Alright, I’ve been browsing this forum long enough, and now I’d like some input. These are my options right now (the $ on the right is cost of attendance).
Amherst accepted $45,590.00
Tufts accepted $28,542.00
Carleton accepted $21,997.00
Bowdoin accepted $21,850.00
Emory accepted $19,004.00 (Also got into their Oxford side campus)
Davidson accepted $14,701.00
For some context, my family would comfortable paying around $20,000 a year - any more would cut into my parent’s retirement which I really don’t want to do. I would like to study Computer Science but I also like History - want to do double major at the moment.
So my feasible options are Carleton, Davidson, Bowdoin, and Emory. Amherst and Tufts are too expensive, but I’m appealing Amherst right now.
I know that Carleton’s sciences is stronger than Bowdoin, but I also know that Bowdoin has many alumni connections at tech companies. I went on Bowdoin’s flyout in the fall and I really liked the campus and the people. I was going to ED but my family was scared about finances. I also went on Davidson’s fly out, but I didn’t like the D1 athletics / bigger presence of greek life very much. However, it is a really nice LAC and it’s cheaper too. But maybe they are front loading? Didn’t get a chance to visit Carleton but I heard it’s midwest friendly which I’m a fan of.
So two big questions.
thoughts on which college I should choose?
do you think these LACs will give me a generous package freshman year only to give less the next few years? And my family's income will go about a decent amount up next year so any way to lock the package in?
What are your interests? You mention science and technology.
If you were going to ED at Bowdoin and really enjoyed it and the money came in at a good spot, then you can’t go wrong with that and it’s a great school. I would have defaulted to Emory for strength in sciences (they won’t reduce your aid), but nothing in your original post indicates that you visited Emory or Oxford or know that it would be a fit for you. You seem intrigued by Carleton. Any way you could get out there for a visit?
When comparing FinAid, you need to separate out need based aid from merit. Need based aid, anywhere, is going to change with changes in income.
Merit is usually renewable. Call the school to verify. Find out what GPA you need in order to keep a merit scholarship. Just because you had good grades in HS, don’t assume maintaining a 3.5 at a high-ranked college will be a slam dunk. A requirement for 3.0 or 3.2 would be a better option.
If you study abroad, will the scholarship follow?
You can ask the school if all the aid is good for 4 years. Ask if it will increase if(when) tuition increases.
That’s a great package from Davidson, and if you like it “well enough,” it would be a good choice. There’s a lot to be said for not being strapped financially, having money for travel costs, etc. I believe you will find that Davidson’s retention and graduation rates are less than ideal. While I don’t think you will become a statistic, it does have an effect on other students when 20% of the student body doesn’t come back sophomore year.
Carleton and Bowdoin are in another league altogether, and if you get good answers about your FinAid and your family is OK with the financial stretch, I recommend going with one of them. I think you will find very high retention and graduation rates as well as education of the highest caliber.
I’m going to suggest that you seriously consider Tufts taking into account that it is strong for Computer Science (it has a School of Engineering) while I believe that the others are not that strong. I know it is over the $20K, but for an extra $8K it seems like the best option for you. Your parents would need to come up with an extra $40K or so which is not a big bite from a retirement nest egg. Does you COA include your student loans?
Consider how you feel about winter and snow. Bowdoin winters are long, snowy and cold while Tufts, Amherst and Carleton will be about the same. Emory and Davidson have a much different climate.
When I flew out to Tufts, I really liked the campus but it didn’t feel like a typical LAC. I do know their CS / Eng is super strong, though, so I’m sure I’d fit in.
But I’m not sure if 40k is worth it. The COA could go up for all I know so I’d like to play conservative if possible
If you got accepted at Emory I would choose that over Oxford campus unless you were drawn to the 2 year program and smaller campus for some reason. It is a larger research university compared to the rest of the schools on your list that are LACs. You can take some classes at Georgia Tech while at Emory.
@alooknac Just curious about your source for Davidson’s retention rate. According to its common data set, the student retention rate is 95%. Am I missing something?
I lived in Sioux Falls, SD for a good number of years so I don’t mind the snow and cold. It might change the social dynamic though… any idea about that?
My younger daughter graduated from Carleton a few years ago. She and her friends, including some who majored in comp sci, got good jobs after graduation. Minnesota’s economy is good, and Carleton is close to the Twin Cities, where there are many job possibilities. My daughter’s financial aid decreased as our family income increased, but I expected that; we had high need and the school was very generous overall.
Interesting that the colleges in your top list all “meet 100% of need”, yet you get wildly different COAs. I’m especially surprised by Amherst, which is supposed to be great with financial aid.