<p>I don’t think any retrosexual will confess to “feeling kind of gay” as the animation suggests prospective patrons might feel. :)</p>
<p>I dunno, marite. It gets kinda lonely out there in Nebraska…</p>
<p>Jym626: actually i do not know the difference between my asymptote and a hole in a graph.</p>
<p>Nebraska, sounds like a fun fruday night.</p>
<p>oldolddad, how was your trip? Did things become clearer?</p>
<p>oldolddad-</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>DSTARK: I think so. I am still on my trip. I am with relatives. S at one final interview. I have been watching his evaluation process evolve after each stop. I thnk he may end up choosing something totally different from his original choices. Many on the boards may not like another data point who rejects higher rated schools. He joins a long list of kids I know (assuming that is what he does). I think the school he chooses will actually have the best things he has liked, wants,s and has found at several of his choices. (Given that he likes everywhere though I suggested he goes to eight different schools for one semester each!)
Also, I have been visiting many of my oldold acquaintances during my travels and asking them the question posed at the beginning of the thread. At the risk of upsetting folks this morning I will wait to post some of their responses.</p>
<p>do you think any folks choosing between school 890 and 950 would ever come to CC for advice?</p>
<p>OK. Upset us later. :)</p>
<p>I hope the decision becomes very clear.</p>
<p>“For example, when I went on college visits, I noticed that at the most expensive and highly regarded school from among my choices (none elite) there was a palpable difference in small details. This included things like the level of professionalism of the admissions staff, the articulateness of the tour guide, the cleanliness of the campus, etc. These things had nothing to do with the quality of the educational program per se, but I found it difficult not to extrapolate upon those differences. For example, if the school knew how to choose admissions staff and tour guides, then I felt that they would probably also do a good job selecting professors.”</p>
<p>I can understand why you would think that, but would argue that the cleanliness of facilities, etc. are not very good indicators of the quality of professors. State universities have been facing major budget problems and they cut support staff. They cannot cut budgets for scientific research professors because they bring in grants that generate funds to help keep the lights on. In other fields, such as history or english, the academic job market is so poor for so long, that there are superb professors from top PhD programs everywhere. In addition, professors take jobs at places for all sorts of reasons, like proximity to family, the life style and culture of the region, and the ability for a husband or wife to get an appropriate job in the area. </p>
<p>For professional staff, like admissions people, the market is quite different and the higher pay from the privates may indeed bring higher quality. But those folks are not teaching and do research.</p>
<p>Private schools with big endowments are awash in money, at least compared to the public universities, and they are able and willing to maintain their grounds like country clubs. I have seen private colleges put an enormous amount of money into grounds the weeks before graduation, so that the college will look beautiful and the parents will be pleased. At public universities, where the average income of the student is lower, parents would prefer that their money – and the state’s taxpayers money – be treated more stingily.</p>
<p>One of the private schools we visited was awash with color from beautiful planted gardens. Someone finally admitted that they had an anonymous donor who provided and endowment of over a million dollars for landscaping of the grounds. They pull out and replant four times a year. It was beautiful but I don’t know how that affected the teaching quality.</p>
<p>So just to update, I decided to be put on the waitlist at brown today. I’ll be sending in some stuff for them to read (if any parent has advice on what to give a college like Brown after being waitlisted, other than a letter of continued interest, I’d love a PM with some info) but I’m not keeping my hopes up at all…</p>
<p>I guess I’m stuck between UVA and Duke (even though Dartmouth and JHU appear to be good in-betweens, the former is too isolated and the latter too competitive in a bad way). They appear similar on the surface but I’m learning that they’re very different schools… and I think that though both are very intellectual, I would have a harder time in the sciences at Duke - not sure if that’s a good thing or not (I’ll definately rise to the challenge though). I’m going to visit both in about two weeks and see where I feel more comfortable. But I do think I will take the “top school” over the “top scholarship” - full ride at College Park.</p>
<p>Still an option but more and more I just feel like I need to get away to a different environment.</p>
<p>If I didn’t have Brown acceptance, decision-making would have been far easier. As a first step, I need to pick either A or B:
A. Brown (cost $45K/yr), or,
B. Any one among Brandeis, BU & Olin - each with full tuition scholarship for 4 yrs.</p>
<p>If I eliminate (A), I think it is not very difficult for me to make a final choice. A or B? A or B? A or B? Is A really worth the price? Is it?
I will keep reading…</p>
<p>Well, if you pick of the three for B (I’d only consider Brandeis… not a big fan of BU or Olin) which would it be?</p>
<p>Momfromme and GFG-
We actually had quite a different experience a few years ago. Apparently they used to have (and I hope for their sake they got rid of this old bat) this little old lady at the admissions desk at Amherst who barely looked up over her knitting to grunt at the visitors and acknowledge their presence (several CC’ers had this same experience with her!). The Student tourguide was a total ditz, made it very clear that the only reason whe was at Amherst was because she is a 3rd generation legacy. She had not set foot inthe library (and didnt take us to see it). When we went to the sciences building, she said that she’d never been in that building either, but was pleased that she could see (and point out to us) the temporary dorm (aka trailer/prefab structure) that her boyfriend lived in at the time, while his dorm was being renovated. What a wholly unpleasant experience. The staff and faculty inthe dept my son was interested in were nice and welcoming, but geez, what a terrible experience from the admissions folks. My s. didnt apply to Amherst.</p>
<p>If I finally decide on B option, I will probably go to Olin. It is very difficult not to like it after one goes through the Candidate’s Weekend.</p>
<p>Sorry kirmum. We older than dirt but I am happy for you and the toy boy doctor.</p>
<p>beantown–get online and pull up the courselist at B,C and D in your field of interest. Ideally, you should be left drooling over the classes available in junior and senior year–including grad level classes.</p>
<p>also, you are in the driver’s seat at B, C and D. </p>
<p>Don’t feel like taking core classes? Petition them. Wanna take 3 semesters abroad on their dime? Petition them. Wanna make sure you get into their top Study aborad programs (like BU’s semester with internship in Geneva)? Petition them and get yourself on the list. Wanna get a great, world reknowned advisor? PM marite for suggestions and petition them.</p>
<p>Write your own ticket at any of the above and get the waivers in writing ahead of your decision and then go have a ball kiddo. </p>
<p>Congratulations. Well done to you.</p>
<p>This thread is really interesting and has offered a new perspective of the other alternatives. UMD-College Park just offered me a full ride, but I am still am considering USC, WUSTL, and Rice. I do not know what to do. I will be visiting all of them, but I would really like anyone’s perspective on this situation.</p>
<p>Same advice as the advice to beantown, siren. What holds you back from taking the scholarship? Is there anythng that would hcange your mind–like some of the idea above? Call them up and see if you can write your won ticket.</p>
<p>Congrats to you too.</p>
<p>“If I finally decide on B option, I will probably go to Olin.”</p>
<p>I don’t see it being a hard choice. Olin hands down.</p>
<p>One question to ask is would the scholarship open up all kinds of possibilities for further study as in study abroad options or exchange programs you couldn’t afford to take advantage of at the full price school because it is, well, full price? Is the full price school going to paint you into a corner financially so that you won’t be able to afford to go anywhere or do anything w/o worrying about the cost. Everyone jokes about eating ramen noodles but would you like living that way if you had to, in order to afford the full price school?</p>
<p>We were lucky our D’s scholarship school was also a school she loved and wanted to go to. She has been able to afford to have all the fun she wants there, and this summer she’s going to study in Brazil, the school will pay 1/2, and we can easily afford our share. She is spending a lot of time looking at other study abroad options for semester and/or school year. Her scholarship will be paid dollar for dollar to the foreign school and all we pay is the difference. Making study abroad affordable was an impt part of her decision to go there.</p>