I have an infatuation with Wooster because I think it would be great fit for D. Maximum merit still has it just above our limit but I keep trying to justify its inclusion. Stupid, I know, especially since D doesn’t particularly care.
With TCNJ as a pretty sure bet is there any point in keeping Wooster from an academic standpoint?
Rowan is an admission and financial safety, and strong in sciences. Ursinus is an admission safety, more expensive but with more generous–and automatic merit --and local enough we would save on other other expenses. There are other schools on the list but these seem the most comparable.
D will most likely major in molecular biology or biochemistry
Listen to your D. If she doesn’t care for the school and you have safeties that she prefers then it is fine to drop it. If you want to spend the money to apply and see how things fall there is no harm (as long as there is not an extensive supplement for Wooster. FWIW I made my D apply to one school she had no interest in – she still complains about how I wasted $70.
Don’t take her there - she will love it! If she liked Muhlenberg, she will like Wooster too. I just did Early Aid Estimator and we may have to drop it since she qualifies for max merit and FA didn’t meet our need. But since it is free app, I told her we can apply and hope for a miracle. And I don’t think there are any supplements other than a one page financial supplement in lieu of CSS profile.
Honestly, maybe send in for Early Aid Estimator just so you can either put it on the list or take it off before you visit.
Hmmmm. I wonder if I should do the early aid estimator, just to feel like I covered our bases? It might be a waste of time because of their maximum merit policy.
Wooster might be cheaper than Muhlenberg for us but Muhlenberg is less than two hours away instead of seven. That means we’d save in on a lot of other stuff with Muhlenberg. And who knows, maybe Muhlenberg will like D and she’ll get a better offer than we expect.
My rational brain gears are turning a little more. Thanks @2018mom2018
Agree with @2018mom2018. My son likes Muhlenberg and really likes Wooster with the undergrad research and IS. He just recently finished his free app. Unless your D knows she wants to be within a few hours of home, it might not hurt to do the early aid estimator since your D isn’t emotionally “tied” to it. If it comes back unfavorably, little harm and you have your answer. If you get a surprise, maybe then it’s time for a visit. Can PM me if you want any more feedback on his visits (been to both twice).
FYI I know Muhlenberg honestly acknowledges “preferential packaging”. I don’t know if Wooster does. We will see who comes back cheaper (have a few others on the list and the final decision won’t be made on 2k-3k difference), guessing Wooster will be more affordable.
@jcmom716 Thanks for your reply. Wooster seems to have updated their website. They will give a maximum of $34K in merit, and that includes academic merit and the arts total. I think my D might get a top academic merit and a a music scholarship to reach the $34K.
We would be looking at $26K in direct costs. But then we would have to add travel and medical insurance.
Muhlenberg is a mystery…
Ursinus has a net cost of $63K. D automatically qualifies for $30 but their NPC had them offering more with a lower net price around $28K. They have a more generous competitive scholarship that looks at leadership in addition to academic, minimum $35K award.
I compare all of this to D’s instate safeties of Stockton ($15K-ish with merit) and Rowan (maybe a tiny bit more but could even be less).
For the personalized LAC experience, I have Baldwin-Wallace and St. Vincent College, which should both be around $21K automatically.
There are others on the list but they are completely depended on competitive merit.
Well, I think there’s your answer It’s worth keeping on if your daughter is super enthusiastic OR if there’s something really special that you think differentiates it from the other LACs that she’s considering. Wooster does emphasize undergraduate research, but there are lots of LACs at which it’s relatively easy to get involved in undergrad research (and the other thing is, as great as undergrad research is, not every undergrad is really going to need or want to get involved in it. Is your daughter at all interested in research?). And lots of colleges in general have really friendly vibes.
I will say that I’m a big fan of applying and seeing what happens - unless you need to narrow down the list because the application costs are getting out of hand. There’s little harm in keeping it on to apply.
@juillet Thanks for your feedback. D really wants to be able to do research after a summer program she attended. But it’s true that she should be able to get that experience in other places.
Hopefully, we can find other friendly places, too.
It’s worth keeping on if your daughter is super enthusiastic OR if there’s something really special that you think differentiates it from the other LACs that she’s considering. Wooster does emphasize undergraduate research, but there are lots of LACs at which it’s relatively easy to get involved in undergrad research (and the other thing is, as great as undergrad research is, not every undergrad is really going to need or want to get involved in it. Is your daughter at all interested in research?). And lots of colleges in general have really friendly vibes.