<p>It is hard to think of any other business where the cost has risen 19% in a year for the same product. I hate to see people laid off, but there are certainly alternatives to gouging incoming freshmen–wage freezes; cost control mesures; etc</p>
<p>Historymom,
S decided on Berry College. They gave him a great scholarship, a small grant and a subsidized Stafford. He chose the cheapest non state school option and it will only be a few K more than the state schools and the same as a state school if you add in the Stafford. Berry has a very healthy endowment and it shows in the appearance of the campus, labs, and generous merit/need aid.</p>
<p>It was hard saying goodbye to my favorite schools but he seems happy with his choice. His decision was based on the overnight visit, sitting in on classes and talking to professors.</p>
<p>We are also relieved that Grinnell increased D’s need based aid (based on brother being in college next year) and, along with her merit scholarship, they met 100% of her demonstrated need. I am in love with that school. I do think schools will work with families around need once the kid is a returning student if the student is an asset to the college (good college GPA, activities). When she filled out the aid form for next year, they had a detailed section on activities and sports that the student was involved in at school. I also think it is a good idea to accept work study if it is offered as part of the package. I don’t think schools look kindly on student s who turn it down. I am reminding son of this for the future…</p>
<p>An obvious truth we noted in the college search-the better the endowment of the school, the better the aid. When we lined up S’s packages, they lined up best to worst according to endowment.</p>
<p>The total kid costs for next year will be tough with two in college. We won’t be eating out much and, when we do, it will be lunch specials.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>Hornet, CONGRATULATIONS!!</p>
<p>Great news, Hornet!</p>
<p>Hi guys…I am exhausted from the last 2 days, I picked up our eldest from college today (9 hour roundtrip) but I wanted to let you all know the outcome.</p>
<p>Yes, I do feel like the 24 hours was totally unfair, my son was so stressed out, and yes I noticed the outrageous tuition (although, Loyola MD is the same price). Bottom line, S chose Loyola and I’m happy about it (H will come around). I copied this from the Loyola thread because my eyes are shutting, S worked all day and is babysitting, tomorrow he works all day again then has practice. He’s a great kid, a hard worker and damn if he doesn’t deserve to go where he wants, and what he wants is Loyola. The in-your-face Catholicism turned him off at PC and he just couldn’t make a decision so quickly. Truth be told, his heart is with Loyola.</p>
<p>Here’s the other post, I’m copying it here because I’m nodding off. Thanks to you all, I appreciate all your posts.</p>
<p>"Last night as soon as we got home from PC S got ready for baseball at a minor league stadium…his team won and they’re going to the states!</p>
<p>He had to work (his summer job started already on weekends, he works at a country club), so he woke up and said “Loyola”. I almost started crying…because I don’t think I’ll see him much, and H wasn’t happy, wanted PC.</p>
<p>Half hour later he calls from work and says “I changed my mind, I want to go to PC”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I’m driving 4.5 hours to pickup older son from college (one way)…we finally got to talk to him and he admitted that he “changed his mind” because he thought he had disappointed us. He say me tearing up and made the choice he thought WE wanted. We assured him that he should go with his gut, where he really wanted to be, where he would be happiest. He said the ubiquitous crosses and portrait of the Pope at PC freaked him out as well as Western Civ EVERY DAY for 2 years, so he really wants Loyola.</p>
<p>I’m so happy for him…he needs to go where he sees himself and that’s Loyola, so it’s done. Maybe if PC had given him an extra day he would have chosen differently, but he was under so much pressure. I think Loyola is what he wants…when we were there he didn’t want to leave, he loved it, so he’s a greyhound and I’ll miss him terribly.</p>
<p>I think I’ll get another puppy."</p>
<p>momtravels, sleep well! Your story had me tearing up too! I have heard wonderful things about Loyola, and both schools are very good. I am glad that he found “the better fit” for himself. Good for him! Congratulations to all of you!</p>
<p>momtravels - Thanks for sharing your story - it has been fun to follow the turn of events. I hear great things about Loyola - Congrads to you and your son.</p>
<p>momtravels, I know the feeling. D is going 700+ miles away, and I hate it. I love the college she chose, it’s a great school that looks like it will be great for her, but I hate that she will be so far away. The vast majority of her friends will be within 2 hours of home. I"m jealous of their parents. My biggest fear is that she’ll like the area and stay there when she graduates. BUT… these are all MY issues. I’m convinced this is where she wants to be and it will be great for her, so I’m really excited for her and just quietly dealing with my own issues, they shouldn’t limit her choices.</p>
<p>Lafalum, I have some of the same issues. I keep telling myself that if my son were 4 hours away, I would not see him more frequently than if he were 10-12 hours away.</p>
<p>Wow! I feel so out of touch. Lax season has started so I haven’t had a chance to get on CC. I read the recent postS about Berry (looks incredible) and Loyola - that’s where I want to go - if only I was young again. Where has everyone else ended up??? Mine is definitely going to Franklin & Marshall. We revisited and he loves it. </p>
<p>RTR - is it UMD
Northeastmom - Queens???</p>
<p>What about everyone else???</p>
<p>Warriorboy648 - Congrad on Franklin & Marshall - great school. Lots of good news this week on CC. I am sure you saw my previous post - S is going to Marist - S is thrilled and great match for him.</p>
<p>WB, Congratulations, on F&M! I will send a PM to you.</p>
<p>Morning all, I need some support. H is NOT happy about S’s choice. I know he’ll get over it eventually, but does anyone have any words of wisdom to help him feel better?</p>
<p>He thinks Providence is the better choice - in New England (I have no idea why this matters to him, but it does), harder to get into, more well-known, BigEast conference, closer to home…sigh.</p>
<p>At this point short of me driving the check to Providence tomorrow and hand delivering it (I’m sure I could explain that he just couldn’t decide by the time the post office closed), it’s too late anyway.</p>
<p>I cannot believe the drama and angst. I thought his getting accepted at his top choices was supposed to be a good thing?</p>
<p>Congrats Maryann and Warriorboy, those are great schools!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the trouble, momtravels. I think you’ve had the wildest ride amongst us!</p>
<p>I would say, Loyola is a great school - I can’t see that Providence is so much better.</p>
<p>I don’t know how to deal with obstinate guys. Just remind him that it’s about your S, and where he would best fit in and be happy. And that H should try not to rain on S’s parade at this time. If it was agreed that S would make the decision, then he really can’t go back now and say otherwise.</p>
<p>It sounds like S had good reasons to pick Loyola. Other than some deal breaker like finances or a vastly inferior program, I don’t see where H has much cause to strenuously object. </p>
<p>This should be a happy time for your family, and H should be made to see that he shouldn’t ruin it for S, that he needs to deal with his feelings. S shouldn’t be made to go to a school that he is not as happy with because of perceived slightly better prestige.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>Thanks Martina, H is doing a good job of masking his disappointment in front of S and is telling him he’s very happy for him.</p>
<p>Only when S is out of the house, I get to see his real feelings, KWIM? ;)</p>
<p>I completely agree with martina. </p>
<p>momtravels, if your H feels that PC is higher ranked (I have not compared rankings and have no idea if that is even true), perhaps you could tell him that you feel it would be better for your son to have a higher GPA from a a school with slightly less prestige. Honestly, from what I know these are both good schools and I had no idea that PC has more prestige than Loyola.</p>
<p>momtravels, I cross posted with you.</p>
<p>momtravels, I’m glad to hear that H is putting on a brave front for S. Time will help, I’m sure. </p>
<p>Just remind H about all the wonderful things about Loyola, and it’s no use on dwelling on what is now a done deal-</p>
<p>Northeast…PC is ranked slightly higher, very difficult to get in. AVG GPA of applicants 3.62 vs. 3.5 at Loyola, PC accepts 45% of applicants whereas Loyola accepts 66%.</p>
<p>I agree, he’ll come around eventually.</p>
<p>Momtravels,
Sorry your H is having troubles. The rankings can be misleading. Of the “tier 1” (I hate that term but use it for argument purposes) colleges my son got into, he chose the one that was closest to the bottom of the tier 1 pile. After visiting all of these “tier one” schools, I could not tell any real difference between them academically (a good school is a good school). For that matter, even the tier 3 schools we visited seemed as academically solid. When I dug deeper into the grad school admits, it was the same thing- very similar results in terms of admission rates and the names of the schools the students went to. </p>
<p>The east coast can be very deceptive due to the large population centers and thus, large applicant pools. Often schools will have low admit rates for what, in reality are nonacademic reasons. One of the schools with the lowest admit rates that my son got into also had lower average SAT/ ACT scores and a poorer retention rate. </p>
<p>I think your son has made a good choice and if he feels happy there, he will be able to do anything he wants with his degree. I wonder if the admit rate differences on your son’s choices are even statistically significant? I know the GPA isn’t. The GPA can be misleading, too. Many schools use different measures for weighting GPAs and can look higher than they actually are.</p>
<p>Yabe and Northeast-thanks for the congratulations.</p>