<p>No, Momasita, life is not a “smaller” environment. However, some kids need a few more years than other to jump into that ocean, and can do so much better by preparing in the pond. As my earlier post mentioned, the small school where my son is does work on his weaknesses in a gentler, more directed way than a big college. He is taking some very general first year courses right now, and they are the type that are usually taught in huge lecture halls at the larger unis. My older son took Psych 1 with 200 other kids, and the recitation had a disinterested grad student who wasn’t even in synch with the class. The younger one took it with 13 other kids, and a professor who was very much on top of them; read everything, took consideration of opinions and comments, and required a lab component as well as the lecture. The course was taken very seriously, as it could with such a small group.</p>
<p>I appreciate the original post. Reading “real life” experiences from all types of colleges and universities is extremely valuable during the college search process. Congrats to the OP! You have so much to be proud of. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I hope more students will do the same.</p>
<p>A few years ago when D applied, we found that the various kinds of honors programs at public U were sometimes gated entirely on SAT score. This can be good or bad depending on where you are on the SAT continuum, and what you expect out of an honors program. </p>
<p>I agree too, that a discussion like this one is tough because there is so much variation on both sides. </p>
<p>Ultimately I agree, though, these choices are deeply personal and depend on (1) the student (2) the program choices and (3) family finances. </p>
<p>Think how wonderful it is though, to have kids that have such choices. Perhaps that’s what we should all celebrate.</p>
<p>
Exactamundo. One size never fits all.</p>
<p>S got an NROTC scholarship. It could be used anywhere that he could get into with an NROTC program. He had the stats to get in a lot of places. S chose our big state u. which also gave him two merit scholarships making it a full ride. He will grad./commission in May. </p>
<p>The state u. has been a great experience. He is in a small major within a large univ. Classes in his major are less than twenty kids. His advisor/mentor is nationally known in his field and has been a tremendous help to S throughout his four years. </p>
<p>His ROTC advisor has also been great. He put in a lot of extra hours to help S achieve his goal of placing into a very select unit (S’s dream job…12 selected nationwide) where S will serve upon graduation. </p>
<p>S met mids fr. schools all over the country going for the same unit last summer while in training w/ the USN. It was then he realized how far ahead he was in the process. He credits his advisor for getting him ready and says he doesn’t think he would have had nearly the chance he got had he been at another sch.<br>
He will graduate with honors, debt free and be doing a job that he has always wanted.<br>
We/He could not have asked for more.</p>
<p>I don’t think my son would have gotten into either the honors program at the state where we lived at the time OR Georgia’s. Admission to these top programs is extremely competitive and extremely score-focused. He got EA and ED admissions to two top 10 private universities.</p>
<p>Do the Ivies or colleges like MIT, Stanford, UChicago and WUSTL match merit scholarships from state schools?</p>
<p>Do the Ivies or colleges like MIT, Stanford, UChicago and WUSTL match merit scholarships from state schools? </p>
<p>For the Ivies/MIT/Stanford…uuuhhh…NO. Unequivocally. For Chicago and WUSTL …maybe if we are talking Michigan or the like they’d at least talk about it. CU? I seriously doubt it.</p>
<p>Chicago does give merit aid, but it does not match offers, to the best of my knowledge. Students may choose to appeal the decision if they feel that the price tag is not affordable, but other than that the price estimated by the financial aid office is more or less non-negotiable.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly Vig180 was applying at about the time my S was applying and Vig180 exhaustively researched all the options he was offered. He made his choice based on what he saw as the best fit for him in terms of academics, finances, etc. That has obviously worked well for him! Kudos to him and I’m really glad he took the time to share his experience with the CC crowd. The bottom line here is that’s what’s best for one isn’t necessarily best for another. Another important point is that it is up to our kids to take advantage of every opportunity afforded to them no matter where they end up! The educational experience from one school/program to another will definitely be different than that at another. But that doesn’t necessarily mean better. Better is such a subjective measurement any way.</p>
<p>Chicago’s merit scholarship letter from last year is dated 3/19 (for someone accepted EA) and the award is basically set in stone, and for that matter so is the FA offer (of course if you have drastic financial changes since the submission of the application, they might reconsider).</p>
<p>Chicago also won’t negotiate on taking the NMF $2500 one-time award and converting it to the $1,000/year over all four years, either. We asked after some other parents (and the Carleton website) mentioned this as a possible way of sweetening the FA/merit pot.</p>
<p>I could only <em>wish</em> a school like Chicago would match a flagship full ride!!!</p>
<p>Just wanted to add another anecdote to the “benefits of small private”. DS is a great guy but his employment experience so far has been limited to “hard-working, low-paying” type jobs (grocery clerk, camp counselor, store cashier). He also chose his office-type work/study job because he liked the hours and his supervisor and the fact that he could study some while he worked, in spite of the fact that there were plenty of jobs in the area he is studying. (mom groans a little and sighs :eek:) Well…(YEAH!) He has been offered a wonderful full-time summer research job working with a Prof he really likes, which will involve training on sophisticated equipment in his field of interest, travel, and continuing employment throughout the school year(s) and that can easily lead to publications, etc. Would he have received this opportunity at our big flagship school? I really don’t believe so!! There would have been 40 go-getter types with some undergrad or HS research experience already under there belts who would have been vying for this position! DS is every bit as smart as those types, but his choices in the past have not led him to have an impressive resume!!! I love my kids’ college and the opportunities they have received there! :)</p>
<p>Just popping in to say that those who aren’t familiar with the Foundation Fellows program at UGA should take a peek at their website to read about it.<a href=“https://asg.citp.uga.edu/fellows_uga/index.html[/url]”>https://asg.citp.uga.edu/fellows_uga/index.html</a> It is an incredible opportunity for very top, highly motivated students, and it is very selective (I’d compare it to the Robertson at Duke-UNC). </p>
<p>UGA in general has gotten much more difficult to get into, and the Honors program even moreso. The Foundation Felllows program is in a league of its own. My younger s’s HS class val is a Foundation Fellow this year. Turned down some pretty prestigious opportunities to take it. That’s also the same for the son of a professional colleague, who turned down Harvard for the FF scholarship (its even possible the OP could be that colleague’s son!! From what I hear, he is one incredible kid. Congrats!!</p>
<p>Foundation Fellows sounds like a great program!</p>
<p>I loved this post…very inspiring. Good luck in your PhD program!</p>
<p>Great post…I posted a link to it on another forum!!!</p>
<p>the quality of undergrad education in my 40 years of academic experience is sig nificantly more uniform than many here would believe. As a grad of OSU and Cornell I can attest that my years at OSU Engineering more than adequately prepped me for grad school at Cornell among peers from many more “prestigious” undergrad colleges.</p>
<p>Having observed this, I attended college in an era prior to the honor college phenomenon. Yep I wollowed thru those big frosh lecture classes and had a minimal of advising. But I took it upon myself to insure quality in my academic program. No, I did not have those summer enrichment programs, internships or national wards advising. But the academic terms were rich both in the classroom, the extracurricular times and rec activities.</p>
<p>Coming from a first gen college family I had an unbelievable undergrad life and a wonderful academic carree. Perhaps some expect more but I am so satisfied with my life and tip my hat to OSU and Cornell for the excellenct they instilled in me.</p>
<p>I know you are right-- essentially an undergraduate education from State U is all that is required to move on. And with National Merit Finalist it can be free!</p>
<p>But I feel like Mr. Froto, the ring is such a burden! When a child is so smart, you feel a tremendous burden to do what is right. </p>
<p>Let’s imagine my smart child goes through three parallel universe educations simultaneously, in each one studying physics, at three kinds of schools she has been accepted to:</p>
<p>1) University of Arizona, (very low cost due to National Merit Finalist).
2) Cal or UCLA (23K)
3) Caltech (50K)</p>
<p>My criterion is the depth of her physics knowledge, with math and chemistry also tested, at the end of the four years. And she is super capable. The four years is a long time. I can’t help but believe that she will know the most if she is continually pushed and stretched at Caltech, more than the UC’s, more than UofA. I know she would be fine at any of the schools, but I also know that she will only study Physics for maybe ten years. How far she gets will depend partly on her mind, partly on her teachers, and partly on the limited time she has. To say that she can go four years at a slightly lower level, because it will be less of a burden to me, and she will be fine… No, Sam, if God makes it possible for me to reach the mountain of home equity loan, I will carry the ring to it’s conclusion… It’s such a burden!! Am I nuts???</p>
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<p>The number of slots in those gold plated, uber-elite scholarship programs is quite small nationwide. Maybe twenty universities, if even that many, each admitting 15-25 students.</p>