My daughter was recently accepted to UVM and William and Mary for chemistry. She is OOS for both but was awarded a presidential scholarship at UVM which makes it significantly less expensive. No merit was awarded at William and Mary. I think she prefers William and Mary but we are not sure if its worth the additional expense. I really liked what William and Mary had to say about their STEM program in terms of internships and research but wasn’t sure if UVM offered something similar. Any help/advice is appreciated.
It comes down to affordability. If she prefers W&M and it won’t cause you daily or future …ie retirement harm..then you can choose whichever.
Don’t forget grad school costs, a definite possibility with a non- engineering STEM degree.
In this case, it really is parental comfort as you are paying the bills.
No loans please !!
Good luck.
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Have you gone to accepted student days at either/both schools? My daughter was also accepted to both, with honors college and great scholarship at UVM and Monroe Scholars and a smaller scholarship at W&M. We went to both schools’ accepted student days. UVM, she knew within minutes of arriving on campus that it was not for her. W&M, she fell in love before the formal program even started, and it only got better from there. It’s about $15k more per year, but neither would require loans or hardship, and we’re happy to pay that for what is clearly a school more likely to set her up for a better experience, for her. UVM may be better for someone else. We wouldn’t have known, without visiting. She’s a STEM girl too, environmental engineering at UVM and chemistry at W&M. The engineering school programming at UVM was underwhelming for her, and science presentations so exciting and inspiring.
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W&M is very strong in chemistry. Only a few schools produce more graduates that go on to get chemistry PhDs (see source below) and they tend to be much larger schools. Salaries for chemistry grads are also relatively high according to College Scorecard.
Only you can factor the additional expense though. Good luck.
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Do you have budget constraints? While the price difference is certainly notable, IMO so is the difference in the schools and programs. If you can manage the price without it negatively affecting your lifestyle or retirement plans, then I would go with supporting your daughter’s desire and letting her attend the school she prefers (and offers a stronger program). It is a wonderful gift you can give to her. How you choose to spend your money, even if it might mean taking a small loan, is YOUR business, no one else’s. If you cannot manage the cost difference, or it would mean taking significant private loans or taking from your retirement, I would advise differently. But if the ~$25k/yr difference is doable for you, you are fortunate to give her that gift.
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I think that this is a difficult decision.
One daughter graduated from UVM with a degree in animal sciences. In the process she completed all of the pre-vet/premed requirements, which of course includes quite a bit of chemistry (and biology and physics). She has done well since and will get her doctorate in a few weeks (in veterinary medicine). She seemed to be well prepared for her graduate program.
A student can get a very good education at UVM. We also liked the location, although we have not been back since she graduated. She did get very good internships that were relevant to her. However, as a pre-vet student these mostly involved some sort of animals (big ones and little ones).
My understanding is that chemistry is a major for which some form of graduate school is reasonably likely. You might want to keep this in mind when deciding what the budget is.
UVM is local to me, D25 was accepted there and it’s under consideration as it’s such a bargain, though she prefers a smaller school.
I can’t speak to the Chemistry department in particular (D25’s interests lie elsewhere) but I echo the recommendation to go to admitted students days and/or reach out to the chemistry department to ask your questions. I feel like UVM emails us weekly with opportunities to connect. I do know that UVM put a lot of money/effort into promoting research, with the goal (recently reached) of achieving R1 status. My friend’s daughter is a first-year bio major, pre-med, and already has connected with a professor and will be working in a lab this summer.
Best of luck in your decision!
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My son chose UVM over other schools in part because of cost- he has loved his time there. I think UVM is very strong in science and research so there would likely plenty of opportunity. William and Mary would be a great choice too. I do think the finance piece is real though- my son was able to graduate with extra money in his 529 that he can now use for graduate school. He has loved his time in Vermont and has absolutely no regrets.
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