<p>D (+ Mom) is/are having a tough time figuring out whether D should go to Scripps or Stanford. D could probably flourish at either, despite their major differences. </p>
<p>If D had received the full ride at Scripps, that would very likely have put her at Scripps. Receiving good, but not amazing $ at Scripps, however, makes the decision much harder.</p>
<p>Scripps strikes D and Mom as a very friendly, personalized school with some very good academic opportunities; Stanford strikes us as an academic paradise, but everyone won't know her name there. ;)</p>
<p>Before the acceptances came in, D said she wanted to go to a school that would stretch her. That would point to Stanford. Her visit to Scripps was so comfortable for her compared to her visit to Stanford, however, her head is spinning.</p>
<p>Stanford has the obvious plus of being a very recognized name that could stand her in good stead for a long time. When you mention Scripps in many places, you get a "what's that?" It's hard to factor this in to the equation....</p>
<p>If the decision were mine, I'd say Stanford. But I don't want the decision to be mine.</p>
<p>D has many interests -- education, Judaic studies, ballet, modern dance, literature, genetics -- she's a sweet, but very intense, smart girl. </p>
<p>I don't think Scripps has an honors program per se, but being in the merit scholarship group gives her access I think to some social settings with professors and administrators.</p>
<p>She spent the same amount of time at each school. But Scripps was during "Scholars' Weekend," where they flew her out and matched her up with some wonderful students; at Stanford, she went on her own and was matched up with a somewhat unfriendly student.</p>
<p>She recognizes the differences between the 2 schools academically -- e.g., at Scripps, she attended a lecture where the professor spoke about Dr. X's theory. At Stanford, she attended a class taught by Dr. X.</p>
<p>She's a very sensitive girl; so her emotional experiences at each school certainly count for a lot.</p>
<p>It's hard to weigh warmth/friendliness/very good academics against great academics/would take more time to find a path....</p>
<p>The ballet/dance thing would weight very heavily, I think, in Scripps favor. It really is an extraordinary place, much underrated because it is small (and hence lives in the shadow of Pomona even though, in some areas, such as dance, fine arts, and Romance languages, it is Pomona's equal.) The experience will be very different at Scripps as opposed to Stanford - and that she already knows. But there are plenty of opportunities to be pushed at Scripps, too - remember, there are 5 colleges out there.</p>
<p>So I'd ask what I've asked others. What would happen to that remaining $60k if she went to Scripps? Will it be used for educational opportunities? A year of med school? Foreign travel? A year doing modern dance in Paris? (You can imagine them.) Or graduating with NO loans?</p>
<p>Stanford vs. Scripps? Oh, marginally, for Stanford (even though the TAs at Stanford compared with Scripps core curriculum with their best people doesn't make the Cardinal look very good.) But Stanford vs. Scripps Plus $60k in educational opportunities? Hmmm...</p>
<p>You see, the problem is that we focus too much on the school, rather than the student, and the opportunities that can be made available to the student, especially when you throw a little extra money into the mix.</p>
<p>Just getting accepted into these two fine schools is an accomplishment. Certainly Stanford has the name recognition so you can't help but consider that experience and the outstanding learning environment at Stanford.. Our s chose a less competeive, but excellent school, partly due to the merit scholarship. We weighed out the possibility that at the other school he would likely work his tail off to be in the middle where as at his merit school he would be at the top, challenged realistically, but able to take advantage of the opportunities offered when you are a merit student such as internships, special research projects and lectures, etc. Its a hard decision and I still wonder... but as far as the other posters question about what she will do with the extra $--we just thought our s would save it for grad. school or most of it would come back to us...however, he is instead going to Europe for 7wks this summer as part of the schools international study program. It cost 8,000---so there goes most of the savings---although there is a good chance his grades will get him some merit help with the summer program too. Our s is a very intense, driven student and I did worry that at the slightly less competeive school he'd have a better shot at a happy well balanced social life.</p>
<p>My son is a student at Stanford, and it has been a great choice for him. However, his academic interests are different than your daughter's (comp science and economics), so I am not knowledgeable about its programs in the areas of her interest. And I would desribe my son as one who thrives in a competitive atmosphere, rather than a sensitive and emotional person. Stanford has instituted some good programs to encourage faculty/student interaction, such as the Freshman Seminars which are limited to a very small class size and the Sophomore College which is a wonderful opportunity for students entering their sophomore year. Additionally, the TA's and Instructors that my son has had have been excellent. However, as you said, the atmosphere is not the same as the warm community feeling found at a smaller liberal arts college. Maybe your daughter should visit Stanford again (hopefully with a nicer hostess this time) to try to define whether it is the right place for her. Scripps sound like a wonderful school as well, and it is most important for your daughter to choose the school which best suits her both academically and in its overall atmosphere.</p>
<p>"at Scripps, she attended a lecture where the professor spoke about Dr. X's theory. At Stanford, she attended a class taught by Dr. X.".....that is one of the reason one of my friend from MIT told me.</p>
<p>As Zagat and I think intersteddad had pointed out HYPSM accepts the cream - the peer group would be amazing.</p>
<p>Let me tell our story of evolution in the whole application process.Back in November we knew that our S is very good, but we didn't know how good. He applied to three top tier, 3-4 middle tier schools. At that time Rice was our (nala's) favorite. His profile also put him at the top of the people who had received merit scholarships in the past. We were confident that February 10 will close our deal with Rice. The admission came, but no merit scholarship.</p>
<p>We were shocked, but a week later Duke came in with an early likely admit (and Duke told us that he is in top 2% of their applicant pool), Vanderbilt came in with Full tuition and some other things also happened which made us realize that other people are seeing potential in our S that we may be missing. </p>
<p>About 10 days ago we had decided that he should go to any one of the top tier - intense school if he gets accepted. May be those places would not do any good or may be those places would do wonders for him. We would never know.</p>
<p>Stanford is such an amazing school and what an honor to be accepted. I know kids who got into all their Ivies but not Stanford. It would be a very difficult choice to turn down. Scripps is a great school don't get me wrong but my D found a lot of students that were there because they didn't get into Claremont or pomona. There were many that wanted to be there but my d was discouraged that there appeared to be a fair amount of unhappy students. The campus is gorgeous,my D enjoyed the class she visited a lot but there are a few freshman we met considering tranferring . Just an opinion, I would be thrilled to have my d at Scripps, she decided not to apply after visiting but then she does not have stats for Stanford. We had the same dilema with my s. He did not get much money at Pomona but had a lot of great scholarships and a free ride to his state honors college. He or we have never regretted the decision as he is thriving in his environment of bright, interesting, friendly ,amazing classmates, and profs. This is just one opinion and I hope I don't offend any scripps folks. As I said it is a great college and the 5 college system offers many opportunities.</p>