<p>^My point was that it doesn’t make much sense to pick a school that you wouldn’t otherwise attend because of the BS/MD program UNLESS you know you will absolutely stay and go on to med school. Most people applying to BS/MD programs understand that, but a surprising number of people in other majors (e.g. history) will pick a school “because it has a good history department.”</p>
<p>Congrats Hoveringmom! I just want to add that the decision is hard even for families that can pay full freight, debt free. It is still important to weigh value and cost and an important lesson to our children who may feel that money is no object because they are fortunate to be in a family that does not qualify for F/A. I hope your daughter does not resent her father’s lack of contribution…it would be hard not to, but it is pointless negative energy…and I sense that if she goes the debt free route she will be very successful and not shackeled by debt or resentment about what “could have been”. I am proud that my son is very hesitant to just spend the money on the top 10 school when the tier-3 offers some of the same benefits and is tuition free. No final decision yet as we wait for final award amounts, but good to see that they can think about value and not just prestige.</p>
<p>Keilexandra, sometimes the major/dept is an important reason for choosing a school. My DD (1st kid) chose her school because it offered a BFA in Graphic Design instead of the more typical BA degree. She toured the facilities and met with professors and combed over the curriculum at several schools before choosing… Upon graduation, she was hired by the firm where she interned the previous summer. Her degree/curriculum (preparation) was cited as an important reason for her being offered the internship and the job.</p>
<p>My 3rd kid is starting the college process. Unlike her siblings, she’s undecided about her major (she has some less common interests she’s considering studying). She most certainly is checking which schools offer these subjects. What would be the point of going to a school and not being able to study what you want? In her case, she will “probably” avoid smaller schools whose offerings are limited.</p>
<p>^I agree that it’s important to look for uncommon interests (as I have done myself, and can give you a comprehensive list of small schools offering linguistics), and for a specific program if you are set on it (e.g. the BFA). But if a school is only/most strong in a particular department–e.g. Clark U for psychology–I think it’s important to consider the level/depth of commitment to majoring in psychology.</p>
<p>Oh I see. You’re saying beware of choosing a school strictly for a strong dept in your area of interest in case that interest changes. In that case, the other depts may all be weak alternatives. I see your point. My oldest DD’s school was not known to be strong in liberal arts but my DD did not see that as a problem (if she switched from BFA, she would have gone toward business or something more quantitative). We will keep your advice in mind with our youngest since she’s all over the place.</p>
<p>^Yes, exactly. The strategy can work, but you have to be careful–picking a school with general strength in science, for instance, if you’re pretty sure that you don’t like all those fuzzy humanities.</p>
<p>joev–I agree: Good choice, momfromtexas!</p>
<p>We are looking into full-rides for our older son, who is currently applying for Fall 2011. (I’m not sure either he or we have the energy for applications to 11 schools – we are stressing our brains out over six!!)</p>
<p>Money is a huge consideration for us. We had our kids late in life, and we are now close to retirement age. We have been frugal all our lives, we have saved all our lives, and yes, we do have a nest-egg now (not all of it protected by IRA/401K). FAFSA is bound to “oenalize” us for our savings–don’t get me started!–but these are the savings we will <em>live on</em> in our declining years, and we can’t afford to run through them at expensive colleges. Our best bet, therefore, is merit-based aid. </p>
<p>Re 3rd- and 4th-tier colleges: Honors programs at such schools look like a fine bet to me! When my husband was in his mid-20s, he reached a point (like many of us boomers) where he didn’t have a clue what to do with his life. So, he did what so many boomers did: He went back to school. He moved back home with his parents in Louisville and entered a Master’s program at University of Louisville, not the most prestigious school around by a long shot. Well, according to him, if you looked around carefully, you could find some great courses at Louisville. His Classical Greek program there, he says, was one of the best and toughest he’d ever encountered. He learned a ton, and he went on to be accepted at all his PhD programs, including Harvard, which he ended up attending and graduating from.</p>
<p>Obviously, some schools will be so non-challenging as to be non-options for bright kids. But many low-cost public universities have strong honors programs with great faculty. And momfromtexas is right – who wants to saddle a kid with debt, especially in this economy?</p>
<p>Man, I have <em>got</em> to spell-check!! That would be “penalize,” not “oenalize.” Oops!</p>
<p>joev?? He hasn’t posted here in YEARS. This must be an old thread thats been resurrected multiple times.</p>
<p>It is an old thread, but it is definitely a good one and still worth reading. I think it’s good it gets bumped up every once in a while.</p>
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<p>Gee, what the heck did Louisville do to be so disparged on these boards? Incredible.</p>
<p>@DontPanic1 – I apologize!!! I did not mean to diss Louisville by any means. It is a fine school, but this board seems so oriented toward the name-brand designer-label schools that one feels a bit hesitant to even mention anything that might be perceived as “less.” You are right – I should not have let myself be intimidated by all the BS.</p>
<p>Re oldness of thread: I’m a newbie here, so please bear with me. Am just finding my way around, discovering threads that intrigue me…</p>
<p>LadyDi - I should apologize. If I had noticed you were a newb, I wouldn’t have been so hard. I should stop taking UofL’s rep on CC so personally anyway! I know what you mean about ‘going with the flow’. I do it too. </p>
<p>Well, er, uh, welcome to CC!</p>
<p>quote]Good choice, momfromtexas!
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<p>Momfromtexas’ sons have both graduated from college by now. It’d be interesting to know how things worked out for them, but Mom hasn’t posted on CC in three years.</p>
<p>I hope Momfromtx’s 401Ks and IRA survived the 2008 meltdown okay!</p>
<p>I would be interested to know how many of these scholarships still exist since many schools have cutback or eliminated scholarships in recent years.</p>
<p>College tuition has also gone up because of inflation. My mom was trying to convince me the other day to try and graduate early, is that a good idea?</p>
<p>In answer to a question above, many colleges have cut back on programs and tenured position profs in the last couple years, but in most cases they have increased the available amount of merit and need based aid.</p>
<p>It’s hard to balance frugality with good school match. We passed up free-ride school in favor of a school that we all felt would pull son up into a higher level of expectations. He struggled but came out more accomplished and polished than friends who went to other school. Even better: made great first job connections. We knew this kid needed some money spent on him. Other son does not.</p>
<p>Interesting take on this issue because I’m a senior on the verge of wrestling with this issue myself. I was offered a full ride from Rutgers and am now waiting to hear back from the rest of my schools on April 1st. Our EFC is quite high (although significantly lower at the few FAFSA-only schools I’m applying to since my parents are divorced) and I know none of my other schools will give merit aid comparable to a full ride. </p>
<p>A few pages back, people were talking about drawing a line for educational standards and financial standards in a situation such as this. Attention must be paid to a line drawn for best fit as well. For various reasons, Rutgers is an <em>awful</em> fit for me–too close to home, too huge, too impersonal. To be honest, applying there was a huge mistake–I should have only applied to safeties I actually would have been happy attending. While my parents understand why there are two schools out there that I’ll give up the free ride for, most of my extended family can’t possibly understand why I’d ever give up the scholarship. But honestly, fit is really important, and I’d rather be in debt than be at a school that’s wrong for me. I cut down my list considerably–at this point, I really only care about two other schools that I am positive are good fits–but the importance of fit cannot be understated.</p>