Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - Original

[Modadunn]

While I am definitely biased, I love Midd. Wheretwo- I sent you a PM

Wittenberg... I am sure some things have changed since 2004, but my oldest started off at Witt and I felt that the student services were hugely lacking. The professors were good, but she had trouble approaching professors and this was her fault, of course, but still. I was disappointed in the whole chain of command. Of course, this was also a time where schools were really big on the whole family privacy act. I liked Wittenberg a lot, but there were definite holes in areas where I felt I had done due diligence but then in being so far away put the holes under an even harsher light.

This said, I think the privacy act debacle was rescinded somewhat, especially for college students whose parents are paying a majority of their tuition and followed the lawsuit at MIT when a student committed suicide and the school did not reveal to the parents that they were well aware their D was seriously depressed, even after the parents called deeply concerned with no idea. Yeah, big law suit.

HOWEVER, my sister went to Witt and loved it. Was D homesick? Not really. Unprepared for College? Perhaps. Still, I was disappointed for sure because they were really doing nothing to help her feel connected. Like I said.. long story. AND more importantly only one person's experience. Like I said, my sister went to Witt and loved it. A coach friend of mine went and played field hockey and lacrosse - Loved it. Have a friend whose son plays football there.. hated football, loved the school. So there's my equal representation.

[showmom858]

Just moving the list up so it doesn't get lost!

Angry Dad's D: University of Chicago
bhmamacita D - Wesleyan
Bucasmom S - U of Connecticut
collconf01 D - Kenyon
college_query S - Bowdoin
Cortana431 - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
CPUscientist3000 - Harvard
ELKyes S- College of Charleston Honors
eyeamamom S - U of Rochester
familyof3boys S - Hiram
GeminiMom D1 - Northwestern
GeminiMom D2 -Cornell
geogirl1 S - U of Miami
giterdone D - U of St Thomas
Highbury D - U of Chicago
Itsthatime S - Columbia University
JenPam D - U of Maryland
Jen Pam S - U of Maryland
KarGaro D - University of Alabama! Roll Tide!
Kleibo S - Carnegie Mellon
lisabees S - Oberlin
maidenMom D - Wellesley
Mutti2012 S - University of Chicago
Mary13 D - U of St Thomas
MizzBee S - Wabash
Mspearl's D - Kenyon
Mom2M D - USC
oldfort D - Cornell
pamayawaa D - WUSTL
performersmom D - Yale
rushedmom D - Texas A&M
saintfan D - St Olaf
seiclan S - Emory
showmom858 D - FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)
S2012d2017 S - Davidson
vlines S - University of Alabama! Roll Tide!

----------------------------------------
Bowdoin - college_query S
Carnegie Mellon - Kleibo S
College of Charleston Honors - ELKyes S
Columbia University - Itsthatime S
Cornell - oldfort D, GeminiMom D2
Davidson - S2012d2017 S
Emory - seiclan S
FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) - showmom858 D
Harvard - CPUscientist3000
Hiram - familyof3boys S
Kenyon - collconf01 D, Mspearl's D
Northwestern - GeminiMom D1
Oberlin - lisabees S
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Cortana431
St Olaf - saintfan D
Texas A&M - rushedmom D
University of Alabama - KarGaro D, vlines S
University of Chicago - Highbury D, Mutti2012 S, Angry Dad's D
U of Connecticut - Bucasmom S
U of Maryland - JenPam D, JenPam S
U of Miami - geogirl1 S
U of Rochester - eyeamamom S
U of St Thomas - giterdone D, Mary13 D
USC - Mom2M D
Wabash - MizzBee S
WUSTL - pamayawaa D
Wellesley - maidenMom D
Wesleyan - bhmamacita D
Yale - performersmom D

[marciemi]

@glido - is that a public vs. a private? Ours were pretty similar - MIT calculated our EFC at $19,830, and Purdue calculated it at $46,935! Although MIT uses the CSS and Purdue doesn't, but in any case that's a huge disparity! I would call and just make sure there isn't a simple math error or oversight in your case.

[MommyMommy]

If a school meets 100% of need (I didn't think SL did) - the need should be fulfilled with grants, scholarships, stafford and perkins loans and work study. Only the EFC should be filled with the Parent Loan.

Yes, that's right -- Sarah Lawrence doesn't claim to meet 100% of need. Here's what they say -- I only post this for gallows humor amusement. I'm about ready to never waste another thought on the school ever:

From the Sarah Lawrence FAQ Financial Aid Page:
Can I afford to attend Sarah Lawrence College?
Yes. Approximately 65 percent of students at Sarah Lawrence receive some form of financial aid. The amount of aid received is determined by a student’s demonstrated need.

[absweetmarie]

I wanted to write some kind of heartfelt, thoughtful reflection on this act. Instead, I will just say that I just gave Kalamazoo College the first $350 of the tens of thousands I will be paying them over the next four years. New list follows, with me on top (I promise I didn't pick my CC moniker for this reason):

absweetmarie's D - Kalamazoo College
Angry Dad's D - University of Chicago
bhmamacita D - Wesleyan
Bucasmom S - U of Connecticut
collconf01 D - Kenyon
college_query S - Bowdoin
Cortana431 - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
CPUscientist3000 - Harvard
ELKyes S- College of Charleston Honors
eyeamamom S - U of Rochester
familyof3boys S - Hiram
GeminiMom D1 - Northwestern
GeminiMom D2 -Cornell
geogirl1 S - U of Miami
giterdone D - U of St Thomas
Highbury D - U of Chicago
Itsthatime S - Columbia University
JenPam D - U of Maryland
Jen Pam S - U of Maryland
KarGaro D - University of Alabama! Roll Tide!
Kleibo S - Carnegie Mellon
lisabees S - Oberlin
maidenMom D - Wellesley
Mutti2012 S - University of Chicago
Mary13 D - U of St Thomas
MizzBee S - Wabash
Mspearl's D - Kenyon
Mom2M D - USC
oldfort D - Cornell
pamayawaa D - WUSTL
performersmom D - Yale
rushedmom D - Texas A&M
saintfan D - St Olaf
seiclan S - Emory
showmom858 D - FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)
S2012d2017 S - Davidson
vlines S - University of Alabama! Roll Tide!

----------------------------------------
Bowdoin - college_query S
Carnegie Mellon - Kleibo S
College of Charleston Honors - ELKyes S
Columbia University - Itsthatime S
Cornell - oldfort D, GeminiMom D2
Davidson - S2012d2017 S
Emory - seiclan S
FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) - showmom858 D
Harvard - CPUscientist3000
Hiram - familyof3boys S
Kalamazoo College - absweetmarie's D
Kenyon - collconf01 D, Mspearl's D
Northwestern - GeminiMom D1
Oberlin - lisabees S
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Cortana431
St Olaf - saintfan D
Texas A&M - rushedmom D
University of Alabama - KarGaro D, vlines S
University of Chicago - Highbury D, Mutti2012 S, Angry Dad's D
U of Connecticut - Bucasmom S
U of Maryland - JenPam D, JenPam S
U of Miami - geogirl1 S
U of Rochester - eyeamamom S
U of St Thomas - giterdone D, Mary13 D
USC - Mom2M D
Wabash - MizzBee S
WUSTL - pamayawaa D
Wellesley - maidenMom D
Wesleyan - bhmamacita D
Yale - performersmom D

[MommyMommy]

absweetmarie: Congrats on Kalamazoo! It was on our list for a while -- looks like a neat school.

[absweetmarie]

MommyMommy: Thanks! Looking forward to hearing about your trip to Burlington. I have serious New England envy.

Everyone: What's all this stuff about sheets, btw? The beds at college are longer than normal twin beds? Best source for multiple-hundred-thread-count varieties? (Only the best for my little princess ...)

[vlines]

absweetmarie- many of the beds are the extra long twin beds, so you need special sheets. And I would go online if you need egyptian cotton for your delicate one! LOL

The school should be able to tell you if they are X-long or not. I do know that BBB has the mattress cases in XL, I bought one of those a month ago or so.

Me, I'll be happy if DS puts the sheets on his bed.

[CPUscientist3000]

Online at BB&B, click the dorm shopping tab at the top, and then click the "Find Your School" on the sidebar. You can find your institution, and there should be a link in blue that says "school info page", or something like that. There it will tell you what you can/can't bring out of what you need to bring, including size of beds.

Every school should be up there.

[absweetmarie]

Wow, CPUscientist3000, you really have this college search stuff covered from top to bottom. Thanks. And belated congratulations on your acceptance to Harvard. Congratulations, as well, on the maturity with which you made your decision!

[CPUscientist3000]

Thank you, absweetmarie

I scoured the BB&B website getting excited about dorm shopping. Today, I was frustrated because I couldn't find any information about dorms at Harvard (only things that came up were on graduate school websites, and I wasn't sure if that info was pertinent to UG housing). I decided to click the blue link (I never did before) and voilá (not sure I got that accent right)! Also, for Harvard at least, there are two or three pages that have a short blurb about each of the dorm building options. I printed one for my friend, but her school did not have that.

[marciemi]

@absweetmarie - "Sounds like fun!" Or is that no longer the Kalamazoo city motto? We lived in Detroit for 12 years before moving to WI and spent a lot of time driving through Kalamazoo en route to camping on the West Coast or to Chicago. So now no one can say Kalamazoo without me replying automatically "Sounds like fun" which usually nets me a blank stare!

As far as thread count, all my kids (boys granted) really preferred the jersey knit (or flannel/fleece in winter if in a cold climate) over the high thread count (or obviously the low!). You can get the XL sets at places like Walmart and Target over the summer for around $18 (or at Kohls with a coupon for about the same). I bought some nice sets (BB&B) and they end up using the cheap jersey ones 99% of the time.

This seems awfully early for this to me. I think with my son last year we went shopping 3 or 4 days before he left in late August! He had a week of ROTC training first before heading to his dorm so that was plenty of time to have it ready for pickup. Maybe again a difference between sons and daughters?

[PinotNoir]

Don't forget the thick memory foam mattress pad! Some of those dorm mattresses are not very comfortable!

[kleibo]

Mommymommy - That's the best advice - move past this school. You'd be fighting for every dollar, every year.

Marciemi - it's not public vs private -it's whether the school meets 100% need or it doesn't. Most privates and most publics both do not meet 100% need.

MIT meets 100% need - Purdue definetly does not.

That's why the golden rule is not - Love thy Safety - it's actually Love thy Financial Safety.

A school your child would be happy to go to and also a school you can afford.

[absweetmarie]

Originally Posted by marciemi

"Sounds like fun!" Or is that no longer the Kalamazoo city motto?

I hadn't heard that, marciemi, but I just googled the combo of "Kalamazoo" and "sounds like fun" and a bunch of stuff popped up. My D, BF and I did a "seal the deal" trip last Friday. While D was taking classes, my BF and I walked around town and finally landed at Bell's Brewery for a long "lunch." Sounds like fun, eh?

I'm not really going to start shopping for sheets yet. She still has to pick a prom dress.