<p>My son got in to 8 of the schools he applied to and is agonizing over his final decision. We are too. He says there is not one school that when he walked on the campus that gave a stronger feeling than another. We have thrown a few out but I think we are down to the following. He wants a strong liberal arts education. Wants to write in the future and who knows...maybe film writing but doesn't want to major in film. Is thinking..english, philosophy. He loves to snowboard and surf and loves culture and loves college sports. We live in south florida right now but have moved some so area doesnt' play a huge rol. Most of his close friends will be in north florida going to school.
Schools:
Wash U-we have not gone there but it was really pushed by our college campus and all the blogs, etc make it seem like a great place.
Tulane-25,000 per year scholarship.
Boston College Honors--he loves boston but not sure about the bitter cold
Univ Southern California...we are moving to Ariziona so closer to family and close to everything he likes to do and good college sports but bigger school and he is not a fraternity type of person
Rice--he loves their housing set-up..
We are on the wait list for Pomona but not really thinking that will happen. He decided against Tufts.
Thoughts...he wants to decide this weekend and we have no time for overnights,etc.</p>
<p>is there a cost differential that would make the decision easier… with his major and the economics of the times…perhaps want to keep undergrad loans down to a minimum… may want to save some money for grad school.</p>
<p>Based on the way you describe him and the fact you are moving to Arizona, I vote for USC.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son. These are all very good, but different schools. What is your son’s personality? Has he visited any of these schools? Is $$ an issue?</p>
<p>Personally, I would eliminate Boston College and Tulane. We’ve been through the exercise of doing just that for DD. BC was too preppy and homogenous to her, we visited on a day when sleet and snow was pelting sideways, and we’ve heard through other students that it’s a huge alcohol campus. Tulane is obviously a huge alcohol campus too, and many of the students just weren’t serious enough about the academics. Rice is great – students are laid back but bright, the residential college system is like no other and it’s a great place for humanities/English types. Don’t know much about USC, but the two kids I’ve know to attend had aspirations towards working in the film industry.</p>
<p>So: Rice or USC.</p>
<p>Don’t be too concerned about the frats at USC, as they don’t dominate the social scenes as much as some people portray it. My H is on the math faculty there and my S has some friends who attend (not frat types) who are enjoying themselves. My S was admitted to USC and is now narrowed his choices to USC or Northwestern (the latter has a special science honors program that he was admitted to.)</p>
<p>Congratulations on all the great choices! I think givings is right on track – eliminate some of the schools that are not the best fit. I have a son a Rice and one at Wash U and both are really fabulous schools. He couldn’t go wrong with either. The similarities are that they are both very personal experiences. Both have good advising, little red-tape, bright, happy, down-to-earth collaborative students, great facilities, locations next to a large urban park with a zoo (sorry, had to throw that one in), light rail stops at periphery of campus, and excellent academics. Rice’s residential college system is truly wonderful and creates an unusually open and inclusive social environment. My son at Wash U (as a freshman) so far has found a great social environment with his dorm-mates. The biggest difference is that Rice’s residential college becomes like a family with members of all years (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), so the upperclassmen serve as informal advisors and mentors for the freshmen. My son at Wash U knows very few upperclassmen to ask questions when selecting classes, etc. But he’s incredibly happy at Wash U, and to him, he couldn’t ask for a more perfect school (except perhaps weather-wise). Your son really should visit Wash U. Most kids who see it fall in love with it!</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you want to know anything about either school.</p>
<p>If he hasn’t visited WashU, I’d really recommend a trip (usually they’ll pay for your airfare!). I’m deciding between some similar school but I just went for a visit and the second I set foot on campus I fell in love! I’ve visited a lot of schools - and most of them I liked - but this was the first time where I could easily see myself living and fitting in with the student body. I’m not saying he’ll necessarily have the same reaction, But I think visiting is important because you might find a connection that you didn’t expect. WashU also has lots of advising and some interesting humanities programs
Rice is also a great school, though! And in a lot of ways it’s pretty similar to WashU</p>
<p>I second WUSTL visit (though I woud not count on them paying for it. When they do, you get an invitation…) It is a great school, and they encourage academic exploration, and make double and triple-majoring relatively easy.</p>
<p>I think Rice and WUSTL should be the top two on your list based on your description of your son.</p>
<p>I have one who went to Rice and one at Tulane (have to disagree with givings- that while there is a party group for sure, Tulane isnt " obviously a huge alcohol campus"). For my 2 kids- they ended up at the tight schools (meaning they whould not have been as happy if the situations were reversed). The Rice student was a little more naturally shy, very serious student, definitely flourished with the Residential college system. Very driven and self motivated. He got very involved in many activiteis at Rice, and really blossomed. Younger son is a strong student and very busy with research and double majoring, but is more naturally social and enjoys the social life at Tulane. Tell us a bit more about your s and perhaps we can help point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>Sorry, jym626, I should have said New Orleans is obviously a huge alcohol town. It’s the only place I’ve been where people walk around with a draft beer while they grocery shop (Schwegman’s). And I do think there is a lot of drinking at Tulane, but that is good that your son is thriving there. Good for him!</p>
<p>I have heard that there is a lot more drinking going on in schols with a heavier greek presence and in rural colleges/universities where there really isnt much else to do. That certainly isnt true for cities like NOLA where they can enjoy the nightlife, theater, restaurants, concerts, food and jazz festivals and… drink ;)</p>
<p>And apologies for the typo above-- they ended up at the right school, not the tight school</p>
<p>There is no evidence that there is more drinking at Tulane than most other schools. I understand the reputation, it just bothers me a bit when comments like that are made based on…well, not sure based on what.</p>
<p>Anyway, given what the OP has said about her son, I would think USC makes sense. Strong academics with an obvious tie to film writing, big time sports, and the family proximity without being too close. Personally I am not a fan of the area around USC and LA in general, but that is strictly a personal opinion.</p>
<p>However, if he loved Rice and the whole feel of the place, that should count for a lot too, and Southwest has frequent and cheap flights to Phoenix.</p>
<p>Tulane is a good school for writers and it does have a film studies program, so that could be a minor or at least there are offerings for him to take. BTW, you didn’t mention Honors Program for Tulane, but since he got the $25K Presidential Merit Scholarship, he is in the HP. If his letter of acceptance didn’t say that, it was a mistake because I know the two automatically go together. Tulane is Division I but they are not very competitive except for baseball and, this year at least, women’s basketball.</p>
<p>Finally, Wash U is indeed a fabulous school also and the above descriptions are spot on. However, it has no big time sports and is not going to offer him either surfing or snowboarding.</p>
<p>So based strictly the limited information given, it sounds to me like USC and Rice make the most sense to focus on. I always love to see talented students end up at Tulane, but with all the fabulous choices your son has and the characteristics you mention, it probably makes more sense to look at those two. Being comfortable at a school is an underrated factor on here sometimes, at it sounds like he felt good at Rice.</p>
<p>Rice offers just about a perfect college experience, in my opinion. Better weather than Wash U and D1 sports (well, sort of).</p>
<p>I know many kids who go or have gone to USC. All kids of students. Serious and not so serious. Partiers and abstainers. Greek and non-greek. Kids studying film, engineering, music and business. I do not know any of them who have been unhappy. USC is great for film. It is close to surfing and Mammoth is an easy weekend drive for snowboarding. Close to several airports that serve Southwest airlines so an easy location to reach from Arizona. It as well as Pomona are one of those schools that seem to attract multiple generations.
With all that said my H is a UCLA fan who would never send his kid to USC. Our oldest has actually applied to USC as a transfer. If she gets in she is going to be in for a battle with her Dad. One drawback to USC is that it is one of the most expensive colleges.
We have visited both Boston C and Tulane. Both are beautiful campuses with much to offer.</p>
<p>4 years ago my son was also accepted at many of the same colleges,[ he did not apply to Rice] and ended up choosing USC[ where he did receive a great scholarship] and he has been very happy there. The days of Frats being dominant at USC is over- most students don’t join, as there are plenty of other social outlets to be found.Not one of his close friends is in a Frat. Being in LA offers so many opportunities and activities for students to participate in!
The liberal arts program is not as strong as many other programs there- [Engineering, Music ,] so that should be taken into account. Also, most students move off campus to the areas immediately around USC during their JR/ Sr year, rooming with other students in appts and homes that are close by. Living at USC your last 2 years is more like a real world experience- kids learn to cook for themselves or with their housemates, buy groceries, pay utilities bills, etc. So you don’t get the “Yale- like” 4 year residential college experience found at Rice. But that may be good or bad depending on the student.
As a Calif kid, S did eliminate the cold weather colleges right off the bat. It has been really nice for him to be relatively close to home,[ we are in Ncal] and not have bad weather to deal with. I think if my son had been looking for a strong liberal arts program, and was from FLA, then Rice would have been his pick. BUT if your son has a serious interest in Film Writing, then he would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to be at USC.</p>
<p>Lots of good feedback. As a FYI, many Rice students (dare I say most?) live off campus at leas one year. For my s wit was soph yr (and the summer after, as well as summer after jr yre, as he stayed in Houston boths summers for internships).</p>
<p>If you are looking for easy access to surf and ski, then So Calif is the place to be (oh, I made a little rhyme). Residential college life-- Rice hands down. All these schools have great options. Tough decisions . BOthRice and Tulane have good baseball teams, but college sports arent a huge big deal at either, despite their being Div I schools. I did spot younger s at a Tulane football game that was aired on TV (they play at the supedrdome). It wasnt hard to spot him in the “crowd”.</p>
<p>USC certainly has a great film and screenwriting program, but can students who are not admitted to that specific college within the university take much advantage of it? (I don’t know the answer, but the two kids I know who were admitted lived and breathed film and were absolutely determined to go to a great film school vs. a liberal arts program.)</p>
<p>Putting in my plug for Rice. (Can’t help myself. Both my kids loved it and had wonderful relationships and mentoring from their profs, and outstanding opportunities for research, travel, plus rich social life centered around their club sports and all the Rice traditions.) :)</p>
<p>OP mentioned " snowboard and surf and loves culture and loves college sports_</p>
<p>That is USC</p>
<p>^^ that is not ALL that USC is about these days, believe me. There are thousands of really smart, highly motivated students at USC, happily taking advantage of the offerings of this well financed University. USC is on a roll, and is becoming a very popular U for savvy students who want to get the most out of their college years.</p>