<p>My son REALLY wants to go to Colgate, although he has not yet visited it (he is a junior).My husband really wants him to go to University of Maryland. His rational is that UMD has an excellent business school and most likely will cost a substantial amount less than Colgate as UMD is instate and he will be more likely to receive some scholarship money from Maryland than from Colgate. DH is most likely correct in his thinking and because of that, we are reluctant to let our son visit Colgate in case he REALLY, REALLY loves it. On the other hand, would a visit really be harmful as long as we make it VERY clear to our son that IF he should get into Colgate, the ONLY way he could go there is that if my some miracle his scholarships make it financially competitive to Maryland. My son has worked extremely hard to take difficult classes, high GPA, prepped for SATs, lots of volunteer work in the community, lots of leadership, and is already working hard on applying for scholarships in order to make this happen. I am conflicted though as to whether or not to even visit Colgate. Perhaps our son's efforts should warrant at least a visit. Perhaps a visit could be good for both father and son. They may both love it or they may both hate it - BUT perhaps, one may love it and the other may hate it. :P My son likes Maryland, but he says he would prefer a smaller collegiate setting as opposed to a larger university setting. He isn't into sports all that much - some, but not a lot. He also has been homeschooled his entire life and I think he may be right in that the smaller setting might be better for him. Additionally, my son is quite conservative in his thinking and he has expressed that this could make Maryland not as great of a fit for him. I was wondering if anyone could shed any insights into this whole school of thought - should we let our son visit Colgate or not? I don't want to be the one who is posting later on about how our son got into X school, but we can't afford it". Can anyone add additional insights regarding Colgate that are not found on their website? I'm just sooo confused!!!!! </p>
<p>The wild factor in your decision is whether your son will be eligible to receive substantial financial aid. If he does, then he should be okay. Otherwise, Maryland would be more practical. It is a good thing that Colgate’s endowments have increased in the past few years and this has enabled to help more and more students. Their aim is to be need-blind and yet able to help all those accepted; currently they are need-aware.</p>
<p>As I had written in another thread here in Colgate, there are ways to decrease cost if one is accepted already. Doing part time work in first year until senior year. Being a community leader (resident adviser) during your second to fourth years would also help decrease cost.</p>
<p>Any school would have liberals and conservatives. He just has to find his group.</p>
<p>I don’t see anything wrong in him visiting Colgate. Who knows he may not like it when he visits and that ends the story. If he likes it and gets accepted but you guys can’t afford it, then by all means don’t let him go there or appeal for increased financial aid.</p>