Son heard from almost all colleges, so it’s time for us to get CC feedback/opinions as we’re planning a few college visits. Our original budget was $30k, but can budge a bit (no need for loans at this amount). The main question is if it’s really clear-cut with the price difference? What are some pros and cons for each college (we don’t know any if them well)? As you can see, he is considering several career paths, one of them would entail Law school.
Main contenders:
Fordham LC - full-tuition NMF scholarship, COA is $20k. Poli Sci, no honors college (excited to be in NYC).
UMD - OOS with merit scholarships = $35k. Poli Sci + Music, Honors collège. (Different in many ways from Fordham, but also near a large city)
UMass - OOS with merit scholarships = $35k. Poli Sci + Music, Honors collège. (Concerns: is it worth keeping it on thé list, seems to be kind of remote)
CU Boulder - in-state with merit =$30k. Aerospace engineering + Music. (Didn’t get enough merit and is salty about it).
There’s also BU with NMF scholarship, but it’s still $50k and not viable IMO.
You didn’t say what his major would be at Fordham, but at a $10K-$30K savings over the other schools, I choose Fordham without any hesitation. As long as he’s okay with moving across the country, save the money and make it happen.
Then, use the money you saved to go visit him twice a year and have fun!
Some excellent options there! I’ll speak a little to UMass. My D ‘22 is a Poly Sci and Anthropology double major. They have a strong Poly Sci
Program and she has enjoyed the course work.
Honors College gets you into the centrally located (air conditioned) dorms and some smaller class sizes . CHC is right next to the Rec. Center and near the Mullins Center so easy to get a workout in or attend a UMass Hockey or Basketball game. It’s 90 minutes from Boston but the campus and the Amherst area are very lively. Very artsy and intellectual area with the Five college consortium. It’s a great school with a lot of opportunities. Plus it has the best campus food in the country FWIW. Good luck and if I can help with any questions I’m glad to try and help!
Everything RhodyDad91 says about UMass Amherst is true. And I still think that I’d choose Fordham for 20K/yr. That’s a fantastic deal. Fordham has gotten more selective over the years, it’s in NYC, it’s well-respected in that area. If he’s interested in getting involved in politics, lots of opportunity with NYC politics.
He got into the Poli Sci program, but Fordham doesn’t allow inter-college majors, so he’ll only be able to minor in theater or music (which sounds good to me). He loves big cities and all things cosmopolitan, and pretty resilient, so I think he’d love NYC! Thank you for your input.
Thank you, that’s where I’m leaning, just need my thinking validated :). I think we’ve gotten used to the idea that he got the full tuition scholarship (that he dreamt of getting from any college), but it’s incredible that it happened, especially this year.
Just caught that you’re in CO. I’m a BIG avs fan, Cale Makar and UMass connection! You’d probably want to fly into Bradley int’l and go up route 91 N to Amherst. UMass has its own (Nice) hotel on campus. But plenty of hotels nearby. I believe many of the heavy Covid restrictions have been eased on campus. If you make the trip head over to Nearby Northampton, very nice funky artsy town with great shops and restaurants. But law school is expensive so agree keeping UGrad costs down and being in
NYC makes Fordham tough to beat.
I’ll add my voice to the “Fordham, no question” crowd. All of those are great colleges, but Fordham is a great college for $40,000-$60,000 less across the four years.
S20 had similar ideas. Lincoln is in a nice location but as a parent not so sure it’s a great idea. Lots of distractions. Maturity would be a consideration.
S20 didn’t quite get enough merit to make it work which I’m kind of glad. It worked out. That said, I think it’s a great school. I would’ve just preferred Rose Hill at least for freshman year.
Nmf at Fordham should come with honors program - check with the honors college.
UMD has an excellent honors college, allows him to double major, and is a short light rail ride into DC which is perfect for a poli sci major so, if not Fordham, then I’d go with UMD.
Rose Hill would be a great campus too (and I love the school’s involvement with its community), and I have thought about the challenges of living in the heart of Manhattan as a very young man from the suburbs. He’s 100% excited by this prospect, and I’m probably projecting my unfulfilled dreams of living and studying in NYC (I was a newly arrived immigrant at his age).
Being the adult can be tough. Maybe put Fordham on the table IF he lives on the Rose Hill campus first year. You like the school but have reservations about LC. Not an unreasonable compromise. You’ll see how mature he is by his answer. Good luck.
Lol about the NYC dream. I grew-up what some people would call “hillbilly”. I thought Pitt was big time at that age. NYC would’ve been a different planet.
Coming back for more advice!
Son would like to keep options open for potentially studying engineering (instead of poli Sci). With that in mind, would Fordham be a weaker choice than UMD? What could you tell us about engineering at Fordham? To remind you, he has full tuition scholarship at Fordham and in-state tuition at UMD.
He also got a call from School of Music at UMD (his other major there) imploring him to commit and inviting for a visit, which earned them points, of course.
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