Already thinking about college...

sugarski
Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:19:31 +0000

for my eldest d, who is starting HS in the fall. She was admitted to a very selective public magnet school for math & science, and although it seems a little premature and silly, I am beginning to think I should be giving some thought to college now. The economy has taken its toll on her 529. My husband’s income is just enough to provide a middle-class existence here in NJ (small house, high property taxes, 3 kids), yet will probably be considered too high to qualify my d for any need-based aid.

I will need to be creative when it comes to financing her college education. She is a hardworking, capable, self-motivated student and a very good test-taker so I am hoping she may qualify for some scholarships, but we can’t depend on that.

She is strong academically in math, writing, and English, and has a keen interest in French language and culture. She is also a talented visual artist. Her dad is an engineer, and I think that could turn out to be the academic path she will choose.

Any ideas for schools we should know about? I’d ideally like her be somewhere academically stellar yet down-to-earth, not a cutthroat pressure-cooker environment. Not a huge party/sports place. Rural vs suburban vs urban not a huge consideration; she’s pretty adaptable as far as that goes. I already have a tentative list of places to consider, including

Macaulay Honors program at CUNY- tuition-free!
McGill (for the French culture)
Brown (her grandfather went there; I grew up in Providence and to me it seems like the absolute perfect school for her, but even if she got in, I hear their FA is pretty bad)
Cooper Union (tuition-free; my husband went there; maybe overly intense?)
Middlebury (for the French program; bad merit aid?)
William & Mary (because we were visiting Colonial Williamsburg recently and I loved the campus
Rutgers & TCNJ- both seem like excellent instate options for us?
Lafayette College- nearby, solid academics, good merit aid?
University of Rochester- I’ve also heard they have good merit aid
Smith/Bryn Mawr/MHC/Barnard?
Cornell?

Are these good ideas? Any other ideas or things I should be thinking about at this stage would be much appreciated.