<p>MKL--Hard choice.
Our S was accepted at Tufts last year but chose BU Honors. I really liked Tufts and it would have been my top choice at that time since I had a little trouble adjusting to the idea that he wanted to be in an urban campus environment. Penn State is huge so they are really so different. He wouldn't apply to Scheyers even though he got the invite to do so. Really wanted to be in a big city. Every year about one student from our HS goes there and they are typically extremely bright and focused kids and for those that are stats oriented,--- the SAT scores, GPA, and med. school admissions at 100% as noted on several other posts on this thead--- are amazing. Have you attended accepted student days at either or both? Are you in state? How big is the difference in cost?</p>
<p>My son attended an accepted student event this week at Schreyer, spent the night and sat in on a class (philosophy). He was impressed with how nice the students were. He is not particularly interested in the activities available to kids at a subway linked suburban campus like Tufts. He really wants research and thinks he'll have great opportunities at Schreyer. He's shy but feels that the kids in the program are friendly and supportive. </p>
<p>As far as I have figured out, Schreyer will cost about 16K (in state) and Tufts about 42K. This is a significant savings, especially if the Schreyer kids really do get into grad school because then he'll need more $!</p>
<p>We're wondering whether he should visit Tufts, just so he'll have no regrets-</p>
<p>Gosh---thats a lot---have you seen the average cost of grad school? There is no parent based aid because the student is expected by then to shoulder the loans. If its that big a difference I say go for Schreyers since he seems happy with what he has experienced there so far. Our cost differential wasn't so large, however, almost 70 K over 4 years because he has a merit scholarship will allow our s to have a few experiences that would have been challenging for us to swing on top of everything else. This summer he is studying abroad for 7 weeks and I expect he will do so for Junior year. We also didn't blink when he needed the money for a Presidents Day trip to Quebec with a school club. (delighted we were since he isn't a big joiner) Living in PA my whole life I was actually astonished when visiting PSU for the first time last year. It is a beautiful campus---spotless. I have known many PSU grads over the years and they must have one of the strongest alumni networks I have ever seen with 1 in 35 college grads in the US being Nittany Lions. You must be very proud he was accepted there. Good luck.</p>
<p>I thought I saw on the web site that Schreyers kids automatically get some merit help--it wasn't much but I thought I read about a stipend or a few thousand toward tuition. Am I mistaken?</p>
<p>Schreyer kids get a merit scholarship of $2,500 but are required to keep their grades up. I can't remember the required GPA. I included the scholarship in my calculation but I could be a bit high. PSU is one of the most expensive state schools. Schreyer does offer nice stipends for travel, though.
Thanks for your advice, dogs. I think he'll end up at Schreyer but he will probably visit Tufts if there is time. Just to make sure.</p>
<p>Thats an interesting point about travel stipends. I just learned our S will likley get one for his summer program. I had no idea that merit aid could extend to optional summer abroad programs. Since its about 8,000 for 7 wks, including air fare, the extra from the school will really help. Tufts is a very nice school though. The kids rarely go into Boston, it turns out, partly because the T only runs until 12ish. It is always getting good remarks about "lots to do on campus". Nice school but hard to justify the extra cost if you are comparing it to such a stellar program as Schreyers, especially if he seemed happy there. Also, if we go to Boston an overnight trip with hotel is mandatory and we need to fly him home for any breaks. Depending on where you live in PA you can factor in that you won't have to pay those costs as well.</p>
<p>Being accepted into an honors program is helpful the first year or so, but thereafter those courses are often open to any "good" student with permission of the faculty. In some instances both honors and regular students have to apply and be accepted into a major. If the regular track kid has done well, they stand just a good a chance of being accepted into the major as an honors kid (check out the neurobiology undergrad program at Univ. of Washington for example). One can graduate with honors in their major without being accepted into an honors program. These types of programs will give a kid just as good, if not better, a chance at a top grad school than an Ivy or top LAC.</p>
<p>here is a link to the UW program: <a href="http://protist.biology.washington.edu/neurobiology/%5B/url%5D">http://protist.biology.washington.edu/neurobiology/</a></p>
<p>Purdue University has a strong engineering program and now an Honors Engineering program as well, I think it's new this year. As an Hon Eng student you get placed in higher level classes. It's not like some honors programs where you have to take "more" or stuff out of your major. You get first choice when scheduling and if you choose, you can live in an Honors Eng Learning Community as well. The lady that emailed me told me of the 1600 kids that apply to the engineering for this fall, about 200 will be honors. Supposedly smaller class sizes too. How does Purdue Engineering rank? Personally, I dont' have a detailed number but I know it's a good school and my son has many friends that are happy there.</p>
<p>At Penn State, I believe that anyone can take honors courses, (does anyone know?) but Schreyer kids get to schedule their classes first. I don't know if it is possible to graduate with honors in your major if you are not an honors student. Some kids successfully apply to Schreyer after matriculating at PSU. I think it's before junior year.</p>
<p>MKL, if I remember correctly, that is correct - Shreyer kids get first crack, but after that anyone can get in. </p>
<p>One other consideration which turned out to be the deal breaker for my son at Shreyer - when he spent his overnight there his host was rooming with one of his HS friends and had several more in rooms next door. He saw it as a place where the HS cliques just moved from HS to college. This was particularly bad for him since as an out of stater, he felt like he would be the odd-man out. There is something to be said from a social growth perspective of going to a place where everyone is starting fresh.</p>
<p>I myself am hard-pressed to make a decision between the Schreyers program and Cornell. Both seem to have distinct advantages, which is the primary reason that I haven't made a choice yet. However, I have visits to both scheduled for the upcoming week, which should help with the intangibles. Does anyone have any thoughts to share on the differences between these two? Which would you choose, and why? The ultimate cost of each, in my case, is the same.</p>
<p>There are a couple of threads you should check out.
Cornell vs. Schreyer
Schreyer vs. Cornell
Tufts vs Schreyer
There have been a few conversations about this.
Good Luck!</p>
<p>anyone have any opinions on university of marylands honors program</p>
<p>Schreyer Honors College boasts not only 100% acceptance in Med School, but also 100% into Law School, 100% into Business school, and 100% into Grad School.</p>
<p>This is a statistic that has been maintained over several years as well.</p>
<p>Average GPA: 4.09 Average SAT: 1425</p>
<p>85% of Schreyer Grads go on to higher education</p>
<p>Just in 2004, students from the program were admitted to grad school at:
Cambridge University
Columbia University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Oxford University
Stanford University
U. C. Berkeley
University of Illinois
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University (Law)
Duke University (Law)
Harvard University (Law & Medicine)
University of Pennsylvania (Medicine)
University of Washington (Medicine)</p>
<p>This is a competitive program, and many say it compares with the Ivys.</p>
<p>There is even a post in the Schreyer Program thread by a Schreyer student that says that his friends pretty much go into to the top five grad schools in their fields and got to pick</p>
<p>This says a lot.</p>
<p>for more stats from 2004 visit:<a href="http://www.scholars.psu.edu/about/annualreport0405.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.scholars.psu.edu/about/annualreport0405.pdf</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
Schreyer Honors College boasts not only 100% acceptance in Med School, but also 100% into Law School, 100% into Business school, and 100% into Grad School.
[/quote]
Y'all need to take this information with a grain of salt... (see the med boards). When it comes to med school, some places will only endorse and provide recommendations for applicants that they think will get in. And who is going to apply to med school knowing that he/she doesn't have the backing of the department? Many schools list med school acceptance rates without explaining that they handpick who they will endorse. I'm not saying this is the case with Schreyer, but it behooves one to be a little cynical about the rate quoted.</p>
<p>MOMFROMTEXAS. Would you be able to PM me the school your son attends? I promise you, my DS will be no competition for a spot with your DS, because mine is still a HS sophmore - but we are looking at UT and other state schools for him, and I'm curious where your son will attend. It is this sharing of info that makes CC so valuable.</p>
<p>anxiousmom:They make a note of telling you at the College of Science open house that everyone who applies to med school is given backing/recs/etc by the university. This goes for all of Penn State as well as Schreyers.</p>
<p>Reading this thread has been very helpful convincing me that the quality of the education and experience at state honors colleges can often equal that of more prestigious schools. However, I was wondering if there is an advantage in certain professions to attending an Ivy League school. I am a high school senior and am currently deciding between a full-ride instate and two Ivies. Price-wise, the financial aide makes the Ivies affordable (but not cheap!) for my family. I am planning to eventually go into law, business, or government. Looking at the bios of leaders in government and business, I find that the overwhelming majority attended Ivy or equivalent schools. I guess my bottom question is whether there is some inherent benefit and if the "door-opening" effect of name-brand schools is worth the cost. Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>Most CEO's do not have Ivy or CC top University undergrad degrees. Graduate degrees, depending on area, may be different. But, at Harvard Law, 61% of the students are not from the Ivies, and not all tip rated grad schools are Ivies, e.g., Univ. of Michigan.</p>