<p>Sly lady- I am betting most CC parents would say the student should call. With two of my kids I would have been the one making the call. Do what feels right for you. For something so important as finances I don’t think they care if it is the parent. </p>
<p>Another way to look at it is free is not really free if he is not happy and super-motivated to be his best. There may be a non-monetary cost that is more fundamental and larger than the financial cost of CPP. Do not underestimate the “I want to be there” factor. Letting him choose seems to be the wisest approach if you can swing the finances. </p>
<p>@Slymlady - You are welcome - we vets got your back for sure. In fact, a couple others who said not so nice things kind of just disappeared even before they could click post comment. No, I have not a clue what happened to them. However, I do have a nice garden growing now though. :-* </p>
<p>Assuming that CPP is affordable within previously-agreed financial affordability parameters, and no unexpected adverse financial event has occurred (or is threatening to occur) to your family that was not know about then, the honorable thing is to let him choose. However, offering him the unspent money toward graduate or professional school if he chooses SDSU and then later decides to go to graduate or professional school that costs money (i.e. not a PhD program that is expected to be funded) would be reasonable to throw into the decision. Of course, the same may apply to unspent money at any other choice (including CPP) that becomes unexpectedly lower cost through unexpected scholarships.</p>
<p>It would be wise for him to wait until all potential scholarships have been offered.</p>
<p>cc’ers would definitely encourage the student to call the admissions office, but this is call to the financial aid office. Perhaps a conference call with all 3 (FA office, student and parent) is prudent when asking for a reconsideration. Good luck. Oh- and make an appt to meet with them face to face when he’s there for the visit.</p>
<p>I too think it’s more prudent for a parent to call wrt financial aid and presenting the SDSU scholarship to CPP. It requires some finesse and skills an 18 year old may not have mastered yet since it can’t sound like a negotiation yet it is… </p>
<p>I would email FA first, put everything on paper, then schedule a call. You’ll more likely to get a thorough answer by giving them a chance to do some research. When it comes to finance, parents should handle it. BTW - we have a second kid in college. When I call the school, I often get a faster response. Not once, has someone said they couldn’t talk to me.</p>
<p>I agree with Oldfort. If you are going to CPP anyway, soon, make an appointment to see them in person. That way maybe both you and your son can go. But yes…you should get all the information prepared. </p>
<p>Get this done ASAP. You want to aim for a financial decision in time to make that college choice by May 1.</p>
<p>Called and emailed. CPP can’t match it. The only equivalent is reserved for students accepted into the Honors Program, which S was not. Any other smaller scholarships will not be awarded until the start of fall semester so know way of knowing in advance if he’ll get anything, even if smaller. </p>
<p>This is a tough call, and S will be the driver of this decision. </p>
<p>Has your son visited SDSU? He shouldn’t make this decision until he’s spent some time on campus (attending first year classes - gen ed and in his major, meeting students, eating in the cafeteria, etc.)
As you said, a tough call, but make sure he has all the relevant information.</p>
<p>I would look at past posts regarding Cal Poly Pomona and financial aid. Hopefully, you don’t run into any issues, but the idea of finding out some surprises in CPP’s financial aid package when you have a full ride to SDSU would hurt.</p>
<p>Have him visit SDSU. If it were me, I 'd offer to deposit half (or whatever) the cost differential into an account for him to do as he pleases when he’s out of school. CPP, you can explain is just affordable.</p>
<p>Personally, this is the sort of choice I offered to all of mine, and only one took me up on it and went to a in state public. The last two chose schools that were at the top of our affordability index, and I swallowed hard and took it. I set the limits and they chose within them, so that was that. However, in all fairness, the huge savings choices for both of those two were not anywhere nearly as attractive as the schools that the picked. Personally, I think SDSU is a great school, and your son should take a good look at it. </p>
<p>Good luck, and congrats that your son ended up with great choices. </p>
<p>What would be the student and/or parent debt required for CCP vs SDSU? </p>
<p>Although we went on a general campus tour at SDSU last month, the tour left much to be desired (though S liked it well enough). On the other hand, CPP held a specific all day engineering tour that really sold the program and the resources it had to offer its eng students. Among other things, I think this is what sealed the deal for S.</p>
<p>I have contacted SDSUs Eng Dept and they are open to arranging a special Engineering tour for him next week when he’s on spring break. </p>
<p>Our COA after state grant at CPP is basically room and board (about 12k/yr). SDSU has given enough to cover all costs including room and board once the state grant is applied. It is renewable all 4 yrs as long as requirements are met (still waiting on contract to see exact requirements).</p>
<p>I have advised S that its his decision and I will support whatever he chooses, but that if he passes up what’s basically a full ride I will expect him to shoulder some of the costs in the form of student loans. </p>
<p>Slym. Does that include the Direct Loan? If not, that could be the thing that could ease your payments, and could be the loans your son shoulders. He would get $5500 for freshman year.</p>
<p>This is not an easy decision for your son, I’m sure! Help him understand the pros and cons of each of those two top choices. </p>
<p>And congratulations to him!</p>
<p>12k/yr to be paid however we choose; student loans, parent loans, savings, etc. vs. free, no loans, no savings, nothing out of pocket period.</p>
<p>Crazy, eh? LOL. A good crazy though. 
</p>
<p>If he is going into Engineering, or other STEM, I would lean towards CPP because it’s so well known for Engineering. If it was a humanities major, or maybe a business major, I would go for the cheaper option, SDSU.</p>
<p>^^ I have to agree with @YoHoYoHo here. All degrees are not equal, even when one is free in comparison. The ROI from a CPP would be higher. </p>
<p>SDSU isn’t just known for humanities, though.The two schools have a lot more similarities than differences:
They’re both about the same size, with CPP a bit smaller (20,000 vs. 25,000). The same percentage freshmen live on campus.
The top 25% SAT are 620 for math and 570 for CR at CPP, 610 math and 590 CR at SDSU.
At CPP 14% classes have 20 students or fewer, and 29% 40 and more, with 2% at 100+ students.
At SDSU, 26% classes have 20 or fewer students and 33% have 40 or more, with fully 10% over 100 students.
Graduation rates are hard to compare because CPP educates engineers, who typically need 5 years to complete their degree; but CPP has a 10% 4 year graduation rate, vs. 32% for SDSU… neither of which is that great. CPP does have the “4 year guarantee”, a pledge that guarantees you’ll graduate in 4 years if you do your part, and you’re guaranteed to get the institution’s support for that goal. I don’t know what percentage students actually complete it though.</p>
<p>I think this list of colleges is perfect for your son. It includes colleges you pick and colleges your son pick. There are some safety colleges which he definitely can get in and some college for higher goals. This is perfect list for ur son.</p>
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<p>CPP’s four year graduation rate is more like 11%… in any case, it means that no more than 11% of the students fulfill / complete the four year pledge program.</p>
<p>Four year graduation rates are probably more related to the student than the school. Note that the four year pledge requires that the student to not need remedial courses and take full course loads following his/her major’s course plan. A student who starts out behind due to needing remedial courses, or who is unable or unwilling to take a full course load (which is often a slight overload for engineering majors), or who fails to plan his/her schedule properly in the context of his/her major, is more likely to end up needing extra time, regardless of what school s/he attends.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/programs/grad_pledge/”>https://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/programs/grad_pledge/</a></p>