However, these are often reach-for-everyone colleges, where gaining admission (and therefore access to the financial aid) may be as difficult or more difficult than getting a large merit scholarship at a less selective college.
Also, most of these private colleges have financial aid methodologies that mean that not all students with parental income < $200k will get good financial aid. Examples would be those with uncooperative divorced parents at many of these private colleges.
It’s an interesting question. We are just starting the process with my son who is a junior. Thus far he is unsure of exactly what he wants to do but it will most likely be in the humanities - maybe creative writing. He thinks he may be interested in going to school in CA as he would potentially like to do something in media/entertainment (behind the scenes - not any kind of performing) and thinks that would be a way to access internships etc (NYC is also a consideration). He hasn’t thought much about “fit” otherwise; other than a preference for better weather and a residential college experience (i.e. not a commuter school). Fortunately he has the attitude that “there are lots of good colleges” instead of being focused on just the ultra-selective. That will definitely make finding a fit easier.
Caution heeded. Just saying that it’s worth investigating. As they say with the lottery: “You can’t win if you don’t play.”
The schools you’re talking about with less financial aid might be just the place for a well qualified applicant to find a merit scholarship when they wouldn’t find one at a top schools.
My larger point was that bargains and financial safeties aren’t only found at State U. Each student & family has to do the research based on their own needs, talents, and interests.
I think the point was to elicit that for those who come from families with little to no money, the fit tends to be based on (if not solely based on) financials. For people with money its everything else.
But colleges like Rice are not safeties. And for my D she wasn’t willing to consider a safety outside of California, so it is down to CSUs. It wasn’t worth spending time looking for mid-west bargains that she wouldn’t want, so the California factor came into play for safeties. She wants a big spirited school so LACs out. University of Oregon on her list and could be considered a near safety selectivity wise but we will need merit to make it affordable, so not a safety. It was hard finding west/east coast schools that met her environmental fit factors.
My reference to Rice was as a financial safety; it’s obviously not an admissions safety.
It’s hard to know what schools would be good safeties for your daughter for admissions purposes without more information.
University of Washington-Bothell offers some interesting opportunities in their School of Intereisciplinary Arts & Sciences, for example their major in Law, Economics, and Public Policy.
Another public university in Washington is Evergreen State where they’re passionate about everything. Located in the state capital, it’s well situated for someone interested in poli-sci and public policy. They also have some interesting majors in this field, for example “Law, Government, and Public Policy” and “Political Economy and Political Science”.
That would be like saying that a full ride highly competitive merit scholarship is a “financial safety”… but that would not really be a good way to describe it the way people normally use the word “safety”.
Okay.
She decided on Chico State with a 72 percent acceptance rate and about 18,000 students as her safety. It’s not urban, but it’s a charming campus in a cute college town. Many students live on or near campus, it’s lively and it has an honors program. If it was her only acceptance it would give her a four-year option over a community college.
University of Washington will likely be on her list but I would not consider it a safety and we would need merit to avoid debt, which is our goal.
Fit for my daughter was:
We didn’t care where she went to school. Her major was important to her and the cost was important to us. We weren’t doing to take out loans and we weren’t going allow her to take our loans either.
This really narrowed down her choices to the point she wound up with only one choice after all the letters and merit came in.
She got incredible merit aid from great schools but it still didn’t hit the number we needed. At the end of the day she’s going to a great school where her major has solid program that we can afford. She’s still coming to terms with some heartbreak but with time I know she will be more than ok.
I am confident she will eventually realize how very fortunate she is to have us give her a college education. She’s not ungrateful now, just dealing with some sadness of where she wanted to be.
I like these three dimensions to “fit”, and depending on your particular situation some dimensions may be more challenging to manage than others. For our son dimension 1 and 2 were pretty easy. We had saved since his birth to have the funds to send him to any school he chose so dimension #1 was not a factor. Our S also had very clear goals on major and schools that had the programs he felt were best (CS). So we spent quite a bit of time on “social fit”. While our S always felt he would fit in anywhere , we made sure he toured the schools, sat in on classes, and read as much as he could to get an idea on the social makeup of each school. We did feel that college was more than just a means to an end. We wanted him enjoy his time in school - that’s 4 years, and for a 17 yr old that’s like 25% his existing time on earth.
Note that I specified UW-Bothell, not the main campus. It’s a hidden gem.
Gotta say I really really don’t agree with this. I went to a great school. My husband went to a great school. He made lifelong friends who are now my friends, too. Neither one of us ended up working in our majors, nor did we go back to school for the fields we ended up in (he’s in IT, I do freelance design). I think college is about way more than what your department is like. Vibe and fit are way more important IMO, especially for a first year student. Most of them don’t even know what they are going to major in.
I don’t imagine any of my outline items haven’t been mentioned yet, but here goes:
Academic Fit
Social Fit
Environmental fit
Cost/Affordability (which I would call the co-#1 with Academic fit)
People are paying $80K per year for a vibe and “to find themselves”?
I’m sure some are. That would be out of our price range.
I think a good academic fit for a school would having a wide range of courses/majors that your kid may be interested in. So many kids don’t really know. My nephew thought he was interested in biomedical engineering when he was a first year at a top school, but turned out once he got in the classes they didn’t appeal to him. He majored in Econ and is now working in mergers and acquisitions type stuff (I don’t even begin to understand it, but corporate high finance) and doing very well for himself.
Social fit or vibe is also very important. If a kid is homesick and miserable at the school it doesn’t matter how good the program and professors are. Unhappy kids do not make successful students. They often turn into depressed students who drop out.
I am looking for a school which we can afford as the number one criteria and my number two criteria is that it’s a place where DD22 can be happy. Part of being happy is finding your niche socially and part of being happy is finding out what you want to study and pursue at the next stage of your life. They are tangled up together.
I too am of the opinion that college is the vehicle not the destination. I think fit is a lot easier if you have an academic goal or destination. As an example there are a lot of fine schools for engineering at all price points, places, sizes both public and private. For someone who isn’t as sure what they want out of their education the choices can be more difficult and potentially more expensive. While college is a conglomeration of experiences I think where you go has less to do with them than what you do and who you choose to interact with when you get there.
I think that spending money for a college “experience” is a luxury. If one can afford that luxury fine but it shouldn’t be considered an entitlement.
Not sure what “experience” in quotes means. All college is an experience.
I’m actually really big on in-state publics and less expensive private schools. Kids can have a great experience at one of your in-state publics if you take the time to find the right fit. For some kids that might mean a big flagship school where they can cheer on the football team. For other kids a school that big might mean they get lost in the crowd and a better fit for them might mean a more under the radar school that is smaller with a lower student:faculty ratio or a HBCU or NACU. Some kids don’t want Greek life, some kids are intrigued by it. Some schools have a party vibe, some schools have an artsy vibe.
I know I want my kids to be happy where they land.
Interesting. In your state, Elon makes the Princeton Review’s top 20 list of “happiest students”. I think that UNC-Asheville has a pretty good reputation for happy students as well.
Yes, and they are two good examples of schools with completely different vibes. My DD22 would not be caught dead going to Elon although it is very popular on CC. She may apply to UNCA. She has a friend who likes it. Elon has a big Greek scene, pretty preppy. UNCA is very artsy and non-Greek. Elon is also much more expensive.