<p>My Daughter has been accepted to the following Universities:</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins with scholarship
Rice with scholarship
UPenn w/o scholarship
Berkeley and UCLA w/o Scholarship</p>
<p>She wants to pursue Politicial Science and International Relations. What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins - stellar in IR and close enough to DC to make internships feasible.</p>
<p>Agree that Hopkins is an excellent choice. But throwing in a plug for Rice, with their excellent Baker Institute for Public Policy.</p>
<p>Will she have the opportunity to visit either one? Perhaps once she sits in on a class or 2 and get the lay of the land, she will have a preference.
Things you need to keep in the back of your mind:</p>
<p>Does each school meet 100% demonstrated need?
Did you run your numbers through the net price calcutor?
IF yes, are they numbers that you can live with?
Is there an appreciable difference between schools?
Is there med or law school in your future (as professional schools will still ask for your financials for those that grant institutional aid)?</p>
<p>Scholarships</p>
<p>With all merit offers, parents and students must do their due diligence and ask about the fine print when it comes to keeping the merit $$</p>
<p>Is it automatically renewable for the next 4 years?</p>
<p>Is it attached to staying with a specific major?</p>
<p>Is it renewable for the same amount of money each year?</p>
<p>Is scholarship adjusted to take into consideration tuition increases (about 5% per year)</p>
<p>Is there a gpa requirement needed to keep getting the money?</p>
<p>When does the gpa requirement start (by the end of fall term or the end of spring term)?</p>
<p>Is there a phase in to the gpa requirement?</p>
<p>What happens if you do not meet gpa requirement, does money leave immediately or is there a grace period?</p>
<p>If you lose scholarship and bring your grades back up is money reinstated?</p>
<p>What percentage of students lose their scholarship?</p>
<p>Ask the financial aid office what percent of students lose their merit money in the first year.</p>
<p>And the most important question… worse case scenario if you were to lose the scholarship would you still be able to swing the cost of attending?</p>
<p>Hopkins. Internships are critical, especially in-term (non-summer) ones.</p>
<p>UCLA and Berkeley are excellent choices as well. Is she a California resident? If so, how do the costs of the UCs compare to her costs at the privates where she’s getting scholarship money? What area of the country does she want to go for college? If you’re in California remember there’ll be additional costs for any trips home.</p>
<p>Unless cost is of no consideration for you, I think you have to see how these choices compare from a financial perspective. Also don’t forget about the possibility of grad school and those costs when planning.</p>
<p>Also if the funding is renewable, what requirements are put on getting renewals? What % of kids keep funding all 4 years? The 4 Us are all very different. Would calculate the net cost after deducting any grants and scholarships and see whether family can pay that for 4 years. Has S visited the Us?</p>
<p>Go to Penn!</p>
<p>I would say Hopkins or Penn but make sure to consider cost.</p>
<p>“With scholarship” can range from $500 frosh year only to a full ride for four years.</p>
<p>If you are considering costs, best would be to frame it in net price after deducting scholarships and grants (not loans) from the list price.</p>
<p>UPenn if cost isn’t an issue. (I went to UCLA, and I’d put UCLA last on your list.)</p>
<p>I would rank Penn first and Johns Hopkins second, but when you toss the scholarship into the mix, Johns Hopkins wins!</p>
<p>What difference does getting a scholarship make? What you need to look at is net cost. If JH gave you $5000 but you still have $50,000 left to pay vs UCLA with no scholarship but out of pocket costs of $20,000, the scholarship is worthless. Which school does she like the best?</p>
<p>I would definitely say Hopkins or Penn. Both are excellent schools which would provide your daughter with ample opportunities for internships/research. I think Penn’s advantages are that it is in Philadelphia which is a nice city to go to college in, it is very easy to take graduate classes, and from what I know, there are lots of resources available to find internships. Hopkins is a lot smaller than Penn and is in Baltimore which is not quite like Philadelphia, although I hear it has changed a lot recently. Academically however, Hopkins is top notch. I would visit both schools to help make a decision.</p>
<p>Hopkins may be a better choice but not, as suggested above, because of in-term internships. Baltimore to DC is a healthy and difficult commute and probably feasible for a student only on a day with no other classes. </p>
<p>I think folks here are discounting Rice too quickly. It is a fantastic school, and serious IR careers require grad work anyway. Take the best education you can get at least cost and save the money for SAIS (which is in DC), Woodrow Wilson, or Fletcher.</p>
<p>U Penn or UC Berk if you can swing it. Depends which one she likes also.</p>
<p>None of these schools so clearly outshines the others that it’s a slam-dunk choice regardless of cost. The OP has not provided nearly enough information (especially about net costs) to support a reliable recommendation.</p>