<p>isiahstock, your posts reflect an excellent maturity and politeness. I echo the poster who said that this is going to be Swarthmore’s loss. Having said that, I think that you have done a good job in finding the good schools with merit aid. The names you mentioned all rang bells in my head from a thread about schools with good merit aid. I don’t know if applications are all past now, but wanted to mention that U of Alabama has automatic aid based on GPA and scores. don’t think you need any special scholarship application. </p>
<p>U of Chicago appears to be a real rising star from what I gleam. Not sure if they would give you aid if you get in. I am a believer that finding ways to show a school your interest helps get accepted. There is a now famous applicant whose unique post-rejection letter to U of Chicago got them to re-consider and accept.</p>
<p>My nephew missed a Duke interview, had to go to state flagship and after one week said it was best thing that ever happened to him, loves the school, and saved cumulative 260000 for the worlds best rec room or something. </p>
<p>I want to thank all of you so so much for all of the assistance and advice you gave through this particularly tricky period. It was by no means an ideal situation, but my family and I have been doing very well lately despite it all! </p>
<p>Many of you asked to keep you updated, so here’s a quick summary of what has happened! I ended up getting accepted at Grinnell College ($21k merit), Case Western ($23k merit), Carleton ($0), and UM-Twin Cities ($0k) in addition to the acceptance from UW-Madison I had from the beginning. I visited Grinnell and UM-Twin Cities about two weeks ago and just didn’t really like either place. </p>
<p>But then I visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison once again for an all-day admitted students program and was very, very impressed! I was able to meet tons of different people, and it seemed like there were many opportunities to make such a big school smaller, i.e. honors, FIGs, residential communities, freshman research, etc. I was genuinely impressed, and just thinking about the opportunity of attending UW-Madison in the fall just leaves me with a big grin! I’ve already selected my dorm room, and I plan on sending in my advance tuition deposit tomorrow or the day after. </p>
<p>I’ve spent a lot of time on this site over the past three years. And although I never expected to be going to Madison, I am happy with how things turned out. Once again, thank you all for your support, your kind words, and your advice!</p>
<p>Thanks for updating. Madison is awesome. And you are going to do great. The maturity you have shown through this difficult process bodes well for your future.</p>
<p>Glad things worked out for you and you kept a positive outlook. I agree with lastminutemom, your maturity bodes well for your future. Best of luck!</p>
<p>**I also agree with those who have commended you on the maturity you have shown.<a href=“Your%20maturity%20is%20in%20stark%20contrast%20to%20many%20students%20who%20act%20entitled%20and%20simply%20refuse%20to%20accept%20reason.%20%20Often%20they%20disappear,%20I%20suspect%20to%20go%20on%20their%20merry%20way,%20racking%20up%20loans%20for%20themselves/their%20parents%20that%20they%20will%20one%20day%20come%20to%20regret.”>/b</a></p>
<p>Hello everyone! A bit of an emergency here! </p>
<p>We ended up sending FAFSA and CSS to Carleton just for the heck of it, and despite not getting any FA from Grinnell, Swarthmore, UW-Madison, or UM-Twin Cities, Carleton offered $20.5k in grants and 2.5k in work study. This places the total cost down to about $35k at Carleton, compared to the $28k at UW-Madison. </p>
<p>My family is only able to contribute about $20k a year. Do you think it’s a smart financial investment to spend about $7k more a year at Carleton? </p>
<p>I purposefully didn’t go to the admitted students weekend at Carleton because I didn’t think they would offer me any money, so I have no idea which one I’ll “fit” better with. I liked Madison a lot, but I am truly worried about the educational quality (i.e. size of classes, working with TAs, apathy among students). </p>
<p>Did you get merit scholarships from UWisconsin? I don’t remember. If you like the smaller school envrionment better, and if you think you and your family can come up with the money, Carleton might be a preferred venue. You can do very well at UW, but you are likely to go to such a school for graduate studies whereas a school like Carleton , an LAC is an experience particular to undergraduates.</p>
<p>First of all, as you can tell by my name, I am biased (also, I have never visited Carleton).</p>
<p>Which dorm did you rank first for Madison?</p>
<p>Why do you think UW-Madison students are apathetic?</p>
<p>My kids have had great TAs at UW-Madison.</p>
<p>Lectures can be large but labs and discussion sections are small; 20-45 people depending on the subject.</p>
<p>I recall an honors Spanish class that only had about 12 students in it - with a Professor!</p>
<p>Consider going to UW-Madison and ‘saving’ that extra $7k/year for grad school.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that at Carleton, the grants for years 2-3-4 could be less than $20.5k; so that is an unknown you are taking a gamble on if you choose Carleton.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t really include the $2.5k of workstudy in the equation; for an apples to apples comparison, if you would work while attending Carleton, then calculate the cost of UW-Madison as if you would work and earn $2.5k in Madison; then the difference is closer to $10k/year (or more if grants decrease).</p>
<p>Isaiah – is the need-based grant at Carleton likely to stay at similar levels for the next 4 years? Start with a conversation with the financial aid people. Also, any possibility of a visit now? You don’t have to go to admitted students weekend.</p>
<p>It’s seems very late for you to receive the financial aid award – I"m wondering if there are some unusual issues that impacted the current award. That’s why I’m saying the first thing to do would be to contact Carleton’s financial aid department to determine whether there are factors that might mean better aid this year that won’t hold up all 4 years. </p>
<p>Also, you said your family can only contribute $20K – so where is the extra $7K going to come from?</p>
<p>If you are a Wisconsin resident, the COA for UW-Madison is $24k, not $28k. Tuition is about $10,500, room and board about $8,000 and books $1,000 (this total is under $20,000); I know that COA includes ‘miscellaneous’ things like travel, but if you are instate, your parents are driving you to/from school.</p>
<p>Madison85, I currently have a refundable reservation on room 910 in Chadbourne. I believe that, from everything I’ve ever read and heard about Carleton and UW-Madison, the students and academics at Carleton are incredibly rigorous and the students there are intensely dedicated to their studies, while Madison is a bit more lax (albeit still serious). </p>
<p>While I have no real experiences with TAs or college classes, I would assume that a class with an average size of 18 people taught by a professor would be a better experience than a lecture/TA discussion with only 60% of classes under 50 people. Sure, Madison could have small classes here and there, but it certainly won’t be nearly as common. </p>
<p>That money is certainly a huge factor. My family made a very large and unusual bump in income this past year (it’s going down already) and we usually make ~$70k a year less than we did this year. </p>
<p>Calmom, like I said above, it should actually increase over the next few years, but it’s hard to say. Financial aid office is closed, we left a message about an hour ago. Unfortunately, I have to enroll somewhere tonight, so visiting and further deliberation isn’t an option. It’s late because we didn’t send in FAFSA/CSS at the usual deadline because we figured that we wouldn’t get anything–Swarthmore at ED didn’t offer anything. The other $7k will come from working over summers and during the school year, other outside scholarships (hopefully), and loans.</p>
<p>This might be one of those very rare occasions when it might be appropriate to double deposit – though it would have been better if you had contacted Carleton as soon as you received the award offer to request a short extension on the time to deposit. </p>
<p>Maybe you should just make the deposit at Madison today, the call Carleton first thing in the morning to explain that you have only just received the financial aid award and request an extension. (They will probably say yes, even though it technically past the deadline). This isn’t all that different from a waitlist situation – that is, you have only just gotten notice that Carleton may be affordable to you. </p>
<p>This is all assuming that you really have only just received your award notice. </p>
<p>I’m still wondering how you are planning to pay the $15,000 between the $20K that your family can contribute and your COA with the grant money.</p>
<p>You need to do the math . . . You have $17,500 in costs to cover at Carleton (including work study). You can borrow $5,500 your first year, you can earn $2,500 in work study, you might be able to earn another $3,000 over the summer . . . that gets you to $11k. You’re still $6,500 short. You might be able to do a bit more work during the school year, but with your work study commitment, you wouldn’t be able to take on too much more. So where is the rest of the money going to come from?</p>
<p>Carleton is an amazing school - no doubt about it! But don’t sell U-W short. Sure, you’ll find some apathetic students . . . but you’ll also find plenty of kids just as motivated as you are. If you put any effort into it at all, it won’t take you long to find a peer group of students who are your “equals.”</p>
<p>I think you’d excel in either environment . . . so it really gets down to the money. If attending Carleton means taking on additional debt (with your parents as cosigners), it’s probably not a smart move. Carleton is wonderful . . . but four years of “wonderful” isn’t worth almost $30k in additional debt.</p>
<p>I hate to ask, but is there any way you could deposit at both schools, just to give yourself some breathing room?</p>
<p>Edited to add: I agree with Calmom - I’d take a chance on just calling Carleton first thing in the morning to request an extension while you get the finances straightened out.</p>
<p>i am all for aiding the individual versus the large institution. I am curious about double depositing and whether it poses any risk to the admissions. Do schools have any way of knowing other options open to an individual student?</p>