thx!
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If you don’t feel CC is the right social fit, then I would def strongly consider Brandeis for ED2. It will still feel like a SLAC and be an equal academically. can’t underestimate the importance of social fit, especially at such a small school.
My niece attends Brandeis and socially it has been a great fit her. She was interested in a smallish school.
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What is the social aspect at CC supposed to be like?
Yes, definitely. Agree 100%. Not sure about the fit there either 
. We have not visited either school and we will not be able to.
It’s very outdoorsy, and athletic (boarding, climbing, skiing, biking, etc.) which my daughter isn’t. Also, there’s a lot of money there and she’s 100% full ride, mostly FA.
It could be perfect for my daughter, but she’s not in yet, and Also needs to spend this winter break going through these websites and YouTube videos with a fine tooth comb to start getting a sense of fit. We live in South Florida and we’re only able to look at the Florida state universities and my twins saw Boston University. She applied to another six privates and wasn’t able to see any of them in person.
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Oh, that could be challenging. Have you been able to check CC’s Common Data Set to see how many students are also in a similar financial situation?
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It’s outdoorsy, but also a lot of artsy people who don’t do the sporty things themselves. CC is a liberal ‘neighborhood’ in a very conservative part of the state. That bleeds through in the city politics, news channels, churches.
There is a lot of money at CC. Many students have cars and a lot have money to do things on the block breaks (travel, ski, sports, concerts). But it is absolutely possible to do things that don’t cost a lot of money too. Colorado offers a lot of ‘free’ things. Just because your daughter doesn’t hike or camp now doesn’t mean she won’t discover an interest in those things. It is a lot different experiencing the outdoors in Colorado than in Florida - i’ve lived in both, and the Colorado outdoors comes with a lot fewer bugs and critters than Florida. She might like going to Denver (about 1.5 hours) to the First Friday art shows, to some of the museums, to some of the free concerts. Or she might like to go to visit some National Parks.
Choosing CC should be done after looking into the fit, as it is a very different style of college.
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I hate to say this but it doesn’t sound like the perfect place for her. At least by reputation it will draw a certain type of crowd.
Although I am sure the students are nice and friendly and she can be happy most anywhere. Not everyone will fit any stereotype and even if they do that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.
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Will she visit? They may have admit days.
I haven’t checked for that, but it’s a small school (2k), so I’m guessing most are full pay or close to it, and it’s spendy 
Brandeis has a nice vibe to it- the kids work hard but it’s not a “work hard party hard” environment. And if she plans to continue her volunteering in college, she will find a wealth of opportunities and organizations- Brandeis students are very community oriented. There is lots to do on campus on weekends, so it’s not a place where everyone is eating in nice restaurants all the time and spending gobs of money socializing. I know kids who barely leave campus/the surrounding area.
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Colorado students only pay instate price at CC, so it’s only (‘only’) about$14k for them, plus there is a Colorado credit, plus any scholarships. Not horrible but still expensive. Not everyone is full pay but enough are.
But you are going to find that at all the schools you are looking at (BU, Brandeis, CC, even the Florida schools). Some kids will have money, the others will do what they can, work a little, eat out less. My kids had very little disposable income in college but still had a good time. They figured out rides from friends, pitched in for gas, knew how to thrift shop and do things for free.
I had some friends in college who I didn’t even know were rich (and I mean really rich) until after we graduated. They lived like college kids and blended in with the rest of us.
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That sounds great! Thank you for the intel!
No, this is a very pricey private school and state residence plays no part in COA. I think you are referring to the State University system in CO. CC’s COA is $80k.
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Also, the FL schools she is applying to are $6k tuition. Very cheap, but many/most kids have FL Bright Futures scholarship plus auto merit at the more competitive ones. It’s all in around $22k for FL universities before merit. Super cheap. The better students frequently go because they can’t afford private and can’t afford to pass up these prices.
Based on the current common data set, section B4-B21 shows graduation data for the cohort that enrolled in 2015. Of these students, 86 out of 583 received a Pell grant so 15%. An additional 45 students received a Stafford loan but not a Pell grant, so that’s another approximately 8%, for a total of 23% of students. Presumably, the current cohort of students won’t have changed that much in 7 years…although of course they may have.
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No visiting. Can’t afford the travel.
It’s not the perfect place for her, but nether are the other 2 schools she has been accepted to. Stay tuned… she’s waiting for 7 more schools.
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