When the time comes to make a decision (how?)

So how much weight did you put on program ranking? How much on overall school ranking? Which is “worth more” for lack of a better term?

We approached it a little differently. I frankly never looked at the NPC since we are self employed and they were very unreliable for us. We told our kids what we would contribute. They were required to apply to at least one school which we were assured was affordable, in our case an instate public, beyond that they were free to apply where they wanted. When the acceptances and financial aid came in the first criteria was is it affordable? We subtracted what we would contribute from the COA then added up the scholarships, aid, income from working and a couple of other sources of revenue they had and determined if it was enough to cover the COA. Once that was determined we asked which of the affordable choices best meet the criteria our kids laid out. In the end it was pretty easy for both my kids. My oldest child was accepted and got the financial aid needed to go to one of her favorite schools (it was one we didn’t think would be affordable). Our second child’s first choice was her safety so it really didn’t matter.

@itsanadventure For us, the academic program had to be solid to be worth applying to. There were no bad options on the final list so department and college rankings mattered little. There was one school that was only “worth it” if one DD got into the honors program, but that was about as marginal of a program as we ever applied to.

That being said, for both of my kids, seeing them reading through the course offerings of their final choices was like watching a kid in a candy store. They were both truly happy with their academic opportunities.

@itsanadventure I left that up to him. The reality is we made a pretty specific criteria for “fit” up front which included quality of program and overall school. So, in essence, every school on the list checked those boxes. Are some better than others? I’m sure depending on how you define “better” but they were all good choices, so at decision time it was more to do with environment, locale, size, school spirit / sports programs (actually really important to S). To me that’s the crucial part of feel. He would have been varying degrees of happy at all of them (or he wouldn’t have applied - didn’t apply to Duke as an example because he didn’t like it when we visited), but focusing on the feel or fit IDed the ones he would be most happy. It worked out great and he loves his choice, so we love his choice.

If you have a good criteria and you have choices, believe in your “system”. Don’t try to force square pegs into round holes. The criteria is the criteria. One will fit better than another. Be honest and objective.

to add…Finances was the first cut. My daughter had some publics with net cost under 30K, and a couple of privates over 40K. We eliminated the privates as a first cut. After that, she narrowed down what she wanted, which turned out to the the most expensive of the least expensive.

@itsanadventure the program was key for us. My son scoured the course list and was thrilled with the offerings and internship possibilities. He emailed the department and got a sample schedule which made it real for him. He will also get to take a lot of AP credits with him which will open up additional course choices.

I wouldn’t necessary choose a school over a major as many college students change their mind. I was going to be a physics major, but decided I wasn’t cut out for it. I was able to change it to math/econ.

It was mentioned by one poster about jobs earlier. I think so many applicants overlook that. When they visit the school, they visit dorms, classrooms, cafeterias, FA office, but they do not stop by the career center. My kids’ school has private soundproof rooms for students to conduct phone/video interviews. They have counselors to help students. I would suggest for your kid to go on the school’s website to see their post graduate records, see how many companies recruit on campus. If you kid is pre-med or pre-law, check out their guidance programs and their placement records. Four years pass by very quickly. You’ll be surprised how soon your kid is going to have start planning the after-life.

We didn’t need a spreadsheet to make a final decision when my kids were applying to college. All the “macro” issues were decided prior to application: location, size of college, nature of programs, core curriculum or not, financial feasibility. Dorms and cafeterias didn’t matter; only cared about guaranteed dorm space in first year close to or on the campus.

We could absorb the costs of any of the schools, and thus didn’t weight the difference in COA between the state flagship and the private institutions. Instead the decision was almost entirely about academic fit, and a bit (in one case) about social fit. Fit wasn’t defined by the ranking of the major but by quality of the institution, because the exact major was TBD and could be changed after admission. We liked colleges with core programs (for first year or two). Any complex formula that takes other factors into account (distance from home, size of the college, dorms, etc.) would have been superfluous.

So once the acceptances came in, the decision to accept was immediate in one case (RISD – where the specific major gets chosen after first year), and easy in the other case after an accepted students’ day overnight visit to meet some students and prospective classmates (UChicago – where all the social sciences, and the core curriculum, were strong).

It depends on how sensitive the student’s future plans are to program ranking and overall ranking, and whether the student is likely to stay in the program. It also depends on how different the program rankings and overall rankings are. A slightly higher program ranking in a much lower ranked school may not be a good choice for a student likely to change majors and could be interested in a destination that is sensitive to overall ranking (e.g. Wall Street, consulting). A slightly higher overall ranking with a much lower ranked program may not be a good idea if the student is firmly into that subject, plans to go on to PhD study in it, and that subject’s PhD programs tend to be more sensitive to the program ranking of one’s undergraduate department.

D17 (ChemE) was into rankings - overall, overall engineering and chemical engineering. After campus visits she had a clear favorite. But to be sure of her choice she made a poster board for her top two finalists and just listed all the Pros and Cons for each. She kept it in the kitchen for a week and reviewed it daily. After the week when she felt certain she made the big announcement to the family.