The visits were associated with trips already planned to those areas and involved economies of scale: multiple kids going off to school in quick succession.
Re: your second point, yes, you are 100% correct. I am not too worried about admission. Much more concerned with COA and fit with her criteria.
Yeesh, I had no idea about what happened in the Psych department in 2017. Very disturbing indeed.
Yes, this is a concern of hers too. Iāve heard multiple perspectives on this re: Dartmouth. We will certainly give that more thought.
Wouldnāt that be reflected in the NPC? Since it asks for home value, how much is owed on it, the purchase price and year of purchase?
Yes. But some schools donāt consider it. Dartmouth seems to. So you will likely get more aid at college that doesnāt ask for primary residence information.
In regards to the ivies, some do and some donāt. So if your student is competitive for an Ivy and cost is importantly to you, you will likely get more aid from, say, Princeton or Brown than from Dartmouth because the first two donāt consider your home equity when determining the aid package.
Miami of Ohio has great merit aid for out of state kids, a very strong honors program, and a neuroscience co-major. Itās also a drop-dead gorgeous campus (think brick/ivy/pristine landscaping - itās literally picture perfect!) in a very charming college town (but only about 45 minutes outside of Cincinnati so the city is easily accessed). The size meets your criteria and while Greek life is present, it is not overwhelming - my daughter was the farthest thing from greek or preppy and she managed to find her crowd there. She graduated in 2023 with a double major in biochemistry and psychology, plus the neuroscience comajor and sheās currently attending a top 10 Neuroscience PhD program. While at Miami, she had amazing opportunities for research and was able to secure all kinds of extra funding and awards both from the school and externally. We are not from Ohio, but with the merit they offered, the cost of attendance was the cheapest out of all the schools she applied to (including University of Delaware), coming in at well under $30K/year. I think it would definitely be worth looking into given your daughterās stats and interests. Good luck!
This is VERY interesting. I know nothing about Ohio. We will research Miami of Ohio.
Consider Furman. Friendly and collaborative student body. Greenville SC is 2 hours north of Atlanta and the campus has the trees of Emory and is generous with merit aid with these stats. Programs in neuroscience, psych and public health are strong. They have a program for community enagaged medicine that is also very strong.
Just ran the net price calculator for merit only at Furman. A 4.0 and 1520 give s $35,000 scholarship. Their cost if attendance is $74,000, so the scholarship brings it well below your goals.
Itās a large, cheaper OOS, and less selective W&M and while it has Greek life, no sorority houses. They use the dorms.
I literally thought being there - itās W&M but bigger.
And its reputation is also sparkling.
Itās a great choice for this thread.
I would love for Vassar to be an option. Not sure it will be financially, but Iāll research that some more. And I do love St. Olaf. I think that one will stay on the list.
Iāve seen other comments in other threads re: Kalamazoo. Iāll look into that as well. Thank you!
St Olaf assured $25K ED so maybe use that in your costing although I donāt know that theyāll match it EA. Vassar has no merit aid.
Another to look at -not in your zone but Whitman will give you an assured aid estimate up front.
With the right stats, Hendrix and Ogelthorpe will match your in state.
Of course W Carolina is a NC Promise school so runs $20k all in.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I worry that UChicago is too intense an academic culture. She is not competitive by nature, just a student who is very committed to learning. Does your son find UChicago to be intense?
He is only in his first year at UChicago so he canāt really speak to the intensity yet. I think most schools are as intense as one makes them. Personality has a lot to do with it. My son decided not to jump into clubs and research right away and took a light course load the first quarter. Heās focusing on making solid friendships, getting to know his professors, familiarizing himself with campus and exploring Chicago, establishing healthy routines like exercising and intramural sports. Heās saving internships and research for summer and just enjoying learning the first year. Heās in very small classes (one class has 4 students, the others have less than 20). So that makes it feel more collaborative. Heās met some kids who are intense and seem to still be in the throes of hyper-competitive high school life. But our son isnāt in a highly competitive major at UofC and tends to gravitate toward more relaxed personalities (of which there are many). The kids heās befriended just seem to love learning.
I note I have heard many similar things about Chicago, and I think it underscores that really being into academics, and wanting to put a lot of time and energy into academics, is not necessarily the same thing as being competitive about academics. And I do think whether the former slips into the latter often depends on future career goals, and the perceived scarcity of the desired next-step options.
Could you please help me find where you were able to determine merit award based on stats at Furman? Iām only seeing net price calculator.
Furmanās NPC gives both merit and need based aid estimates. Unfortunately the COA is dated on the linked page, so increase that accordingly.
I figured that out after posting, very generous with merit, but so glad you mentioned numbers being off as I hadnāt noticed. Off by around $6k and so glad to know this now when comparing. Thanks!
I see that your question about finding merit aid on the NPC was answered. Furman was the college spotlight on todayās episode of the podcast āYour College Bound Kidā if you want a summary/review.
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