Can’t wait to post decisions but don’t want to jinx it. Visiting one school this week for accepted student days. D has had stomach bug and nerves about schools don’t help. But she is near the finish line.
@Astro77 prepaid or college investment plan?
We’re at the end of the journey and all in all, D had a great run. 10 acceptances, 1 waitlist and 1 rejection. She got into her #1 & #2 schools. A few disappointments on the merit end, but that’s to be expected. Now that she’s in the driver’s seat she’s going to enjoy the courtship for the next month, attending admitted student events and making a couple campus visits before finalizing her decision.
And then she’ll probably take a very long nap 
Daughter headed to The Ohio State University.
The decision was probably made back in December once the incredible scholarship and somewhat unexpected was offered. We still waited until we had all our confirmations to see if anything would change By the end of the day, it is very difficult to turn down such a financial incentive at a very good school that offers everything our D is looking for. A other few schools were in “play” until just a few weeks ago, but none of them were better options both financially and academically. Just glad she never had this “have to go to this school” syndrome
As this long and exhausting process comes to an end and we are able to look back at the way we approached her college application experience, we probably would not have changed much. For those of you reading through these post, I cant emphasize the importance of the ACT/SAT score no matter what level of schools you are aiming for. Also deciding which is the better fit is just important. She liked the SAT better, but she ended up doing better on ACT. So getting through this time what a little tough and time consuming. Finally, for a lot of us parents, the process was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT in our days. Just make sure that financial safeties are part of the application process.
We were fortunate to be in a very unique situation with the OSU opportunity, but we also had a few good academic and financial options as backups. But just reading a post from someone asking about instate UT vs UCB… There are so people here with similar postings. I know, these are not easy decisions, but that seems like a big chunk of money to spend.for an undergraduate degree when comparing two very good schools. The process is full of surprises (good and bad), but based on what I am seeing from everyone here, they all seem to find their own niche…
I have a rising 11th grader this fall and UGH…Deja Vu all over again… I think I am going to have a glass of wine. Cheers to every parent here. You have made it!
Things took a quite an interesting turn at our home in the past week. DD admitted to Duke, waitlisted at Harvard, Princeton and accepted to Stanford, the very last one she opened on Good Friday. So now I believe it’s going to be Belmont vs Duke vs Stanford. I guess we will be waiting until May 1st to make the decision, I do not know. I will give her time and let her make a well-informed decision.
S and I had some long, forward-looking talks over the weekend, not just about college, but about life in general. The take-aways surprised me on several fronts.
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He sent off his first short fiction submission for possible inclusion in a steampunk anthology. He’ll have a second submission ready to go later this week for Vol. 2 of the same antho. Makes a writer-mother proud.
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He is now equally balanced between MD and PA. He’s been saying MD only for a few years now, but the more he explores PA, the more he likes the flexibility and (allegedly) lower stress. If he has any success at writing, he wants to keep doing it, and that will be easier as a PA than as an MD.
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He has loved his last two years in HS, but he doesn’t think he wants to live in this general area. Back to Santa Barbara, maybe, if he can afford it. Or maybe he’ll fall in love with ABQ and stay there. Or maybe he’ll travel a bit and find a place that calls to him. I love his sense of adventure, but… WAHHHHHHH!
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He found out that UNM hospital has a tuition reimbursement plan for up to 24 units a year so long as one works at least half time at the hospital. This wouldn’t apply to undergrad, but if he did PA at UNM, it would cover some 3/4 of his tuition as long as he could make the schedule work.
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A kid at his school, someone he doesn’t even know, got into Johns Hopkins and tried to needle S over it. “Don’t you wish YOU had gotten in to Hopkins? Don’t you wish you had been able to get into such a prestigious school?”
S: Congrats, man, but no, I’m supper happy with UNM for free.
- assuming he can get all of the sections he wants, S has his fall schedule worked out, including a few alternates if things go pear-shaped. He’ll be taking Gen. Chem plus lab, Physics plus lab, a theatre class, Intro to EMS, and a groovy Honors seminar called Legacy of Monsters and Marvels Through the Ages. Second semester will be much the same, but swap Stats for the EMS class, and the Honors seminar will be The Case of the Occult Detective: supernatural Investigators and Paranormal Investigations in Popular Culture. The final project for that allows the student to write a short story or novel chapters in the genre.
@DiotimaDM , I loved your post. These kids are truly growing up and it’s so cool that we parents are still part of it, just in a different way.
@StrGzrMaryland college investment plan
@DiotimaDM Wow, #5 would make me so proud. When your children have the maturity to keep their eyes on the prize and not worry about distractions, I’d swell with pride. (And to have a health career while writing on the side sounds like a dream).
@Astro77 - It’s been a while since we’ve taken a 529 distribution, but we always had our checks sent directly to the bursar. Call the bursar’s office to verify where the checks are to be mailed. If you have the check sent to yourself as reimbursement, make sure to keep a detailed paper trail so you can prove it was a qualified expense. Also call your 529 plan’s customer service and find out how long it takes for a check to be sent - in our state it can take 7 to 10 days.
@droppedit, Congrats on your daughter making her decision and finally being done with the process. Was there any reason your daughter did not apply for Foundation Fellows at UGA? Wanted to get out of state and start fresh?
@chercheur thanks. We will definitely have it sent directly for the main payments, but for the deposit I think we’ll just pay upfront and record the receipt. It’s a much smaller amount so it should be fine I think.
@astro77 our oldest son is a college freshman and we have a MD college investment plan. I recommend calling customer service at the 529 plan. They were really helpful.
@ccinfo2, some considerations regarding Cal and UT. Cal dorms all off campus in an area that is inundated with homeless, indigent, schizophrenics… was quite unpleasant walking around just for a couple of hours on last summer tour of Cal. UT area and many colleges will have some indigents but Austin is very safe.
Both schools have great school spirit for Division 1 sports, but UT can’t be beat and is moving in the right direction. Don’t know your or D’s political leanings but Cal has been in the news quite a bit the last year for intolerance of speakers who are not strictly “liberal” or have ultra “liberal” views, also the Mayor is prone to allow student protests that impinge on other student rights of movement, blocking walkways, property destruction… Cal is also known for large classes taught by grad students. UT Business School is highly rated. Bay Area is nice but as others stated, very over priced. Austin has a cool vibe, especially for young people. Berkeley Haas Business school is very hard to get into and transfer into sophomore year. Austin and UT all the way over Cal. Hook em Horns!!!
@Nomorelurker, I’m not a fan of this review. It feels rife with political overtones. “Don’t know your or D’s political leanings but Cal has been in the news quite a bit the last year for intolerance of speakers who are not strictly “liberal” or have ultra “liberal” views, also the Mayor is prone to allow student protests that impinge on other student rights of movement, blocking walkways, property destruction…”
I’m thinking others may have a different view than what you see, and and I’m hoping that others here might offer an alternative view. I don’t have personal, - or even peripheral experience - about CAL. Do you have direct experience?
Here is our final tally.
Accepted:
Yale (EA)
Princeton
Brown
Columbia
Pomona
Wellesley
Univ. of Southern California
University of Pittsburgh
Denied:
Stanford
Princeton’s financial aid offer was very generous (I almost cried) so we are waiting for Yale to respond to our financial aid appeal. Yale has been the #1 choice for forever. Finally feel like we are in the home stretch and hope to hear from Yale this week.
While we had good results still flummoxed by this crazy process. Hoping to pay it forward and share lessons learned to other families coming behind us.
I’d pick UT Austin in-state over Cal OOS too, but to the point that “Austin is very safe” compared to Berkeley it was quite disconcerting for my daughter when she went for her dance audition that everyone was asking about the dance student that got murdered on campus.
@suzy100, I lived in the Bay Area for some years and have family in Austin. I know both cities and schools very well. I am apolitical. The politically biased and intolerant political climate of Cal is, however, undeniable. Been that way for decades going back to the sixties.The OP might want to be aware that it has not changed, before making a decision. On the other hand, I am always open to hearing other views if anyone else has had a different experience or opinion about Cal and the area.
@Twoin18, the murder of the student at UT though tragic, was an isolated incident. Austin and UT are very safe compared to many other colleges/areas around the country.
@ccinfo2 I can’t speak for Cal, but I grew up in Austin and have been back in the area for many years. I also went to UT in the late 80s/early 90s. I can say that UT Austin is a top school academically with a lot of social life and sports life. The campus has a good deal of diversity in all aspects. Austin is a fun college town with so much to do. Young people really love it here. The lake, the live music, the food scene - it is all wonderful. My S18 did not apply because he preferred A&M to UT, but he does love Austin. Unless money is not a factor, I can’t see that Cal would offer a better education for the dollar than you can get at in-state public.
I have been enjoying listening to everyone’s perspectives on Cal. My daughter got into both, UCLA and Cal. We are Bay area people, and live very close to Berkeley. I would say we are politically on the left, but my daughter also does not like the vibe at Cal. Everything nomorelurker said is true. The area is politically intolerant, dirty, and the school is wide open to a huge drug/homeless problem.