<p>Unless this changed last year, WUSTL requires student health insurance, even if your insurance covers you there. No way to opt out.</p>
<p>I agree with all you said especially about not being prepared for grad school. Yes, they do accept the credits as do most schools that accept transfer students. And yes you can study abroad that much at Marist and scholarships can be used. Her college courses were taken at a cc that is considered one of the best in CA and is a feeder to Cal which is what we call UC Berkeley. In fact during the summer it is filled with UC students and the first class my d took there also had a Stanford student in her class. She also took a couple courses at Harvard and they were regular H classes. My daughter goes to a school that has excellent teaching so that is a concern. By the way, what is UNO?</p>
<p>Typo for uni. Actually the phone made that correction itself. Knowing the kids who go to Marist they don’t sound like peers for your D. However, if you are happy with your plan, I’m sure it can work if Marist is that flexible. Many schools do not consider college courses transfer credits when taken by an undergrad. Bout you have obviously done your homework. I wish your daughter the best of luck.</p>
<p>mythmom, the sad thing is that the plan is only a back up to what you said as far as my d not fitting in with her peers if she attends Marist. And I think I did too much homework, making the decision more complicated than it should be. I am very relaxed and can roll with whatever i’m dealt in some regards and totally obsessive about others. This obviously falls in the latter. I’m going to tell myself I did as much as I could in obtaining info…for crying out loud, I’m on cc 
Thanks to all for helping me experience the helpful, smart, caring community of cc.</p>
<p>krsmom, I think the difference can be stated this way: Smith is the kind of place where people go to have a transforming educational experience. Marist is the kind of place people go to to get a job credential. (Yes, of course, there are some of each at both schools. But in general…)</p>
<p>krsmom- it also might come down to whether your D would most like being the tippy top at her college (big fish small pond) or right in the mix at a more rigorous college. Either one can be fine/great, it really is a matter of preference.</p>
<p>If you can do it, Smith. Smith is a wonderful school, that really does change lives. You wont find a better education anywhere, the campus is gorgeous and the surrounding town is great</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC</p>
<p>I am just about done planning our trip next week. Originally we were going to leave this Monday, which is during dd’s Spring break. Since accepted student events for all 3 colleges start next week, we pushed our trip back and have had to cancel and rebook everything.</p>
<p>Really looking forward to finally seeing Smith and the town of Northampton.</p>
<p>I would not fly across the country to attend Marist. Trinity and Smith would be worth it to me. </p>
<p>(Full Disclosure: My SILs father was a renowned professor at Trinity until his death a few years ago. My SIL is a Trinity grad. Some of my high school friends attended Trinity and have done very well. I know several current students. It is close to where I grew up. IMHO the area is not great, but it could be worse. And it’s really close to Hartford Hospital.)</p>
<p>The Five College Consortium is a fantastic resource and Northampton is a fantastic college town. My money is on Smith…</p>
<p>Enjoy your trip, and please keep us posted!</p>
<p>We returned from visiting the three school’s. Marist was first and dd had an easy time eliminating it because of it’s lack of rigor. She sat in on a class and was surprised that it seemed like no one was prepared. </p>
<p>Trinity went well with an informal open discussion with a professor from the econ department. The surrounding area wasn’t as bad as we remembered it. We also drove by after landing at Bradley in the evening.</p>
<p>Smith was amazingly beautiful and Northampton and the surrounding area was idyllic to me. The young women at the open campus event were impressive in their smarts, poise and accomplishments. It was a dream come true…for me. Unfortunately, my daughter didn’t feel the same. </p>
<p>She didn’t have a magical feeling anywhere. She will talk to her cc and teachers. Two teachers went to Smith and an administrator went to Trinity. </p>
<p>She is bringing up Drexel University where she was accepted into their business engineering program. I am not a fan because I think she needs a teacher that speaks english and I’ve heard that this is a problem they are working on from an advisor when we was there in February.</p>
<p>We need to figure this out soon.</p>
<p>I loved Smith, too, and so did my H, but my daughter didn’t either. Sometimes schools appeal to parents more than kids.</p>
<p>And since my D chose another all women’s college, that wasn’t the issue.</p>
<p>Hope your D gets some clarity soon, and I am happy that she is not choosing Marist which many people here felt wasn’t a good fit.</p>
<p>Hugs to you krsmom, as I know this is a stressful time for you all! My family was in a similar position just 4 short years ago. D3 was an indecisive child since birth; always afraid of making the wrong choice. Final college decision came down to 2 totally opposite type schools…an OOS public and a private, Catholic. A substantial scholarship at the latter made the cost at both about the same. I dont’ recall either giving D that “magical feeling.” We visited each school twice and after several agonizing (for hubby and I) weeks, D finally chose the private, Catholic. I think in her heart of hearts she knew it was the right choice all along, but it was so opposite from what she thought she wanted when she started her college search, it took a while to reconcile it in her head. Must have been the right decision because she will be graduating in a few short weeks with a degree in accounting and a job at a big four accounting firm set for September!</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your daughter and have faith she will make the best decision for her future. Keep us posted!</p>
<p>krsmom – glad you all visited Smith. Sometimes you don’t get the magical feeling that this school is The One – instead, you do a sober evaluation of pros and cons. I hope she considers all the opportunities Smith would give her and doesn’t rule it out completely.</p>
<p>If the choice is between Trinity and Smith, she will do well either place. There are no wrong answers. If it were my daughter …</p>
<p>(pls note I do not have any daughters – but I am a graduate of an all-girls high school that sent several girls to Smith, and I know several current and former Trinity students) …</p>
<p>I’d vote for Smith. I think women’s single sex education is incredibly empowering.</p>
<p>Just MHO. Have her write down the list of pros and cons for each school. Or flip a coin and see how she feels with the result.</p>
<p>Once we set the monetary limit, we let our kids decide within that framework. The 3 schools you have listed, are all small NE schools but different in flavor. I’ve known kids successful and happy at all three. Trinity is a favorite school for those coming out of independent schools and is an outstanding LAC. Beautiful campus. Yes, Hartford is a rough go, but that is the case of a number of schools’ areas. Johns Hopkins, UCHicago, Columbia all have this issue and Marist being in Poughkepsie is not exactly an upscale city either. Check on what the incidents of students being endangered at all of the locations. SOmetimes those numbers can be surprising. I agree with Mini on his comments about where most of the dangers to college kids lie.</p>
<p>I’m confused. Why was Marist in the running at all if the student wanted to double major in engineering and business (or econ)? Marist doesn’t have engineering! </p>
<p>Also, although Smith is a wonderful school, their engineering program is quite new. AND it is a generic engineering degree, so you are not an electrical engineer or chem. engineer or mechanical etc. So I would question its usefulness, except perhaps as a gateway to grad school. </p>
<p>Re: Drexel - it does seem like a place where she can combine both of her interests, though I think you may run into the same issue about bad neighborhoods. The issue of teachers with accents pops up all over the place, but perhaps more frequently(?) at engineering schools. I think Americans are less inclined to get a PhD in engineering and go on to teach because they can make so much more money in the corporate world. My theory anyway…</p>
<p>The qaulity of education at Smith is not worth $120,000 more than Marist.</p>