@ItsJustSchool Thanks for asking. I understand your curiosity.
The answer is … since the options at this point are so academically strong, we are taking a hands-off approach. We’re letting S see which shoe fits better and make up his mind accordingly. Nonetheless, because finances are always important, we do have a preference, although we are not letting our preference over-rule S’s decision-making process.
My DH’s thinking is that if DS had not been admitted to H, with such an amazing fin aid, we would be Ok with him going to either M or S, which for us are almost identical in terms of $$. In other words, we would have made it happen, so why changing our perspective about the possibility of those 2 schools? Valid point, I shall say.
That being said, we can’t stop thinking about what a wonderful opportunity he is being offered by H, in every sense! I know that M is the mecca of engineering; however, I think DS will benefit from a broader education like the one he’ll get at H. I really don’t know if at the end of the day DS will be an engineer. We honestly see DS more as a Mathematician (DH’s field) or Physicist or something like that, something less hands on and more abstract than engineering. I might be wrong but too early to tell.
Additionally, DS is in LOVE with Boston, which is bad for S. DS doesn’t like that S is far from a metropolitan/big city area. DS wants to have a whole city to explore, an extended classroom. The NE weather? Couldn’t care less ! ! ! Not even when he was telling me about how cold it was in Boston this past Thursday, how numb his hands felt (wearing gloves), not matter what … he wasn’t thinking about sunny CA. He rather freezes his behind in Boston!
NHS induction is tonight and I’m currently cranky at one of my fellow officers because he is on an out college visit and didn’t mention it before hand! So we have to scramble around to cover his part in an already disorganized ceremony. In other news, my sister and I will both be getting Senior Awards/scholarships on senior awards night in May. We don’t know which, they just send you a letter telling you to show up and dress up.
Do you get influenced by the strength of FB pages for admitted families? M Has the most active and supporting FB group.I wonder is this is a marketing tool, but they don’t seems overly concerned with yield. They don’t even have enrollment or housing deposits.
Case Western is a good example of love them and they love you back school. From what they told us when we visited and from looking at the RD decision thread for Case, they really do favor students who do as much as possible to show interest in them. In return they include handwritten notes and letters in responses and acceptances, with references to essay points, EC’s, etc.
Congrats @readingclaygirl and sorry about the last minute scramble! My S is still pretty swamped with classes, but mainly because on top of that he is yearbook editor and that is a ton of work right now. He’s so done, but yet he’s not, lol.
thanks @mommdc, I hadn’t thought about the state aid, and if there’s flexibility on accepting the loans later if needed, then it is probably worth wrapping up the FAFSA work that we started in January. Guess I’ll do that now before I forget :).
@EastGrad I’m glad to know the house setup has changed at H. I freely admit my biases, although I truly have no antipathy to Harvard. I stand by my statement that I have several friends who regret their college attendance; all of them report that they felt pressured to go to Harvard for the name and knew from the start that it might not be the best match. As long as that isn’t the situation, I’m sure most people have an amazing time there and love it.
@kittymom1102, I cannot comment on Harvard since my son didn’t apply, but I can share a little about MIT.
My son is graduating with a BS in math/cs or just math (not sure which, to be honest). He will be working as a data analyst. He really liked his non-STEM classes; I would argue that he liked them even better than many of his STEM classes. He even has one of his essays for a writing class on a Coursera syllabus.
This semester, his last, his only classes are three music classes! He has loved his music classes. He actually has a music production company that he runs out of his dorm, and I could see him going into audio engineering one day.
MIT really does have very strong humanities, but it’s absolutely true that all students need to take the core STEM classes: one physics, one bio, one chem, and one Calc class. My son dislikes both bio and chem (he was very lopsided in high school, taking 8 college math classes, and 8 college physics classes, but very little chem and bio), but made it through. LOL
So, engineering isn’t the only game in town at MIT, and in fact, the math majors (except my son, ha-ha) are an astounding bunch (think IMO types).
Hi parents! I’m a senior feeling confused on what I should do best. I’m deciding between Princeton (my first choice) and Yale. Princeton gave me a worse financial aid package (more than 10k difference in coa). I sent them Yale’s offer and they gave me 8k more in grant aid, so now it only costs 4k more per year to go to Yale. However, I asked for a side letter and they told me they don’t give students side letters (I thought all ivies did). I’m scared that p will revert to its original fin aid offer after freshman year. Any advice?
Thank you @fretfulmother for the breakdown. I am curious to what extent Yale engineering is growing, and to what extent the small size is an advantage versus a disadvantage.
@texaspg can you tell me what aspects regarding the Yale biomedical engineering program you or your daughters found interesting/compelling?
@sbjdorlo Thanks for sharing your DS’s experience at MIT!
There is nothing about an MIT education that we could be worried about. We’re MIT fans. However, we also believe that undergrad is the perfect time for young people to explore and expand their interests and minds. In that regard, I honestly think that H is better suited. I like the idea of breadth for undergrad and depth for grad. I know we’re totally splitting hairs here, both schools are WONDERFUL
@debate4ever, I may be naive, but I doubt that it is an auction. More likely your Yale offer triggered them to take another look at your finances, correct something they overlooked, and come up with an offer they could justify and back up within their system. Also, many schools (and probably most ivies) have a policy that they review your aid each year, and unless your family finances change substantially you should expect to receive the same level of support from year to year.
Maybe you should ask them for the justification for why they increased your grant aid, and whether or not they have this policy. If the justification is believable and sustainable from year to year, you will have an argument to back with each year.
@debate4ever - can you tell us more about why P was your favorite, and perhaps other things you might find to love about Y? The money could add up, particularly without a year-to-year guarantee. That said, I’m surprised Y came in more generous than P. We often hear of H or P “winning” generosity, but less often about Y! (Or M!)
@kittymom1102 - from your descriptions, plus the $$, it might be a perfectly fine option to choose Harvard…not such a bad choice, really. I’ve heard it’s held in high regard in some regions, heh heh.
@texaspg - I wonder how often people really take classes at H if enrolled at M. I think I had one friend who did it one time for a history class (as opposed to more friends who went to Wellesley to take education classes for a joint program).
And as for how our DS will decide - that is as big a mystery to me as it is to anyone.
Thank you for the responses. @ItsJustSchool I have friends who “matched” financial aid offers with similar caliber schools. It seems to be a common policy. My financial status did not change since I first applied. @fretfulmother I’m interested in stem and in particular cs/engineering. Yale seems a bit weak in that front. I love Yale’s residential college and overall community atmosphere though.
@debate4ever - you also have other good options, right? Or are you down to Y vs. P…? I thought I remembered you saying you had a full ride at WUSTL available and also admission to other places including Cornell and MIT? Both C and M have higher STEM reputations than Y, I believe.
He has loved his music classes. He actually has a music production company that he runs out of his dorm, and I could see him going into audio engineering one day.
I’ve heard it’s held in high regard in some regions, heh heh.