Ooh, plz write a full visit report!!! We hope to go in the spring.
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Whatâs in NO ? Tulane ? Loyola ?
What did you decide for last minute apps ?
This is interesting. Could you give an example of how R&B is structured in a way that allows inequity to flourish? Iâm probably being dense here yet all I can think of is that singles would cost more and maybe newer housing might cost more if it offered more bells and whistles?
Comp Sci A ideally shouldnât be someoneâs first introduction to coding. Itâs fine for the kids with natural aptitude for it or who already tinkered on their own first. Our HS has a couple years of more basic coding classes that lead up to it in the curriculum, starting with intro to Python.
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When we looked at schools, there were colleges where (regardless of amenities) every double cost the same, every triple cost the same, etc. It didnât matter if one dorm had A/C and one dorm didnâtâŠthe cost was the cost. It was lucky of the draw whether you might get the new dorm with larger rooms, A/C and semi private bathrooms, or a 50s era dorm with cinder blocks, no A/C and communal bathrooms. Both cost the exact same amount.
There were other schools, University of Michigan being a decent example - where the cost of school housing had huge differentials with 5 different rates, depending upon the size of room, number of roommates and amenities offered.
You could get placed in a triple/quad with communal bathrooms for $11,642 all the way up to a double in a 4 person apartment for $17,426.
When room choice can have a $6K per year differential in cost - a school is (imo) allowing inequity to flourish. Low and lower income students are the most likely to choose their housing based on costâŠand the cost differential there is larger than the max first year Stafford loans students are allowed to take out.
Board plans at Michigan also have quite the differential, with the lowest cost one being $5,175 and the highest one being $5,725.
Now, I am sure this is presented as giving students and families âchoiceâ. If you want more amenities and more privacy, you will pay for it. But that de facto creates a campus where families/students with more economic resources have better housing with more amenities. Who chooses the non A/C triple or quad with communal bathrooms except those who cannot afford the other options? Who chooses to have fewer options on their dining plan except those who cannot afford to pay for more options (usually more flexible dollars that can used at places other than the main dining halls)?
While we do have the resources to pay those kinds of differentials, we didnât want to and didnât want our children at schools that create economic ghettos on their own campus. D20 got one of the worst housing assignments possible on her campus as a first year. Tiny double room (we had to use the fishbowl lens taking pictures of it at move in), no A/C, cinder blocks, fluorescent lights, no closets and communal bathrooms. Long walk from most of her classes. And it cost exactly the same as the 5 year old dorm with A/C, huge windows and a great view of the central quad.
As with so much regarding college search and selection, everyoneâs mileage will vary.
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LoyNo is where he applied. They have the music programs that interest him more.
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My D17 has ocd and was really worried about sharing a room. We did pay extra for a single in a 4 person on campus apartment. She had a great year and made great friends. It seemed fair that it would cost us more considering other kids were in triples in 50 year old buildings. Overall it was a very affordable public education, so it never occurred to me we were fostering elitism.
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Dow to the last two applications. Light at the end of the tunnel. Should be done by tomorrow.
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Which seems like sensible âaccommodationâ of her personality/anxiety - and a good compromise. Just sharing the same apartment (as in: sink, fridge, finite number of dishes and utensils) can be challenging, even without OCD, depending how responsible/considerate some of the others are (not).
And many of those how are quick to point out elitism, probably made conscious choices about their neighborhood based on school system, ease of commuting,⊠that others could not afford to make. Or didnât limit their choice of car based on what others might be able to afford, or deny their companyâs health insurance because so many others donât have that privilegeâŠ
Weâll also hope for our kids to have above-average professional opportunities. So Iâm not clear why the 4 years between home and profession have to become absolutely, artificially egalitarian.
I sure wouldnât have endorsed any âluxuriesâ - but I was okay to allow my daughter some reasonable choices that fostered a good/productive learning environment, that were within the budget, with both of us being keenly aware that it was a privilege - just like coming from a well-funded school district.
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I think paying for a single is fine and really necessary in some cases. But there are some schools where there are really tiered housing options with thousands of dollars difference and separate buildings. I agree with the previous poster that this creates division.
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@socalmom007 @DigitalDad I never used the word elitism, I used the word inequity. Those terms are not synonymous.
If a family doesnât want the experience of one price for all college housing (singles are more expensive than other housing at my childrenâs schools as well, FYIâŠbut all singles cost the same amount, no matter how many amenities are attached) - well, there are plenty of schools that will fulfill that aspect. My children have friends who picked their colleges in large part based upon the relative luxury of dorm housingâŠas is their choice. There is a cover for every pot.
As for the idea that this type of conscious choice can (should?) be considered in other aspects of life, I agree 100%. Which is why we do actually drive smaller, less expensive cars than we can âaffordâ (mostly due to our consideration of climate change), we live in an economically and racially diverse neighborhood so that the school system our children attend(ed) is not economically and racially segregated, and while we are grateful we have always been able to afford health insurance (as a self employed family, we cover the entirety of our insurance costs), we continue to vote for policies and politicians that prioritize health care for all.
We are very aware that not everyone has the same options based upon race, income, experiences, etc. And so many of our choices, because yes we are very aware we are lucky/privileged enough to be blessed with choice, are to try our best to consciously live the values we espouse. I have plenty of faults (and I could spend hours listing them), but hypocrisy is not one of them. 
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SAT vs. ACT Scores/Performance- S24 took ACT for the fist time in December. Only did a little bit of online prep, but starting legit weekly prep/tutoring next week. They will do ACT and SAT stuff with him. SAT scheduled for March the same week tutoring ends. I am curious for those of you who have kids who have taken both, were their scores similar? I am getting the sense that ACT may be better for S24, but we still want him to take the SAT in March. Then he will take either SAT or ACT a second time if needed. His ACT can hopefully significantly improve, so we are hoping the tutoring helps.
As faculty myself (in a humanities programâare the sciences different?), I react with a rueful chuckle.
Weâre in an era of âdo more with lessâ, no matter the number of students we attract. The programs that are allowed to limit the number of students (whether through restrictive premajors or âweedoutâ courses) are generally those where accreditation or licensure requirements restrict throughput given the faculty and equipment available. The rest of us, weâre expected to raise our course caps and educate our students as best as weâre able, no matter the resultant quality.
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Recognizing that the previous post talked about inequity, not elitism, I would also like to point out that it is nearly certainly impossible to live a life in the modern world without some degree of hypocrisy.
So Iâm calling a foul here: Critiquing someoneâs distaste for either inequity or elitism by pointing out that personâs own participation in such is a reasonable point to raise, but it isnât reasonable to put it forward by itself as evidence (even as weak evidence!) that that personâs concerns are invalid.
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Both D23 and D24 went to a tutor who did a diagnostic on them to see if theyâd score better on ACT or SAT and then solely focused on that test. (Both ended up taking ACT.)
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As a Humanities faculty member myself (and former dean), I get the rueful nature of it all. In my experience, I canât think of any programs that got extra resources from administration when their student major counts (not students in courses, which is seen differently) were the same, or lower. Of course, this doesnât mean that having more majors will translate into more resources, because itâs more a necessary condition than a sufficient one. This is often experienced in the humanities and arts, in my experience, given that there are fairly entrenched ideological biases against those fields at the upper levels (they are seen as having no âROIâ). That said, in the fields where this is not the case, itâs always a battle to get more resources, but if youâre weeding people out and your major counts arenât growing, you most certainly wonât get any (unless you are in a program with high perceived prestige, and this is linked to enrollment at the college).
Both my kids had a mostly online tutoring program which ran a diagnostic test for ACT/SAT scoring. D20 did better on ACT diagnostic and ONLY took that test (3x) and D23 did better on SAT diagnostic and ONLY took that test 3x as well. Both did the best on their 3rd test and did not need/use Superscoring.
Superscoring is where they take the highest performance of each component and that becomes the score? So if they did best on the second ACT for a couple parts, but better on the final for the others, they use only the highest scores?
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Yep.
I had no idea some schools have a flat rate for all roomsâŠdo you mind sharing some of those that do this?