Gettysburg....push for more aid to attend or go with closer school?

[JFSinIL]

OK, out of 11 schools ds was accepted at 9. We have already sent regrets to Sewanee, Wooster, Ferris State. Probably Montana State soon (haven't gotten aid letter yet, but since they are a state school I do not think they will offer more than the scholarship ds already has.) Waiting to hear if U. of Minnesota will move him from College of Liberal Art to Biological Sciences (if they do, Minnesota is the cheapest option by a couple thousand a year!!!)

 

That leaves two local schools, Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana. Both 3 hours away, both great LACs. Aug. has offered plenty of aide - comes in below our EFC!!! We are waiting to hear if Wesleyan will match this. Both schools look strong in Biology (ds finally picked a major!!!) Ds interviewed for Honors at Augie and will probably be accepted.

 

Meanwhile...Gettysburg is a very good looking school. We would have to also ask them to consider offering more aide, but haven't done so yet. Does anyone have any opinions on Gettysburg? Do we want to pester them for more aid or just send a regrets letter and "settle" for one of the three closest schools (Minn/Wes/Aug)?

Edited April 3, 2010 by JFSinILnewme

[JFSinIL]

I see 49 folks have read this - but NO ONE knows anything about Gettysburg College? :-(

[TravelingChris]

You have until May to put in the decision. I don't know anything about Gettysburg either but do think, it can't hurt to ask for more aid. I know that on College Confidential, some students ahve done that at some schools successfully. Go for it.

[creekland]

I see 49 folks have read this - but NO ONE knows anything about Gettysburg College? :-(

 

I live about 20 minutes away from Gettysburg College, but I don't think I really have helpful information to be honest.

 

It's considered a decent liberal arts college and really decent if one wants to study the Civil War. It's got a very liberal bent politically (becomes super noticeable since the whole area around it is on the conservative side moreso than anywhere else we've lived).

 

I know of one high school teacher (math - excellent skills - absolutely excellent) that retired from our high school and opted to teach a course or two there. He was very frustrated with their honor system. He said there were usually tests where obvious cheating had taken place, but no real way to deal with it - and dealing with it is considered taboo, so he simply had to learn to overlook it. It was difficult for him and sounded totally commonplace from his descriptions. Hearing about that didn't impress me and I absolutely believe his details. Since all tests are taken without a prof present, I can only assume that other courses have similar results, but it is an assumption.

 

My boys have taken summer courses at Gettysburg (but not put on BY Gettysburg) and their buildings have never impressed me either, but I suspect that's due to our having gone to a really top of the line large state U. We've been spoiled. I had to adjust on that when my oldest picked a small school to attend. An education doesn't come from the buildings.

 

The area around Gettysburg we absolutely love living in. Visiting the NP is well worth it. The college is right in the middle of town as is the NP and the tourists. They get some speakers and decent entertainment (concerts and the like) in at times. Students are generally loved around town. It is a SMALL town and doesn't have a whole lot to offer compared to other areas, but Baltimore and DC are an hour or hour and a half away. This isn't always a bad thing, but it depends on what one wants. The crime rate is low.

 

I have no idea how their Biology program stacks up to others. I also have no idea about the other schools you are considering. They are all totally different from those my boys have been looking at.

[JFSinIL]

Thanks! Good to know about the cheating on the unsupervised tests - since ds would be needing to keep his GPA high to retain scholarships this would be a problem assuming a professor would grade on a bell curve.

 

Gettysburg was ds's first ever choice for a school....months ago when he still thought he was a History major!!! Now, as for Biology, I dunno.

 

We did tour the National Park a couple years ago (before we knew to check out the college!) and just happened to be there on a Memorial Day when Neil Armstrong appeared to speak at a ceremony in the cemetery.

[Michelle in AL]

If he does decide to major in biology, would he go to grad school? My dh highly recommends going to undergrad where you plan to go to grad school, especially if he plans on med school. He believes that developing a good relationship with professors can produce recommendations for med/grad school.

 

I'd also compare course descriptions for all the top choice schools. This really helped dd, who wants to major in psych, decide on a school. The LAC had some interesting classes, but the school she may eventually decide to go to (she's still young) had many more choices.

 

I know this doesn't answer your question about Gettysburg, but it might influence the way he looks at state schools, especially if any are science oriented schools.

[creekland]

Thanks! Good to know about the cheating on the unsupervised tests - since ds would be needing to keep his GPA high to retain scholarships this would be a problem assuming a professor would grade on a bell curve.

 

Gettysburg was ds's first ever choice for a school....months ago when he still thought he was a History major!!! Now, as for Biology, I dunno.

 

We did tour the National Park a couple years ago (before we knew to check out the college!) and just happened to be there on a Memorial Day when Neil Armstrong appeared to speak at a ceremony in the cemetery.

 

 

If there's any way you could visit your top 3 or 4, it would probably speak volumes - esp now that he's zeroed in on a major and you could check out the specific department, profs, and buildings as well as around towns.

[danielle]

I'd pile in the car and go visit. The best way to negotiate the financial aid is in-person. We've really found that even the canned tour tells us a lot about the school. I would not select as a final choice any school my dc had not visited in person--we've had some real surprises at places that looked great from afar.

 

Also, Michelle, not sure I absolutely agree with your dh about being at the same school undergrad improves chances of getting accepted as a grad. In fact, at some places I think it hurts--many top schools want "breadth" of experience. Most undergrad profs have contacts at other schools for recommendations.

Danielle

[Starr]

Don't forget to factor in the cost of travel.

[Sue G in PA]

I am a Gettysburg grad! I can't say anything negative about the school at all. I loved all four years of my time there. It is a gorgeous campus! PM me if you would like specifics on classes, courses, majors, profs, etc. Ah...dh and I have such fond memories of the 'Burg. We met and married there in Christ Chapel!