Good morning everyone!
This morning S18 and I were talking with a fellow parishioner after Mass. she has kids slightly older and younger than S. She asked where S was applying. He answered. She then remarked snarkily, “Boy, you all really like that out of state tuition, don’t you?”
I said, “We really like that quality education, ma’am!”
Grr.
please realize I’m not saying kids can’t get an excellent education instate too.
@apraxiamom, search the “smile and nod” thread here on CC and you’ll see lots of posters who have had similar encounters. I’ve suggested to my D that she just reply with something like, “I’m still working on it” when asked where she may be applying.
@apraxiamom we live in Austin and my oldest is at OU you wouldn’t believe some of the things people say about that!
We get comments on the other end, like why high-stats S is “settling” for UTD instead of reaching for high end schools like Caltech or CMU. Also a bit of shock that he’s auto-admit to UT Austin and highly likely to get into CS (according to his GC) but he’s not even applying there.
Don’t have a 2018 grad but I like lurking here! These last few posts have made me chuckle. S19 and I just visited Beloit and he loved the idea that no one at home would know the school (except for his GC I’m sure). I hope he can continue to keep an open mind and not get sucked into the prevailing opinion that he’d better be applying to Chicago and Northwestern (and Duke and Vanderbilt…)
Hi fellow Class of 2018! I’ve been lurking CC for awhile and just recently joined in. My oldest is S18 and this summer I have become that crazy spreadsheet/checklist mom! My son is a high achiever but is very laid back in all he does. I am trying hard not to completely takeover this college application process because I realize that he needs to own it. But I am also realistic that if we are chasing merit I can’t sit by and wait on his chill attitude. So I have given him deadlines and expectations and pushing him through it. Honestly, I think he is the kind of kid who could be happy wherever he ends up and money will likely be his #1 deciding factor though my husband is balancing that with the “best” school for the buck. I am wanting him to be where it’s the best “fit” so we will see how it all works out. Ultimately it will be his decision but since he knows that we are only able to “afford” $15,000 per year (even though our EFC is double that!) and the rest will be student loans, he will probably go where the most merit money is. @traveler98 we are also in the Austin area and people just can’t believe that he is not applying to UT given that he is auto-admit. I have even had friends state that their kids would die to be in the top 7% and be able to get into UT and seem offended that my son is not interested, largely due to the lack of merit aid and the added cost of living in Austin.
Welcome, @S18D20mom !
Welcome @S18D20mom ! We have become very adept at the smile and nod, evade the question, etc, around here. Since UCs are pretty expected and D hates them, and wants a smaller LAC-style school, questions are answered as generally as possible. Fortunately, when pressed to name actual schools she’s visited, she hasn’t gotten any negative feedback - yet, but I know that she is always nervous about it. She doesn’t like talking about it, with anyone, because her aversion to UCs early on did get some negative feedback from peers. So she plays it very close to the vest.
Welcome @S18D20mom! Is your S also looking at UTD? It’s got fantastic merit aid. Really most Texas publics do seem to have good-to-great merit aid except UT Austin. Also Alabama has great automatic merit aid and apparently the application takes about ten minutes to complete, so even your laid-back son should have no objection to finishing that application if he’s interested in the school. Is he likely NMF? If so, there are lots of great schools that will offer him an excellent merit package.
Welcome to our world! We have made the choice to focus on schools in that 0%-50% of EFC range as well. Most NPCs are nuts for our family situation! $32K EFC??? What are they thinking?
And I agree with the general consensus. For the vast majority of interactions, a general “Still working on it” is really the best response to the “Where are you going/applying” question.
Welcome @S18D20mom I have class of 20 too!
@1822mom we are in the same boat as you re UC’s. While there are lots of good UC’s, D18 is just not feeling the vibe and the lack of a business major at most does not make them a great choice for her goals. I find if you open the discussion up for opinions there is no shortage of opinions offered.
We just booked a trip to visit several northeast colleges prior to the start of school. We’ll be visiting Pitt, U Delaware, Temple, Fordham and maybe Rutgers. Later we’ll try to do a southern swing & see AZ state, UTD, Tulane & UCF (none of which are remotely close to each other, so I’m not sure how that will work yet!) We’re in CA as well & sadly the UCs are difficult in many ways - expensive, overcrowded, impacted majors, 3 to a tiny dorm room, so they will not factor much in D’s list. Possibly UC Davis will make it on to the list.
Sorry I posted in the wrong thread
It’s just so obnoxious and unfortunate that California kids can’t get into California state universities.
I don’t think it’s too tough to get into California public schools. It’s just that our California kids don’t seem to like what’s being offered (too big, too impacted, too far, and a million other excuses/reasons.) The CSU system appears to be very open to California kids.
@GertrudeMcFuzz great bunch of northeast schools. We visited many that are on your list and 3 of them (Rutgers, U Del and Pitt) are my D18s top choices right now. Good luck!
Yes, I think you are right @rwmannesq . When people talk about it being too hard for CA kids to get in to CA publics, they are usually talking about UCLA, Berkeley, CalPoly (for CS or Engineering), and maybe a few of the other “top” UCs. Those schools are tough, for everyone. But there are plenty of other schools, CSUs, even “low tier” UCs that are not as tough to get in. The issues lie more in those aspects noted above and by @GertrudeMcFuzz .
Based on 2017’s admission stats, only some of the UC schools are highly competitive:
UCLA: 16.1%
UC Berkeley: 18.3%
UC Santa Barbara: 32.8%
UC San Diego: 34.1%
UC Irvine: 36.6%
UC Davis: 43.6%
UC Santa Cruz: 51.4%
UC Riverside: 57.4%
UC Merced: 72.2%
And the Cal State system less so. So California kids should be able to get into California schools, just perhaps not UCLA or Cal.
We are looking at UCSC and UCModesto (S didn’t like Davis, too overwhelmingly big) as well as CSUSonoma and CSUChico. He’s very strong candidate for these schools w/ a 3.6 (3.78 UC/CSU gpa) and only 1120 SAT. However, he’s still very much more interested in the smaller private schools where he’ll know his teachers and they’ll know him.