@FHS2020 now I understand your user name I like your son’s list. We looked at many of those schools too (well, not your reaches). I know UConn and RIT are known for their support services. Have you checked them out? My son focused on smaller schools - I think he’d get lost easily at somewhere like UConn. He got accepted everywhere except UNH and Catholic and got great merit everywhere, which was a surprise.
Re: transfer. We were told the same thing. My d had to transfer last year due to a significant drop in FA at University of Rochester. She got excellent merit from all the private schools she applied to as a transfer, like $30k. They were all lower ranked but still good schools. She even got merit from OOS publics. I was surprised since I had been told not to expect much.
I loved WPI, but my son didn’t, and it would’ve been a reach anyway. Clarkson’s probably in the top spot. We know quite a few grads and they all just gush about it. We visited when he was a sophomore (on or way home from Canada), but he wants to visit again so we’re going for Accepted Students Day. Good luck to your son! Does he have any favorites?
Thanks for the info - good to know transfer might have merit but sounds like she was transferring with good grades in hand - which might not be the case if our S finds himself over his head.
Yes, worried a bit about a big school being an issue - trying to decide if honors programs help or add to stress/demands - particularly writing as writing is not a strong suit.
So, he’s heard from Steven’s? I think I’m the one intrigued by them - proximity to NYC opportunities.
Glad to hear Clarkson has good recommendations - it’s intriguing for sure. I think S is in a daze at this point. Just finished midterms so needs to take a breath.
Touching base. Was thinking of you as we tried to get to Clarkson last night for a tour this morning - anticipating accepted student days wouldn’t happen. Halfway there we heard they were closing campus and canceling our tour. Of course Clarkson is the one campus (besides crazy CMU ultra reach) we haven’t visited.
So, looks like you’ve heard from everywhere - Clarkson still at top of list?
In case your curious, we are still waiting to hear from a few - the long shots
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell
Northeastern (deferred EA)
Lehigh
In at:
Rensselaer
WPI
Stevens
Marist
UConn
RIT
Quinnipiac
Clarkson
Champlain
Hi @FHS2020 So sorry to hear your tour was cancelled. Ugh. It’s not a short drive either! Were you able to look around campus at all? We were scheduled to go 4/4. I’m kind of bummed S won’t be able to do Accepted Students Day at his top 3: Clarkson, Manhattan, UMaine. (He got a “no” from Stevens today, which was expected.) UMaine is most affordable and he got into the honors college and Manhattan has a great location, but I think it will be Clarkson for him.
Congrats to your son - he’s done well and has great options! Does he have a favorite?
We were literally half way there so we turned around. (They were very firm about not coming up to walk around.) It was very nice that the head of admissions called to tell us.
Oddly, we had just pulled over at RPI as it was literally just off the highway, we walked around there a bit to refresh our memories.
We are really struggling with decisions. Marist turned us down for the assist program but reapplied with better documentation.
We are leaning towards closer schools RPI, WPI, Marist in case some weekend s at home will help him get through Freshman year.
He’s very intrigued by Clarkson so very frustrating to not have first hand view.
Crossing fingers we may get a chance to visit at some point some how.
@FHS2020 is your son closer to a final choice? My son still wants Clarkson, but with all that’s going on, I’m not ready for him to commit yet. There is a chance I could lose my job if this goes on long-term. I’m working from home now, but not one of the most essential employees in the organization. With that being a real possibility (and who knows how quickly I could find something else - no idea what the job market will be after this) I’m keeping UMaine on the list. Just curious where you guys are at in the decision-making process.
We just finishewd a long conversation about choices. Fortunate but also hard to have a long list - are you sure your interested!? lol
We may be narrowing in on Lehigh, Marist and RIT with my money on Marist. RPI and Stevens are still in the running.
Clarkson close to getting knocked out because really far, not that focused on CS vs Engineering, and very small town withg white male students… They really sold us through application process but less certain that its as good as it sounded.
Sorry about job situation. I took a 20% cut starting this week and fear that may not last if things don’t look a lot better for future of retail in 30 days.
No reason to commit there with deadline moved back to june 1 - right? Other than feeling settled - which matters if you are going to end up there. You might ask for more merit.
Thanks @FHS2020 Yes, Clarkson has moved back their deadline, but many of the other schools have not. I think they will eventually do so but… I did end up getting laid off. Applied for unemployment but no idea what I’ll receive. If my firm makes it through to the other side of this, I’m 100% confident I’ll be rehired, but who knows what the future holds. I was thinking of asking Clarkson for add’l money, but with all that’s going on, it seems doubtful schools are in a position to give more. I guess it can’t hurt to try. If they gave him a little more that would likely seal the deal.
Thought it might be helpful to include results, since they are all in.
Catholic U (EA) - rejected
Central CT State Uni - accepted, $1k merit
Clarkson - accepted, $32k merit
UHartford (EA) - accepted, $25k merit
UMaine (EA) - accepted, $15k merit, and Honors College invite
Manhattan College - accepted, $27k merit
UMass Dartmouth (EA) - accepted, $18k merit
UNH (EA) - rejected (oof, this was his number one)
Quinnipiac - accepted, $22k merit
Stevens Institute - rejected
Wentworth Institute - accepted, $16k merit
Honestly surprised at the rejection by Catholic; thought the odds were good. No big deal because it wasn’t a fav anyway. UMaine is least expensive, and it was nice to get into the Honors College. Still under consideration. Manhattan also still in the running due to location, enticing for a civil engineering major. Clarkson is in the number one spot right now, though. We know some grads and current students and hear only good things. Excellent job placement, small school, loves the location (outdoorsy kid, loves to ski and hike).
I think I’ve told you before but our Clarkson friends (multi generations of them) all raved about the school and all have done super well with their careers. I don’t think your son can go wrong there. He has some great options. Congrats!
You’re wise to be keeping Manhattan still in the running. It’s a special place. Your son will get supported through the rough spots. Their engineers have a long history of success. As you probably know, they have a new STEM building coming on line in September which will enhance their engineering facilities.
Some additional thoughts for a kid who loves the outdoors at Manhattan College. There’s a surprising amount of green space nearby. 50 Acre Riverdale Park has hiking trails with spectacular views of the Hudson. 1100 Acre Van Cortlandt Park is at the college’s door step and has lots of hiking trails available.
In addition, a student in Riverdale can do the reverse of what upstate students at Vassar, Bard, and Marist do. Instead of a day trip into the city, take a day trip out of the city from the Riverdale Metro North train station to any of the numerous hiking opportunities up the Hudson Valley. It’s not a long ride to where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Hudson, for example, and from there the sky’s the limit in either direction.
My recommendation for a kid who loves the outdoors is to take up biking as a hobby. There are bike trails and greenways in the Bronx and lower Westchester County. Not far from campus by bike, the entire West Side of Manhattan is one long bike trail along the Hudson. Invest in a good bike as a going-off-to-college gift and again the sky’s the limit for enjoying the outdoors.
Thanks @Bill Marsh. We were supposed to go for accepted students day this past week. Really wanted to see the new facilities and the entire engineering part of campus. We had done an open house last year, but we never got to that area. Really bummed that he won’t be able to visit before decision time. We’ll have to see if there’s an online tour available. Not much communication from Manhattan since CV came on the scene.
I like your son’s list. We looked at many of those schools too (well, not your reaches). I know UConn and RIT are known for their support services. Have you checked them out? My son focused on smaller schools - I think he’d get lost easily at somewhere like UConn. He got accepted everywhere except UNH and Catholic and got great merit everywhere, which was a surprise.