Hello CC parents! I posted a very similar question in College Search and Selection, but I’m interested to see what the 'rents have to say
I have just about finished applying for colleges and was recently thinking about the possible routes I may have to choose from when it comes to the next step of my education. I realize that I have no way of knowing what will happen when it comes to admissions decisions, but I’d like to just see what the CC parent community would do if their child(ren) were tackling my problem.
So far I’ve applied to:
Columbia University, Yale University, Brown University, Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, Arizona University, Kansas University
Honestly, I have a 3.85/4 GPA and haven’t started my own business/raised 82347 younger siblings/emigrated from another country to escape oppression like some people have, so realistically speaking I’m guessing the Ivies + Wash U are not going to happen.
KU has offered me 10.5k/yr, so I’d be paying ~24k/yr to attend before financial aid
ASU has offered me a full tuition scholarship, so I’d be paying ~17k before financial aid (assuming I get into the Honors College, which apparently a lot of NHRP scholars do)
NYU is ~66k/yr to attend before financial aid (which I have heard is often not much)
I live in Illinois but don’t mind long distances and have a twin sister who is also going to college come September to think about. Also, I’d prefer a more liberal atmosphere (am a gay female) but could deal with conservative attitudes as long as I’m not super likely to get beat up.
Basically, if my options and data were your child’s and you had to pick which school your child would attend, which would it by and why? I know that it all comes down to who admits me and how much each school offers and my own personal preferences, but what would you (and your student) do?
I can’t comment on any of the rest, but ASU is quite tolerant, and left leaning. Arizona doesn’t have that reputation, but ASU does. You can pretty much calculate your scholarship $$ here: https://scholarships.asu.edu/estimator. Good luck with your decisions!
How much can you and your family afford to spend each you for you and your sister?
I recommended applying to a quirky liberal arts college that met full need.
It was a reach, but she was accepted.
However full need depends on being able to pay EFC.
@PhxRising I actually didn’t know that about ASU, that’s really helpful info. Thanks!
@MidwestDad3 Yeah I kinda realized that midway through the process but at that point didn’t want to freak out and go off to find a bunch more match schools. Realistically, I am guessing it’ll come down to NYU, KU, and ASU. I have been lucky enough to already be accepted to the latter two and am waiting on ASU Barrett and NYU’s decision. Thanks for the advice!
@emeraldkity4 I’m not exactly sure what the numbers are as far is EFC is concerned, but my parents have made it clear that they’re counting on me to bring in scholarship money/be less expensive than my sister. I’m not at all trying to make fun of her or belittle her accomplishments, but due to some physical/mental health issues her grades slipped and she (to put it lightly) will probably not be getting any academic scholarships. In fact, I had never even looked at ASU until they sent me a letter about the full-tuition scholarship that I was offered. Of course, my parents would never force me to go to a school based on finances alone, but I wanted to make sure people understood that Donald Trump isn’t my dad or anything; I’m just a middle-class kid trying to get some advice on what to do by seeing how others would do it.
You sound like a sensible person. Take the money! Those schools are all good and I think you’ll find the good in any one of them. I’m sure it’s a lot warmer at ASU today than any other schools you listed. Your parents and sister will want to visit you for thanksgiving and winter weekends away.
I would probably recommend ASU based on cost. NYU is great if you want to have a career in New York, but the appeal of the school diminishes quickly outside the Big Apple. I would rank KU slightly ahead of ASU academically, but if ASU is $7K cheaper, become a Sun Devil.
Yeah, it’s one of the weirder lists. I would have said to make a more thoughtful list. Also, you are very misinformed about the background of students who are majority wealthy student attending a lot of these colleges vs the tiny number of poor immigrants raising siblings. Way lacking perspective.
I went to grad school at ASU and lived in Tempe for five years. The Barrett honors college has a very strong reputation. I wish D had applied there. You don’t need to make any decisions until you know the outcome of all your applications but a full ride at ASU is much better than dropping tons of money at NYU. I don’t mind spending $60k/year for an Ivy or very top LAC. NYU is the most expensive college in the US once housing is factored in. There is the weather to consider. Today it’s 8 below in Chicago…
Oberlin promises to meet full need and might be a fit depending on your test scores. If you were my daughter, I would tell you to spend an evening finding another handful of schools to apply to via the CA. How much are you going to spend on travel between Tempe and your home?
The Barrett Honors program is great…but check the GPA for keeping your scholarship there. More than one kiddo has lost their award after the first year. It used to be something like a 3.5, but I don’t think its that high any longer. You need to factor this in as well.
In addition, consider the travel costs to each school.
I agree…your application list is comprised of reach schools and safeties. Where are the middle ground schools?
It all depend on your personal goal, preferences, major, many other factors.
As far as my kid, she said that she would do fine anywhere. So, she was looking for the UG that she could call home for the next 4 years. And that was an absolutely correct approach for her (may not be for you). Her UG experiences were way beyond what we have expected. I am not in good position to advise you, as you apparently looking for some top schools. D. went to in-state public on full tuition Merit award. She graduated #1 from rigorous private HS and has graduated as a top pre-med in her college class. Happy life will produce happy results.
As is the case with most of your posts, Miami. So why do you bother, unless it’s just to tout your daughter’s full tuition merit scholarship and val status?
I think it’s a bit late to consider applying to more schools. Some colleges’ deadlines may have passed, and even if they haven’t, it may be too late to get the high school to send transcripts and recommendations in time to meet a January 15 or February 1 deadline.
So given the list the student has now, ASU seems very attractive if she is admitted to Barrett. But it doesn’t hurt to wait and see about the more selective schools. Columbia and Yale aren’t going to happen unless the sun goes nova, but Brown and Wash U – well, you never know.
Of the places you are likely to get into ASU seems like your best choice - especially if you are accepted into the honors college. I wouldn’t go to NYU unless they offered you a huge scholarship guaranteed for all four years. (But I do understand its attraction since in my teens and 20’s I was dying to be in NYC and the major reason I went to Columbia for grad school.) Now that I’ve lived in the area for over 25 years, I’m wonder what I was thinking. And it was 12 degrees outside this morning!
I agree with others a more thoughtful list with some other schools that might have offered merit money might have been a good idea, but I know that when my kids were applying their latest deadline was the first week of January.
First, thanks for all of the comments - they help me get a lot of perspective. On to the specifics…
@GMTplus7 (and @Marian ) Unfortunately it’s a bit late for me to apply to the in-betweeners, I assume. Are there any that you - or anyone else - know of that are still accepting applications?
@BrownParent If I understand what you’re saying, what I was trying to get at with my examples for the Ivies was just that I haven’t done some of the amazing things that others who are applying to Ivies have done. The specifics of each weren’t really my focus, but thank you for the criticism.
@Wje9164be Ha, trust me when I say I know what you mean about the weather. My HS cancelled classes today and yesterday b/c the temp is too low. And the cost of NYU (especially housing) is its biggest drawback.
@greeninohio 2240 SAT, 34 ACT. As for travel, probably 4 times a year round trip (summer, spring break, thanksgiving, winter break). Luckily for me, I love a good train ride, and they tend to be a bit cheaper than planes.
Also, I’ll take a look into Oberlin, although I think it might be a bit late to gather the recs and everything.
@MiamiDAP Well, thank you for the advice!
@mathmom One of the draws of NYC is that I have some family there and have been to the city at least five times. I do understand what you mean though; it is very easy to get drawn into the glamour of it all. And again, I know cold (see above). I do wish now that I had looked into more match schools, but I honestly don’t even know what would qualify as such. Too late now, I suppose.
Never too late/ nothing ventured, nothing gained! I would look at Oberlin, too; find a few small colleges that use the CA and get busy. It is only January.
But for your choices for now: my advice always sounds like this: nothing is worth having 5 figures of debt in your 20’s, so always take the financially responsible choice. You will thank yourself when you are graduating!
I spent 30 seconds on the Internet and found out that Oberlin’s application deadline is January 15.
Therefore, the student could still complete the application. However, even if the student made a request today, few high schools would be able to comply with a request to provide transcripts and recommendations in a week. Many have specific policies that require students to submit their requests with much greater lead time.
