<p>My daughter waited until there were only 5 minutes left on decision day.I almost flipped a coin.</p>
<p>Every April 15 when the local news stations in NYC interviewed people mailing in their taxes just before the deadline (in the days before e-filing!), my brother always said that they weren’t late until the stroke of midnight and a postmark of April 16. Likewise high school students who wait for the last minute!</p>
<p>Are there lots of engineers at these schools with GPAs below 3.0?</p>
<p>UCSD has two brand new dorms (3 yrs old) w hotel like accommodations and WiFi hot spots everywhere & Pomona College as well bcuz they gut old buildings & refurbish the interiors… Pomona also has built new dorms while housing students in nearby luxury apartments (college park) 2K per month apts w full size WD in each… Who does that anyway? Pomona is loaded w $$$ & would match Columbia offer no doubt plus they have increased pplz aid rather than bait & switch like many colleges… I know time is of the essence, but if money is the decider ( & I am @ Ucla vs Rice in a tight decision due to $$$FA) Please contact Pomona FA to match/exceed all offers… $13 Billion endowments for a small student body have astonishing perks for students at Pomona… Long term I think Engineering is the best but I hate debt so…</p>
<p>Hmmmmmm Really no one wakes up at colleges & feels the warm glow of rankings excellence everyday even tho they play heavily in the decisions before deciding & in some post collegiate hiring/ grad school decisions… What has been pretty great is having my parents here for parents weekends & engineers week & at the Rose Bowl w my dad for games, so if your son is all the way in NYC - will that impact your opportunity to still visit & be there if needed and/or invited? Cal has a brand new stadium on the same spot on campus, and I’m sure you would worry less if U could visit more…</p>
<p>Hipkittyz, my daughter has made it clear that she wants to attend college at least a few hours away from me (although she wants to come back to live in NYC afterward). We’ve found schools that are pretty close as the crow flies that are much harder to reach by bus or plane than clear across the country in CA. It’s cheaper to travel from NYC to LA than to many places in PA or Ohio, and not that more expensive to go from NYC to LA than to Buffalo, NY, 8 hours on a bus.</p>
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<p>So… not to sidetrack, but just to be clear. Do decisions need to be POSTMARKED on May 1? Or mailed so they get to the office by May 1? Or faxed by midnight on May 1? What if they say original Financial Aid docs need to be signed and returned to the college office by “May 1”? Just want to let D know what the actual docking date/time is. :)</p>
<p>There are 1530 students in SEAS. There are 1200 students in EECS at Berkeley.</p>
<p>[College</a> Facts ? UC Berkeley College of Engineering](<a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/about/college-facts.html]College”>Facts and figures - Berkeley Engineering)</p>
<p>ucbalumus , you are exactly right to the penny and no, we couldn’t pay $17K if he lost regents. You have helped me so much along the way. MY first choice would be Berkeley. I think it’s crazy to turn down one of the best engineering schools in the country. I could pay the $1200 extra that Columbia is going to cost and buy him a tutor to make sure he keeps the 3.0 through the first year!!</p>
<p>It’s cheaper than Columbia and only 90 minutes from our home. There would be no buying winter coats, no airplane rides, just hop in the car and go. The 3.0 is worrisome no doubt so there is a real risk. S loved the campus, loved the kids but did NOT love the housing and being forced to room in a triple. Columbia provides singles to 70% of freshman. S doesn’t really care about the housing, new or old, except those triples look miserable.</p>
<p>If we didn’t have the money issue, I think he would pick Cal. Without the Jacobs Scholarship, he wouldn’t have even considered UCSD. Columbia is just exciting right now because it’s NYC and an Ivy and those things are tempting for an 18 year old, I think. Living far away in the cold, long travel times, and working like a dog for a lower ranked engineering school that seems to turn out more bankers than engineers just doesn’t seem very good to me but what do I know, I’m only the mother who doesn’t want my kid 3000 miles away. I do know he doesn’t want to be in finance or banking.</p>
<p>Well, at least we all agree that Pomona is off the list.</p>
<p>Uh… Postmarked? All of this is probably on-line with credit cards in hand! That is Y U can wait 'til the last minute with reliable Internet connectivity… All of these have wait listed families who will gladly take your spot if U are relying on the mail!</p>
<p>Does he think that Pomona is off the list? He must have chosen it for a reason…</p>
<p>intparent, you have to go back and check the paperwork for each school. Some you can just click the link to accept online. Others, like Pomona, have to RECEIVE the deposit by May 1st, not just post marked but there’s always overnight mail!</p>
<p>Just to clarify, S is in mechanical engineering for Berkeley if that matters. I’ve been convinced it’s a good choice and will provide a good foundation for whatever type of engineering he decides to get into. UCSD is aerospace engineering that is a little worrisome because of the industry downturns. Columbia allows the kids until their 2nd year to declare an engineering major.</p>
<p>FedEx tomorrow if U R not on-line with e-mail confirmation & credit card receipts real time!</p>
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<p>If that did happen, would he and you be ok with him taking Stafford loans and some work or work-study to make up the $8,500 expected student contribution (assuming your contribution would be the $8,750)?</p>
<p>There are frugalization opportunities at Berkeley. The on-campus financial aid budget assumes a double room in the dorms; a triple saves about $2,000 per year (but very cramped in Unit 1, 2, 3; Clark Kerr rooms are bigger, but further away). The off-campus financial aid budget is lower, but the BSC co-ops are about $3,400 per year less than that, with many right next to the engineering part of campus. Apply to BSC co-ops as early as possible (i.e. now) if that is of interest (even for fall 2014).</p>
<p>Which residential college was he admitted to at UCSD? (Revelle, Muir, Warren,…) – they each have different core requirements that need to be considered when looking at the engineering course plan.</p>
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Yes - somewhere around half of them. It might depend on the particular engineering major to some extent though - i.e civil E might have a different balance than CS or Aerospace/mech E. At the UCs at least, there’s not much in the way of grade inflation in the engineering departments (usually the opposite).</p>
<p>The OP’s S’ stats certainly imply he’d be in the upper half at any of these schools but there’s no guarantee so it’s best to keep the eyes wide open going in.</p>
<p>Whether U are 100 miles or 3000 miles from home, Health care for students is extremely important… UCShip is wonderful and delivers unparalleled health care to students at Ashe & Ucla Ronald Reagan hospital. UCSD is the same according to my BFF who attends UCSD. Freshman year I contracted NoroVirus & was sick all night in my dorm floor bathroom, dehydrated, passed out & was taken for emergency care… Many students experience this more often than me if they drink or indulge in risk taking activities so checkout Health services & insurance thoroughly especially if far away! Cal would offer UCShip which is amazing in quality of care and price incl Delta Dental!</p>
<p>arabrab, He was admitted into Muir. He loved the location, the dining and the dorms. We sat down and plugged all of his APs into the requirements and they sure don’t make it easy with everything in “series” so he would actually get the most credits at Cal. There is no breathing room at UCSD with aerospace and Muir to get out in 4 years. Everything has to fit together like clockwork.</p>
<p>Cal actually has finaid for the 5th year if you take longer to graduate especially for engineering and he would get ALL his ap credits and his community college classes would count, too. </p>
<p>BUT, ucbalumnus, I would NOT be happy taking that amount in loans. I’m not even sure we can pay our EFC and we might have to do loans for that amount-yikes. Today is Cal Day and I really wanted him to go but he went to Columbia today instead because he already did the Regents overnight program at Cal.</p>
<p>It almost as if whatever school he visited last, that’s one goes to the top of the list. He just called and told me he bought me a Columbia Mom shirt! OH NO, I really, really liked my Cal Mom pin.</p>
<p>If he likes Columbia and is committed to eng’g, I would recommend he go there for eng’g. $7200 for Columbia is a great deal! </p>
<p>Pomona makes no sense because it lacks eng’g, while the other two schools have GPA requirements for continuing aid, and there is a huge difference between columbia and ucsd especially. Also, UCB wlll have much larger classes than Columbia, and he may not get as much liberal arts there. Your son will have a modified core at Columbia eng’g and so will get a good taste of the liberal arts. Also, there are a myriad of eng’g opportunities in nyc. This is not a particularly close choice unless he is worried about going far away from home.</p>
<p>Hipkittyz, That is really an important point. Cal and UCSD both included his health care costs. Pomona only agrees to pay 1/2 while Columbia pays all but only for students below a certain income level. </p>
<p>For others comparing costs and on a tight budget, you HAVE to find out what your school does because that could easily tack on another $2K. S has insurance through us but it won’t cover him outside of 60 miles or something unreasonable so no school that he is looking out would fall in that range.</p>
<p>What’s your favorite school color?</p>