<p>Good Luck to you and your daughter! Continue to talk with the financial aid people, they can make something work. </p>
<p>As for the prior comment re: labs. I am guessing that SMC has a mission of having well rounded students so they limit classes in particular areas to force the girls to branch out. The other option could be that there is limited lab space and they need to manage the space. Just a hunch. I can assure you it has nothing to do with denying the girls’ science because they can’t handle it.</p>
<p>My D said that Spring Preview was awesome and she really enjoyed going to class with her paired student. D came away with a greater appreciation of the academics offered at SMC. She loved visiting a Statistics class and an Accounting class. SMC offers the class size she loves and we are waiting for the final financial aid pkg while continuing to apply for scholarships locally. SMC is definitely on her short list of schools.<br>
The only problem is that they gave her a student to spend the night with who is looking to transfer and doesn’t like SMC. She does not mesh with an all girls school. Which is my D’s biggest concern. All in all it was a great visit. My H loved it and can see why I have been pushing for SMC for my D.
Thank you all you have been so helpful… We will keep posted. SMC is a great school</p>
<p>Received the financial aid package. We were disappointed. Our daughter received a generous merit scholarship but that still left us very short of the total bill. Only other aid received was two very small federal loans. With one child at ND and another one a high school senior next year, our need is pretty high. Given this, St Mary’s has dropped greatly in the college search. It is just too expensive. Our daughter has been accepted to a fine in-state school in VA. Given that she would graduate from it debt free, it just doesn’t make sense for her or us to incur significant debt. My advice is consider ROTC scholarships. Our daughter applied for Air Force ROTC but was turned down. In hindsight, she probably should have applied to Army and Navy as well. Best of luck to all considering St Mary’s. We still very impressed with selection and notification process and think it is still a great school. Just wish the financial aid was much stronger.</p>
<p>Just received what we think was a fair financial aid package. However, during the course of my D’s Preview she found out that in truth she cannot pursue her dream major at SMC. She came home loving the school, but after thinking and writing down the pros and cons it became glaring that she really wants to pursue her dream to teach Latin. She cannot do that at SMC. She was so impressed with the professors she met, she was going to try and make it work but it will not. She is writing a letter this weekend to refuse their admission. tear tear.</p>
<p>I really have to give credit to SMC. A very personal approach that really allows it to compete against larger schools. I am glad I don’t have to make the decisions that my daughter has to make in regard to colleges. I wish the financial aid was better, but the personal approach is fantastic. We will see how it ends up.</p>