Schools similar to UChicago with solid merit aid

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

Hi! Like so many people, I just got deferred from UChicago EA. I knew it was a long shot admissions-wise and for me, it was an even longer shot financially. My family is in a difficult financial situation where EFC is 40k higher than our absolute maximum to pay for college. At this point, I’m looking for schools with similar approaches to learning (discussion, analysis, individuality) as UChicago that are far far cheaper, with good merit aid opportunities. I also place a high value on diversity.

Acceptances I’m considering committing to: Fordham (full tuition scholarship), Temple (Full tuition scholarship), UCF (full cost of attendance plus stipends)
Thank you so much! If you have any questions about my particular situation (financial, stats, ECs, etc) or interests, please feel free to ask!

(by the way, I’m a national merit semi finalist, if that helps with anything)

2

@screennamessuck … so sorry that no one has responded to you yet.

I was also deferred from UChicago and am in a similar spot. Our family’s EFC is higher than my parents can pay so also looking for good merit.

I looked at your other posts (I am also waiting on Northeastern) and your stats are great! I would kill for that ACT score. Also sounds like you aren’t entirely set on a certain career path (like Medical, engineering, CS law or whatever) I am quite similar … I really love so many things I don’t want to just pick one.

Actually a lot of our situation is really alike. I am also NMSF … I am scared I won’t make finalist as my SAT is only 1500 and my ACT is only 33, I think my essay was good, but after I sent it, I found a really bad typo on it … my GPA is good and lots of AP classes too. (but not all 5s like you!)

I got a full COA offer from UGA. I wasn’t thrilled … ultimate safety and big state school and not “fancy” enough. I was going to ignore it. Mom keeps bugging me because it was such a good offer. Stop talking about the money, its about my dreams right?

Got accepted into Emory and what they wanted us to pay actually made my mom cry. She wanted me to be able to go there. It was over our ECF but matched what the NPC said. It was so much money. I was so angry at her and my dad for not being able to say yes to that. I was a total brat for all of break … and feel a little guilty because they both work and I know the family has had rough times in the past and things are better financially now than before. My mom is the practical one, dad is more of a dreamer.

So I went for a visit at UGA yesterday … They asked me what was holding me back from accepting, I told them I was afraid that I wouldn’t be challenged enough and that class sizes were going to be so big and that there wouldn’t be other students like me.

So on my tour they set me up to sit in on a freshman honors seminar. I was blown away. It was only about 15 students … all super super smart and the discussion was amazing and because classes just started back I was surprised at how in depth they were going. It was only the first time the class met for the new semester. They said the seminar is a full year so they were picking up where they left off … amazing discussion about philosophy and modern politics and geographic mindsets. I wanted it to last all day!

I also got to have lunch with a senior who went through the honors program. The way she put it is that the honors college is like having the T20 experience and being challenged and around similar students without having the T20 student loans or price tags! She majored in History and PolySci and got a minor in arabic. She just got accepted to Harvard for a combo law/ps JD/PhD program … she is waiting on a few more.

So that visit (I just got back home this morning) really has changed the way I think now. I can be awesome anywhere if the school offers a solid honors program and has the majors that I want. There are going to be great students everywhere and there are going to be great classes.

Here is what I think … if you got full COA from UCF … go for it. If you are in the honors program you are going to be challenged … AND because it is big you are going to be able to explore lots of different things … the honors programs allow you to get whatever class you want.

If you knew exactly what you wanted then paying more for undergrad makes a lot of sense … since you are exploring and want more a well rounded education then going totally free might be a good choice.

I think that all our GCs and teachers (and parents!) and classmates have all made us believe that if we don’t get into a “top school” then we have done something wrong. I think that is now a total lie … I refuse to continue being a sheep and following that way of thinking.

If I don’t get into Northeastern or they don’t give enough merit aid then I will go to UGA and I will choose to be happy and I will do great. I have a couple other ones but I am not thrilled about them. I would rather be unthrilled about a free school than unthrilled AND have my parents pay for college.

But I am not going to keep chasing “dream perfect everything I ever wanted” schools and ignoring reality … it is not good for me, I don’t think it is actually true and it is really bad for my family.

Have your parents offered to help pay for your grad school if you go somewhere that they don’t have to pay for? Mine have said that if I go to UGA or stay local (University of Illinois) then they would help with grad school if that is what I choose or give me a lump sum of what they were willing to pay (about $15K per year) for me to do whatever with … like travel, take a non-paying non-profit job, internship whatever.

Sorry so long … because we flew back this morning I didn’t go to school and I am kinda both bored and excited at the same time.

3

Dreamsontheway - UGA is a great university. We are from the Southeast and my son graduated from UChicago, but we know many outstanding graduates of UGA, part of my son’s cohort, two of which are in med school now.

I’ve always believed that if you have a top flagship state university (I would put UGA in that class), and they offer to pay all or most all, you should take the offer and never look back.

UGA has almost 30k undergraduates. Most of those students are at least solid academic students. As you discovered, there will be a core of brilliant students not to mention a wide range of very good programs to explore.

Best of luck to you.

4

@kaukauna thanks so much! That makes me feel great.

Would you agree that UCF for OP @screennamessuck would also be a good choice? Like UGA? They have 340 NMFs enrolled … that is crazy!

I didn’t mean to derail his/her thread

5

UCF is very generous to NMF’s and probably offer honors college and good housing. I’ve visited the campus and liked it, but my D16 was looking into the school of visual arts so we didn’t get over to the honors stuff.

Of the three colleges that OP is considering, Fordham’s going to be the best and most similar to UChicago.

6

Thank you so much for the comments! @dreamsontheway I’m pretty sure you’re me from a slightly different life (just waiting on Northeastern, practical mother, dreamer father, promise of post-undergrad funds, etc). I’ve definitely gotten over just UChicago, mostly because I didn’t let myself obsess over it in the first place because of that whole price tag issue. I’ve been told since about 6th grade that I won’t be able to go somewhere like UChicago or the like, which is hard when I’ve been surrounded by many quite rich kids in the magnet programs I’ve been in for the last 7 years. Even then, it’s hard to come to terms with being in such a different situation than everyone I’m around (boyfriend going to Harvard, best friend going to MIT, etc.). UChicago was my little last ditch effort at reaching a future I know can’t be mine. Somehow, it doesn’t get easier to tell people why I’m not applying to 75 ivy league schools, no matter how many times it comes up.

I’m visiting UCF and Temple (the only other school we can afford) in about a month and I really really hope I reach the same moment of clarity other good honors colleges seem to provide (and I’m really happy you enjoyed your time at UGA!).

As for interests, my interests definitely lie in poli sci, history, and english (absolute dream job would be a speechwriter), but I’ve get ten billion other interests (as you can definitely tell from my APs) that I’d love to try out, so I think UCF’s 5 year guarantee of COA+stipends might work out really well.

I’m glad this whole thing is just about over. No matter where I end up, I CAN’T WAIT for legitimately tough classes. I feel like APs (especially humanities/social studies) just aren’t that challenging so I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy as long as I can really push myself. Again, thank you for the comments and for the general support! This helped more than I ever expected :))

7

@screennamessuck I am so glad you responded! I have been thinking about all this all night … I really should have gotten some homework done, but I feel like I just figured out a giant puzzle.

The coolest thing is that I figured out that no matter where I go, I am going to be just fine … better than fine!

I think that we can find ourselves pushed hard wherever we go. I do think that CalcBC and Ap Physics are really hard. If you think they are easy, then maybe you should scrap the humanities and go STEM!

I also apologized especially to my mom … I know how stressed she is about this too. I am an only child and I really do know how much she wants the best for me, but sometimes in my own selfishness I can only see what I want for the next 4 years and there is a lot of life after that … even if it seems so far away and too abstract.

I think I want to go into psych or counseling or social work … but I also really love theoretical econ … and my gov class is terrible … but I might even like poli sci.

If we both get into (and can afford) Northeastern I definitely want to meet you.

8

@dreamsontheway I’m glad both our puzzles are slightly closer to solved! And yeah AP Physics is a puzzle I never got close to solving. I took it my sophomore year (got an A somehow), but it’s the one AP I studied but didn’t take the exam for. And Nevada only really has stem to offer, so I’ve actually been in stem the last 7 years (more than half my schedule every year) but I’ve gradually realized it’s not reeeaaallly where I want to end up. And I’d love to meet you if Northeastern works out!

9

Dreams - I don’t know that much about UCF other than it is an enormous university. It’s size would shock a lot of people. If they are trying to build a core honors college by giving incentives to NM scholars, I would look at it hard.

It depends on what you want to do. If you want to go the professional route (law, med, or business), then grades and test scores are paramount. In the med field, shadowing and intern opportunities are very important. I’d imagine these would be abundant in Orlando.

But a university like UChicago, which offers a sort of immersion experience in the intellect, is hard to pass up. You only live one life. How do you put a price on that experience? Money will come. The intellectual opportunity at UChicago is irreplacable.

I know I am talking out of both sides of my mouth, which is another way of saying that the choice is hard, and probably individual to you.

Best of luck to all you extremely gifted students.

10

@kaukauna unfortunately neither of us were accepted at UChicago so money or not that one is off the table.

11

@kaukauna Thank you for the different perspectives; I’ve definitely found myself having some difficulties weighing the options myself. While I would love to say that there’s no price on education, that’s not a perspective I have the option of taking, with or without UChicago involved. My parents, at age 50, still have thousands and thousands of dollars of debt to pay off for degrees they don’t use, even though they were dream schools at the time. If not putting a price on experience was an option, I’d be applying to ivies and the like galore, but here I am, strongly strongly considering UCF.

12

Hey screennames…you are wise beyond your years. I have no doubt you will do great. Go tear it up. Best of luck to you.

13

Thank you, both for the compliments and for helping me further come to terms with options I initially saw as lackluster at best. I’ll keep this thread updated on how things end up!

14

@screennamessuck … I am happy that you are starting to see the bright side to some of your options.
When my mom put together the visit to UGA I felt like she was pushing me to a school I didn’t want at all.
I was determined to find only the negative stuff … too big, just a number, not special enough, all the classes were going to be huge … I was even determined to hate the campus (which is quite pretty if a little institutional) and the food! I am glad that I was able to turn off my negativity and start seeing the positive … there was a lot of positive … I will admit the food was meh but I found a lot of positive.
I hope you do too.
You are visiting in about a month both Temple and UCF?

15

“But a university like UChicago, which offers a sort of immersion experience in the intellect, is hard to pass up. You only live one life. How do you put a price on that experience? Money will come. The intellectual opportunity at UChicago is irreplacable.”

This is one of the most irresponsible posts I’ve seen on CC. Hopefully you are not a parent.

How do you put a price on UC education? Easy, you read the cost of attendance. If you don’t have it, you should not debt yourself into a “dream” which will become a nightmare later in life. The OP clearly is surrounded by wealthy kids who can ED and full pay at their schools of choice so this comment about this opportunity being “irreplaceable” is really not helpful.

OP, take your excellent options and choose the school with the best fit that your family can afford. Congrats on the acceptances!

16

I read kaukauna’s remarks at #8 not as saying that any price whatever should be paid to attend the University of Chicago but, to quote one of the Merriam-Webster definitions of “priceless”, it has a “worth in terms of other than market value.”

A Chicago education will not appeal to everyone and not everyone will even believe it is all that special. Those who do believe it - I was once one such - should be willing to make a financial sacrifice, incur some level of debt, work part-time, do whatever it takes to supplement FA and, yes, call on parental assistance.

The anecdotes told on this board, as well as the stated policy of the University, suggest that Chicago students of modest means do not emerge with much in the way of debt and are not required to work either summers or part-time (though I did all those things in days gone by). As for what is a reasonable level of parental assistance - that will very much depend on where the parents put their priorities and whether they acknowledge the “priceless” feature kaukauna was attempting to describe. Many don’t get that about the University. Fine, but for those who do, it is hardly an irrelevant, much less an irresponsible, consideration.

17

OP, you will need to visit UCF and ask some hard questions of the honors program. We really enjoyed our visit to campus, but my D was interested in a particular program of study for which UCF is widely known (character animation). On the more academic subjects, particularly something as broad-based as liberal arts, it’s a different story. UCF is not the same school as a top state flagship like UF or UGA, and the caliber of student even in Honors won’t be quite the same. UCF does attract a good number of NMF’s to campus but most showing up are very likely interested in engineering or business or health sciences (decent professional programs for which UCF has built a reputation). Your interests lie in a different direction, and your prospective majors tend not to have a good outcome unless one either goes on to a professional graduate program or attends a highly-selective liberal-arts-based undergraduate. You should take a look at the recently-released College Scorecard by major for UCF https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/fields/?132903-University-of-Central-Florida My main concern would be that honors college won’t be enough to bump that compensation by much. However, if UCF is as selective for honors liberal arts as they are for more professionalized fields, then you might be fine. Alternatively, if your eventual goal is something like law school or an MFA in creative/screenwriting, then saving your money for that endeavor makes total sense.

If you get into NEU or other higher-ranked school than UCF, then even if a tad more expensive you should strongly consider it, although - again - check out the liberal arts because it’s known more engineering and business and so forth. Fordham, which you mentioned earlier, is known to be more dedicated to the liberal arts; the number of graduates in things like history and english are just a tad lower than UChicago (when normalized for size of class) and I think they have a liberal arts Core.

Sometimes you get what you pay for, and this tends to be true in higher ed as well.

Good luck to you!

18

Here is the OP’s original post:

“My family is in a difficult financial situation where EFC is 40k higher than our absolute maximum to pay for college. At this point, I’m looking for schools with similar approaches to learning (discussion, analysis, individuality) as UChicago that are far far cheaper, with good merit aid opportunities. I also place a high value on diversity.”

The OP he is looking for recommendations outside of Uchicago. Telling her/him that a U Chicago education is ** irreplaceable ** and that you only live once, is an irresponsible response to the context of the OP’s situation.

UChicago has a price and is replaceable. College is not a dream, it’s a wonderful place where you grow and learn and get an education. There are many excellent choices wiithin the OPs affordability. Pick the one that is the best fit.

19

MODERTOR’S NOTE: Please knock off the bickering and act like adults. I had to edit and delete several posts.

20

@screennamessuck UF will also give you full COA.