@cbreeze
I am a native California and I sometimes use the term Cali but then again I’m ancient (mid 40’s) so maybe it’s a dated term 
^^ I am not a native Californian but have lived in CA for 45+years. I am more ancient than you! 
Yes…I have been reading all the posts very carefully before I respond. Yes @Sportsman88 and @cbreeze sorry to disappoint you but my question to you is real and I’ll check with you about when I can use the word Cali next.
I didn’t know what to expect using this forum for the first time but I found out more than just comments. In hindsight I should have written a better question with more detail and for that I apologize. For those of you thinking I’m doing a remake of mommie dearest or keeping my son in the basement feeding him scraps and yelling “my way or the highway” just relax. My goal of getting him to commit a little early is to fill out scholarships(some require a commitment to a school). @Pizzagirl-money is an issue to answer your heartfelt concern.
In regards to other questions raised we plan to visit the Stanford campus in the next few weeks, he wants to study economics and we live in the LA area. We did attend a Stanford dinner with some other EA’s and he did find the kids there a little nerdy(his words). He also has a girlfriend that will attend Pepperdine but I’m sure that is another forum question in itself. In conclusion I know I don’t have all the answers. I lost my father when I was four so I don’t have a reference. I do agree with your general consensus and will let him(as I have always planned) make his own decision and I will love and support him. I’ll work on the overbearing part. It’s sometimes hard being a parent. Thank you for your comments
“My goal of getting him to commit a little early is to fill out scholarships(some require a commitment to a school)”
If by that you mean NMF scholarships [ at USC or anywhere else for that matter] , I ASSURE you he DOESN’T need to let NMSF know before May 1, when he has to choose the college he will enroll at.
At that time, he can let NMSF know his “first choice” school. Stanford gives $$0 for NMF’s.
USC gives 1/2 tuition to NMMF’s it has accepted.
DS was a NMF and attended USC on a full tuition scholarship.
According to one set of departmental rankings I glanced at, it seems UCB and S are tied within the top 8 for econ while UCLA comes within the top 20 and USC outside the top 40.
While scrutinizing such distinctions in rankings is important if one’s pursuing a PhD for the purpose of landing a tenure track position in an exceedingly competitive tenure-track market or respectable/elite think tanks, it’s quite debatable if such distinctions matter as much at the undergrad level…especially if the ranking differences are offset by lower costs through in-state and/or scholarships/FA.
Didn’t read the entire thread, but had to respond to this: “Do you think I’m being over bearing about wanting him to attend Stanford?” Yes. It’s his college experience, not yours. Discuss the pros and cons and back off.
What scholarships require an early commitment to Stanford? The school gives primarily need based aid.
Does he even have acceptances to the others yet?
Since you are asking the question, you already know the answer but I totally get where you are coming from. I am a Stanford fan girl and if one of my kids had the opportunity to go there, it would drive me nuts if they didn’t commit immediately! In fact, I think my husband and I would make them accept the offer. (I did not go to Stanford but lived on campus for a year.)
OP, I do not know anything about Stanford or the other schools your S is waiting to hear from, but I will offer you my own experience. My D was admitted SCEA to Princeton in December. I was so beyond thrilled that I wanted her to accept immediately, but she needed time to process it and do additional research. I gave her the space she needed and she made her decision. There truly was no rush because the period from mid-December to May 1st the one time in the whole college admissions process that she (and not the super-selective school) was holding the cards, so to speak.
I would be lying if I said it was easy for me to keep my mouth shut, but I am glad I did because she needed to own the decision and make it on her own timeline. Good luck and congrats to your S on his admission. You must be very proud of and excited for him!
Use Cali all you want. All of my siblings are Native Californians. We all voluntarily moved out.
Niece got MS from Stanford. Echoes to the above posters who mentioned it is a better fit as a grad school than undergrad.
If money is a concern, you have to determine which of two general groups he is in. If you have 2 steady incomes and he is the only child in college, you will not likely get much in terms of need based aid. Stanford is like the Ivy schools in this regard and there will not be much coming. The shot at a merit scholarship is even worse than getting in.
If your annual income (combined with child’s father, whether or not he is in the picture) is below 80K, you have a shot at some need-based aid. You can run the calculators for the details, we don’t need to know. Just be advised that the highly selective schools typically have little to no money for merit aid. ‘everyone who gets in is meritorious’.
For economics, Stanford is more math intensive than typical (UCLA and USC are typical). UCB offers both a typical math path and a more math intensive path.
What scholarships? Stanford does not offer merit scholarships. The others do not require an early commitment for merit scholarships.
@NosyCaliparent I apologize for offending you. My comment was about nosy not Cali. And the forum chopped a word that I didn’t expect to get chopped. It was not a curse word. In forums, it is not uncommon to find someone create a new account and toss out a controversial topic to bait responses and then sit back and watch the responses. I thought nosy was a clue that it wasn’t a serious question. Again, I apologize.
I do think it’s his choice though.
For class sizes, all four named schools have online class schedules from which you can find or estimate class sizes. Economics tends to be a popular major, so its class sizes are likely to be on the large side compared to many others at the same school.
I’m a Stanford alum. It’s a great school and you are justifiably proud of your son for being admitted. No doubt he is acutely aware you’ll be very disappointed if he passes it up. But let him make the choice. I think the only legitimate basis to exert pressure is if his other choices are more expensive. There is no reason to pressure him now. The beauty of REA is that he doesn’t have to commit and can take his time to evaluate his other choices. Let him go to admitted student days at the other schools. That will probably be a fun experience for him, to feel like he has choices and multiple schools that want him. My kid applied ED1 to her #1 choice (not Stanford) and got in. She is very happy with the choice she made, but last April she felt a little jealous of the kids who were exploring multiple acceptances. It was a fleeting feeling and she has absolutely no regrets. But let him enjoy the process and feel like he has some control and some choices.
I believe Stanford gives excellent need based aid for families even with incomes in excess of $100,000 a year. Those with incomes of $100,000 or less do,quite well in the need based aid department.
Thumper, then u don’t know what a veto is.
I don’t think USC still automatically guarantees 1/2 tuition to NMFs it has accepted. IIRC, it now shays they are considered for 1/2 tuition scholarships. They now say they are “considered” http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/docs/uscScholarships1516.pdf Times have changed…
A total aside:
So I had a roommate who did her undergrad at Stanford and went to grad school at Cal. She was most amused when, during a job interview, her prospective boss looked at her resume and said “I see your taste in schools is improving”
Gotta love the Cal/Stanford rivalry.
(Go Bears.)
OP, no judgment from me - I totally “get” the appeal of Stanford. It was in my view the perfect fit for my own D from an academic, social and athletic perspective. She did not share that view and is happily completing her freshman year at a school that has an equally strong program in computer science/applied math. A school that her parents (and her college counselor) felt was not a good social or athletic “fit.” As it turned out, nothing could have been further from the truth.
Sometimes they just do know better!
^what Harvest Moon said. I tend to think it is in part due to commitment. If it is their choice, they have a stake in doing well…maybe a little ‘I told you so’ to mom and dad. If a kid goes to a school that is not really a good fit just because mom and dad wanted it, they may not be as engaged. (though I am sure there are plenty of examples of mom and dad being right)