Thanks for your insight and school recommendations! I’ll make sure to look into them. I agree with you on the career/premed thing. I just don’t really know what I want to do, so I just put down the only idea I’ve had.
Also regarding Columbia and BUs and reaches in general: I’m starting to feel like maybe I should just limit these schools when I’m creating my list. Like, if they’re so expensive and hard to get into, should I even put them on my list? I get that articles on the internet and school counselors say to diversify you list with safety, target and reach, but i dunno… is it worth spending time and money applying to reach schools? (sorry for this blabbing im just voicing thoughts aloud )
Thanks for sharing about your daughter’s experience! I have two younger siblings too, and I know my parents said both of the won’t have as much savings as I do for college. I’ll definitely look into Buffalo and the other SUNY schools!
Run the NPCs: if your family makes 200k and under, some of these reach schools could be the least expensive on your list.
(You have to run the NPC on each college because they each have their own formula).
Once you know which ones are within budget, you can apply to a handful you really like. A positive for you is that they are topnotch in most subjects so that you’ll find strong majors regardless of what you choose. If none are affordable then you can cross then out and pivot.
Thanks for weighing in! I agree about not having to decide on premed right now, like I still don’t know if that’s what I really want! The WICHE/WUE schools is a good point. I remember my dad bringing that up once, I’ll look into it more.
Thank you for this! I just don’t know what it is I want for a career yet, and the only thing I’ve had the slightest interest in is premed. So when my dad asks me what I want to do, I just say like maybe premed?? I guess I’ve felt some pressure to get things figured out soon, because I’m a little scared to mess things up or choose the wrong thing… But you guys are all opening my mind up, I’m definitely not going to commit myself to anything too early, and focss on finding a school I’ll enjoy being at!
And I will make sure to look into Ohio and Nevada! Thanks again!
Thanks for all the great advice, stories and sources. I will make sure to follow up with the schools and sources you’ve noted. I am leaving for my study abroad soon, so I just wanted to make it known I probably won’t be visiting this again in a while or making new replies. I definitely feel more comfortable with the idea of going to college to just explore. I’m definitely not feeling the need to commit to a major or future career too soon anymore!
Our DD was t sure what she wanted to do for a career either. She enrolled as undeclared, and declared engineering as a sophomore. She DID finish her engineering major, and also picked up a biology major. She will never be an engineer!
One thing that was valuable…she went to a college with a strong core course requirement. This required her to take courses across a LOT of different disciplines and some out of her comfort zone.
Even with that, she still had no real career in mind when she graduated, so she joined the Peace Corps.
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