Relatable.
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Honestly they are so different !!
What major ? URI can be a good sub or depending on grades you could still get into others for less.
Iād say youād want to be close to home but you have a school across the country in the mix.
Itās complicated haha. I could write a novel.
Mainly puget sound is our close to home option. There are few schools close to home and non check the majority of her boxes.
Sheās still debating small versus larger - prefers Larger but wants to be known by her professors and have lively classroom conversations. Loved the state of Rhode Island and so thatās why Salve is in The mix - weāve never visited but did see Newport
The two state school check her boxes - esp UMass and she loved the vibe at both when visiting. URI felt light hearted and friendly. And she liked the campus a lot.
Really at this point she just needs to see them all again and then go with her gut.
Major is Biology or similar
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Same boat here, but sonās favorite is Baylor. He found out today that he did not get additional funding on top of the 1/2 tuition merit he already won. (Which I realize is generous!) He is super disappointed. He would still be okay on the money his biological father has agreed to pay from a 529, but he knows he can use leftover money for something else, and he seems fixated on going to the least expensive option rather than the one that is best for his mental and physical health as well as his ability to do well at the school. He has some health and other issues that make the choice of school complicated for him- he is not destined to do well just anywhere, so I wish he would look beyond money. (How many parents on CC are saying that!)
In the end, Iāll support any of his final college choices, but I definitely think two would be better than the cheapest for him currently in his situation. (Nothing to do with major quality, student quality, etc. None of them are āprestigeā schools. Itās totally about size, climate, as in actual weather, and whether he is already accepted in some selective small groups that will give him extra guidance and mentoring in the transition.)
I just hope a year from now it is all working out. It did not for my brother or for some other people I know facing some similar issues, so I worry a lot.
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Our kids have a lot in common! For us itās about fit too!
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Why the NE ?
If you want smaller you can still apply to W Carolina. $5k OOS. $8500 with fees. In mountains.
If you have a test UAH will be cheap if you hit the merit table. Even without. Or Arizona. Not the northeast but gorgeous. They donāt use the test.
If UMass money is a concern - you can afford but donāt want to - there are still others out there where you can still apply.
I do think you can know your profs anywhere - if they are open to it and you as a student make the effort.
Not meaning to push other on you but if you do have concern with money, there are alternatives. Bio likely doesnāt end up in high paying outcomes - it can but likely doesnāt - so thereās that too.
Truth is - many kids can be happy at many schools. And many go to the dream and hate it. One doesnāt know til after the fact unfortunately. You take your best guess
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@TheMonaLisa - Kid plans to major in philosophy, also looking at a foreign language minor, maybe even international relations or something. Yes, Pittsburgh is absolutely the best place for him in terms of being a city, his #1 request in a college. But the cost ā itād be right on the edge for us, and heād have max student loans, which we think can completely avoid at the others.
You could do Bama with LoyNo - itād be a bit aggressive But itās only a bit over four hours so it can definitely be done and back to New Orleansā¦or a one way car rental and fly home from Bhamā¦if it would save you time. Plus, itās always good to get a back to back feel - when you can.
No time for extension of that trip, but we just extended the April road trip from only USC to include a jaunt to Bama after he agreed to at least check it out. Hopefully he gets the red carpet treatment (Iāve heard itās a thing) and likes it. That said! Mama hates the 15 hours distance compared with only six for Pitt.
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Believe me I think weāve considered most everything at this point. Iāve written many long posts about it this year so I wonāt get into it but in short:
- politics
- her niche club sport is critical for her mental and physical health and is not offered very many places.
- she hates hot weather
She is not a kid who will thrive just anywhere. I know thatās not a popular trait but itās reality. We are looking at the choice between a college that is a solid fit for her versus possibly no college at all.
And UMass isnāt that crazy expensive for us - it just would have been nice if it had been a little cheaper. $80k (net) schools were off the table from the getgo.
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I hear you, we are in that moment. Not retiring any time soon 
. However, Amherst is a lovely, lovely area and our kids would eat well! Lots of positives. Best of luck!
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Personally, I thought the Salve campus was gorgeous and Newport adorable. I visited the mansions on the cliff walk last August and thought the whole area was amazing. I have no idea about the school itself, but if I was picking a college strictly on location it would be near the top of my list.
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Of the final four one is of catholic tradition ie a Catholic School . Would that be a concern ?
The pic shown on niche . com of that school is pretty sweet!!
My PNW daughter also applied to Salve Regina in 2015 ( they are the Seahawks)!! She did not end up going to school there, but we definitely did not regret our visit to the school. It is so beautiful there. I would recommend staying overnight on campus with a student if they still do that. My son 2021 also attends NE school. Going far away to school is kind of like studying abroad for four years, especially if you choose a part of the country that is different from your own. Good Luck to you!
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D23 did a virtual college fair near the beginning of the pandemic lockdown to alleviate the boredom, and one of the colleges in a session she attended was Salve Reginaāand so, of course, they have been sending her promotional material constantly ever since. Weāve watched as their emails went from including crazy beautiful photos of the campus (very often with a touch of fog) to having much more generic college-email pictures.
I donāt know if they changed their marketing consultant or if it was an in-house decision to make the shift, but I do miss seeing all the pretty pictures.
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yeah, we saw the dates from last year - so are expecting it to likely be 3/25 (if they stick with ālast Saturday of Marchā).
Unfortunately she was rejected from CalTech this morning - over 20K applicants for a class of 235, so crazy competitive.
MIT on Tuesday - odds after an EA defer are low, but still a shot!
I suspect it will come down to Wesleyan vs Bryn Mawr vs Case Western vs Sarah Lawrence. The $$ offered by Grinell is fantastic and she loved the school, but she has pretty much decided Iowa is too far away from EVERYTHING. So of those 4, Iām HOPING we can narrow it down using $$ as at least one of the heavily-weighted factors
With everything going on in April (she has a main part in the school musical which takes out one weekend, plus they are doing a music tour another weekend), our schedule is limited for admitted student days. So we we just booked the admitted student days at Case Western for March 30-31 and reserved the hotel - we can cancel if she isnāt accepted, but we didnāt want to have those dates fill up if we waited. Weāll wait to book flights until she is accepted, of course.
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Was she offered merit at Sarah Lawrence as well? Our friendās son is seriously looking there and it seems like an amazing place, he received some merit, but they had hoped for more to make it workable.
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yes, she was offered their Presidential Scholarship of 42K (I believe their maximum), plus some need-based aid on top. Itās still pricey, but with the extra merit aid should be doable. Our income fluctuates siginificantly from year to year, so having a significant piece of her aid be merit-based is comforting, as that can be counted on even if the need-based piece fluctuates with income. Iāve been very impressed with their financial aid office.
My only challenge has been that they havenāt actually published the 2023-2024 costs - the only costs listed on the website are the 2022-2023 numbers. I asked, they said it wonāt be available until early April; kind of hard to commit when you donāt know the actual #.
D23 REALLY loved Sarah Lawrence on the admitted student day, it wouldnāt surprise me at all if she ends up there. As a parent I loved it as well - itās small and quiet and not right in a huge city - but itās close enough to keep her happy, the train station is a 10-15 minute walk away, and she can be in grand cental in NYC is 45 minutes.
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Thatās fantastic! Congratulations! I had a co-worker that graduated from there in the 90ās and talked about her experience all the time - it seems to make quite an impression on students!
The tuition increases are hard to figure - one school we looked at went up by 5.5%, and another 7% year over year. At 60k or 80k all in those are not inconsequential amounts. I hope it will all work out and sheāll end up loving it - wherever it is! 
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Iāve consistently heard really amazing things over the years about Sarah Lawrence.
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Yes we chuckled about the Seahawks!
Weāve always wanted a couple of small schools in play just in case and thatās why she applied to Salve. At the time we visited URI we didnāt yet know it existed. Looking forward to visiting in April!
For the Catholic roots we are Christian and havenāt seen anything about the school that worries us so far. There are way more values in alignment with our daughter - like mercy, social justice and compassion.
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Also Sarah Lawrence is in Bronxville, which is so adorable I think they should include it in the tour. An old-fashioned main street with non-chain stores. (We live nearby and go there a lot for dinner).
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