<p>We looked at a variety of schools, not necessarily to decide whether it would be a choice or not, but to get an idea of what KIND of a school to narrow the choices down to. We looked at Brown, Harvard, MIT (great experience there, but didn’t interest him in terms of applying), CMU (I had worked in the Comp Sci Dept there), Notre Dame, Purdue (disappointed), and many others. But when we arrived on the campus of where he eventually attended, his body language changed, and I knew that he had found a home.</p>
<p>But here is my sincere advice: If a student has no initial strong preference, then investigate financial safeties. If you go from “Top 50” to “Top 100” you can find many schools willing to give great financial incentives, depending on test scores and GPA.</p>
<p>The place to start that investigation is here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=gateway[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=gateway</a></p>
<p>My older son went to U. of Rochester (Math) with a small (read: itsy, bitsy, teeney tiny) B&L Scholarship and the four years cost us a fortune. My younger son went to Ohio University (Film/Video Production) with most of his tuition paid for via merit scholarships - much cheaper than the state flagship here. Both kids equally smart. Guess which one is employed in his chosen line of work?</p>