@mom2twogirls After our visit to Drexel, which is also coop heavy, plus the urban setting, and throw in the cost, and now the fact that its heading into Reach category
@RightCoaster, thanks for the suggestions! I should have mentioned, though - money is a factor for us, unfortunately. Based on the NPCs Iāve run, those schools (and a lot of other NE schools) wouldnāt work out for us, unless he were able to get full tuition merit, which is a long shot with all the other high stats kids out there (if the scholarships available even cover full tuition). While DS19 has great GPA and scores and decent ECs, his only kind-of leadership role is first chair tuba in the Wind Ensemble, and he hasnāt started any charity organizations or anything super amazing like that. (If there was a scholarship for video game playing and discussing, heād be a shoo-in!!)
The Ivies and MIT NPCs were much more in line with what we could afford (even though their admissions isnāt lol) and would both be same price or cheaper as in-state options. Definitely understand that itās a crazy long shot for admission, and the tours will be as much for tourismās sake as anything else.
@mountainmomof3, itās definitely hard to not check out UAH! Their automatic merit scholarships are awesome (and even full cost isnāt out of reach). PLEASE let me know how the visit goes! I totally get what youāre saying about the āWhy Alabama?ā questions, weāve had the same response from a few people. I thought my dad would be one of them, but apparently pre-retirement (computer scientist) he was in Huntsville all the time for business trips to Redstone Arsenal (his company had a govt contract). He cut me off, started talking about how much heād liked the area, and told us to try the rum bread pudding at Timās Cajun Kitchen. lol!
@sdl0625, Iām jealous of your 4 hour drive to UAH ļ. It did seem from everything Iāve read that UAH research tends to center around engineering vs CS, but did they say much about co-ops or internships vs research? Or is he more comfortable with research on-campus at first vs. the off-campus options?
@sdl0625 if he really wants upstate NY, you canāt go much further upstate than Clarkson. Clarkson is ideal for a kid that wants a tech school, likes access to wilderness, but also have a small downtown available to them. It is a small town, like really small, but has a movie theatre, some food joints, a Walmart, banks, hair cutters, drug stores etc. Thatās about it. Drive 3 miles in either direction from the center of town and you are in the woods.
St Lawrence U is nearby and another small NY state school in town, so there are kids usually hanging out in town.
Everybody loves hockey. They have a good outing club so the kids can get outside. Itās cold there the majority of the school year. Itās probably nice until late Oct and then winter until April. Lots of tech clubs for the kids to get involved.
You have to be the right kind of kid for that school, but if you have one, itās a solid choice.
Ok. Believe me, I get the cost aspect. Thatās probably the biggest factor for us after availablility of major. Iāve never been to Drexel, but Iāve lived in NY my whole life. In rural areas of NY, for the most part. Quite a lot of NY is not urban. I donāt know if RIT will fit your budget, for example, but itās not in an urban area.
I see your point @parent2one. Yes some of the Boston area schools are not know for their generous financial aid or affordability. Somehow I donāt think they will be throwing money at you for your sonās video game prowess, lol 
It sounds like it might be hard to beat the $$$ at UAH. That is a pretty good deal for sure.
So none of you feel a little anxious about our kids getting ready to head off to college in a year and a half? I seriously feel like I think about it all the time.
LOL, yeah, sadly no cash for video game prowessā¦ I might start charging him for talking MY ear off about the backstory of xyz obscure character in his latest game, though :D.
Iām so hoping heāll like UAH. Keep your fingers crossed for us - graduating with no debt would be a dream! He may not realize yet how much of a dream that would be, but heāll be paying his own rent eventually and then itāll sink in lol.
@toomanykiddos nope, I donāt feel anxious about it really. I think my son will most likely end up at a local area school, so we would be able to visit him or have him home with ease. So Iām okay with that. Iād worry more if he went far away, say to California with earthquakes, fires, mudslides etc.
Iām more anxious about filling out all the apps/forms and writing the check.
@toomanykiddos Iām very anxious. Iām pretty sure itās going to rip my heart in half no matter where she goes. My only solace is that she likes to text me, so I know Iām going to get to talk to her more than I talked to my mom when I went to college.
@toomanykids, I feel more than a little anxious. Reading on the boards helps, believe it or not. It really hit recently that heāll be away (since heās "meh"ed the local option) in a year and change. Iām glad texting is a thing now, like @mom2twogirls saidā¦ heās more likely to do that than ever pick up a phone!
@toomanykiddos Iām going to be a wreck. Honestly, I think the reason Iāve been so active on these boards is so that I can gain some sense of control over the college search and, maybe, feel ok about S19 leaving. We are very close. Heās a super sweet, thoughtful young man and my husband and I just love his company. Thinking about not having him here breaks my heart but I know I have to get it together for his sake. It wonāt help him spread his wings if Iām a mess.
The best thing we do with son17 is FaceTime at least once a week. I like that better than texting.
I donāt feel "anxiousā about S19 leaving - probably because heās my second and Iām accustomed to sort of vaguely missing a kid all the time anyway. I do have some vague existential dread about the whole process of getting him to the point where he can actually choose and apply to schools with some sort of idea of what heās doing, but not about the leaving.
Since heās done testing and has a known budget, I feel like all the pieces are in place for him to put together a list and start thinking about what he wants to do and where he wants to go. I also think Iāll still be saying this in July/August/September! I know itās probably irrational to worry about it now, but I have a moment of panic every time someone posts their '19 kidās college list and intended major, haha.
Iām not anxious about S leaving. I think maybe itās still too far away to feel real yet.
I am, however, anxious that he wonāt leave. Now that worries me. My nightmare is him not going to college and working a minimum wage job while living at home. This isnāt a nightmare because I think everyone should go to college, but rather because S seems to have no ambition. Weāve talked about other options like trade school, the military, or just going to community college to get certified in some tech field but nothing seems to interest him. Iām hoping he goes to college and finds some direction.
Thanx everyone. Itās really hitting my heart hard. Perhaps having an outsource like this board/thread will help me. Plus she will need a single room because of a medical condition, so maybe Iāll move in with her :))
@toomanykiddos donāt feel bad for how you personally feel, and that you worry how this going off to college will affect you/her. If thereās anything Iāve learned after sending 3 of 4 off to college is this is hardly the end of contact with kiddo. They are at ostensibly an extended expensive sleepover and forced to be responsible for their own laundry. Itās all good and I found when dd (#3) went far away for a summer
study program - technology in this day doesnāt limit contact - I think I spoke to her more than when she lived under my roof. Now this rodeo is my last - and this kid is my favorite but I know itās all good. Also - even among the best of kids, there is a phenomena called āspoiling the nestā which happens the summer before college. Makes the drop off alot easier!!
@parent2one You live near me. We went to Boston this past summer and visited Harvard too just because we were there. I have to say we didnāt really like the campus; Princeton is much prettier ;
@toomanykids No the thought of sending my kid off to college doesnāt bother me since she is the third that will be going. Oldest was 7 hours away (graduated now and back in town) and son is 9 hours away. Maybe I will feel different when the time comes though because we will be empty nesters then.
We have no distance restrictions but we do have restrictions. Colleges must meet need or be an instate public.
I will definitely miss DD when sheās gone, sheās the youngest of my two. Iām not anxious yet, and just busy researching for now. In a way Iām excited for her as her friends have been a lot of drama this year and itās a small school where you canāt get away from anyone. Sheās looking for a new start and Iām just hopeful she finds a great group of friends at college.
As far as distance, I started the distance thread on the regular Parents Forum. I was considering one 7.5 hours away that is not near an airport. Kind of decided thatās just too much to drive and too much hassle to fly and will try to stay closer. DDā17 is 1 hour away and she is home a lot, but she likes it that way. Just talked about that this afternoon going to lunch with her 
For DDā19 I expect she will be at least 3 hours away. We donāt have a lot of choices closer than that and most donāt suit her.
Honestly, Iām utterly non-anxious (and was for D17, as well). My job as a parent is to get them to the point where they can get out of the house and become self-sufficient. If thereās a reaction to that, itās satisfaction.
But then again, my day job is conducting completely dispassionate quantitative analyses of human behavior, so one could argue over whether I actually have a human-like brain to feel emotion with, anyway.
I stay at home with our kids and spend my time volunteering at their extracurricular stuff and at their school. When they are busy, I do some math tutoring. My husband works from home and has for 20 years so the kids have the benefit of both of us being involved in their lives on a daily basis. I agree that itās our job to get them ready to fly the coop. I just need to figure out the rest of my life since, right now, most of my time is spent on things related to the kids!