Offers following being named NMF

Parent Cafe
21

<p>Name had nothing to do with our NMF D’s college choice. Caliber of students, quality of professors, reputation of majors she was interested in, ease of double majoring/minoring across departments, diversity of student body, quality of advising, her opinion of classes she sat in on, etc. etc. were the things she looked at. The things she valued and looked for in a school just happened to be available at a school that maybe some say has a “name”. Nephew made his decision the same way. Chose Northwestern, that maybe has a name, but was also accepted by CalTech, WashU and Harvey Mudd, along with the schools offering big $$$. NW had what he was looking for. Not saying my D’s or nephew’s choice should be anyone else’s choice - as people say over and over, it is all about individual fit. </p>

<p>A point - in the narrative read at the ceremony of one of the other students at older D’s school who received one of the Chancellor Awards, it was mentioned that he was “so brilliant, all the professor were clamoring to work with him.” I sat there thinking - is that a plus or a minus? To be so far above the student body that your peers were the professors, that could be great in the aspect of opportunities that present themselves or that could be very lonely when thinking of who did he have as peers. This young man’s mother told me that his brother (our younger D’s age) just finished his freshman year at Harvard and was not happy there. So…which of the brothers made the best choice? It is all about fit - you just hope your child makes the right choice for them. </p>

<p>When younger D would hit a rough patch this past year I would e-mail and say, “Don’t you want to come back and go to StateU for free?” At the end of one e-mail where she was telling us about a particularly harrowing day, she wrote "Putting my exaggerated self-pity aside, I am actually having a good day. It is snowing, the campus is beautiful, and I love what I am experiencing here. And NO, I don’t want to come home and go to “stateU”.
That’s what it’s about. Our D’s made completely different school choices. It’s not about “my school is better than your school” or “my kid made a smarter choice than your kid”. It should be, my kid made the right choice for them.</p>

22

<p>All of your examples are great and point out the fact that there are a lot of variables at work here for the student to consider. My son might not even be named NMSF (his score is identical to last year’s cutoff in our state so I realize the cutoff could go up a point or 2 and he’ll just miss it). I can’t wait until September to find out if he made it, just because it will put some of this decision to rest. One of the state U’s he is considering does give full tuition to NM, it looks like, so it is actually in the mix of things. But that also is dependent on major…some the school is known for would be a dead giveaway that he’ll choose that no matter what…merit money or not.</p>

<p>I can definitely see now that the top schools don’t have to give out this merit aid like other places are eager to do because they’ll attract these bright students even without an enticing offer, just because kids want to go there and won’t feel forced to go there like they might at a place they chose because it was a good deal for the checkbook.</p>