<p>TD, you don’t think Carleton is in the same league? I do.</p>
<p>Does either school have a work-study program?</p>
<p>If not, I think maybe you should even think about a wholly different school. Those kinds of levels of debt as A LOT. Especially as you said your likely job will probably not be able to cover it, and it could severely negatively affect your parents’ comfort of life for the rest of their lives. Have you considered a school like Binghamton in NY? It is the Ivy of SUNY schools. I know a married couple who both went there-- one is a dentist and one a lawyer. They got absolutely amazing educations. The same is true for many other SUNYs like StonyBrook (amazzzzzing for science), Geneseo, and Albany (my bf goes there for history/communications and says both department are really great.) Even for out of state kids, these schools are really inexpensive and tend to be verrrry accommodating with merit scholarships and covering financial aid. You should consider something like that…</p>
<p>CB, I suppose it’s arguable. My perception is that Macalester > Carleton. What I know is that both are cold enough to make Smith look like a tropical resort in comparison.</p>
<p>^Huh, my perception is definitely Carleton > Macalester. Though I can’t pull specific comparisons off the top of my head. In linguistics, Carleton is definitely stronger, but that matters to very few people. I think for physics, too.</p>
<p>Dang it. I checked and I’d flipped them. You’re right.<br>
I often cross the two. And I have to think or get a memory jog on which is which between Bates/Bowdoin/Colby.</p>
<p>So, Phanatic, if you have decided, you haven’t out and out told us, unless I missed it somehow. In the meantime, you’ve been active on other threads, being all supportive of Smith, so the answer may be obvious from that, but I just want to make sure. Are you going to continue, as Mini says, to “love the one you’re with?”</p>
<p>I have such a nasty habit of not replying to threads that I’ve promised replies for, and I do apologize! I’m still going back and forth here. I know that I’d rather go here than the University of Michigan, much as I want to go home. I’m looking at maybe taking a year and treating it as a domestic study abroad. Either way, I’m dropping by the dean’s office tomorrow during his open hours to talk about my options.</p>
<p>I tried broaching the issue with my mom and while she wasn’t entirely opposed, she and I both realized that my dad would be 100% opposed to the notion of me staying here. So, while I have taken this thread into account and I am so glad for the advice, I’m still at an impasse.</p>
<p>So, Phanatic, you’ve been so active, knowledgeable and supportive on the Smith forum recently and it’s been lovely to see that. What are you going to do next year? Although we try to be fair and balanced, you do know our bias! :D</p>
<p>Yes, well… I’m in Ann Arbor tonight, hoping that a visit to the University of Michigan will help clear things up. I’d really like to be closer to home than Massachusetts, but being in Ann Arbor just makes me want to go back to Northampton–and as someone who doesn’t particularly like the town of Northampton, that’s saying something! :)</p>
<p>My mom is relatively amenable to the notion that I might go back to Smith, but my dad is still very against this idea. If I do decide to go back, we’ll have some work to do to get him to agree.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update. Let us know how things are going.</p>