<p>These topics aren't really related, but I was wondering if anyone on this forum is familiar with Ithaca's psychology program and how it rates with other school's programs. </p>
<p>and, does the financial aid offered at Ithaca make it's price equatible to a state school? Or somewhere close to that?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Ithaca gives a very nice financial aid package. I have two friends who were accepted and they were also very satisfyed with their financial aid package. I got a 4,000 per semester Dean's Scholarship. I also got good loans. My local state school only offered me like 1500 in loans for the total year and no scholarships. Though my state school would have been cheaper, Ithaca would probably have been easier to finance.</p>
<p>Like many private colleges, Ithaca has to provide a significant amount of aid to make itself competitive with the good state schools with which it is competing for students. It doesn't have to equal them but it just has to bring the cost down enough that students and parents are willing to pay a bit more. For example, my son was accepted at our state school, University of Delaware, and got a small amount of merit aid ($1000/year) to bring the in-state cost of tuition & fees and room & board to about $14,000/year. Ithaca gave him $13,000/year in merit aid to bring it down to about $23,000/year. Without the merit aid, Ithaca would be $37K/year, $23K more than UD, and not a cost effective choice. But at only $9,000/year more, it was a serious consideration. He had a similar experience with American University's merit aid offer (although he wasn't really interested in American). Privates like Ithaca and American (as opposed to the "first tier" privates such as the Ivies, MIT, Stanford, etc.) have to do this to compete for the more desireable students with the state schools and with the "first tier" privates (at which many people are willing to pay full freight of $45-50K/year for the perceived prestige/quality/reputation). </p>
<p>He really liked Ithaca, as did his mother and I, and he probably would have chosen it over UD (which is a great school but suffers in that it is larger than he would like and it is only three miles down the road from home -- too close). The real choice was between Ithaca and William and Mary, and he has chosen W&M. It does not have the journalism program that Ithaca offers and that he was interested in, but he is planning to major in English and perhaps double major in Religion at W&M. His mother and I are both W&M grads, his aunt (my sister), uncle, and cousins all live in Williamsburg, and he has been visiting W&M his whole life for homecomings, vacations, etc. It is a great school, one of the "Public Ivies," and is just the right size and has the right culture for him. Even though it is public, as an out-of-stater, his tuition will end up being more than at Ithaca, but, again, not enough more to eliminate it from consideration. </p>
<p>I hear this over and over about the children of friends, "she chose Muehlenberg (insert name of good private college here) -- with merit aid it will only be $5,000/year more than UD." And that is what Ithaca (and Muehlenberg and American and the other good privates) is shooting for -- to get the bottom line cost down into the "only X thousand more than . . . " range. </p>
<p>Good luck with whatever choice you make. And, as is my son, I hope you realize how fortunate you are to have the opportunity to make such a choice. </p>
<p>--K9Leader</p>