@4kids4colleges I have enjoyed reading this discussion and feel the need to chime in. My son is currently a first year at Centre and very happy with his choice. Next year he will spending spring semester in France. Which leads me to the point you may want to consider. I’m not sure how SU does semester abroad but at Centre you pay the normal amount you would pay at Centre plus airfare. When two of my older kids studied abroad the semester ended up costing more than it would have at their U.S. school. Good luck with the decision!
@MidwestDad3, you’re right. Almost ninety percent of Southwestern students are Texans, not that there’s anything wrong with that 
About half of Centre students are from Kentucky. Eight percent are international students.
@julesegr, Austin is a great college town, but it’s 25 miles south along the always-heavy traffic of the I35 corridor. There’s no good public transportation between the two. I’m sure SU kids do go to Austin to see friends/attend events at UT and to party on Austin’s Sixth Street (I hope they have dependable designated drivers). Georgetown itself is about three times the size of Danville, so there are plenty of retail & restaurants accessible to SU students without driving into Austin. Both Danville and Georgetown have charming downtowns, but Georgetown’s is a bit more of a hike from campus than Danville’s.
@4kids4colleges, I wonder if looking at the NSSE reports for both schools would highlight any differences? Or thinking of the opportunity costs of each? You may be down to rock-paper-scissors or a coin toss! The fact that your D loves both illustrates how well you did with the process of determining a good fit.
Thanks for the clarification regarding distance between SU and Austin, @yaupon. S2 would love to be near as good a music scene as Austin has (it’s probably his one criteria for selecting a college right now!) so it’s good to know upfront that SU isn’t as accessible as I had thought for him.
@4kids4college - Thinking of you and your D and wishing you decisiveness and clarity. I can see why it’s such a tough choice. From what you’ve written about your D, it sounds like she will be happy at either school. I’m excited to find out your D’s decision. Keep us posted!
Thanks all. D has set this Friday as the date to make her decision. (Probably because Saturday is prom and she wants to be done thinking about it!)
On the issue of SU being heavily Texan, it is for sure. However, I spoke with D’s admissions counselor at SU this week, and she told me the incoming class this year looks like it will be 40% out of state. Mostly coming from CA, NM, CO. The more recent classes have had more out of staters, and she said they are working very hard to increase out of state representation (maybe part of why D’s scholarship offer is so good).
Other factors actually make SU a little more diverse than Centre - 21% URM at SU (mostly Hispanic) vs. 7% URM at Centre. SU is also more diverse socio-economically. SU 26% of students Pell grant recipients vs. 17% at Centre. Seems like SU may be a little more diverse on the LGBT front as well, but not sure.
On the issue of proximity to Austin - I really think it does play into the equation. No good public transportation from Georgetown, but it sounds like kids make their way into the city on the weekends every once in a while for music and UT Austin parties/events. D has SXSW music festival and 6th Street on her “plus” column. It also seems like a good place for internships/jobs. We live 4 hours from a major city right now, so 30 minutes sounds pretty good.
Anyway, I also spoke to the Admissions officer at SU about science building construction. The first phase is on track to be completed spring 2016. So there would be some disruption D’s freshman year, but then she would have the benefit of the new facilities, described as follows:
“Phase I will be comprised of teaching labs, research labs and interactive spaces. The first floor will house introductory teaching labs for biology, chemistry and physics. The second floor will be devoted to molecular biology, with research labs, a molecular biology center with state-of-the-art equipment (purchased through a $300,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation), and a cell culture facility. The organic chemistry and biochemistry teaching and research labs will be located on the third floor.”
It sounds like they are still raising money for Phase II.
D reported that the science facilities at Centre were excellent.
Thanks again for all the great input!
Tks. for sharing the info. We are considering Centre and Wooster with bio or bichem major. Centre COA is 24K and Wooster is 28K. Centre is better rank and cheaper. We are international and cannot visit any of them. Would appreciate your comments.
@tigerfish, thanks for the thoughts about Centre’s study abroad program. We have been so impressed by this, and it is one of the things we like most about Centre. The cost is absolutely a factor. Centre’s program is amazing.
But now it looks like Centre is $20k more to begin with over 4 years. SU’s study abroad programs are in the $6k range plus airfare, so the financial advantage is no longer there. I do really like the Centreterm concept - short study abroad trips to amazing places in January.
@lananh I think Centre is fantastic, but I know people love Wooster as well. How do you feel about the distance from home, weather, Midwest vs. South (though KY is not deep South, closer to Midwest of course).
@4kids4college: Tks. for sharing the info. The distance from home is the same because we are from Vietnam 
and the warmer weather is better for us.
@4kids If SU meets the construction deadlines, then this won’t really affect your D. It sounds like the facility update is appropriate for a LAC and will bring the research labs up to standard. A great feature is the grant to purchase equipment.
I also don’t think the OOS percentage at SU is much different that other more regional LACs. These LACS generally draw students from a few hundred mile radius. Texas being much larger reduces the percentage of OOS students.
Its a Pirate’s life for D!
SU it is. She found it very, very hard to make the choice - mostly she just did not want to have to give up Centre, she really loved it. But in the end, you only get to pick one.
We are all happy and planning a family road trip to take her down to TX in August. Something we would not be able to do at Centre.
Can’t believe this is over. What a ride. Sure has been fun!
Thanks everyone!
Congratulations 4kids4colleges on your D’s decision! There is so much to do in the Austin area. I know your D will enjoy it. And it’s nice that SU is close enough for you to occasionally visit. It’s a great choice!
Awesome 4kids4colleges! Thanks for sharing the journey!
Congrats @4kids4colleges!
I am happy to announce that D will be a fellow Tar! We gave our D the green light for Rollins tonight. @dadof1 Thank you so much to for taking all of us on your southern LAC search.
That’s exciting @mominsc! Maybe we will see you in August!
Tks. all for sharing this, we decided to attend Centre. We really love both Centre and Wooster and it was a close call.
Great news @lananh, Centre is a fantastic school. Congrats!
@mominsc congratulatons to your family as well. Rollins is another excellent choice.
Congratulations to all the Southern LAC students and parents on your final decisions and great financial packages! @4kids4colleges, you will enjoy visits to Austin and Georgetown, TX. I can totally relate to the part of your D’s decision that considered the ability to reach her college town by car - even if infrequently. Don’t forget the Austin Segway tour when you are in town. If you do so in the warmer months, you will get to see the Congress Ave bridge bats at sunset.
I know I will check for updates periodically from you parents, but I understand if you decide to take a break from CC. It can be very stressful and addictive. I am thinking about visiting CC only once a week for that very reason.
There is so much value in this thread. Thank you for all you insights and trip reports. Enjoy the next phase of the process!
Seconding @lots2do’s suggestion of a Segway tour of Austin – so much fun! Check for Groupons/Living Social deals.
Thanks again you guys! Really looking forward to visiting Austin and San Antonio as well - not too far away and fun place to visit! Segway tour sounds very fun.
I would love to hear everyone’s real-life impressions during August move-ins!
Right now D is getting ready to choose her first-year seminar and housing. She’s very excited all the first-year women’s/co-ed dorms seem to be suite-style - no hall bathrooms. Also she got a call from the lacrosse coach saying he’s excited to have her on the team, and her admissions counselor reported that she “jumped for joy” when she saw D’s deposit come in. Nice to be wanted, of course!
Best of luck all!