My daughter has been chosen as a finalist for the STAMPS scholarship at the University of Oregon and also admitted to UNC Chapel Hill (OOS). She is interested in majoring in environmental science with a minor or double major in public policy. UNC is her top choice but Oregon is number two. STAMPS would cover full tuition and fees + $12 additional enrichment while UNC would be full pay. We have enough saved in 529 to cover UNC if that is the choice but none would be left over. Looking for thoughts from anyone who has made the choice between what STAMPS offers vs. what an elite public like UNC would offer. We are in the mid-Atlantic. Feeling very proud of our daughter and fortunate to be in this position . Thanks to anyone out there who can offer insights. What would you do?
Congrats! Stamps offers great opportunities - more than just the fabulous financial benefit. It’d go that route! Congrats!
Do all finalists get the same scholarship?
My daughter was an OOS student at UNC. She had a great 4 years- feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Stamps is an amazing opportunity and your daughter would not go wrong if she accepted it.
Congrats!
Thanks so much! I will definitely reach out with questions. Thanks for your kind offer!
It’s a situation many choose ( favorite at a cost) but not quite to this extent financially. It’s the reward for being a top 20 student vs just another - at a more selective school.
There’s no wrong answer.
How much does the $250k+ matter to you ?
What else could you do with that saved money ?
What other enrichment comes with it ?
From an ROi PoV, it’s not close. It’s not a high paying arena - and neither is top rated (in the major) although both likely well thought of.
And the 529 can find a Roth IRA, grad school, grand kids, or a house etc.
In last year’s thread, you wrote that she is looking for
universities with strong environmental science programs. She’s interested in being in a beautiful natural setting and is looking for a college with greater than 7k or so students. No upper limit. She is also interested in places with strong honors colleges and a strong sense of community / spirit.
That certainly sounds like Oregon.
Isn’t this a bit premature? Wait and see if she wins the scholarship first.
Is your daughter interested in environmental sciences and engineering within the Gillings School of Global Public Health? Or is she interested in environmental sciences not housed within Gillings? Gillings is very competitive and is not an automatic acceptance. It is also ranked very high nationally, but I believe that refers to the graduate program.
I have not visited Oregon, but I can speak for the environment/setting at UNC…if that still matters.
There is a VERY strong sense of community and spirit at UNC. That is one of the things my daughter loved.
Is there a “beautiful, natural setting?” Carolina is a vibrant college town that meshes with the campus. It’s all one…lots of interaction. Parts of the campus are beautiful, and other parts need some work. There are trails, gardens etc located within a short distance from the school, and there is a gorgeous 5 acre arboretum located on campus. We have been there many times- it’s peaceful and beautiful.
I am sure Oregon is gorgeous!!! I have never been there…
The academics at UNC are top notch, and my daughter took full advantage of endless opportunities. That being said…I have no doubt that your daughter would take advantage of everything Oregon has to offer.
Stamps is huge. I have a friend whose son was a Stamps recipient at a different school, and he was offered a lot. It sounded amazing. The award your daughter received is impressive and is definitely worth a very serious discussion.
Your daughter will thrive at either school. Her career goals can be achieved at both schools. Does she plan to attend grad school? It is nice to have money for grad school! Do you have younger kids?
Best wishes!
Edit: thank you for pointing out that she has not won the award yet! How did I miss that lol??? Will she receive a scholarship if she does not get Stamps?
How wonderful that you have saved for your daughter’s undergraduate education. I think it’s a wonderful that you can and will fund UNC if that is your daughter’s choice.
Like you, we made a decision to fund undergraduate school in full for our kids. Some parents choose to do so and some simply don’t even if they can. We did the full funding and don’t regret it one bit. Definitely a personal family decision! (And neither of our kids chose a lesser costly acceptance option, but that was OK in the Thumper family)
It also sounds like Oregon would be affordable with the money you have saved.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that she actually gets the Stamps Scholarship.
OP will you have a chance to visit both schools? Will you be able to attend accepted students days?
When my daughter was accepted to UNC …the school had a “meet and greet” at a restaurant in the city near where we live. Are you aware of this? It is an opportunity to ask a lot of questions.
I will also keep my fingers crossed for Stamps!
We have visited both and both campuses are spectacular. North Carolina feels more familiar because we are in the mid-Atlantic. Oregon might feel more like an adventure because it’s in such a different part of the country but obviously the weather isn’t as good. Thanks for your reply and insights! We’ll check out an admitted students day for UNC and recently returned to Oregon for Stamps interview after having visited two years ago. The visit didn’t go quite as planned because of a terrible ice storm up there.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I’ll update here as the process evolves.
Good luck! She has 2 great opportunities to choose from and I will continue to keep my fingers crossed!
When will she find out about Stamps?
Thanks for responding! Not interested in environmental engineering but thanks for flagging the competitive admission into the department. I’ll have her look into that. Yes to grad school and yes to another kid. She’s older, a sophomore at Penn State. As for scholarship, Oregon has offered 30k per year without Stamps. I’ll keep you posted.
$30,000 is amazing- congrats!
If her major is not housed within Gillings (and it seems it is not) then it should not be as competitive an admit.
There’s an interview with the Stamps family. If the student is selected after that, then yes, same scholarship for every student chosen by Oregon. The amount varies at different Stamps participating schools.
Probably within the next couple of weeks.
Good luck on the Stamps! The opportunities and personal attention is hard to beat. If she gets it you/she will have a tough choice, especially since Oregon is her second choice (is it a close second??) FWIW, a friend’s son turned down Harvard for a Stamps scholarship. You are fortunate to be in such a position to let her choose.
Thank you! We are very grateful to be in this position. She’s worked really hard and it’s nice to see those efforts recognized…