<p>jack~</p>
<p>Thanks so much for posting! Actually, my son emailed his adcom last night to thank her for any assistance she may have provided in his getting the generous offer, and she wrote back this morning and told him that he had given her credit where none was due…that she had nothing to do with the offer that came his way. So, her reply seems to confirm exactly what you just said, that Duke IS excellent with financial aid. I find this VERY encouraging!!</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Hi Berurah! I’m off to the dentist myself–ugh! Look forward to your email later–</p>
<p>and the news for your s has been nothing but good from both the admissions, opportunities and financial aid standpoints–good things DO happen to those who deserve them!</p>
<p>Berurah, Duke is good about keeping the financial aid level barring changes in the financial statement. It is not a guarantee but I would be comfortable with the situation. </p>
<p>I am not a betting person, and I really have no preference for your son as there are advantages to picking either school. I hope he gets to sneak in a peek at the schools as that might be a deciding factor. I would think that at Hopkins he would have more of a running start in the research area ahead of the other frosh, and a visit might introduce him to the profs who may have specific projects that they can even discuss with him. If he is truly eager to get into research, that is the better choice. Not to say that he won’t find research opportunities at Duke, he will. But he will be one of the crowd, and there are designated scholars who will have first dibs there; he is not one of them. But I think Duke is more of an all around college experience, and if that is more attractive to him he should pick Duke over Hopkins. </p>
<p>Though the choices are difficult, I think when he thinks it out, it won’t come down to one name over another but more like picking between different journeys. A beach vacation is not “better” than a trip to Alaska or Europe, but you pick one over the other depending on what you want to do during the journey. Good luck, and congrats again to him.</p>
<p>
jami~
I thank you for your contribution to this discussion. I am feeling much more comfortable about the grant situation right now. I received an email from my son’s finaid counselor regarding this matter, and she said basically what you just did. She even mentioned the fact that since we will have another one enrolled in college full-time two years after my son, his grant award would likely increase at that time. She was also very upfront about the levels of student contribution and loans being raised slightly as he moves through the program.</p>
<p>As I have mentioned, my son’s Duke adcom has been VERY, VERY proactive. She has already passed along names and phone numbers of some people whom my son may be interested in talking to and/or working with. Like I told my son tonight…If Duke thought for one minute it would get anywhere with heavy recruiting…well, they were CERTAINLY RIGHT! <em>lol</em> The whole school has been just fabulous–very impressive personal attention.</p>
<p>However, my son is not willing at this point to write off the Hodson Scholar’s award. I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever met as analytical and far-thinking a kid as my son. He is VERY well aware of the benefits of that status at JHU. This is just an incredible quandary. And lately, he’s been talking much more about UPenn!! Oy Vey! </p>
<p>We just submitted some Letters of Special Circumstances to the schools and have finally completed the Penn finaid file (oops! glug…). I talked to them today, and they said they would have no problem finishing up everything and getting out a packet before the deadline.</p>
<p>So, we are still waiting on more info., and it’s seriously beginning to look like some extensions may be in order if we can even get them…</p>
<p>The saga continues <em>sigh</em> </p>
<p>jami, thank you so much for your continued support! love, ~berurah</p>
<p>I can also tell you that I am not at all fond of JHU’s financial aid office. They are a school that does not guarantee 100% of aid, and are too pragmatic at times in awarding aid when they feel they don’t have to. I have seen them gap kids or give too many loans when they apply ED, for instance. I will say they are upfront about that particular situation. I would call their offices and ask what you can expect when you have two in college, which you will have in two years. Though my experiences with that office have not been positive, they were very direct and did not waste my time giving me vague answers. This way you can get a feel for the style of both offices. You have been talking to Penn and Duke so you know what it is like dealing with them. Remember that you are getting them at their best right now, as they want your son. Once he is there, it can be a different story. </p>
<p>I can see Penn as a good option for your son in that he does have the opportunity, as at Hopkins to jump right into research. Whether he gets the other benefits which are selective and not guaranteed would not be so important if he has financial aid that is dependable. </p>
<p>I do hate financial aid because it is one more office at the school that needs to be on the list. It does not end after admissions, and it behooves a student to know his FA people as it is easier to chintz on someone you don’t know than someone who has been visiting your and you know his face. And you just never know if the staff will turn over, policies change, etc. With merit awards, you know you have it each year as long as you keep up with the requirements–usually gpa threshholds. If the market does poorly, the school gets an unusually high expense, if more financial aid than expected is needed for incoming freshman, it is usually the upperclassmen who literally pay. Most financial aid requires an increasing self help portion as the years go buy. I think Sybbie has best illustrated this in her financial aid model that she has demonstrated on so many posts. Now, of course tuition increases each year too, but it is really nice to be guaranteed that big chunk of a merit scholarship as the centerpiece of your package each year that is not touched by financial aid issues. </p>
<p>But what is great about this is that he really cannot make a wrong choice. Each journey is unformed in what will happen so you try to make the decision on current factors. Who knows what next year will bring? You can bring more issues to the present and address them, but the reality is that you cannot predict what will happen and much of it may be out of anyone’s control. So enjoy the quandry, and once you make the decision don’t keep looking back. The ones who really go crazy are ones who relive the decision wondering “what if” AFTER all is said and done. No problem focusing on the subject while it is right there in the present. Take care, Berurah.</p>
<p>jami~</p>
<p>I found your remarks about the financial aid office at JHU very interesting. I say this because one of the reasons why I’ve not talked to them directly is because when I called today, they did not have an option for a “real person” to answer the phone–I thought that was a bit strange at this crucial point in the college selection process. Instead, they had this recording that gave an instruction to leave your name and number so that your call could be returned (this WAS during working hours). To my knowledge, they never returned my call today, but maybe I forgot to check my Call Notes. </p>
<p>Anyway, the Hodson Scholarship paperwork that my son received with the acceptance indicated that JHU felt that all financial need would be met with the accompanying monetary award. There were no additional loans or work study options offered. Today, we submitted the Letter of Special Circumstances to them to explain a few issues, among them the pink slip. We’ll see what their response will be.</p>
<p>I said to my son bascially the same thing you said above with regard to Penn…that it would be better to have a solid finaid award rather than to try and count on the things that may or may not come with the Vagelos Scholars Program. That financial part of that program just seems too risky.</p>
<p>One thing I have appreciated about the Duke finaid office is that it immediately assigned a personal finaid counselor for my son and gave us her name, phone number, email, and fax number. I feel like someone there is responsible and that we won’t slip through the cracks. I can definitely see what you are saying about having a more personal relationship with your finaid counselor. Excellent advice, IMHO, and something I’d not have particularly thought of on my own.</p>
<p>Well, we’ll just have to see what happens as a result of the letters I sent out today. I’ll keep you posted, and again, thanks for the advice and support! love, ~berurah</p>
<p>I would not be offended with the message, as long as they do call you back at a reasonable time. I always advise people not to expect to catch adcoms, financial aid, any of these people on the fly, and if they do, they should still schedule a phone appointment with them in order to expect to get their full attention. Particularly at this time of the year. The way each school handle this is different but it is the end result that is important and how the person who does call you handles the questions. What I hate the most are the ones who do try to resolve something right away when they are not really prepared, have other things on their plate, and have not studied the file. What can too easily happen is that they can get stuck in a position, not favorable to you, and it becomes difficult for them to back off. Or if an underling makes a decision, and his boss feels that he has to back him up. You really do not want to corner anyone into making hasty decisions or statements. You can expect full attention when they do come to your case and are in your scheduled time. It’s sort of like barging in or someone when they are busy, and insisting on a moment of their time on something that may need some serious thought, consideration and manipulation. One of my pet peeves is when I get an unexpected phone call requiring important answers to things that are not at the top of head or at my fingertips. Or when someone returns my call at their convenience and I am not prepared but on the spot. They just do not get the best of me under those circumstances.</p>
<p>With Penn, when you strip the possibilities of the Vagelos Program, you still have some good certainties , it seems to me, in research opportunities, just no merit aid. BUt if the financial aid works, you’ll have the money situation just like Duke with the research possibilities like Hopkins. But frankly, I think he would like the campuses at Hopkins and Duke better, from what I have gathered. Penn is very much city, and though Hopkins is in Baltimore, it is in a residential area and the campus is a world of its own complete with a wall around it. Penn is more integrated into its city. And some kids prefer that. But opportunity wise, the Program does sound good. Your son did get some prize plums!</p>
<p>berurah~ congrats to ur son on the grt acceptances and fin aid!! i juz discovered this thread as i hardly frequent parent threads…
by the sound of all the posts i skimmed thru and how enthusiastically they are betting on your son’s decision, he seems like a very special person…
i am curious abt his stats, act more abt his 'hook’s than stats 
and congrats to him and u once again!! :)</p>
<p>Analytical, shmatalytical. I’m going for Duke.</p>
<p>Hurray for Berurah’s S!!! This is SO exciting (especially since I’m not the one who has to do the deciding!)…</p>
<p>Berurah: You can “borrow” my S’s broken & dislocated ankle and the surgery he needs for it (tomorrow) to get your extension if you’d like…we’d happily give it up (Grin)…and it’s a “magic” excuse for an extension…we’ve got 3 of 4 schools already giving S an extra week…(the 4th hasn’t responded yet)…</p>
<p>I"m not gonna bet (despite this being a betting pool thread)…but I’ll express my hope S picks JHU–cuz it’s closer to here and thus increases the chances that we’ll get some time w/S on “short” school holidays! But if he picks Duke, Duke’s not so far from the DC area, either–certainly it’s closer than KS! Surely he could get a ride up here for those short holidays where a trip home may not be in the cards…</p>
<p>Bottom line: HURRAY and HUZZAH! Mazel Tov (from a former Catholic girl to her Jewish friend)…we’re so thrilled for you!</p>
<p>
cheers~clear, concise, and PRICELESS!</p>
<p>overanxious mother~Awwwwwwwww, hon, you know if I COULD take your S’s broken ankle away, I would surely do it! I know you must be nervous with the prospect of tomorrow’s surgery looming. I’m so glad that that part will be over soon, and he can just get right on that road to recovery. That’s wonderful that the schools are being supportive (at least three out of four, so far!). I hope Cornell comes through with the extra week you are requesting, especially since it is so high on his list! I will email you later today–I’ll be thinking about you and S and praying for quick, uneventful, and very successful surgery! </p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>berurah FYI</p>
<p>After the recent harsh and incredibly valid criticisms of merit aid I have hesitiated to post but want to be sure you and others considering merit awards vs fa understand all your options. Probably this information is already clear to you but it only became clear to me with time. If your son accepts a strictly merit award he may be able to keep any additional scholarships he wins… at least that is the case with a couple of students I know. This may be something to check on with JH. In this scenario it becomes possible for some students to have tuition and room and board covered. Some students end up with more than those expenses and can apply awards to books, computers, travel.</p>
<p>Students who win one major scholarship may win others as undergrads.
It may not be fair, is certainly elitist, but it does happen. Good luck!</p>
<p>neha1~</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your sweet post and for the kind words about my son. The wonderful folks here at CC have embraced him as their own, and for that, I am so very grateful because we live in an area in which <em>very</em> few kids ever go through the elite college admissions process, and we would have been virtually on our own had it not been for these knowledgeable and generous people on this forum.</p>
<p>My son is a BWRK (bright, well-rounded kid if you are unfamiliar with the term). His transcript was nearly perfect–one B+, an 89.4, in Honors English his freshman year, but other than that, all A’s and A+'s in the most challenging curriculum offered at his school. He ended up having to take Calc. II and III at the local college this year because he had finished all of the math courses offered by his school. His test scores were strong, but not perfect. We mostly submitted his 34 composite ACT because it reflected a 99th %ile ranking and was a bit higher than his SAT score, but we also submitted that to schools which requested it.</p>
<p>Hooks–Well, I am sure that geography did not hurt him any. We are from Kansas, a state underrepresented at most of the elite colleges. But the biggest hook was related to something that occurred many, many years prior to our even thinking about college.</p>
<p>My son also has many diverse talents and interests…not only is he gifted in the science/math area, but he recently qualified to attend the National Forensics League debate nationals in Philly next June. He really loves debate!</p>
<p>When my son was eight years old, he developed an intense interest in infectious diseases. He tore up our little local library and devoured every medical text. His “favorite” disease at the time was AIDS…he found it utterly fascinating.</p>
<p>There was a local doctor in town who had started out as an ordinary internist, but over time, she began to see many AIDS patients and slowly became the region’s most renowned AIDS practitioner. She was regularly, if infrequently, mentioned in the local paper for her work. When my son was nine, he wrote her a little letter, scrawled on notebook paper in pencil. In that letter, he praised her work, called her his hero, and asked if he could visit her and ask her some questions about AIDS. As it turned out, she was a faculty member of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and her office was in the same building as our pediatrician’s. On one of our visits, my son had the privilege of meeting her and talking with her about his interests.</p>
<p>She continued to be my son’s role model over the intervening years, and long story short, in the end she issued a letter of recommendation talking about my son’s long-standing interest in infectious diseases and his level of intelligence and determination. The bizarre twist was that in those intervening years, she happened to become <em>very</em> nationally renowned, and she now holds a <em>very</em> high position with a national physicians’ organization! My son knew her, respected her, and loved her when…but the colleges know of her NOW.</p>
<p>We owe this special doctor a debt we can never repay…for her kindness to an nine-year-old boy and her support of an 18-year-old young man. She is truly a remarkable person.</p>
<p>I hope I helped to answer your questions! I’d love to get to know more about YOU! Welcome to this thread, neha–glad to have you here! ~berurah</p>
<p>u have a gem for a son :)</p>
<p>neha~Awwwww, thanks!! Where are you in the college process right now? (Sorry if I’ve missed your posts elsewhere!). ~b.</p>
<p>hehe, i appleid to like mit/harvard/wharton and got rejected…i wa snto upset or naythign abt my rejection tho cause i knew i was not gonna get in… rite now i have applied for the three unis in singapore…
really hope they work out!!</p>
<p>Berurah, your story reminds me of one of ours— my 9 year old S wrote a letter to a local 10 p.m. news anchor once because he thought she was such a great anchor. She invited him to come to the studio and watch the 10 p.m. news broadcast live. What a thrill!</p>
<p>neha~</p>
<p>I am so very sorry for your rejections…I know how painful they can be. My son was rejected in the EA round at Yale and then again from Stanford and Cornell. And then he got accepted at Penn, Duke, and JHU…so you see, it really IS a crapshoot! I so hope that your other college options work out for you. You sound like a very capable and determined student, and I’m sure that you will find much success in the years to come. Keep the faith, O.K.? And the very best of luck to you! hugs, ~berurah</p>
<p>kinshasa~Oh, how CUTE! Don’t you just love it when a successful (and BUSY adult) responds to an adoring child so kindly? You want to know the weridest thing? The doctor my son wrote actually KEPT this little letter, and she sent a copy of it to the colleges along with her rec!!! The Duke adcom mentioned specifically how cool that was! I’m glad that your son got to do such a thrilling thing with one of his idols! ~b.</p>
<p>I would pick Univ of Miami because I will bet they will give the most money!</p>