I just wanted some input on which college I should choose.
My tops as of now are
Pomona College: my dream school but I’m not sure if its financially or practically the best option
USC: awarded a half tuition scholarship but affording it would still be a stretch
UCLA: love ucla but prefer USC/pomona but financially my family could probably make it work
Other Contenders
UCSD (Regents: could for sure graduate debt free): I also got in for my major (Bio) and top college (muir). I liked ucsd when I toured but the campus did feel kinda mellow #uc socially dead
Cal Poly SLO: also could graduate debt free. Haven’t visited but seems like a cute town. Also got in for Bio but I’m not sure if I actually want to major in that and it’d be hard to switch at cal poly.
Amherst: great school but when I visited I didn’t feel ‘at home’ and the financial aid was meh
Waitlists:
I was waitlisted at Harvard and accepted in but I’m not holding out too much hope
Berkeley: never was that big a fan of berkeley but it’s a great school and I’m still considering whether I should take a spot on the waitlist
Other schools I got into that I’d be willing to reconsider:
Wellesley: never visited but seems like great school!
Carleton: my mother went there and didn’t like it but they have great bio/life science program
UC Davis
UCSB
Fordham: invited to their honors program and given significant merit aid but would still be expensive. I might ask to appeal
Final Notes:
I’m from SoCal and wanted to get out so badly for college to experience ‘something new’ but it looks like that isn’t going to happen and am very conflicted on which school to pick considering the COVID-19 outbreak has cancelled practically everything. Any input would be helpful! Thanks!!
Ok , couple of things , you have some great choices and that is great to have, do you see grad school in your future, if so go w as little debt as you can, zero debt for you and your family would be ideal , with where the economy is going. All of your top schools are finical reaches in your words, UCLA is a probably make it work at best. What kind of campus do you want Fordham is very very different form UCSD and Amherst. Do you want big school or smaller school? DO you want to be far from home and deal with a cold winter and snow…
Ideally I’d like to be in a city or suburb if I attended college outside of california which is why I’m currently not too fond of amherst. Other than that, I truly do not have much of a preference in terms of how big/small a school is. I know all the schools I’m considering are great academically and would have countless opportunities. I would also love to graduate debt free (which is why I’m heavily considering UCSD/Cal Poly) as I’m not sure if I want to go to grad school. I think I’m going to appeal some of my financial aid decisions and see where I am left after. Worst comes to worse I could live at home and attend UCLA for 13k but it would just be a very different college experience and I’m not sure how much I’m willing to sacrifice. @NJdad07090
@blackcat2 - ok so I understand it if UCLA is the choice your staying home? if so that is a much different college experience than living on campus. I would rather my kid go to a slightly lesser school and live there vs commuting to UCLA. If you not fond of Amherst and the package is so so, decline it, you have 11 other schools and about a month to decide. Not sure your FA appeals will do much, did you run NPC for each school, did the aid come out to around that number? You have some great choices and if one of the UC schools works for you to be debt free go for it. You say grad school may or may not be in your future but think of it this way, no debt gives you plenty of options, get a nice place to life after college by yourself vs three roommates and college debt or a nice car or grad school.
I agree and thank you for your input!! Also I ran the NPC’s and they predicted I’d be paying a lot more than the packages I’ve received (55k NPC vs 37k actual financial aid) but I guess that makes some sense since my family’s financial situation is a little complicated. @NJdad07090
Ok so you ran the NPC got better results than you thought and you want to appeal them to get more? I do not see how you can expect more, your 20K in the example you shared . If the packages you received do not make the math work for you than stay in state and go to the UC of your choice,
I can’t offer any advice, but I will share that a friend of mine appealed his son’s grant at Fordham and they increased their offer. It’s worth a try.
@blackcat2 - if your families finances are a little complicated ( your words) and most of your aid is FA not merit it could change year to year so take that into account.