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Post by maryland on Apr 27, 2015 20:28:07 GMT
Any other parents still waiting for their child to pick a college?
The date my daughter must pick a school is May 1st, enrollment deposit due. She has narrowed it to three schools, but can't pick one! Two are 5 and 8 hours away and have beautiful campuses. One is local and is an urban school (which she doesn't like, the urban setting).
All are big universities, all top schools. It's so hard for her to decide! I think she wants to go out of state, but will not admit that she is nervous about being away from home. There is family near both away schools, but it's not the same as your immediate family/friends. |
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peabay
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Post by peabay on Apr 27, 2015 20:47:40 GMT
I'm in an in between year (junior in college; junior in HS), but I have many friends whose children are still stuck. And some have amazing choices - one is stuck between Duke and Brown. At some point they just have to rip that damn Band-Aid off and make a decision. It's hard!
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melissa
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Post by melissa on Apr 27, 2015 21:42:31 GMT
It seems to be quite the year for that! Dd is a senior, but not going to college. Was just saying to dh that we are likely one of the few who actually saved enough for college and the kid isn't going (not exactly as she will continue earning college credits on line and possibly at a college in NYC while she is dancing).
We know one girl who was accepted at all the Ivies (5) she applied to plus Stanford and UC-B PLUS several very competitive musical theater programs, many of which are harder to get into than an Ivy (based on acceptance rates). They have been running around, trying to visit all these places and make a decision. I honestly think her heart is in musical theater, but it is hard to turn down these other schools.
We know another who put down a deposit on a school, but is still undecided as she applied overseas as well. So, she flew overseas this weekend to actually visit those schools.
Dd has at least 2 other friends who were still undecided as of last week.
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Post by happymom on Apr 27, 2015 21:54:39 GMT
If they are that close that she can't determine a favorite. Go with cost..
Even a savings of 5,000 dollars a year will save 20,000 which would buy a new car after 4 years.
Or 20,000 would allow her to take a lower paying but more exciting job after grad.
Or allow her to take that awesome unpaid internship or study abroad without worrying about money
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ellen
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Post by ellen on Apr 27, 2015 22:39:42 GMT
Are the colleges similar in price? Price was a huge consideration when our daughter was applying to colleges. She liked every school she applied to, but the prices varied a bit. It worked out well for us that she really liked a moderately priced private school that gave her a very generous scholarship. When she got the notice about the scholarship, she made her decision to go there. We were pretty sure the other schools would cost about $5K more per year. We ended up being right about that. I was concerned a few months ago that she might be the kid trying to make up their mind at the end of April since she did like every school we visited. So it was money that made it easy for her to decide what she wanted to do. She'll graduate without debt. That's huge thing.
I honestly think that most kids will do just fine where ever they decide to go to school, so I didn't worry too much about finding the perfect fit. Even a couple schools that she crossed off the list after all her visits were complete she agreed would have been just fine had she not gone other places.
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 0:24:27 GMT
Are the colleges similar in price? Price was a huge consideration when our daughter was applying to colleges. She liked every school she applied to, but the prices varied a bit. It worked out well for us that she really liked a moderately priced private school that gave her a very generous scholarship. When she got the notice about the scholarship, she made her decision to go there. We were pretty sure the other schools would cost about $5K more per year. We ended up being right about that. I was concerned a few months ago that she might be the kid trying to make up their mind at the end of April since she did like every school we visited. So it was money that made it easy for her to decide what she wanted to do. She'll graduate without debt. That's huge thing. I honestly think that most kids will do just fine where ever they decide to go to school, so I didn't worry too much about finding the perfect fit. Even a couple schools that she crossed off the list after all her visits were complete she agreed would have been just fine had she not gone other places. That's how I feel. I thought too that if she doesn't make a decision, she would go to the local one because it is cheaper. Problem is, we live in PA, so in-state is so expensive here. The instate tuition for the 2 out of state schools are half the price of the instate tuition at the local school (I hope that makes sense). But the out of states, for us, would be about $10,000 more per year. And my husband says, she could always go to the local school for 2 yrs. then transfer.
I am glad to know that we aren't the only ones having a hard time. Such a big decision for these young kids.
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Post by hop2 on Apr 28, 2015 0:39:35 GMT
No, thankfully. For awhile we thought she would drag it out to the last moment, which is this Wednesday. So much easier once it's done.
She chose the college where she got a huge scholarship. Not her first choice, but a great university and way more affordable with the scholarship.
She 'got in' and got some scholarship every where she applied. She's going to the university that actually wanted her and went the extra distance to get her.
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Post by rst on Apr 28, 2015 0:53:19 GMT
My HS senior finally chose -- he's headed off to Boston. But I know in his heart he's still thinking about how he was waitlisted at University of Chicago, and maybe that would still be an option. . .
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Post by genealopea on Apr 28, 2015 1:15:50 GMT
My daughter's still trying to decide between two. Northeastern offered her a full-tuition scholarship and their University Scholars program, and Carnegie Mellon gave her two scholarships and some grant money. She's really torn. She likes the campus at CMU, but prefers the city of Boston. She thinks she'd like the challenge at CMU, but the benefits of the USP are hard to turn down. Any advice?
Good luck to everyone!
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 1:19:54 GMT
You peas have some smart kids! My daughter has a 4.7 weighted GPA, and did well on the SAT/ACT. She only got scholarships from 2 schools and they were private schools and they only gave her enough to be close in price to the local public schools. No scholarship money from the three large public universities.
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Post by Basket1lady on Apr 28, 2015 1:45:27 GMT
DS got his final letter today. He was accepted, but they just notified of the honors program. He has officially said yes, so he will be a Tommie at the University of St Thomas in St Paul, MN. They really seemed to want him, offered him a huge scholarship, and he has said it feels like home.We will miss him terribly, but I'm glad to have the decision made.
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oaksong
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Jun 27, 2014 6:24:29 GMT
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Post by oaksong on Apr 28, 2015 2:07:05 GMT
DD just made her final decision a few days ago. Has your daughter visited all of the schools? What is her instinct about where she will fit in best? I know someone who made a spreadsheet with every single detail about the school, including the insurance plan for study abroad, dining hall ratings, cars allowed on campus, etc. The minutia finally brought one school to the top. Then again, there's always the dart board option. Good luck!  ETA: DD just came in to tell me her friend flipped a coin to make his decision today between Duke and Georgetown. He knew when the coin was in the air that he was hoping for Georgetown, and the choice was finally clear. |
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Apr 28, 2015 3:15:50 GMT
My nephew just choose U of Chicago over Carnegie Mellon... had he got into Oberlin that would have been his first choice.
He is studying Physics and Music Composition... I thought he was going to choose CMU!
I have a friend who announced on FB yesterday.. that the schools she told everyone her twins were going to... were wrong. They both changed his and her mind at the last minute!
I was waitlisted for housing at my top two choices so I didn't decide until the last minute.
I think life has a way of simply working out on these things.
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 15:58:42 GMT
My daughter's still trying to decide between two. Northeastern offered her a full-tuition scholarship and their University Scholars program, and Carnegie Mellon gave her two scholarships and some grant money. She's really torn. She likes the campus at CMU, but prefers the city of Boston. She thinks she'd like the challenge at CMU, but the benefits of the USP are hard to turn down. Any advice? Good luck to everyone! I used to live right down the street from CMU when I was in law school at Pitt. I would go running at CMUs stadium. Great school! But it would be hard to turn down a full scholarship! Congratulations! |
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 16:01:21 GMT
DD just made her final decision a few days ago. Has your daughter visited all of the schools? What is her instinct about where she will fit in best? I know someone who made a spreadsheet with every single detail about the school, including the insurance plan for study abroad, dining hall ratings, cars allowed on campus, etc. The minutia finally brought one school to the top. Then again, there's always the dart board option. Good luck! ETA: DD just came in to tell me her friend flipped a coin to make his decision today between Duke and Georgetown. He knew when the coin was in the air that he was hoping for Georgetown, and the choice was finally clear. She was flipping a coin last night! She really wants to go out of state. We worry about the cost of out of state. She is our oldest so we are clueless about the financial part. She gets no financial aid.
Duke and Georgetown, two great schools for your daughters friend. My daughter has the weather down for one of the pros for the NC school!
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 6:23:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 16:25:54 GMT
My niece just made up her mind this morning. She seemed so stressed by the decision-making, but we were all reassuring her that she couldn't go wrong with getting accepted at her top two choices. She's coming to Boston, so I'll get to see her a little more often. Boston is a truly awesome place to go to college.
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 6:23:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 17:03:16 GMT
We had the stress of the college decision, too! DD was accepted at 4 schools, waitlisted at 1, and rejected at 2. She ended up narrowing it to two, and then went with the one that gave her more money. It's 9 hours away from us, and I am sooo sad about that, as the other one was 1.5 hours, but I think she ultimately chose the school that will be a better fit for her personality. It's all very exciting!
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Post by happymom on Apr 28, 2015 17:26:11 GMT
She was flipping a coin last night! She really wants to go out of state. We worry about the cost of out of state. She is our oldest so we are clueless about the financial part. She gets no financial aid.
Ok- this scares me. You get no financial aid and have younger kids? (That may want to attend college) hopefully really good merit scholarships? Is this money in a college fund? Or are grandparents helping? Look at those statements from the colleges very carefully. Sometimes the loans are packaged in the offer. For example. Parent plus loans. 25,000. A year - times 4 years. Plus interest. She can only borrow 5,500 as a freshman in her own name. You will have to consign more than that. And you have to qualify every year. If if you are paying out of current income- are you sacrificing retirement investments? And the whole " she really wants to go out of state" sure kids want lots of things. Grown ups want bmw's but have to drive A Taurus. Some kids have stellar grades/ stats but commuting is most affordable. please ignore this if you have a plan. |
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 19:21:17 GMT
She was flipping a coin last night! She really wants to go out of state. We worry about the cost of out of state. She is our oldest so we are clueless about the financial part. She gets no financial aid.
Ok- this scares me. You get no financial aid and have younger kids? (That may want to attend college) hopefully really good merit scholarships? Is this money in a college fund? Or are grandparents helping? Look at those statements from the colleges very carefully. Sometimes the loans are packaged in the offer. For example. Parent plus loans. 25,000. A year - times 4 years. Plus interest. She can only borrow 5,500 as a freshman in her own name. You will have to consign more than that. And you have to qualify every year. If if you are paying out of current income- are you sacrificing retirement investments? And the whole " she really wants to go out of state" sure kids want lots of things. Grown ups want bmw's but have to drive A Taurus. Some kids have stellar grades/ stats but commuting is most affordable. please ignore this if you have a plan. No, this is good advice! I need to hear it. Yes, we have two younger kids. But we didn't get a merit scholarship for the oldest. I really don't know what that is. Is that when you take psat as a junior? My daughter only took it as a sophomore. And yes, two more kids that will go to college. One only 2 yrs. younger. We do have a college account and we are not sacrificing retirement (my husband wants to retire asap, not work longer to pay for her out of state college). But it's $17,000 for tuition only (in-state in PA is high!) and our out of state schools are $25,000 and $29,000 tuition only. The schools are about the same room and board, ($11,000 plus fees).
You made a good point about not always getting what we want, and I think my daughter is young and doesn't understand that. We are fortunate that my husband has a good salary, even though that means we get no financial aid (need based). Even with a good salary the out of state tuition is expensive for us.
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Post by scrapnatya on Apr 28, 2015 19:54:55 GMT
Boston is a truly awesome place to go to college. My daughter goes to BU and absolutely loves it. I have a junior in HS and I'm not looking forward to doing the college choice thing again. |
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Post by hop2 on Apr 28, 2015 20:15:41 GMT
Merit based scholarship is something you apply for at each college/university ( each have their own deadline ) and they consider a variety of factors like gpa, sat/act scores, essays, interviews and any program specific items. For my DD it was her art portfolio. The due dates varied from late nov for one university to March 1 for the latest on DD applied for.
Trust me we qualify for zero need based aid
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 6:23:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 20:32:04 GMT
Boston is a truly awesome place to go to college. My daughter goes to BU and absolutely loves it. I have a junior in HS and I'm not looking forward to doing the college choice thing again. That's where she's headed! She's so excited about it. |
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 20:57:13 GMT
Merit based scholarship is something you apply for at each college/university ( each have their own deadline ) and they consider a variety of factors like gpa, sat/act scores, essays, interviews and any program specific items. For my DD it was her art portfolio. The due dates varied from late nov for one university to March 1 for the latest on DD applied for. Trust me we qualify for zero need based aid I know I sound clueless, I really am with my first.
So, is it a separate "application (for a merit based scholarship)" you fill out when you apply to a school. Is it something you have to look for? Or is it just part of the general application (common app) for the school.
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Post by hop2 on Apr 28, 2015 21:20:35 GMT
Merit based scholarship is something you apply for at each college/university ( each have their own deadline ) and they consider a variety of factors like gpa, sat/act scores, essays, interviews and any program specific items. For my DD it was her art portfolio. The due dates varied from late nov for one university to March 1 for the latest on DD applied for. Trust me we qualify for zero need based aid I know I sound clueless, I really am with my first.
So, is it a separate "application (for a merit based scholarship)" you fill out when you apply to a school. Is it something you have to look for? Or is it just part of the general application (common app) for the school.
same application, but earlier application dates and possibly a few extra essays etc. each school Is different |
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Post by Really Red on Apr 28, 2015 21:35:24 GMT
I have TWINS and they are each deciding between two schools. It's coming down to financial aid. We are still waiting to hear on UNC for one daughter and UVA came back spectacular for the other one. Of course she wants to go to Boston. Sigh. I have countered their financial aid and hope to hear back tomorrow.
I hate waiting down to the wire!!!
FWIW, I had filled out financial aid in January, filed my taxes as soon as I could and linked them to the FAFSA. Had to file a CSS as well, for me and my ex-spouse. Got everything in with final numbers in early March (as soon as I had all info). Financial Aid came back to us in April with all the things we still needed. Some schools were SO snotty. It turns out that my FAFSA was chosen for audit, so I need - literally - dozens and dozens of backup documents for each school. Not the same information and not sent the same way (some pdfs via email, some faxes, some mailed). I sent the information within 24 hours of getting the request and my last one to UNC was sent Friday. It is a NIGHTMARE.
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sophikins
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Aug 30, 2014 15:12:27 GMT
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Post by sophikins on Apr 28, 2015 21:59:31 GMT
The merit based scholarship policy varies widely from school to school. For example, NONE are given from places like the Ivies or Stanford. They are only need-based, and most follow a similar formula. A lot of the schools just below the Ivies/top tier will give merit based scholarships to attract the bright students away from those highest tier schools where merit (i.e. grades and test scores) has no impact on financial aid.
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Post by maryland on Apr 28, 2015 22:57:48 GMT
I have TWINS and they are each deciding between two schools. It's coming down to financial aid. We are still waiting to hear on UNC for one daughter and UVA came back spectacular for the other one. Of course she wants to go to Boston. Sigh. I have countered their financial aid and hope to hear back tomorrow. I hate waiting down to the wire!!! FWIW, I had filled out financial aid in January, filed my taxes as soon as I could and linked them to the FAFSA. Had to file a CSS as well, for me and my ex-spouse. Got everything in with final numbers in early March (as soon as I had all info). Financial Aid came back to us in April with all the things we still needed. Some schools were SO snotty. It turns out that my FAFSA was chosen for audit, so I need - literally - dozens and dozens of backup documents for each school. Not the same information and not sent the same way (some pdfs via email, some faxes, some mailed). I sent the information within 24 hours of getting the request and my last one to UNC was sent Friday. It is a NIGHTMARE. I know! I am not sleeping and so stressed. Are you a NC resident? We are not, and my daughter didn't get into UNC. Heard it's hard in general, and really hard for out of state. But NC State accepted her. We visited a couple weeks ago and love it! Love UNC too! I hear UVA is a great school. I see your twins want to go to different schools. My sophomore daughter says she will just go where her sister goes.
I am glad I am not the only one with a child wanting to go to a more expensive school. So hard when we want to save money, and it's the end of the world in their mind (my daughter) if she can't go to the school she wants. So many emotions with this decision. My husband and I have made a lot of errors with our first college experience!
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Post by Really Red on Apr 28, 2015 23:40:35 GMT
I have TWINS and they are each deciding between two schools. It's coming down to financial aid. We are still waiting to hear on UNC for one daughter and UVA came back spectacular for the other one. Of course she wants to go to Boston. Sigh. I have countered their financial aid and hope to hear back tomorrow. I hate waiting down to the wire!!! FWIW, I had filled out financial aid in January, filed my taxes as soon as I could and linked them to the FAFSA. Had to file a CSS as well, for me and my ex-spouse. Got everything in with final numbers in early March (as soon as I had all info). Financial Aid came back to us in April with all the things we still needed. Some schools were SO snotty. It turns out that my FAFSA was chosen for audit, so I need - literally - dozens and dozens of backup documents for each school. Not the same information and not sent the same way (some pdfs via email, some faxes, some mailed). I sent the information within 24 hours of getting the request and my last one to UNC was sent Friday. It is a NIGHTMARE. I know! I am not sleeping and so stressed. Are you a NC resident? We are not, and my daughter didn't get into UNC. Heard it's hard in general, and really hard for out of state. But NC State accepted her. We visited a couple weeks ago and love it! Love UNC too! I hear UVA is a great school. I see your twins want to go to different schools. My sophomore daughter says she will just go where her sister goes.
I am glad I am not the only one with a child wanting to go to a more expensive school. So hard when we want to save money, and it's the end of the world in their mind (my daughter) if she can't go to the school she wants. So many emotions with this decision. My husband and I have made a lot of errors with our first college experience!
We are VA residents. My daughter was deferred to UNC and then accepted in early April. I am sorry that you made errors, but I feel comforted that I am not the only one who did!!! I am just slightly sick that UVA gave us the best deal of all the schools and my daughter doesn't want to go there. It's the no. 2 public school in the country!!! Still, I do think she would not be so happy there. She needs a private school. My UNC daughter needs a public one. They are NOT alike at all! What state are you a resident? I think we got a lot of money from UVA because we live here. I just wish I could transfer it to my other DD who decided at the last minute not to apply there!!! |
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Post by maryland on Apr 29, 2015 0:27:49 GMT
I know! I am not sleeping and so stressed. Are you a NC resident? We are not, and my daughter didn't get into UNC. Heard it's hard in general, and really hard for out of state. But NC State accepted her. We visited a couple weeks ago and love it! Love UNC too! I hear UVA is a great school. I see your twins want to go to different schools. My sophomore daughter says she will just go where her sister goes.
I am glad I am not the only one with a child wanting to go to a more expensive school. So hard when we want to save money, and it's the end of the world in their mind (my daughter) if she can't go to the school she wants. So many emotions with this decision. My husband and I have made a lot of errors with our first college experience!
We are VA residents. My daughter was deferred to UNC and then accepted in early April. I am sorry that you made errors, but I feel comforted that I am not the only one who did!!! I am just slightly sick that UVA gave us the best deal of all the schools and my daughter doesn't want to go there. It's the no. 2 public school in the country!!! Still, I do think she would not be so happy there. She needs a private school. My UNC daughter needs a public one. They are NOT alike at all! What state are you a resident? I think we got a lot of money from UVA because we live here. I just wish I could transfer it to my other DD who decided at the last minute not to apply there!!! Congratulations on UNC! And yes, I saw UVA was #2 public school, and perhaps the same survey, my alma mater Maryland was #8! And I lived in MD, so it was so cheap for me to go there. But out of state, MD is $$$! Of course that's the school my kids love! We are PA residents, and my daughter just doesn't want to go to the instate urban school, even though it's a great university. And our local instate tuition for the school she was accepted to is double what the instate tuition for MD and UNC is. In state in PA is expensive.
I can't imagine paying for 2 college tuitions at once! I don't understand the payment stuff at all! Do we pay a certain amount, then the rest goes into a student loan. I am so clueless.
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Post by scrapnatya on Apr 29, 2015 1:19:36 GMT
My daughter goes to BU and absolutely loves it. I have a junior in HS and I'm not looking forward to doing the college choice thing again. That's where she's headed! She's so excited about it. Let me know when she gets her dorm assignment. My daughter might be able to give some tips or insight. What is your daughter studying? |
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