He’s your first kid, don’t beat yourself up about not knowing everything when he was applying. Realistically, how could you know how much merit aid he was going to get…anywhere. Cut yourself some slack. Now you have a sense for net cost, and some aren’t reasonable given your situation. Seriously, absolve yourself from the guilt. You now have enough info to make a choice that works for all of you.
I get this is subjective but, IMHO, LMU isn’t worth $20k/yr ($80k in total) MORE than SDSU. Especially if money is tight in your household. That’s a new Civic every year.
I agree BUT — the family approved a list of where their S was applying and now has set a budget. They are asking for him to analyze and present why LMU. How can a family keep resetting the rules of the game? ( not suggesting you are saying this) Our family also has set a $50k limit for our D next year and she is developing a list. I am telling myself that we need to be prepared to accept her choice from acceptances.
I get it. But we talked about having him take on the loans if he really wants it. (Just to see how badly he does) There are a bunch of scholarships he can apply for once he gets in and he has offered to be an RA sophomore year.
So if anything, it’s helping him think through the differences.
If finances got worse and not better as we hope …the poor guy could move home and commute, which would suck…
I see what you mean by coddling. I agree that having someone else do these things for him is not good preparation for taking on real world responsibilities. But leaving him to his own devices is not necessarily the best approach either. If this is a problem area, he needs to develop a skill set in personal & task management plus the tools so he can be successful. A program like the one offered by Priority Management would provide this. Other similar time & task management programs could achieve the same thing. Signing him up for such a program could be a nice graduation gift.
Education is a contract between teacher and learner. The teacher has a responsibility to insure that the student achieves mastery. Colleges that accept this responsibility do what is necessary to insure that there students are successful. I don’t call this coddling, I call it quality control. It’s what any responsible company. They don’t leave the customer hanging out there to take their chances with the product or service they sell. When we’re paying good money for a service, we should expect that it will work as advertised.
Looking at the 3 colleges you’re considering, Pepperdine seems to me to be the one best positioned to provide student monitoring through their academic advising program. Some advisors take more interest in their students than others. I would request the one who develops the strongest bonds with students they can provide. Most colleges have an Office of Student Success these days. They provide tutoring, workshops, and career guidance. The problem is that students need to request their service. Unfortunately the students most in need of their services are too often the least likely to request. That’s where a strong advisor comes in. Perhaps an early alert system from a professor if a student shows signs they’re struggling so that support services can act with an intervention. LMU would also seem to have some potential to do this. It’s not coddling. It’s quality control. With the cost of college these days, students & families deserve it.
Agreed. Having all kinds of support available at your fingertips is one of Pepperdine’s assets.
At the new-admits reception last week staff & faculty made it very clear that it IS up to the student to take advantage of opportunity, however. They make it as welcoming as possible, but the young adult takes the initiative.
Except for a couple bitter-sounding comments on google, mostly I have read this to be true - re. political leanings (and in my Pepperdine experiences). Nice mix which adds to class discussions. As for social aspect, friendliness & non-judgmental attitude is even of greater importance, imo. To each their own. It is Malibu… with gen Z cohort so imagine that…
@Southoftheriver I don’t see how the OP has reset the rules of the game.
The reality is that most families simply can’t afford to spend $200k on their kids undergrad education. Fortunately, as Californians, we have lots of paths to quality degrees that cost a fraction of that amount. If you promised your kid that budget and are in a position to deliver when the time comes, congrats! you have been more successful than most. I would add that few of the 17 year olds I have met have been equipped to make an uncoached decision of that magnitude. (i have one semi-recent college grad and another who’s in his 4th year at Ft Lewis, a small CO public LAC) As the parent writing the check, I wouldn’t just turn the decision over to my kid and with them well. I would want to feel confident in their ability to succeed at the school they chose. It is hard to get that sense until well into the process.
We met a nice family on our tour of Pepperdine, and the Mom said she was looking at religious schools bc she didn’t want her kid being around too many liberals. She felt comfortable enough to vocalize that. But I can not judge the child based on the mother! I don’t want anyone to do that to me!
That being said, LMU may be the same. I just looked through some of the organizations. Well, my son can always start a new one!
She has not decided yet. I’m so ready for her to commit as I’m starting to get antsy now. I just found out from her counselor that SDSU wants all community college transcripts by May 1st. I thought she could commit first and then send but apparently things have changed. We ordered them today because it can take 2 weeks. Finding that out today stressed me! I can’t wait to find out where your son winds up. What a journey this year!
My daughter has committed to attend Pepperdine in the fall. She is very conservative and her Christian faith is very important to her. From all we’ve read and experienced so far, Pepperdine encourages deep conversation between all the students, no matter their religious or political beliefs. I think this is what makes Pepperdine unique! It seems to be a very special and supportive place.
FYI, LMU and Pepperdine are on not on the same side of the conservative/liberal scale. Jesuit institutions are significantly more progressive than evangelical ones. My daughter is a sophomore at LMU and considers herself quite progressive and is surrounded my mostly like-minded individuals.
@tuckerr19 I wonder how a conservative person fares, then, at LMU? Or someone who has complex views - conservative in some areas but leaning liberal in others?
