Yet another "Help Us Decide" thread!

Parents Forum
1

<p>May 1 is starting to loom large on the calendar and the Tours household is still deep in college choice discussions. Son is flumoxed....So, we are soliciting opinions on his choices. We are fortunate enough not to qualify for aid, but do have a finite resource level. Total funds available from us and portable merit money is about $150,000. Costs beyond $150k must be covered by summer work, work during the school year or loans. Any funds remaining after undergrad will be applied to next degree.</p>

<p>Key Considerations: Value of degree in graduate/law admissions, Political Science strength, Overall strength of programs (in case of major interest change), AP/IB credit policy (son will have 50-60 hours of AP/ higher level IB).</p>

<p>Given a probable law school application in the future, how would you weigh these choices:</p>

<p>WashU- Top "rated" acceptance, $2,000 NMS, 15 ap credit max-- A degree from here will cost $200,000-- close to home.</p>

<p>UVA-- Will take up to 60 AP/Ib credits, theoretically could get undergrad in 2 years. No merit money aside from a one time award of 2k, but signicantly lower cost.</p>

<p>USC-- 1/2 Tuition scholarship, 32 ap/ib credits</p>

<p>American U-- $30K merit scholarship, great location, 32 ap credit policy would allow son to complete combined ba/master in 4 years, honors college invite, weak in the sciences</p>

<p>Tulane-- 26k merit scholarship, Honors college invite, great location, will accept 40 credits, better non political science options than American</p>

<p>NYU- Honors invite, Massively expensive, small scholarship of unknown value coming (but they won't tell us how much), Fabulous location, great academics, from initial interaction, appears to be a beauracratic nightmare.</p>

<p>Son is ever so slightly leaning toward WashU, with American close behind. Me, I think USC or UVA may offer a degree with more "value" for the price. </p>

<p>Thoughts? Opinions?</p>

2

<p>He has not visited Tulane, NYU or USC, nor will he be able to prior to May 1.</p>

3

<p>There are some buried treats in the sciences at American U. Read the websites of the Psychology and Biology faculty members. A number of them have significant experience at the NIH, and/or are currently conducting research at the NIH. If the interest is in the physical sciences, look for contacts at the NIST. And, the location really can’t be beat if Tours Junior is really, truly, in love with politics.</p>

<p>I agree with your “value” for price assessment for UVA. But then as Happykid well knows, I’m cheap.</p>

4

<p>What would he like to do with his degree?</p>

5

<p>Thanks happymom for the heads up on science at American. Son loves DC, but hesitates to commit to AU because the school isn’t as well ranked as some others. Will this really matter when it comes to graduate admissions? I have read many posts debating the point, but still can determine the objective reality.</p>

6

<p>Oldfort–If only he knew! Based on a lifetime of nonstop argueing, I think law school is most likely, but who knows?</p>

7

<p>If you could afford 150,000, I would consider:</p>

<p>Wash U.
UVA,
Tulane</p>

<p>In that order. Wash U for the reputation, UVA for the value, and Tulane somewhere in between. Of course, I am one of those that believe where you go for undergrad matters. NYU is not worth the money. There is no campus. You would be spending a lot more money to keep him entertained.</p>

<p>I would go for Wash U.</p>

8

<p>I think Wash U has a lot of advantages - great school, well known and respected in academia (as far as grad schools/employers go, not necessarily your neighbors, unless you live in STL), happy students, LOTS of flexibility with mixing/matching/changing directions.</p>

<p>I would not recommend aiming for a 2-year undergraduate degree. The college years are important for much more then just getting a diploma. Also, just because you have lots of AP credits does not always mean you can fulfill graduation requirements using them - many schools will not allow using them for distribution requirements, or towards major requirements. So you end up with lots of elective credits, but still need at least 3 years to graduate.</p>

9

<p>nngmm-- I don’t think he is seriously considering getting a degree n 2 years. But, walking in with 50-60 credits does mean an easy 3 year degree and/or lots of flexibity in course selection. Also, bypassing many intro classes to get straight to course work that is genuinely interesting.</p>

10

<p>My recommendations would follow oldfort’s…exactly!</p>

11

<p>All great choices – congratulations! I think you may need to add some criteria because, if he does well at any of these schools, his opportunity to be admitted to top law schools and/or grad schools won’t be too different. I know you’re a regular on this site, so the items below may be ones you’ve already considered, but…if not…</p>

<p>Does he care at all about sports teams, school spirit? USC (I assume California…not South Carolina?) wins there. UVA might be OK. The rest…not a strength…except in 1 or 2 sports.</p>

<p>Is there any other outside activities that he really enjoys that give an edge to one school over another? Maybe a particularly strong debate team, or regular model UN meetings or something like that? Does the activity have an active website at the college and do they appear to actually meet often?</p>

<p>UVA is the only choice that’s not in a major city. It’s a magnificent campus, but, if he really wants the cultural experiences and “vibe” of a city…it might take UVA off of the list.</p>

<p>Do any of the schools have semester or year programs in DC? If yes…and he would be interested in this type of experience…it might move American lower on the list, since he could have a political experience without having to spend all 3-4 years there.</p>

<p>When doing his college search, was he looking forward to going somewhere different or has he been apprehensive? Might help choose the closer to home versus farther from home options.</p>

<p>Were any of these schools ones he even thought about prior to applying? If none of these were a first choice school for him…are any more like his first choice (location, type of school/student etc?)</p>

12

<p>It seems to be that these schools all have very different personalities.</p>

<p>Kids who go to Tulane seem to LOVE New Orleans and Tulane.</p>

<p>USC students seem to love the Trojans, etc</p>

<p>Does your son have a sense of which school is the best fit with his personality?</p>

<p>I would cross NYU off the list as too expensive if it is not a clear favorite.</p>

13

<p>He cares nothing for sports or “spirit”, although he does value community. He was waitlisted by his top 2 choices, but those were not strong prefrences.</p>

<p>His political interest in not “horse race” style elections work, but policy anaysis interest.</p>

<p>The personality of the schools is hard to factor in, as he is incredibly socially adept.</p>

14

<p>I would take NYU off the books; a no-brainer. If it were me, I also would not be very concerned about the AP/IB policies. I’m a firm believer in a solid 4-years of the undergrad experience unless there is a serious financial reason to hurry through it. (But that’s just me!!!) Wash U, UVA or USC get my vote. Very different scene at each, so he should go with what feels best. Is there really no way to visit? It is an important decision to make!</p>

15

<p>If he is really interested in Poly Sci/Policy Analysis then American should be high on the list. You can’t beat the location and they have internships available from which he can learn a great deal.</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>The difference between WashU and UVA is not enough to justify the far larger bill at WashU. They are both in the top 25 universities in the nation and so the “prestige” tax at UWash is just not worth it. Plus UVA has the advantadge of being close to DC. I would take WashU. off the list, especially with a probably law school bill not too far in the future. </p>

<p>Because of his interest in PolySci, the internships and the ba/masters, I would put American second.</p>

17

<p>Here is a link I thought you might be interested in: </p>

<p>The following is a list of the 278 undergraduate institutions represented by all students enrolled in the JD program at HLS for the 2008-2009 school year.</p>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Colleges](<a href=“http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/undergrads.html]Undergraduate”>http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/apply/undergrads.html)</p>

18

<p>PMK and I think alike. You say American is weak in the sciences, but what, really is the chance he’ll make such a large switch? I like UVA and American. Would he seriously consider a school sight unseen? If not, that narrows it down.</p>

19

<p>Yes, he would. I think he suspects that what reallly matters to him isn’t easily discerned in a visit. Strangely, he is hugely interested in the sciences, but he also really loves DC. Most of his ECs have been political/historical/humanities type things.</p>

20

<p>Even though DC’s government has traditionally been pretty much broken, it’s a great place to live. Fantastic restaurants, great performing arts, great visual arts, lots of nice parks. American has improved no end since my mother finally got her degree from there (after sampling Bryn Mawr, Radcliffe and Northwestern!) It will almost surely be on my son’s list.</p>

<p>My oldest was one who didn’t really need visits. He knew what he wanted academically and that was really all that mattered to him.</p>