Penn is a great school. Despite what the brochures tell you, have him try for the Quad. The other residential options are slightly less fun, although perfectly nice.
+1 on TP’s recco of the Quad at Penn. I opted for one of the high rises back frosh year in the day, and while it was nice to have a bathroom in your unit (albeit shared with 3 other guys), I always felt I was missing out on something in terms of fun/getting to know more people.
Since 7D1 has made it “Facebook Official”, I guess I can share that she will be attending honors college at state flagship university with top 10 program in her intended field of study.
Congratulations, 7D1!
@SevenDad, Looks like a rare case of ditching an Ivy for a State Flagship? Time for your college application odyssey to be published.
On other note, any of you know from your college searches if Haverford College has a good Science (bio, chem, pre-med) program?
@rhapsody17: Well, not quite an Ivy, but the engineering school of that little selective engineering/arts school in Pittsburgh.
We did look at Haverford initially, but it felt too small for 7D1. I will say that Swarthmore remains one of my wife’s and my favorites…and that, IMO, has a very good science program.
@rhapsody17 - we carefully looked into Bio/pre-med at Haverford and were very impressed. As SevenDad mentioned, it is a small school, but that was a plus for our D. Swarthmore is also a great college, but it has a very different “vibe” so it really makes sense to visit them and see what feels right for your student.
Don’t get me wrong, Swarthmore is small, too (and was crossed off 7D1’s list for the same reason). I am merely sharing the impressions that I got from visiting/researching both schools early on in the process…my POV is most likely colored by the fact that Swarth offers an engineering program (rare among LACs), so I consider it more “STEM” than other LACs. As MamaBear16 notes, visit them both and make your own choice. They are very close geographically and we ran into the same people on our tours (on the same day).
That’s a really good point. My D wasn’t interested in engineering, so we weren’t looking for it, but Swarthmore is one of the few SLACs that offer it as a major. Both colleges are in a consortium together with Bryn Mawr and Penn, so there are more choices as far as classes go than you would find at a typical LAC.
Congratulations @SevenDad. Your daughter’s objectivity is impressive. Did the state flagship honors college include scholarship or financial aid money? We are far from college applications right now but I’m already thinking about the necessity of avoiding significant college debt.
@Xystus : Yes, she received a generous scholarship offer from the school she will be attending. While her mother and I had explicitly stated “don’t factor the cost into your decision” throughout, we are happy that her choice means a minimum of undergrad debt for her or us. Note that she was a NMF, so qualified for merit aid at many of the schools to which she applied, up to full OOS tuition in a few cases.
Despite having paid out the equivalent of at least one Lamborghini Huracan in private school tuition over the years (even with generous FA our kids have received), I was SHOCKED about the real cost of college vs. BS. I think Drexel’s estimated “true cost of attendance” was over $70k/year.
Too funny @SevenDad I like the way you look at things. I also like the Lamborghini Huracan! Too bad for me as DH hates anything “flashy” so no hope here either.
Drexel is well-known for less than stellar FA.
Drexel’s FA is not stellar but they give very generous merit awards
True
My husband and I marvel at the extraordinary network ( of friends ) BS grads have going into college… It’s really quite remarkable when you think about it. Social Media has made it almost impossible not to stay in touch and keep close friendships alive… Unlike the good old days when BS kids had to rely on letter writing , postcards , expensive long distance phone calls ( My parents: OK- Who called Texas? Who called California ? Yikes- run for the hills. )… and Alum Reunions ( every five years if you could make it ) and Receptions on both coasts every year … which can all fly by even with the best intentions.
Life intervenes and so many things change… but a BS remains constant.
I truly envy BS kids today … They’ll have these amazing friendships forever because of the way they communicate. It’s amazing - and so wonderful for them.
That said, I don’t sense a lot of sadness about leaving BS ( LOL ) … I’m getting a more- Let’s move this along and wrap this up, people! - attitude ( at the moment) . Maybe that’s just a JBS- SS thing ( I know I felt the same way. There is such a thing as BS fatigue… . )
So, yeah- he’ll miss seeing his friends everyday but he knows this won’t be the last time he sees or talks to them. He’ll definitely miss some teachers, coaches ( he can still follow them on twitter or shoot them an email ) and staff- without question … and the beauty of the campus, too ( I believe ).
I remember my husband joking around with him ( when we first dropped him off at SS ). My husband said ( standing by the window in his room ) , Now that’s what I call a 50K view ( sooooo obnoxious 
). … So K2 walked over and looked out the window for a minute and said, No dad- that’s what I’d call a million dollar view. For some odd reason the beautiful view he had ( his first year at SS) gave me a great deal of comfort . The beauty outside his dorm window would be there for him everyday … no matter what.
So- now you know why I always tell future BS kids to checkout the view…
I know when K2 goes off to college he’ll take all his BS experiences with him. The beauty of BS is that I also know he’ll bring what he saw outside that window the first year, too… even if he doesn’t know it yet… and that’s good enough for me
It’s been a great ride and I’m so proud of all the kids graduating this year. BS is a long arduous hike and the kids make it look easy - don’t ever forget that , Parents!
Congrats to the Class of 2015! Almost there!!
Just one more observation now that my third and last child is about to graduate…
I’ve always admired the close relationships BS kids have . There’s a certain maturity, depth and sincerity about their friendships ( with peers and adults ) that go well- beyond their years. It’s been a pleasure to watch . I think there’s a lot that all BSs do to promote this but I believe it’s because the kids learn to rely on each another … for so many things.
I’ve also appreciated dark BS humor and the funny stories the kids have come home with… ( Not all but most. You did what? ). I just had a group of K2’s friends here at the house in March- and it was so much fun to watch my son and his friends interact and have fun… Like getting a quick peek into his world. I highly recommend taking in “lodgers” during breaks. It’s a blast and you’ll see what I mean about BS friendships. These kids are a hoot … and know each other so well- it’s just incredible.
Anyway… I thought it was worth bringing up because the nature of BS friendships is rarely discussed here - even though I think all BS parents have seen it with their own kids or at least sensed it. The quality ( in terms of depth ) is really quite amazing.
It’s also something for new/ future parents to look forward to… and feel really good about.
Is there a single central website that lists all the merit scholarships available at Colleges?
@rhapsody17: Not that I know of. Here’s a link to one featuring scholarships based on National Merit performance:
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com
7D1’s scholarship is not an NMF one, and honestly, we did not know about it until she got the letter inviting her to interview/compete for it. If your child knows what he/she wants to study in college, I’d start your list there, then apply all the usual filters like distance/size/setting/fit, and then when you have a list of like 15 or so, dig a little deeper into what scholarships might be available from each school.
Another suggestion would be to identify 5-7 target schools and then work with the college counselor and ask for “doppelgänger” schools where your son/daughter might be on the high side of applicant pool and which offer significant merit aid.
My suggestion for “how many schools to apply to” is between 9-12. While the common app does simplify things, MOST schools still require a supplemental essay or two. So it’s really only saving you on the boilerplate/bio data entry. And then there are the app fees to consider.
If one can stoop (and I use that term ironically) to considering state schools, scholarships like UNC’s Morehead-Cain are full-ride+, at a respected/prestigious institution (though perhaps not “prestigious” enough for Ivy-chasers…I’ve made it clear how little I care about prestige when it comes to this stuff). Winning a Morehead-Cain is arguably more difficult than getting into an Ivy (if you just go on percentage of applicant pool that receives the M-C).
Beware of Tufts Syndrome, however. With some of these schools (WUStL comes to mind) you will want to take pains to show interest, since they don’t seem to like being regarded as anyone’s safety.