Out of all the schools I applied to, these are the colleges still in the running: CMU, William and Mary (which I really liked), Ohio State University (Honors College), Case Western Reserve University, and Reed College.
I live in Ohio and initially wanted to attend a small, out-of-state college, but Reed costs a reediculous amount of money and both CMU and W&M offered me very little financial aid.
My mother is dead-set against OSU, despite the extremely manageable cost, and a poor overnight experience has greatly lowered my opinion of the only other reasonably priced school on my list, Case.
In terms of a major, I am pretty much undecided, with a slight lean toward either law or biology.
So I guess my main question is one that’s asked a lot: Should I agree to a daylight robbery or should I settle for a cheaper school but maintain a cash reserve for something fun (paying for grad school, buying a white Bengal tiger, traveling, etc.) in the future?
@zvoidx why is your mom “dead-set” against OSU? I am from out of state (OOS) and Ohio State U is a highly regarded and desirable school to attend. It has great academics, social life and athletics. Most of the academic facilities there, as well as the relatively new RPAC (student recreational/athletic center) are top notch. It seems the grass is always greener on the other side. While 35 years ago OSU had an open admissions policy, today is another story. This school has been on a continuous rise the past 10 years and has invested a lot into improving its infrastructure. Better for you to attend there and have money leftover for grad school. Cost of Attendance at Reed is approx. $58,000 per year and CMU and William & Mary are approx. $60,000. In contrast, OSU (for in-staters) is about $23,000. I don’t think those schools are worth paying over $37,000 per year more or almost $160,000 over 4 years, unless the cost is not a concern to your folks.
Can you clarify why your mom is against OSU? It’s a good school, your state flagship, where you can receive a solid education for a good price so you could go on to grad school. Cross Reed, CMU, and WM off the list. As for Case, you might want to keep that door open. Sure, overnights are important but can you describe what the poor experience was for you? Overnight visits are like glimpsing at a college through a pink window for one second. You don’t see everything and what you do see probably isn’t what you will be doing.
I don’t think the kind of grad school matters - keeping undergrad costs low is a good idea regardless of your future plans. Less debt is always better than more debt!
I’m also curious about why your mom is dead set against OSU, especially the honors college. OSU is a highly-regarded public research university.
It seems to me that CMU, William & Mary and Reed are too expensive for your family, so your choices are pretty much Ohio State and Case Western. So for me, the questions are 1) Why didn’t you like your overnight at Case Western, and is the reason really something that had more to do with momentary overnight-related issues and not something likely to significantly affect your experience at the school? and 2) Why doesn’t your mom want you go to OSU?
I too am curious about why your mother is against OSU. And I guess a follow up question is, if she doesn’t want you to go to OSU, would she help pay for your more expensive schools? It seems to me that if she is in fact against OSU, it seems to limit your options somewhat
@trackmbe3@TheDidactic My mother’s opposition to OSU stems, in part, from her own poor experience there. She thinks that since she had trouble getting a job after college all OSU degrees are worthless, even though my dad also went there and my grandpa taught at OSU for decades.
((she is not a reasonable person))
Her opposition to OSU may also be fueled by her concerns for my level of satisfaction throughout college. OSU represents the opposite of everything I wanted in a school when I first began my search (too big, too close to home, etc.)-- criteria she never forgot and thinks I can’t either, despite my having told her otherwise. Which, although it pains me to admit it, she might be right about.
@juillet A word on Case: After talking to my friend who also stayed overnight I’ve concluded that I simply got a poor representative for the school. Not everything about Case was bad, I just made this post too soon after the overnight and projected the poor attitude of one person onto an entire student body. Case isn’t my favorite, but the experience wasn’t disastrous enough to disregard the school completely.
@shawnspencer (great username, 10 pineapples out of 10)
As for finances, my family could, conceivably, afford some of the more expensive schools on the list. However, we would have to pull a lot of strings, I would need to work through college, and I might still end up with student loans. If I go to a cheaper school my parents will pay 100% of my way through. It’s kind of a close call.
Working for 6-8 hours a week will help you build a resume and teach you skills that will help you, so it’s really not a bad situation to be in. If you can limit the student loans to the subsidized part, and adding this + work you can afford other schools, look into this solution.
Considering your criteria, I’d say Case is the better choice, and you’d have plenty of choices if you didn’t want to study biology/science. http://artsci.case.edu/undergraduate-programs/majors-and-minors/
Managing your finances for undergraduate is a must. Currently the job opportunities for Law graduates and Biology majors are not that good. The situation is not likely to change much in future.
Lawyers: “Competition should continue to be strong, because more students are graduating from law school each year than there are jobs available. Some recent law school graduates who have been unable to find permanent positions are turning to the growing number of temporary staffing firms that place attorneys in short-term jobs.” http://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/lawyers.htm#tab-6
It is likely that you may pursue a different major in grad school. Since it looks like you are open to exploring other options for your undergraduate major, it may take you more than 4 years to get your UG degree. I would suggest that you do another overnight again at OSU, explain the shortcomings of the first experience to the admissions counselor. If your 2nd overnight experience is a repeat (of the first), then explore Case Western. In any case run your net price for all the 4 - 5 years, and have a conversation with your parents about options for financing your UG education. Did you apply to any other state schools in Ohio?
As a former OSU grad, with a close family member a graduate from Michigan, I can say that OSU is a fine school; however, it is large,and as a freshman, one may feel lost. If you have been admitted to their Honors program, it might be worth giving it another try.