Thanks, I’ll pass that along.
Ha. Just remember that most of the school year at NU is cold! I’m local and an alum. The campus shows very very well in the summer but just be sure to walk around and try to picture cold, snow, and wind too!
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@homerdog We try to forget about the nine months of winter on days like this 
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@13street Did you have any more thoughts on Temple? Such as the vibe on campus, dorms, etc. And did you walk around the neighborhoods just off campus at all? S22 is interested in Temple but we are unlikely to be able to visit. Thank you! Appreciate any other details or thoughts!
I’ve mentioned that to our D22, but living in AZ where we have 7 months (or more) of 100+ degrees and many 115 degrees days, warning her about cold is a tough sell 
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Isnt your son a “Polar Bear” up at Bowdoin? I didn’t realize masochism is a genetic disorder 
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Ha! Yes! And D21 headed to Colgate. Brrrrrrrrr…
Both thought they wanted warmer and both would admit that, when choosing cold weather schools, that was their biggest compromise. Fit for a lot of other reasons won out and they just have really warm coats and boots!
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Fwiw, Pitt and CMU campuses touch each other, so one being well integrated into the city and the other being a bit far away from the city seems a bit odd. Both are the same bus ride, about 2 stops apart, from the actual downtown of the city, about 3-4 miles away.
IME, CMU was a nice, quieter location, with access to parks on the opposite edge of campus, but a 5-10 minute walk to everything in Oakland, the busier section of town where most of Pitt is located.
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It’s a 15-minute walk from Pitt to the start of the CMU self-guided tour, which is across from the residence halls. That’s why I said it’s a bit away. If we were going by car, I agree it would be a very short drive.
We liked the campus. The buildings are new or well kept up. Numerous food trucks on campus offer a variety of food in addition to the on-campus dining areas. We didn’t get to see inside the dorms, but they looked nice from the outside. The number of commuter kids is on the higher side because it’s in the city.
We did not walk around campus because of time constraints. The impression driving in to campus was not favorable, but the campus was fine, clean and appeared to be very safe.
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@13street Thank you for these observations! S22 wants a large university/city experience. He’ll have to learn some street smarts but I’d expect that in any city. Sounds like Temple should go on his final list!
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What is his intended major? We visited both the School of Engineering and Fox School of Business and the facilities looked modern. My son shares the urban/large university preference and I would also recommend Ohio State, Wisconsin, Pitt and Minnesota if the geography, cost and academics work for you.
Can’t speak for Rice but with that income you will get zero from Ivies. Been there done that. You need to make less than $100k to have need met. Even then, there’s no guarantee that you would get anything in future years.
There’s a thread from this year about someone who’s kid got into Rice and they didn’t get enough $ and had to blow off the ED to go elsewhere. Think carefully if you want to be in that position of your student being accepted and then having to tell her you won’t or can’t pay. It’s not easy.
You can always look for outside scholarships but many are need based and again she won’t qualify. She should look for the merit based ones and work hard to find them. As someone who has a kid at an Ivy and a UT school (sounds like you’re in TX) the Ivies are not the be all to end all. Your daughter can probably get into a top ranked Honors program and that can make a huge difference and she should consider that as well.
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Nice toes! Perfect day for the beach. Now get ready for the yuck heat that’s coming.
Northwestern and their beach is gorgeous. Even in the cold it is a view not to be missed.
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S22 is interested in the humanities. Thanks for the other urban suggestions!
I ran the Simple Rice NPC. If a family has no others in college, $500k in retirement, $250k non-retirement, $200k pre-tax income, $100k home equity and $5k in checking, they would owe $58,300 per year with $7200 in need based grants. There’s also $2500 in work study and loans.
With same metrics and $400k in home equity, it’s full pay.
With no home equity and same metrics, you get $22500 per year.
Home equity is treated the same as non-retirement assets.
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Yes, we’re in the UK.
Thanks. Finding completing the activities section challenging - 1) Reducing everything to 10 activities (although I support having a limit) and 2) describing the activities within the allotted space.
Also, are some activities also considered honors? For example, my D22 is a music scholar at her school - this designation entails certain privileges (opportunities to be a soloist) but also obligations (required to join certain orchestras/ensembles). So, it is a substantial commitment. Similarly, D22 recently participated in 16 week engineering-like program at the end of which her team won a national award. Activity, honor, or both?
Any tips gratefully received.
D22 joined an NU virtual tour recently. Unfortunately, no one was around so she wasn’t able to get a sense of campus life. Pretty view of the lake, though.