I threw in the Az schools because I don’t know his GPA - but let’s say it’s a 3.9 UW, Arizona at $30K off is well under $30K - so cheap but close to home still. $ wise - I get it - Bama is tough to pass up - and that’s why they’re crushing it.
Academically, with Blount and Randall Research Scholars, there’s some depth if he’s interested, etc.
In the end, the money is important (but sounds like you have it). If he’s concerned with being far, being so far might be difficult for him as he’ll be away for four years, day after day. Of course, that could happen with a school an hour from home too. But AZ is closer than AL.
Thank you so much! I can’t remember what his financial offer was from Arizona, just that I wasn’t impressed and discounted it. His UW gpa is more like 3.75 something, weighted 4.65. He’s at the top of his class at a school that does not graduate unweighted 4.0s (like I don’t know of a single one in the last 5 years) so schools that give merit on just that unweighted GPA aren’t going to be advantageous to us. If schools really evaluate the school report, rigor, etc… then he’s in good shape.
Yeah, it may be a time crunch! Our kid is at home, so it will be doable, but we’ll see how many schools we need to visit. If I remember correctly from previous years, many of the schools my son applied to have their accepted student events on the same day.
My D has 8 acceptances (all reasonably affordable thanks to merit aid at all that really offer) and one deferral. Waiting on Univ of Washington (won’t know until March), Gonzaga (mid Feb) and Whittier (should be Jan 15).
Whittier is probably out unless they give extraordinary merit. UW is her first choice and Gonzaga is probably top 3. Probably 6 schools that she has crossed off but she is kind of holding her cards until she knows on the admittances and $.
Is anyone’s child considering revising their Spring schedule in response to them already having made a school selection or will have one forthcoming in the next month or so? DS is pondering dropping AP Calc BC for Spring semester- he wants to do either Engineering or CS and his understanding is that he will need to Calc at the school he attends anyway. Does that make sense? He would replace with a less rigorous class and spend more time working to save up for college.
Why do you think he’ll have to take Calc 2 again? Do you not anticipate him doing well on the AP test? I would be hesitant to have my child drop Calc if going into a stem field. The schools are expecting him to take the classes he reported. I would definitely check with the school first.
At some schools, the prevailing wisdom is to take the AP credit or take Calc at a local CC, so you can skip unnecessarily harsh intro Calc classes. This is what we were told by students at UW Seattle, for example.
At other schools the prevailing wisdom seems to be to retake Calc even if you have the AP credit.
@Meets1 my child received permission via email from her ED school to drop AP Economics spring semester down to honors. The email said something like “we have decided not to rescind your admission”. The response was a little scary even though she only posed it as a question/request.
My opinion would be to stay in AP Calc. Their admittance was based on known rigor especially in a stem field. A lower grade (C or above) spring semester is not that important, neither is the AP test.
Wow, your son sounds like an amazing candidate for any of his choices! Obviously, part of this process is pure luck and hoping you fit the type of class a college is trying to build. We are happy with his choices so far (and the potential for merit to lighten the financial burden.) My son surprised me tonight and said he thinks his top choices are Northeastern (if he gets in) and North Park University, a small lesser known college in Chicago that we haven’t even visited yet (but gave him generous merit with opportunity for more $.) He had an interview with his advisor at NPU and just really clicked with him and was impressed with much of what they offer. They are a Christian school (Evangelical Covenant Church) but very progressive and welcoming of many faiths (we are Catholic) and focused on social justice and community service. They are an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) with a diverse student body in one of the most diverse zip codes in Chicago which is appealing to him. They were named a top producer of U.S. Fulbright students so he thinks the individualized attention and honors program could give him a leg up for grad school and research. We have only visited the city a few times but he loves Chicago. My daughter visited Columbia College Chicago and it was in her top 3 but she wanted a warmer place-can’t blame her. Oddly, he chose not to apply to Loyola Chicago, DePaul & UChicago but felt North Park had potential. Go figure! Lol. Just thought it was funny he’s listing two very different schools as top choices. Personally, I see him thriving at a smaller school (so North Park might be perfect) but we’ll see.
For some students—the quantifier may in fact be most—it is worth at least strongly considering entering the math and writing sequences one semester “lower” than their placement (EDIT: but not to drop to a remedial level by doing this), because both of those subjects (a) are taught differently in college than in most high schools and (b) benefit from purposeful repetition.
I have read on threads here on CC to not start in Calc 2 if you can avoid it because Calc 2 is often a weeder class and Calc 3 is easier. Not sure if that’s accurate or not.
What major is he trying to get into? Merced and Santa Cruz are great options and I wouldn’t discount them. Similarly, with the CSUs, SDSU SJSU are pretty great options too.
Applied physics. I think it’s a ROI calculation. Do I want to spend 160k on Merced or Santa Cruz when he can go to Alabama free? I don’t know. He did apply to SDSU as well, my alma mater, but I don’t know that the stem rigor is right for him. If he were wanting to major in business or something, it would be high on the list.
Gotcha. If its free vs. 160k then I totally get it. My only point is that the same arugument will likely be true for the other higher ranked UCs too. Santa Cruz I think is very underrated and is located near a great economic hub with potential access to way more opportunities relative to Alabama.
Santa Cruz worries me because of its location, difficulty getting home to L.A., really difficult housing situation, etc… There are certain majors I’d give Santa Cruz a more serious look for, but I don’t know if it’s right for my son. I think Irvine and Santa Barbara would be strong contenders, but who knows where he’ll get in. Cal Poly SLO is always on the table and my D17 absolutely loved her time there.
The answer is to save $160K - but unfortunately with kids and emotions and distance (seeing your kid less) and all those things have value - and that’s the hard part - figuring out that value.
But you can save $160K - and help him buy a house!!!
Honestly, depends on the kid but for many it’s not an easy call. And understandably so.
