betting pool for berurah's Son

dadofsam · April 18, 2005, 7:56pm

Brurerah: I would suggest another line of thinking, even if your S is sufficiently a genius to clone himself. Taking this approach would mean paying 3x cost of one college. (LOL)

I suggest that this should not be a MAJOR quandary, and I’ll bet it won’t be for your son, once he thinks about it. What’s important about this scholarship is that (a) he was awarded it, whether or not he chooses to go to JHU - he’s really been singled out for achievement, and (b) what advantages it gets him at JHU in terms of more contact with professors, more access to classes, more chances for research, etc. in addition to the great cost savings of going to that fine institution. Otherwise, as to the honor and prestige, once your S gets to JHU all freshman will be at the same starting gate and, as we said in New York about such honor and prestige: “that and a token will get you on the subway”.

simba · April 18, 2005, 8:06pm

berurah:

Just my humble opinion. If $ cost is similar, Duke may be a better experience.

MotherOfTwo · April 18, 2005, 8:07pm

When will the visits take place??? Is he visiting JHU and Duke, and not Penn??

NJres · April 18, 2005, 9:17pm

sadly, not any more (no more token access to NY subway - need a farecard) … nor will a nickel buy you a cup of coffee!!! :)

dadofsam · April 18, 2005, 9:34pm

NJres: “That and a Farecard will get you on the subway” just doesn’t have the same punch - but what can we do; it’s the price of progress, or something.

And the free refill of coffee is another thing that’s gone from the scene.

tabbyzmom · April 18, 2005, 10:10pm

Well gosh, I have missed all the fun.
Just found this. Been too busy…with “senior stuff”
JHU April 26 4 AM CST

tlaktan · April 18, 2005, 11:51pm

Too bad Berurah’s son won’t hand over this decision to the College of CC Parents. The white smoke should rise sometime soon :P

marite · April 18, 2005, 11:58pm

Berurah:

I love stories that end well!

I’m not a betting person so I did not take part and did not check this thread for a while. But I so wanted your S to go to his dream school that I silently put my bet on Duke coming through. And it has! WOW! If the financial package matches JHU over the next four years, I agree it will be a better experience for your son.

Now I can go to bed thinking it has been a very good day. But first, I’ll say a little prayer that Andi’s S gets off the waitlist at his own dream school.

Alumother · April 19, 2005, 12:16am

Yes. Here is to Andi and her S. And Berurah, again, congratulations. How do I know your son deserves this/ What cyberESP is at work? (We are in Norcal, remember, home of the woo woo)…White smoke, LOL…

texastaximom · April 19, 2005, 12:34am

Haha! I saw the update and I had already bet on Duke!

irishforever · April 19, 2005, 12:57am

Hi Berurah! I bet earlier on that your incredible son would end up picking JHU, though we were hoping for Duke! But we have just returned from our son’s Blue Devil Days experience at Duke, and am now reading all that has transpired on cc with regard to your s in our absence! So I am changing my bet to Duke, because the money will certainly make a difference–and, I have to say, we were completely blown away by the CIEMAS addition to the Pratt School of Engineering!! We went for one of the BDD with an emphasis on Pratt, and it was amazing. When we visited a little over a year ago, the addition was still under construction. It just opened in the fall, with a little more work being completed in a few areas, and it is truly spectacular. We loved everything we saw and heard, and were so impressed with the dean and everyone else we met and heard speak. Our son is very excited, and the rest of the programs and treks around the campus only served to happily reaffirm the decision he had already made.

The fact that your son is receiving such personal attention really speaks volumes. He will ultimately have great opportunities wherever he ends up, and will shine.

I have to agree with Simba, he may truly have the best overall experience at Duke–and I say that not because our s is going there. They spoke about so many research opportunities at Duke, they have truly committed to excellence in their expansion and in the programs they are offering and the environment couldn’t have been more inviting. Plus, from all that I have read on cc about your s, his heart is probably at Duke, and that goes a long way in their attitude about everything else connected with school.

I know the next 2 weeks will be so difficult. We will be praying that he continues to be as thoughtful and mature about this process as he obviously has proven to be. I truly believe it all works out, and they end up where they are meant to be!!

Good luck!

berurah · April 19, 2005, 1:49am

irishforever~

I can just feel the Duke excitement in your post!! I am so very glad to hear that you and your son had a fabulous experience at Blue Devil Days! What a wonderful feeling it must be to not only HAVE a college decision made but to also realize that it is a GREAT decision! I was wondering…I was going to send you a pm, but you don’t appear to have your pm option turned on. I don’t know if you have it off for a specific reason (some people do), but if you don’t mind getting a message, I’d love to send you one! ~berurah

latetoschool · April 19, 2005, 5:53am

Berurah, lol, please tell him he CAN’T consider asking for an extension, it will mess up the entire betting pool!

LOL this is too much fun - what a fine young man.

irishforever · April 19, 2005, 7:33am

Hi Berurah!

I sent you my email–would love to hear from you! We do feel lucky that our s is so happy. There will be times this summer that he will feel the anxiety they all have about leaving home–he is truly our kid who likes his familiar surroundings–but he is pretty much ready to make the leap, and certainly he is looking forward to the courses, being in an environment that is going to be intellectually challenging all the time and being a part of a university that has, up til now, only been a dream.

Your son will have that same feeling, whatever he decides!

simba · April 19, 2005, 9:08am

simba: JHU, 11:13 am CST 4/17/05
simba: Duke 2:15 pm CST 4/18/
simba: UPENN 3:15 CST 4/19
Maize&Blue: JHU, 4/24, 5:01pm CST (Duke an ever-so-close 2nd)
latetoschool: Duke, 12:00 CST 4/28
latetoschool: University of Miami 10:00 pm 4/28
mootmom: JHU, 4/18 (my birthday! ), 9:15am CST
cujoe169: upenn 4/20… 3:25pm cst…
tlaktan: UPENN, 4/22… 7:18pm CST
bigmain: JHU, 3:30 p.m. CST, 4/26/05
mini: JHU. 4/22…4.34 p.m. CST
achat: UPENN 4/20…4:30 pm CST
elizabeth22: Penn 4/25 8:22 p.m.
Redr002: JHU 9:21 p.m. CST 4/21
andi: JHU 11:59 p.m. CST 4/30
twinmom: UPENN 11:02 pm 4/29
somemom: JHU 4:55PM CST 05/01 (just in time for the required postmark)
fireflyscout: Miami 11:00AM CST 4/30
tetrahedr0n: JHU 12:05 AM CST 4/29
Momofthree: Duke 10:00 p.m. 4/27
Momof2inca: JHU 3 p.m. CST 4/25
ABlestMom: Duke 11:30pm 4/29
Kissy: JHU 2:07 p.m. CST 4/24
Carolyn: Duke (as soon as he visits)
lderochi: UMiami 10:13 PM, 427
Mstee: Duke 4:55 pm May1
lhasa: Duke 4/25 1:15 p.m. ET
Dadofsam: JHU 4/27, 7:30 PM CST
and for backup Miami 4/27 7:30 PM CST (because Miami has just announced the creation of a new biotech center)

marite (non betting person) - silent bet on Duke (name added without consent)

berurah · April 19, 2005, 9:14am

simba, my friend, you amuse me!! :)

~b.

berurah · April 19, 2005, 9:17am

irishforever~

Thanks SO much for sending your email addy!! I will email you ASAP. My middle daughter has an orthodontist appt. this a.m., so it will be a little later today. ~berurah

momsdream · April 19, 2005, 9:19am

Berurah-

I’ve also not opened this thread until today…wow about Duke’s scholarship offer. CONGRATS!!! I’m anxiously awaiting the decision.

This got me thinking…why didn’t Duke offer this money up front if it’s based on need? Did you apply for need-based aid at Duke. Nothing against Duke or others…I’m just really curious about how ALL of the schools seem to suddenly realize you need aid ONLY after you present them with an offer from another school. And, if they didn’t realize you needed aid back when you originally applied, will they think you need aid again when it’s time to re-enroll for sophomore year?

I guess I’m nervous about the very generous “need based aid” offers that accompany freshman admission for heavily recruited kids at Ivy&Co (where there is no merit aid). Will we look “as needy” next year this time?

berurah · April 19, 2005, 9:35am

momsdream~

You raise an excellent point, and one which we ourselves are pondering at this very moment.

A couple of things though–I think that this question may be ultimately impossible for us to answer because of the sequence of events that could have been either coincidental or causational.

See, I neglected to have our tax forms in at the proper time. Duke needed those forms in order to prepare the financial aid package. Once they GOT the forms, the package came quite quickly and included the Duke Scholarship, a need based grant.

Now, the question is this…WOULD he have gotten that if the tax forms had been in on time? My son, as I have mentioned, is being quite heavily recruited by his regional adcom at Duke…a phone call, several emails, etc. In one of his replies to her, he explained what he had been offered at JHU and UPenn, and he also wrote about our precarious financial situation (with the pink slip).

So, the question is this: did the very lovely adcom “go to bat” for him with the finaid office, OR would he have received that anyway? (They do NOT have a copy of our pink slip or anything that would have “proven” additional need–I was just going to send it today.)

My son is VERY nervous about choosing something that doesn’t have “renewable” on it guaranteed in writing. He is AMAZINGLY reasonable and analytical about this, given his Duke dream, which, at least at this moment, appears to hold the possibility of reality.

I have a call into the finaid office at Duke (with his specific counselor). I read the fine print on the finaid docs and it clearly indicates that barring any SIGNIFICANT change in financial standing, this money can be pretty much counted on for the remainder of his term at Duke. BUT, and this is a big BUT, it is NOT guaranteed in writing.

So, I will keep you posted! I hope to have some answers later today re: the money from Duke.

Thanks for posting!! love, ~berurah

jack · April 19, 2005, 10:07am

berurah: I haven’t read this entire thread, only your last posting here. But for what it’s worth, Duke really is excellent with financial aid. I guess to have an adcom ‘go to bat’ for you always helps, but I suspect he would have received what he needed anyway. I don’t know if they look at finances differently from other schools, or they simply have more substantial funds for financial aid, but Duke (among private institutions of this caliber) is one of the best we’ve run across in terms of aid. Good luck with your son’s decision!

betting pool for berurah's Son

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