<p>My daughter is currently deciding between Scranton and Marist and is extremely undecided. With the merit scholarships from both schools, the tuition is about the same. She would love some insight from anyone who can give us the pros and cons of each school. She is entering as a psychology major but that could ultimately change. She visited both campuses, did sleepovers and still loves both schools. She felt the students at Scranton seemed a little more warm and welcoming but also had a positive visit at Marist. Any insight would be appreciated.</p>
<p>dql333- there is a ton of info on scranton threads and plenty, though not as much on marist. Search and you will find.</p>
<p>S. had Loyola MD as favorite school (the only one that he did not received merit money from) with Scranton next and late entry of Stonehill, which knocked Quinnipiac out for top choices. I have gone through the FA and recalculated several times but without merit aid from Loyola, it is officially off list today. Had several discussions and family member that did loans- give him their insight and experience and he finally agreed that Loyola was not worth starting out at 22yrs old with a large debt over his head when he had many other options.
Scranton and Stonehill are within our means and he will not have any loans upon graduation. Personally, I would prefer the Jesuit school but would be happy with either of these schools. As the clock ticks away we have a drop dead date for him of 4/18.
Any last advice/comments…</p>
<p>Hi Sportsman,</p>
<p>I liked Stonehill because it was closer to home for us, but they didn’t have nursing.
It is in Easton, about a half hour (traffic depending) from Boston. There is really no public transportation in to Boston. It is actually easier to get to Providence from Easton, and that is a drive too.</p>
<p>Stonehill is a beautiful campus, but student population is smaller than Scranton.</p>
<p>Athletics are probably stronger at Stonehill because it is D-II rather than D-III if that’s important.</p>
<p>We know students at both schools who are happy.</p>
<p>I would visit both if you can.</p>
<p>S. has been to Scranton 4x. 2 overnights and 2 for the day and both he and I have done a ton of research on Scranton. His GC called it a safety school for him and he was accepted to schools with better academic rep. but I feel that if he is happy he will do more as a student and grow as person. He likes Scranton. Stonehill was late in running. S. went on Sunday to see it, stayed at hotel and did Shadow program this past Monday. Was really impressed. Discussed tonight and thought size might be too small but he said this was not the case. The downside I see is a bit isolated. Social scene (aka party scene) is curbed a bit do to 97% students live on campus and Stonehill College Police and rules are pretty strict. Last, we live just outside NYC and I looked at Stonehill stats 50% are from MA, 30% from New England and 20% from the all over. Low representation from the tri-state area, where as Scranton is 90% tri-state. SH seems to have a very good career services and network for jobs but large majority are in the greater Boston area. In the end, I told him if SH is a serious contender we will have to take one more look. I think he is ready to pull the trigger and go with Scranton but with all that is at stake, I would be appeased if he made another trip to Stonehill before making “The Decision”.</p>
<p>For those in the know… Question on freshman dorms. </p>
<p>Looked at site for dorms. Not sure how freshman dorms are determined but are they given choices or wish list of dorms to pick from? If so any fresh. dorms rated higher than average? Any to avoid?</p>
<p>Last I knew, freshmen dorms were randomly assigned. There was a roommate preference form that was pretty general. And there was also a way for two students to request each other as roommates. But there was no way to select a particular dorm. The one option I remember was that an incoming freshman could choose the wellness dorm, which one of mine did. 1sokkermom could probably tell you if these procedures changed at all.</p>
<p>I believe there are 12 freshmen dorms and they are all clustered together in the same area. In the past, dorms have been either all male, all female or mixed by floor. The way the dorms are arranged makes all the them convenient to classroom buildings, gym, student center, library, etc. Yes, some are a little closer, but it is not a big difference.</p>
<p>My kids had great RA’s too. Son is still close with his RA from freshman year.</p>
<p>thanks kitty, so to make final decision today and expect it will be Scranton. He knows of 3 others from his HS but not sure if he has interest in rooming with them or what. Will look to pm 1sokkermom.</p>
<p>I just got a letter from the office of financial aid saying that they reduced my financial aid. It was 24,300, then 14,500, now its 5,000 something. No merit scholarships even though I have a low 90 gpa. I choose Scranton thinking o it will be okay they will pay half and I will pay the other. Now Im almost paying full tuition. I don’t want to come out of college with 100,000 dollars in debt. I submitted my enrollment few a while ago before these letters started to come. Now I’m thinking about withdrawing my admission decision. Sorry I don’t think Scranton is worth all that money. Its a good school and all but 48, 000 a year is high for its name. So know my dad wants me to go to a local CUNY which i’m totally against. Even though it might be a a lot more cheaper its a community college. So now i’m graduating in 2 weeks and I don’t know what to do. Also another thing that really ticked me off was that they put me in the undecided program rather then the bio program. They say that when I get to the school I could just request that I be put in the bio/ pre med program. That and my admission officer said that the school accepts 3s on the AP U.S history test. I paid 25 dollars and after words I find out they accept only 4+. So now I’m really ticked off.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your situation Columbia09. When did you receive your financial aid information? My D received hers back in March. Was there a change in your financial situation? Usually they make adjustments after they go over your FAFSA report.
We can relate to your situation though, my D had her heart set on another school until we found out that most of her grant money would disappear after 1 year once her sister started grad school, it changes the EFC. Both the college and FAFSA misinformed me about the effect grad school has on the EFC.</p>
<p>As far as the AP test, yes Scranton takes US History at 4+. My D misses out too. What you really have to do is check on the college’s website. They will list what they accept. </p>
<p>One thing I learned is you never take the word of anyone without double checking yourself.</p>
<p>Columbia09- I had my sons FA reduced. I have looked over how FA works. Once a school ask for your family financials get it to them early enough for them to make final evaluation prior to committing to school In this case it seems like Scranton pulled a bait and switch but that may not be the case. Example. Based on the way the electronic forms are I could not complete the FASFA 100% accurately. I had emailed the FA offices of all the schools son applied to by and they all responded received my info, including Scranton. Once I actually sent them the financial docs (w-2’s and 1040’s), my S first choice reduced institutional grant to 0 which then knocked it off list. Scranton reduced sub and unsub loans. So, with that in mind, you should be reviewing your SAR and FAFA submitted and what was used as final determination as they may be inconsistencies that resulted in reduction. My point is maybe your situation was similar to mine but those are huge reductions that just does not sound right without something else happening.<br>
I would recommend sending a detailed email to FA office explaining your concern of the spiraling FA and how it is now effecting your situation. It is not a dead issue right now as I believe June 1 is the FA deadline for documents. Followup email with phone call.<br>
Emails will provide written documentation of responses from schools. Keep records.
As far as 4+ on US history AP’s, I too thought I read 3’s, will have to look at that.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most colleges are, to some extent, run like a business and money driven. You have to put yourself in the best positions possible to maximize you “worth and value” to the school. This includes academic profile, EC’s, etc that will make you more desired by the institution and maybe in the running for additional institutional grants- which may not be based on FA or academic standing. On the FA front, federal money is a black and white math issue.</p>
<p>Follow up and be diligent in following up.
Good luck.</p>
<p>If you can try for Fitch . closest to cafeteria. air conditioning in some rooms</p>
<p>Sportskidmom- the first one came in March. The last two came in late April early May or something like that. As far as I know there was no change. However after like a month they wanted to know more information about our finances. </p>
<p>Sportsman29- Thanks for the advice I will send an e-mail telling them about this whole situation. Also you think if I explain to them what happened they’ll accept the 3? I took the sat subject test in u.s history and got a 690. I also got a 97 in the class and I got a 99 on my us history NY regents. Also I had a real improvement with my grades this year. I think I have a 95 overall GPA this year. You think they will give me a scholarship? I have another question that off topic, does Fordham take credits from the U of S. I’m thinking if things don’t go well with U of S I might go there after a year.</p>
<p>Columbia09 - I know if any changes are made to your FAFSA SAR, you do receive an email from them. Unfortunately, the email describes nothing, you have to call and ask about it. Schools sometimes do this once they receive your income verification documents and taxes are filed. Scranton did it and actually lowered my EFC by a few hundred (it made no impact tho). I would check to see what has changed between Scranton and FAFSA, maybe a mistake was made somewhere. </p>
<p>Please let us know if they give you credit for a 3 on the US History AP, as I said before, my D is in the same situation.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Okay i will let you know about the AP</p>
<p>My answer to the question is, “yes, it is too pricey”. The reason being is that the school is hurting for students. It still has spots open at the end of this admissions seasons which is a good indication that not enough folks thought the school was worth what it would cost them. It has had to give “merit” money to kids who really are not in that category, to try to entice them to come because it does have an enrollment problem.</p>
<p>It is in good company. I think the current level of costs are such that some of these private schools are going to have to be more realistic as to what their market values are and adjust their tuitions accordingly. A lot of CAtholic schools are falling into this category. St Joe;s in Philly, Marquette, Marist, are just a few that I noticed having the same problem.</p>
<p>Hopefully this will help.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Scranton surpasses campaign fund goal - News - The Times-Tribune](<a href=“http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/university-of-scranton-surpasses-campaign-fund-goal-1.1145100]University”>http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/university-of-scranton-surpasses-campaign-fund-goal-1.1145100)</p>
<p>to cptofthehouse… Wrong information. First Marist is not a catholic school . They are not even going to their waitlist because of accepted students who commited already. As for Scranton they have gone to their waitlist and are also full for Fall 2011.</p>
<p>Okay so I called up the admissions office and spoke to someone regarding the aap test. Hes going to get back to me on monday but after explaining to him what happened showing him all my test scores he says that theres very little chance that they will accept the 3. if its an official no on monday i want my money back.</p>