worry about what happens in a pinch!

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OP which school did you decide on? Sounded like your top two were St. John’s and Reed. Once you make a decision please come back and let us know.

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@momcinco
Yep, my top two choices are Reed and St. John’s and once I make a decision, I definitely will!

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You have excellent options. Congrats for “doing your homework” so that you now get to choose between two affordable, wonderful schools.

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If you’re premed, St John’s isn’t a good option because it doesn’t allow you to fulfill the premed requirements. It’s add 40k in the special postbacc program unless you magically get admitted to the special Humed /flexmed program St Mount Sinai - and no one should assume that.

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OP it is your family’s decision, of course, but take note ^ this adds a perspective that makes a difference.

I can tell your from experience that MYOS1634 's advice is worth listening to.

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Wanted to comment on @Tempemom impression of Reedies. My son has a $46,000 grant so he has a pretty good package. There is no way to know who is on financial aid and who is not. About half are full pay and half have aid. I have no idea why you would feel the students there are self absorbed.

It is important to note that students at Reed tend to lean on the introverted side. It is the right school for someone who socializes through academics.

The honor policy is something that should be mentioned. Tests are unproctored and students an sit anywhere on campus and take their finals. My son did his semester humanities final in bed. (He woke up first and got breakfast, and then returned to the comfort of his room to take his exam.) The honor policy extends to how Reedies treat each other. Peer pressure is frowned on. My son, who is not a substance user has friends who are, and there is never a feeling of pressure to partake.

On the parent Facebook page the biggest concern comes from parents of students who either are very extroverted and feel that they lack a social life, or students who are politically conservative and feel out of place. For my very introverted and liberal son, it simply feels like home.

Perhaps some feel that students are self absorbed because they are seeing students who are typically not very outgoing and who thrive on academics. That is the culture.

A student should never feel that they would be an outcast because they come from a poor background. Reed is probably the last place this would happen.

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IMO, even with premed out of the equation I’d choose Reed - financially best option, most prestigious option (just saying), small LAC which you want…then pre-med is in the equation and you can’t complete pre-med at St Johns. You might not complete it at Reed either but that would be because you decided to go a different way, not because it’s actually impossible to do it.

There’s a $3500/year difference in price, right? And the only additional expense is travel? If that’s right, consider that $3500 pays for more than you would need for airfare. You could maybe take less in loans, or pay them back sooner as you mentioned doing with WS, or just give yourself a cushion. Or pay for your mom to fly out for a nice visit :smiley:

Sounds like you are visiting since they sent you a travel voucher? I’m interested to hear what you think.

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@MYOS1634
Thanks for the advice. It is definitely a worry for me about the cost of the extra courses I would need for med school, so thank you for putting it into perspective.

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@OHMomof2
Reed definitely seems like the better option and you’re right that the cost of travel is a small difference of money between the cost of St.John’s

Update: I was able to work out the cost to be able to visit Reed. I just came back (or almost came back since right now I’m waiting for a connection flight) from Reed Admit Day, and I had a great time. It rained the whole time and it was pretty cold, but that didn’t distract from the beauty of the campus (but did make it hard for me to stand put long enough to take pictures).

I loved the fact that everyone in admissions knew every admitted student, and also when I talked to the professors, the professors seem to know their students quite well also.

My dorm host left as soon as we got to the dorms for work, but it was fine as I hung out with a couple of other prospsies I met during the Hawthorne excursion (which was great especially as they actually gave of spending money to buy stuff).

The people seem pretty friendly, but unlike at St. John’s, there’s less of a connection I feel with them. I kind of felt like I was intruding (which I kind of am), but the current students seem okay if not a little stressed out understandably due to finals and the senior thesis coming up quite soon. However, I feel that the vibe of the current students were about the same (stressed out), but the Johnnies were a bit more helping towards the prospsies which I liked as it showed the pride they had for their school.

I saw the canyon with bunch of other prospies, and while I’m not really an outdoorsy person (I like looking at nature but not really being outside in it), I could see myself walking along the trail and setting on one of the various benches.

About financial aid and the amount of students that need it vs full pay, I found that many of the people I met were all in the same boat I was in trying to chase the money offers. No one came off as privilege and snobbish (which honestly I wouldn’t have minded since I go to a high school with people of the upper middle class and most of them are alright and don’t necessarily flaunt their wealth), and everyone was respectful towards each other.

I still have a huge decision to make before May first, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit Reed to give me more perspective as I try to make an informed decision on my next four years of life.

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Update:

My interview for the Isermann Medal went well; New College of Florida contacted me and I recieved it! Also, today, New College of Florida gave me an additional scholarship of $8,500.

However, after much consideration, I have chosen to become a part of Reed College Class of 2021! It was a back and forth battle between St. John’s and Reed, but in the end I felt that Reed would be better for my post-Bac goals. I’m glad I’m finally done with the college admissions process, and I’m looking forward to the next four years of my life!

Thank you all so much for all of your wisdom! I’m really grateful for the knowledgeable members of CC. :slight_smile:

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Congratulations!

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Congratulations! I hope you will have a wonderful time at Reed!

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Congratulations! And don’t forget to update us next year to let us know how you’re doing?