<p>Bethyy - I feel your pain. My D has been accepted to most of the schools she applied to - so it didn't help to narrow the decision. She has it down to St. Mary's College of MD and University of Pitt. What she likes about St. Mary's is the personal attention, the availability of outdoor activities, what she doesn't like - the isolated location, majority of students from MD, lack of majors. She has attended a small public high school and has sort of flown under the radar. I am not sure that won't continue to happen at small LAC as well. She did feel, however, due to smallness professors would know her better and help her decide what to major in and also reach out to her if she is having trouble in a class. At Pitt she feels she would have to be more proactive in getting help if struggling in a class and due to class size have more lecture rather than discussion based classes. She loved the city of Pittsburgh and all there is to do. We live just outside of Philadelphia so she is used to having all a city has to offer close by. You seem to have a lot of familiarity with St. Mary's and share many of the same concerns. I would love to hear what you've decided and any advice you have for my daughter going through the same thing. There also is the cost differenct but we did state initially we would pay St. Mary's tuition but it is $10K more a year....</p>
<p>Bethyy--Have you visited William and Mary? It might represent a pretty good compromise--less expensive than Wake Forest, excellent school with a wide variety of majors (it has a business school), similar size to Wake Forest, located in an interesting historical area.</p>
<p>You owe it to yourself to get in the car and experience W&M - this from a loyal Demon Deacon.</p>
<p>Have you gone back to Wake and told them that you've got all these other financial aid packages, and that if you're not able to get at least some financial help from them, that you won't go despite it being your first choice? You might be able to use your scholarships from the other schools to leverage better aid from Wake.</p>
<p>It sounds like you really want to go there. Before letting go of the opportunity, might as well explore all avenues.</p>
<p>As a MD resident I will put my 2 cents in. W&M or Wake. It seems you know exactly what you will be getting at St Mary's. Take a year or 2 and follow your dream. St Mary's will still be there if your dream changes.</p>
<p>You have three great schools in front of you.</p>
<p>As an alum of St. Mary's I think it would be a great choice for you. The 3/2 program with UM-CP will align with your career goals and as others have pointed out the personal attention and mentoring is priceless. I know the relationships I had with professors and staff at St. Mary's had a profound impact on who I am now. </p>
<p>Don't worry about it being too close to home. My roomate lived 20 minutes away from campus and practically never left campus. St. Mary's is its own unique community with a very active student body. I know there are times in my college career when I didn't even leave campus for more than a month and didn't even realize it. </p>
<p>The leadership of St. Mary's is also excellent. They have a clear plan for the future of St. Mary's. The best thing that St. Mary's ever did was gaining independence from the U of M system. They receive a block grant of funds and have their own Board of Trustees that govern the campus. This allows them to keep tuition low while operating like a private college.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>jsmom- I haven't decided yet but i will be sure to let you know as soon as i do! I am heavily leaning toward Wake but the price differential and everything is a bit much. I will be taking an official overnight to SMCM tomorrow so hopefully that will go well.</p>
<p>I was definitely thinking that W&M would be a good compromise. I will be visiting there next week (and of course wake the following week). Since I know hardly anything about the school I am really relying on that first impression. I am veryyy big on first impressions. </p>
<p>I thought about doing what aibarr suggested. However, none of the schools that I received aid to are quite on the same level as Wake (or so I've heard, I could be wrong) I got a lot of money to SMCM, RPI, and Florida. I think these were all mostly due to being a NMSF though and Wake only give 750 for that and only if you apply I believe. I would love to shoot Wake an email explaining my financial sitch but I'm pretty sure they would just laugh at me?</p>
<p>UMMBen- I'm not soo much worried about the fact that it is in MD, just the fact that I have practically grown up on the campus. My parents both went there and I've been to the campus at least 5-10 times every year, we have a house right across the river, I've stayed in the alumni cottage, my dad taught there, my cousin got married there, and pretty much any other connection possible. Also I am worried about going to school with lots of people from the same state. I've always envisioned myself moving away from MD and I feel that if i stay here for college I might never leave. I know thats silly and I can go somewhere for grad school or move later but I guess I kinda just want the new experiences.</p>
<p>I live in Florida and know a lot of people who go to UF. I think you'd fit in well there if you're into the preppy types, really. It's also pretty highly regarded in terms of academics...at least, it is here.</p>
<p>I know what you mean about the size, though. 40,000+ people can be a bit intimidating, but you should still consider it as an option!</p>
<p>jsmom- I visited smcm last night and it was one of my first real encounters with the students there. I know many profs there and lots of alumni, but this was my first real encounter with the students there. I felt ridiculously out of place. I was definitely not the smcm type. However, I almost think this could be a good thing in that I love standing out and I would have that chance but it might just be easier to mesh somewhere else. I don't know. I would definitelyyy recommend that your daughter do an overnight visit though or at least wander around separately from a tour group and just sit and people watch. Very valuable.</p>
<p>So what if they laugh at you? It's where you want to go, you don't have anything to lose! I'd say this is the perfect opportunity to take a gamble. Worst they can say is no... but the best they can do is to revise your financial aid package.</p>
<p>Go for it! =)</p>
<p>Bethyy - wow, you sound so much like my daughter...who will be graduating from Wake this May :-) She knew the instant she set foot on the campus that this was the place for her. It's been a very happy and intellectually challenging 4 years for her. </p>
<p>But I would also encourage you to check out Florida. My son is currently in his 3rd year there (double major in civil engineering and history...go figure). I never would have thought that he would want to go to a school of that size, but as soon as he visited, he was ready to turn in his deposit. His comment, "everyone looks so normal and happy".</p>
<p>Hey Bethyy - Are you back from W&M yet? What's the verdict?</p>
<p>i absolutely loved w&m. its adorable. i met really great people andd had an awesome time.
however i still feel drawn to wake for some unexplainable reason. I guess its that gut instinct that everyone talks about.
soo i would just go with that but i dont know if my gut instinct is worth 16 grand a year (the difference in cost) when i'm sure i would be perfectly content at w&m or even the almost free st marys.
so how much is that first gut feeling worth??</p>