<p>When we visited UConn last year and arrived early, it was difficult to find a place to eat except a Subway and uninviting sandwich place just outside the entrance to campus. We also thought the campus looked claustrophobic with many high buildings chock a block next to eachother.</p>
<p>At UDel, the problem was deciding which of the many interesting looking places along Main street to eat at. And the campus was expansive and inviting. The only place similar in nearby town and open pretty campus was Miami of Ohio, which by the way, looks very similar to Delaware. But of course is further away and mostly Ohio kids. And less diverse.</p>
<p>i’m deciding between binghamton and delaware. I think academia-wise, binghamton is slightly stronger, but delawares campus is nicer and i’d have to deal with lots of precipitation at Binghamton, where delaware is close to the beach and will have less snow. There are an infinite amount of more reasons why im stuck between the two, but I’m still waiting to hear from Skidmore and Lafayette and if I get into Skidmore I’ll curl up in a ball and die because I can’t imagine throwing another school into the mix!</p>
<p>People may also wish to compare AP credit policies between the colleges they are considering. U. Del. is more permissive in granting credit than many similar colleges. That can save large amounts of money and make scheduling easier.</p>
<p>I find it comforting that so many of us are in the same boat. My D has been accepted to 9 or 10. Schools and she whittled it down to Ohio state, NC State, PSU-up, and UMD-CP. We are new englanders and tho Ohio state gave better aid than others we have convinced her it’s too far, flights too expensive cumbersome. She is afraid of so many instaters at ncsu though she loved our visit las month ( I loved it too, especially reasonable tuition, and cousins living just a few m. From camps). So it’s down to PSU, her initial frontrunner, and UMD, where she was accepted into their Scholars program. Her dad and I consider UMD the academic standout…SO, no aid from those 2, so we will be full pay. On her own, she’s now leaning toward UMD as she feels PSU is in the middle of nowhere, and transportation difficult. She does an overnight and admitted students day in 2 weeks. Hope she loves it.</p>
<p>Anybody want to give me some encouragement on Maryland? I’ll take it, because I think psu’s COA is looking like too much for our family to swing.</p>
<p>PSU was very clear that they do not need to give scholarship money to OOS students, so because of that, my daughter didn’t even apply. </p>
<p>She also got into UMD Scholars but they offered half of the scholarship money that she received with her offer from the UDel Honors program (she will be attending Udel). She was also accepted into the Honors program at Uconn, with a nice scholarship offer too, and would have possibly gone there, but once the acceptance came from Udel it was game over. She was also fortunate to be able to also choose from Bing, Geneseo and UMass-Commonwealth College. But like so many other kids, it was love at first sight re:Udel so… </p>
<p>Son is graduating from TOSU, loved it, (received OOS scholarship money and the Scholars Program), but we don’t want our daughter going that far away(neither does she).We live in Long Island, NY BTW.</p>
<p>It says alot about UDel that she was “sold” immediately with so many great choices! Your daughter must have worked very hard to earn so many attractive offers. You are so right about Penn State- it was a waste of energy…</p>
<p>Did she tell you why she loved Udel the most?</p>
<p>If you don’t mind sharing, of Udel, Uconn, and UMass, which school offered the lowest cost of attendance after scholarship? You don’t have to include numbers, as that’s personal.</p>
<p>She loved it because it hit almost every criterium on her list.</p>
<p>Location-3 hours away
Size-Medium
Curriculum-Communications and Interactive Media
Honors Progam
Small Town
Looks-Like a college in her mind
Spirit
Vibe
Parents were all for it
Mascot
Blue and Gold
etc etc etc</p>
<p>Of course, by luck, her first choice was her last notification, and she was prepared to attend elsewhere, so she was sweating a bit. </p>
<p>We were lucky to have an assistant principal at her h.s. that prepared us 5 years ago on how to have the college/financial talk with our kids. Because of that, my daughter understood how the financials tied into the process and was prepared for the outcome. (she knew she was lucky to have the choices she did).</p>
<p>Cost: Most to least-after scholarships:</p>
<p>1) UConn and Udel were tied. UConn offered more monetarily, but they are slightly higher in cost. They did however offer half-tuition, which is more valuable than a set dollar amount as time goes by, as it offers some inflation protection.</p>
<p>3)UMass-had a lot of positives, some negatives, but alas, it was not UDel.</p>
<p>Thanks Agenda, you have been VERY helpful…I had that same financial talk with my kids. My son is fully aware of what we can do and is grateful to have good choices as well. I am feeling guilty for advising him to take Uconn off his list - but I thought even if he was awarded scholarship (not sure if he would have gotten it), it would still be out of our range with tuition and fees $27000 per year. Did Uconn half tuition include fees?</p>
<p>Was there a scholarship offer from UMass?</p>
<p>My sons list of criteria is similar to your daughters but major is undecided…and of course (as a boy) SPORTS is a big draw for him.</p>
<p>We are taking a last look at Bing and Udel. Udel will cost us a little more right now, which we feel we can swing, but I am worried that there is no inflation protection…I’m afraid that the cost might become too much of a burden over time. </p>
<p>He also has friends at Bing (who are happy) and a close friend that wants to room with him there in the fall - so I’m not sure how much he is considering this…</p>
<p>You’re welcome cm2. I have received so much help from CC that it was time to help out others, pay it forward, so to speak. </p>
<p>The scholarship offer from UConn did not include fees. </p>
<p>UMass did include a scholarship and that it was why it still was the least expensive. The offer was the same as UDel’s, but their COA is lower to begin with. </p>
<p>We know kids that are happy with Bing too, however, if he is a sports fan, he will be disappointed. Bing tried a few years ago to upgrade their sports program to compete with other schools, kind of like a public Duke, but they hired an AD and coach that messed up, and they recruited criminals to play on the basketball team. </p>
<p>It is a shame, because I am sure that Bing could eventually rival Cornell and other similar schools with good sports teams if they had a big time college sports program.</p>
<p>FWIW- ixnay on rooming with a close friend at any school if possible. The upside is small, as if they are good friends, they will stay that way, but the downside can be huge.</p>
<p>I understand the difference in sports programs - regarding school spirit - which is a plus for udel, but my son is content to play club/intramural - which is why he didn’t bother with Geneseo.</p>
<p>Also totally agree about the roomate thing - the kids are discussing rooming apart as well - with the added bonus of knowing a buddy is nearby.</p>
<p>Udel award package was “estimated” which is a concern for us - and the prospect of yearly increases even more so…</p>
<p>We have Bing second look scheduled on the 2nd -Udel second look on the 9th- honors breakfast - then a full day of information - then decision…</p>