<p>First time on in a week and just caught up on all back and forth. I was not going to chime but I just don’t see anything positive coming out of this as both sides have not changed their position on issues at hand. To conclude and hopefully move onto productive dialogue, can it be agreed that both parties disagree and leave it at that.<br>
To Momma-three- I think your point is well documented and heard that you like are not happy with what Scranton is doing to keep students busy outside of school. Got it, can we move on…
It’s my opinion that it is up to each parent and or student to perform due diligence in determining if a school is right for them, take what is given and make the best of it, if one is not happy and feels it is best to move on/transfer, then so be it. All part of the learning curve of life.
Since I have never seen a 100% retention score, it happens at every college and university in the U.S. </p>
<p>On another note, a previous post said that St. Joes, Fairfield and Marist are similar in cost to Scranton. I will throw a few others in the mix as well and as Momma-Three wrote “Look at the merit and/or the financial aid packages of all the schools you have been accepted to and if Scranton should happen to provide more than the others consider if it is a place that will keep you happy as you grow and mature”. Good point. Without talking FA into account but cost is of some consideration you may want to look at net cost.<br>
Example if a student has a 92 average in a strong curriculum and 1250/1600 SAT and good EC’s. What would that get them at these schools??
In my estimate:
Siena cost 37000, merit 8-10k = 27-29k net
Marist cost 40000, merit aid 8-10k = 30-32k net
Scranton cost 46500, merit aid 10-14k = 32-36.5k net
St. Joes cost 47000, merit aid 12-14k = 33-35k net
Fordham cost 51000, merit aid 5-9k = 44-46k net
*Fairfied cost 51000, merit aid 0 = 51k net
*Loyola MD cost 51000, merit aid 0 = 51k net
*both Fairfield and Loyola MD do give merit aid but would need about
95 in the highest level curriculum and SAT at least 1350 and above before you see
any money.
I know several students that received merit aid at each of these schools and some had very similar academic numbers but did NOT get similar merit aid. That is a bit subjective by school concerned.
Now if looking at net cost vs. what a student is looking for does this change ones’ order of choice? In our situation we will weigh the pros and cons of school, programs strength, community life, faculty and sons interest in the school itself. After visiting over 15 schools he has not had the epiphany that “this is the one”. We will be doing re-visits on about 5 schools and hopefully a fall overnights can be arranged this fall. In the end, unless something changes, new info comes to light or new school comes on the radar, our choice will come from one of these schools.
I will mention that his top 3 as of now are Loyola, Scranton and Fordham.</p>
<p>While Scranton is certainly pricier than it was when I went, you can realy go anywhere and do anything you would like after graduating from Scranton. I acheived all that I wanted. Went to top 15 med school then onto the top residency program in the country. Stayed as faculty at that Ivy or a while and now and still a successful academic physician.</p>
<p>Son recently did overnight visit at Scranton.
While he was going to classes and doing the student thing, I gave myself an extensive tour off the standard tour path and these are my observations-
Faculty and students were friendly, nice, always holding doors and such. Facilities are in excellent order and pretty much spotless.
Many new building with 2 under construction - science center and new residence hall with 400 units and new fitness center.
The U. has spent about 190 million on new construction, upgrades and beautification. Was really looking up. They recently closed off 2 streets and made them part of the campus with walking paths. Gave the U more of a campus feel.
Student Center is 1.5 yrs old and really nice. Dining facility offered everything my kid eats and was good tasting. I did not go into the dorms but son told me Condron Hall was very spacious, and well planned. He loved the fact the cleaning service comes in 1x a week.
Overall he had a great experience, and it remains a leading choice for him.<br>
Merit aid will have influence on decision as his other top 2 choices were Fordham and Loyola MD. Don’t think he will get nearly as much from them and we will be in wait in see mode.<br>
Heard the U. has 80 acres in Spring Brook, about 10 min. away with the plan to build athletic facilities (baseball, softball fields, new turf, lights, parking) with Phase I, possible starting in 2011. They are putting their money where their mouth is so I will give them that.
University President, Fr. Pilar, will be leaving after spring 2011 for Marquette University. Looks like a nice promotion for him so the U looking for a new president.<br>
Seems Pilar was very proactive in pushing his agenda to upgrade the U and it’s students. I liked the direction the U is headed and hopefully the master plan will not be effected much.
Spoke to random students. All seemed very content and happy with school and education.
Last, the City of Scranton. It is not NYC or Boston but then you are not in the country either.<br>
I did drive the surrounding areas and beyond the 5-6 block radius it does get a little seedy and the economic down turn is more apparent in commercial and residential alike. I will say that this is the case for neighborhoods around many good schools.
Kind of reminded me a bit of Worcester but smaller. Holy Cross is in a residential area, U of S is walking distance to downtown, a small mall,
and a bunch of restaurants.
Security just got “Police” status and are now armed. Again, a wait and see how that works out. Should be a plus.
Overall, I was impressed with the people first and second, what they are doing to upgrade everything.
I would think in a short time they will be where Fordham is now and that the middle 50% admission mark will be climbing.</p>
<p>sportsman29 ~ very nice comprehensive review!</p>
<p>Yes, Father Pilarz is leaving which I was sad to hear about. He has done a great job there. I am looking forward to his last commencement speech in May. His speech at my daughter’s graduation was just so inspiring.</p>
<p>They are rocking and rolling on that new science complex. Each time we go out there, much more has been completed. We enjoy watching the progress even though we won’t have a student there when it opens. But we will definitely go back to see it!</p>
<p>There are some great restaurants in the area. Son just tried a Thai place that he raved about. He also likes Kildare’s. We have been to Cooper’s and Farley’s as well. We have found all the people working in those restaurants to be very friendly and helpful.</p>
<p>That is great your son got to do an overnight now. It used to be they only offered them in late winter/early spring. Is this something new? And how nice he got to stay in Condron! Yes, the light housekeeping is nice. And the people who serve in those positions are so sweet. My kids got to know the ones assigned to their hall and in return, they get to know the kids. Again, the people aspect…</p>
<p>Glad it worked out well for you both and I hope your son gets a nice financial package!</p>
<p>No there has not been a policy change for overnight visits. Went on athlete recruiting visit with team and host student is sophmore (Condron). We are also looking at other schools that he would play club level sport as the priority is school and he is on board with that. Although he was excited to hear about getting new athletic facilities/fields, somewhere just outside of Scranton. Seemed that there was not much info on that or start dates. If anyone has further, please post…</p>
<p>Ah, I hadn’t thought about an athletic visit! </p>
<p>I was not aware of the potential for new fields until you mentioned it in your previous post. Our athletic experience there has been at the gym! If I hear anything more about it, I’ll let you know.</p>
<p>S. received acceptance letter/scholarship info yesterday. Is happy with that as Scranton was one of his favorite schools. On his EA’s he has gotten replies from Siena and UofS. Can anyone provide any Scranton updates on what’s happened over the past month or so.
Like, how is the new dorm construction going?
Search for new president?
Noteworthy news…</p>
<p>forgot to add, and for whatever it’s worth…
At this time of year, many conversations turn to college talk and I had spoken to about 10 parents in the past 2 months who’s kid had Scranton in their top 2-4. 2/3’s of there kids did NOT attend Scranton for a number of reasons, but all described this “vibe” of belonging they felt as parents and would have been happy with their child attending.</p>
<p>D is home for break. She just finished finals. She still loves the place (even though a year ago it was not high on her list at all…;))</p>
<p>She has made lots of friends, and seems to have settled in fine. She can’t believe the first semester is over. She’s very much looking forward to next semester. She signed up for Karate and will continue her volunteer hospital work and band. She wants to play intramural soccer and co-ed dodge ball… but also has a full course load. </p>
<p>Congratulations to your son! Siena was also on both my kids’ lists. It was second on D’s list to Scranton. I know what you mean about the vibe. D in particular felt it the first time we visited. It made Scranton first on her list (and it was the last one we looked at) and it never budged. S will be starting his last semester in the spring. I really don’t know where that time went. I won’t miss the bills, but I will miss a compelling reason to go out to Scranton. But I have a feeling we will get out there anyway ;).</p>
<p>The science building looks amazing. They are really moving on that. Can’t wait to see it complete!</p>
<p>Here is the progress on the Presidential search from the website [Search</a> for The 25th President of The University of Scranton](<a href=“2020 | Presidential Announcement | About Us”>2020 | Presidential Announcement | About Us) We have been with 2 different presidents while there and both were outstanding. I have no doubt they will find another strong, bold, visionary and charismatic leader.</p>
<p>Appreciate the feedback. S was checking out website last night and sent me link to Science center construction web cam and has time lapse pics from the start. Looks cools to see it all unfold in 35 seconds.
[The</a> University of Scranton: Academics: Unified Science Center: Construction Cam](<a href=“http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/sciencecenter/webcam.shtml]The”>http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/sciencecenter/webcam.shtml)
Should get one for the new dorm.
Will probably go back in early March before spring sports start up and check it out again.</p>
<p>Anyone else who has any info to post or updates, news- please do so.</p>
<p>Is it worth it? That is a tough question. Studies have shown that high achievers acvhieve highly…that is, students who were accepted at Ivies and then elected to go to state universities instead, in the end show no difference.</p>
<p>I was fortunate. I received a scholarship covering my tuition. I paid my own room and board. I thrived academically, made great friends, and grew grew personally and spiritually. I was able to reach all my goals and believe I would have had no regrets even if I had paid full tuition.</p>
<p>I know the initial tag for this thread is “price” and we got off topic since it was the only active thread being used. At any rate, while there is no defining litmus test for sucess in college and beyond, Jesuits’ point is taken. I have read the same as well. If given the right environment, one might exceed their own expectations as bar is raised. That said, I had a friend of mine who told me that what matters is that the kid is motivated and if so, they will succeed and do well where ever they go to school. Once again, what if yours in not that highly motivated kid that does everything right (like mine). The right environment is key (IMO). My son decided not to apply to Holy Cross- even though it was his favorite school. If he got in we would not be able to cover the full amount and will not qualify for FA.<br>
He has applied to several Jesuits schools in the NY region and is now looking at Xavier in Ohio.<br>
In the end the it will be his choice once we narrow the field and I hope he chooses a Jesuit school. Of those that we have visited Scranton is in the top 3 and I really liked all that was going on and offered that fits for him. As previously mentioned, there was a ton of landscaping done and saw some pictures on this link that shows how 2 streets were removed and made into pathways with entrance ways and such.
[Ayers</a> Saint Gross / Landscape Architecture / College & University / Campus Landscape Improvements](<a href=“http://www.asg-architects.com/portfolio/usla-campus-landscapes/]Ayers”>University of Scranton — Campus Landscape, Signage and Wayfinding Implementation — Ayers Saint Gross)
Happy New Year to all…</p>
<p>Interesting discussion. Thanks everyone for being candid. I’ve spoken to many parents whose kids were very happy at Scranton. </p>
<p>In some ways there’s a benefit to not being near a big city i.e; safety, keeps the kids on campus, housing more affordable, entertainment is in reasonable price points. Downside: beer parties can get boring- that’s what semester abroad is for! (or graduating early… ) Too bad the campus police is on a witch hunt- tasar guns & breathalizers-- that’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>I think that is a legit question. My son got into Scranton’s honor and was given a decent merit scholarship. The cost after scholarship is $26K…no idea if we are getting any financial aid.
His goal is for a career in medicine…and he sees that Scranton has a new Science Building and wants to make sure he (and his parents) gets the most for the $$. He has been accepted into a number of other schools and is awaiting decisions on a couple of Ivy’s (which are a LOT more expensive). We are going to go to the April 2nd accepted students day to get a tour and see how he likes it.</p>
<p>BCDAD2014 - Your costs would be $22,000? You’re lucky, our costs are $38,000 after some merit and no financial aid other than loans. I’d say Scranton is definitely worth it for $22,000. We are struggling to justify $38,000. Count your blessings!</p>
<p>I’m not really sure how one measures the “value” of an education, no matter where the school is. How would you know what to compare it to? Each student is different, and each student develops differently. Some will love Scranton, others won’t. Very personal decision, based on different evaluation criteria.</p>
<p>If you can’t afford Scranton (or any other school), it may not be worth it to you.</p>
<p>Scranton is a Jesuit institution, BC is a Jesuit institution. Is BC worth the price? Who knows?</p>
<p>So far, we think it is worth it. But how do we really know?</p>
<p>1sokkermom raises the personal philosophy issue of value. There is no question that the “value” of an education is an extremely personally one and subjective in nature as opposed to price/cost, which is strictly that, an objective math answer. I have personally struggled deciding the proper balance between the two, all the while trying to take my sons best interest in the long term in mind. He has applied to a number of schools and is down to Scranton, Fordham, Loyola and Marist. After merit aid the price difference between the lowest and highest is almost $9000/yr. That said, I posted a new thread to get feedback on the schools to compare what we are looking at and try to determine what will be in his best interest in the long term and then decide. I will not be putting all the decision making power in his hands and have already discussed with him taking on some loans (small ones). This thread has gotten over 2100 hits for the subject of price so this seems to be a popular topic. If anyone cares to compare the schools mentioned see new thread “Scranton, Fordham, Loyola, Marist??”. For which I was not taking cost into consideration, just the value of the education and the extras that come from each particular school.</p>
</p>