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Class of 2018 Decisions Thread


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Post in this thread with:

 

Where

Why

Major (edited to include this bit of info)

Any other important info you would like to share.

 

 

--

Brooklyn College - DS of Liza Q -??

Cornell University College of Engineering - DS of rbk mama - Electrical Engineering

Florida Southern College - DD of fourisenough - Nursing

Houghton College - DS of freesia - Communications

Indiana University - Bloomington - DS of Joker - English

Knox College - DS of pinkyandthebrains - Mathematics

Marquette University - DS of HeatherinWI - Computer Science

Ohio State University - DS of Correlano - ??

Purdue University - DS of Momto5inIN - Computer Science

Stanford University - DD of plansrme - PhD in Mathematics

SUNY Polytechnic - DS of Hilltopmom - Computer Science/Cyber Security

University of Arizona - DS of MarkT - Physics

University of North Florida - DD of Melissa B - ASL/ English Interpreting & Theater/Drama

University of South Florida - DS of teachermom2834 - Business & Pre-Law

University of Texas - Arlington - DD of Linda in TX - Mathematics

University of Texas - San Antonio - DS of Kinsa - Undeclared

University of Toledo - DD of plansrme - Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy

 University of Washington  - DD of JanetC - Earth & Space Science

Virginia Military Institute - DS of Tania - Civil engineering

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DS of MarkT

University of Arizona

Why: nice merit Scholarship and honors college

Mom convinced him to stay closer to home

BS Physics major

He will be living at the honors college.

Does not follow basketball so no worry there!

 

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DD of MelissaB

 

University of North Florida

 

Double major - BS ASL/English Interpreting & BA English - Theater/Drama concentration

 

 

Why: Only applied to one school :)

 

Florida public universities are very affordable to in-state students and the Bright Futures scholarships are automatic with test scores and volunteer hours.

 

Only two universities in Florida offer the ASL degree she is really looking for and UNF also has a Theater English degree and is the exact size college she was hoping for.

 

The college visit went wonderfully, especially after a couple of college visits that were underwhelming.

 

 

 

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DS of teachermom2834

 

University of South Florida

 

-planning a business major with an eye towards law school

 

Reasons- ds wanted to get out of state and go somewhere different but his modest test scores (for this board) and thin high school resume really didn't make him a candidate financially for an out of state school. USF, however, did offer a significant OOS scholarship at his ACT score.

 

Once we realized it was financially doable, the more we looked at the school the more it grew on all of us. While very large, he is in the honors college which offers very small classes and most of his non-honors classes look to be less than 50 students as well. The honors program seems like a perfect fit for him. Everyone we have had contact with at the school has been helpful and friendly in a way our state schools have not been. His extensive de credits are all transferring in his major. That was not the case at the lower ranked schools he was looking at before.

 

Overall it seemed like ds started investigating USF on a whim (it was very cold here in December) and then things just kind of fell into place.

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Where:  The University of Central Florida (Orlando)

 

Why:  Full ride scholarship for National Merit Finalists (with enough left over for a Disney annual pass!)

 

Major:  Mathematics  

 

Other:  The Burnett Honors College is small and has a good reputation; the math department is excellent; the dorms for Honors students are beautiful and she'll have her own room in a quad.  It's three hours away from us as we're in South Florida (the school provides a bus back and forth on weekends).  UCF was not even on our radar until late November when they sent an invitation to an NMSF dinner.  They pulled out all the stops and dealt with all our reservations.  The presentation impressed DD and her dad...I was the last one on board but now we are all thrilled with the decision. Go Knights!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Houghton College

Why?  It is by far the most affordable with scholarship and NY State aid.  It has an honors program that seems really good and he'll spend the second semester of freshman year in London doing integrative studies in Western Civilization--lectures in the morning, field trips in the afternoon.

It is also super small,which will be good for him and we loved the atmosphere and the profs we met when we visited for the honor's interview weekend.

Major:  Probably communications.

I am bowled over by how "at peace" I feel about this.  I come from a family full of highly selective/Ivy league school grads and I always thought that's where we were headed.  He did get into a very selective school, but we just can't afford it. But even before the acceptance I knew that this school was perfect for him and probably better.  I do have some "what if" feelings about another one of his acceptances, but it just isn't worth me going to work and putting the others in school to make it happen.  He has always, always loved Houghton, so I think he is fine with the decision, too.

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DS decided Purude because it was good for his major (Computer Science) and close to home and has an active youth group from our church denomination on campus. I am much relieved that he will be close to home and sooooooo glad the decision had FINALLY been made!

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Where : Marquette University

Why: 4 year AROTC scholarship + Marquette gives a $7,000 room and board scholarship to ROTC scholarship winners (none of the other ROTC colleges ds applied to have this 'sweetener') 

Major: BS Computer Science; considering BS in Computer Science / MBA program (five year program) 

You all saw my million posts in the acceptance thread and the angst that went into ds's senior year! I'm so grateful for everyone's advice, support, and encouragement! 

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Where:  IU Bloomington

Why: Merit aid they've given is tuition and half of room and board. We can't help out a lot financially and going to IU means little to no loans for ds. It was hard for him as he was surprisingly accepted to Emory. The aid there was mostly need based though so a bit scary if they change it after the first year. I'm proud of him for making the smartest financial decision.

Major: English 

 

We're all pretty happy about the decision being done here. He's already signed up for orientation and he really loved one of his admitted student tours for Honors College. The campus is beautiful and it's not too far from home (I'm really happy about that). 

 

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Where: University of Texas at Arlington

Why: She is getting a good scholarship. And waiting on more.

Major: Mathematics

We are happy to have this decision over. She is also in the Honors college and already has housing and her orientation scheduled.

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SUNY Polytechnic

great fit for this kiddo, small state school, robotics team mentoring opportunities

Computer Science/ cyber security

Accepted Students Day clinched the decision, thankfully. I think he’ll be much happier here than at a few of his other choices, even though the price is a bit higher. But the SUNY “free tuition” certainly helps!

I really like the freshman dorm set up, a new building set up for community building.

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Where: Florida Southern College

Why: Direct-admit nursing program at a small liberal arts college; located in sunny/warm climate; VERY generous merit aid

Major: Nursing

Additional info: Campus recently voted most beautiful (feels like an all-inclusive resort); Though 1,000 miles from home, FSC is in easy commute distance to major airport with cheap, non-stop flights home. Location is one where we midwesterners like to vacation, so she’ll get plenty of visits from family/friends.

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On 4/3/2018 at 3:50 PM, Momto5inIN said:

DS decided Purude because it was good for his major (Computer Science) and close to home and has an active youth group from our church denomination on campus. I am much relieved that he will be close to home and sooooooo glad the decision had FINALLY been made!

 

Cool.  I think Purdue is a great school for Engineering and related fields, which are what I know about...   My late uncle got his B.S. in Electrical Engineering there and then went to Stanford and got his Ph.D. there and became a Full Professor there. One of my late friends/colleagues got his B.S. in Electrical Engineering (?) at Purdue.

Good luck to your DS at Purdue!

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Daughter #2 (HS class of '18)

Where:  U of Toledo

Why:  Full ride, athletic & academic scholarship

Major:  Exercise Science/pre-P.T.

Any other important info you would like to share:  No one in Georgia has even heard of the U of Toledo, so I keep describing it as KSU (Kennesaw State University) with an older campus, as its stats are nearly identical to KSU's.  U of Toledo has a lot to offer, though, including generous merit aid for relatively modest stats.  Our big take-away from the recruiting experience was that our demonstrated interest early on was critical; the coach told us as much when he called to offer money.  The offer was originally 100% athletic, but when she qualified for automatic academic money, he reduced the athletic aid for merit, which was fine with us.  Another common bit of lore is that there are not full rides for non-head count sports, and we did not find that to be true.

Daughter #1 (HS Class of '16)

Where:  Stanford for a Ph.D. in math

Why:  Highly-ranked math department, several potential advisors in her area of interest, very generous fellowships offered (she ended up with a non-Stanford NSF graduate research fellowship as well, so she actually ended up with more funding than she could accept)

Major:  Math

 

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Where:  Cornell University College of Engineering

Why:  He will be a Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research Scholar which means he'll get his own funding for research and be part of a small group receiving faculty mentorship for basically any area of research he is interested in.  DS has stars in his eyes.

Major:  Right now he is thinking Electrical Engineering, though Engineering Physics is also appealing.

Other info:  We just received the reply today to our financial aid appeal (we have an unusual situation), and they came back with an unexpectedly generous package, which brings the total to far less than our EFC.  DS was also selected to be a Jacobs Engineering scholar.  Party in our house today!! 

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DD of JanetC

Where: University of Washington, also admitted to honors program and Space Grant STEM program

Major: Earth and Space Science, possible Atmospheric Sciences or Astronomy as a second major or minor. 

Why: Didn't get into either of her two reach schools, leaving an unaffordable match school and UArizona and UWashington to choose from. While May 1st is technically the deadline, Arizona required housing deposit April 1st and Washington has a Space Grant summer research program application due on April 13th, so we needed to decide what to do earlier. It really came down to a school that is excellent in her field (Arizona is a top school in planetary science) and a school that is closer to home and a higher quality school overall, but not as many professors studying planetary science (and no NASA missions hosted at UW). We were both very impressed by the Space Grant kids at the visit day, so she committed to UW and is finishing off her essays to apply for the summer research program. It's competitive to get, so she may just work for money this summer. She is still deciding on whether to do a letter of continuing interest for her waitlist school, but in the meantime she is signing up for everything UW has to offer her. 

Other info: Her two reach schools were MIT (deferred, then rejected) and JHU (waitlisted). So, she was maybe close to the borderline of getting in. That leaves me second guessing my choices, not so much in homeschooling, but in how I packaged what we did, whether we should have tried to practice interviewing more, demonstrated more interest, and so on. Still, she had two great choices that were affordable in the end, and either of the reach schools would have been a financial stretch. 

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DS has decided on Knox College in Illinois.

He ultimately chose Knox College because of the sense of community. Mom and Dad think it’s a great fit, with an excellent aid package. 

He plans to major in mathematics. He received their math scholarship.

He is excited at Knox he will also be able to explore his other areas of interest as well. 

Knox College is part of Colleges That Change Lives. 

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21 hours ago, PinkyandtheBrains. said:

 

 

DS has decided on Knox College in Illinois.

He ultimately chose Knox College because of the sense of community. Mom and Dad think it’s a great fit, with an excellent aid package. 

He plans to major in mathematics. He received their math scholarship.

He is excited at Knox he will also be able to explore his other areas of interest as well. 

Knox College is part of Colleges That Change Lives. 

We just left Knox this morning!!!!! Soooo enthralled by that school!  So very happy for you and your son. I chatted with a prospective math major yesterday ;)

Knox made dd feel very torn; Agnes Scott, however, is still on top. We are appealing aid, so we'll see how that goes.

We are currently in Beloit, Wisconsin for their admitted students days. This is it! Our last visit!

 

ETA: Shoot! Have I ruined this thread with my TWO posts?! Yikes! 

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After much ado about which school to choose. A decision has been made and the deposit paid.

DD will be attending Goucher College

Why? Because she felt at home on the campus and really connected with the students and professors she met and the swim coach.

Major: Psychology. Who knows what it will be once she has a year of classes under her belt.

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I'm so happy to report that we have a decision :)

 

DD will attend University of Rochester

Why? Open curriculum, great fit with student body, loved the campus and city, perfect size

Major: Possibly some combo of English and environmental science, neuroscience, genetics or brain/cognitive science

 

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DS of ThisIsTheDay

Where--Virginia Commonwealth University

Why--loved the urban feel. He's graduating from community college (Guaranteed Admission Agreement), and this ended up being the only school he applied to.

Major--English. (One more of those things I said my kids would NEVER do!) Wants to get into techical writing.

Any other important info you would like to share. We recently talked about what CC teacher/s he could ask for a LOR. I asked him to think about who really pulled him into his love for literature and writing. He replied, "None of them, Mom. It was all you." This was the WTM influence in our homeschooling! <3 <3

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Down to the wire ... 

Dd of Dirty Ethel Rackham

Where: Saint Louis University

Why:  Loves the campus - Size is big, but not too big, urban area, diversity, Jesuit university with a strong commitment to service and social justice, lots of great majors, good climbing communities, far enough away from us (4 hours) but near family (dh's brother and my brother live within 30 minutes.)  And they kicked in another $3000 in merit aid in the last week. And they have a Madrid campus which means that even engineering majors can study abroad.

Major:  Right now Civil/Environmental engineering but may change to something in the biological sciences/neuroscience or who knows what.  

Any other important info you would like to share. This has been an agonizing decision.  This has been her heart school since she was in 8th grade and attended her cousin's graduation there.  There are a couple of small LACs that were much lower in cost of attendance after scholarships, but they were too small, not diverse enough and the towns just felt sleepy to her.  She is unsure of what she wants to do in life, but doesn't want to hate her college experience.  She wanted options and she feels that she will get them at SLU.  She was pretty much set to go to Minnesota when they gave her another merit scholarship, but then SLU followed with another one as well.  She spent hours crying this weekend scared to make a mistake.  So, after listening to her concerns and fears, dh and I talked it over and just told her that we thought she would be happiest at SLU.  She needed to just have a decision made and the feel like it wasn't all on her to make the best choice.  

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On ‎4‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 8:51 AM, ThisIsTheDay said:

We recently talked about what CC teacher/s he could ask for a LOR. I asked him to think about who really pulled him into his love for literature and writing. He replied, "None of them, Mom. It was all you." This was the WTM influence in our homeschooling! <3 <3

Ok, this made me tear up.  I don't want to derail the thread so I might PM you about how you achieved this.  Way to go mama!!!

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Ds of amathis229 will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology!

Why: Large-ish school in a big city with a challenging science and math-based liberal arts/business curriculum. A state-funded scholarship pays tuition for qualified students.

Major: Global Economics and Modern Languages

Any other important info you would like to share: The liberal arts college has around 800 undergraduate students total, and I believe it has the potential to be a nurturing environment for ds - if he's willing to be nurtured! 

 

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DD will be attending Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Why: She loved the professor, students, feel of the school, and they gave her a full-tuition scholarship

Major: Music Performance (bassoon) 

She just loved this school from the first time she visited. The close second choice was Ithaca College, but she preferred the location of BoCo and they gave her more money.

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11 hours ago, Kinsa said:

 

I can't resist the opportunity to tell you that my cousin has his doctoral degree in bassoon! And, he was nominated for a grammy last year! Yes, really! Lol!

 

That's so cool! She loves playing the bassoon, I think she'd marry it if she could :) Her plan is to get a doctoral degree as well. My hubby and I both have chemistry degrees so we're not sure where all this musical talent came from, certainly not us! 

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On 4/26/2018 at 7:14 AM, brookspr said:

My hubby and I both have chemistry degrees so we're not sure where all this musical talent came from, certainly not us! 

It's funny the route our children take.  My husband and I both have chemistry degrees,  and our daughter majored in Latin in college. 

Congratulations to your daughter on her acceptance!

Regards,
Kareni

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DS has committed to MIT!  

Why?  He went to Campus Preview Weekend and loved the kids and the vibe.  He loves Boston and the energy he saw at MIT.  

Major: Math and Physics

Other info:  DS returned home from Campus Preview Weekend on Saturday, and committed to MIT on Sunday.  Monday morning (12 hours later) he received an e-mail from a professor at CMU to let him know that he had received a major scholarship!!! This about gave my dh and me a heart attack as we didn't know about it. How much was it? When had they given it to him?  Why did the prof know and we didn't?  It was not a pretty moment as we had just turned down CMU the prior night.

So the timeline:

4 April: Acceptance by CMU. No scholarship offered.

14 April: I called CMU. All the scholarships had been allocated.

19 April: We receive the letter in the mail. No scholarships.

22 April: DS commits to MIT and tells CMU no.

23 April: Prof emails ds to say CMU has offered ds a major scholarship. We look into his CMU portal to find that it had been awarded on the 18th of April!!!  We had not thought to check the portal before he committed to MIT, and CMU did not email us to say the portal had been updated.  The scholarship was not a full ride, but it was big!

So, that night we had a big think.  If we were going to beg our way back into the scholarship (if we even could), ds was going to have to commit to CMU (which we weren't even sure he could do, given he had committed to MIT). After 3 agonizing hours, we decided not to pursue CMU even though it was not a ton cheaper and a really good option.  DS absolutely loved MIT, and we could choose to afford it (beans and rice for the next 4 years!). It was done. MIT was the one.

But for all those reading this: check the portal up until the last minute.  All we can figure is that ds was second on the list for the scholarship and received it after the first person turned it down.  This possibility never occurred to us.  Now, 5 days later, we are at peace with our decision.  DS is over the moon about MIT and really looking forward to August!

Ruth in NZ

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On 4/25/2018 at 1:31 PM, amathis229 said:

Ds of amathis229 will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology!

Why: Large-ish school in a big city with a challenging science and math-based liberal arts/business curriculum. A state-funded scholarship pays tuition for qualified students.

Major: Global Economics and Modern Languages

Any other important info you would like to share: The liberal arts college has around 800 undergraduate students total, and I believe it has the potential to be a nurturing environment for ds - if he's willing to be nurtured! 

 

My math major at Tech took all of her electives in the econ department at Tech.  She loved her econ classes.  Your son will be in good hands.  Congratulations!

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6 hours ago, lewelma said:

DS has committed to MIT!  

Why?  He went to Campus Preview Weekend and loved the kids and the vibe.  He loves Boston and the energy he saw at MIT.  

Major: Math and Physics

Other info:  DS returned home from Campus Preview Weekend on Saturday, and committed to MIT on Sunday.  Monday morning (12 hours later) he received an e-mail from a professor at CMU to let him know that he had received a major scholarship!!! This about gave my dh and me a heart attack as we didn't know about it. How much was it? When had they given it to him?  Why did the prof know and we didn't?  It was not a pretty moment as we had just turned down CMU the prior night.

So the timeline:

4 April: Acceptance by CMU. No scholarship offered.

14 April: I called CMU. All the scholarships had been allocated.

19 April: We receive the letter in the mail. No scholarships.

22 April: DS commits to MIT and tells CMU no.

23 April: Prof emails ds to say CMU has offered ds a major scholarship. We look into his CMU portal to find that it had been awarded on the 18th of April!!!  We had not thought to check the portal before he committed to MIT, and CMU did not email us to say the portal had been updated.  The scholarship was not a full ride, but it was big!

So, that night we had a big think.  If we were going to beg our way back into the scholarship (if we even could), ds was going to have to commit to CMU (which we weren't even sure he could do, given he had committed to MIT). After 3 agonizing hours, we decided not to pursue CMU even though it was not a ton cheaper and a really good option.  DS absolutely loved MIT, and we could choose to afford it (beans and rice for the next 4 years!). It was done. MIT was the one.

But for all those reading this: check the portal up until the last minute.  All we can figure is that ds was second on the list for the scholarship and received it after the first person turned it down.  This possibility never occurred to us.  Now, 5 days later, we are at peace with our decision.  DS is over the moon about MIT and really looking forward to August!

Ruth in NZ

I'll chime in to say that their first "offer" of a scholarship may not be set in stone, as many people I know go back and ask (some more than once) if there is any more scholarship money to be allocated. My dd has a friend who was accepted to a school with a $20K scholarship (school is $58K to attend) and when she talked to the music professor again they asked her how much more she needed to go there. She said $10K and that's what they gave her. So you can always go back and ask if there is any more scholarship money for your student. 

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10 hours ago, lewelma said:

DS has committed to MIT!  

Why?  He went to Campus Preview Weekend and loved the kids and the vibe.  He loves Boston and the energy he saw at MIT.  

Ruth, I came over here ready to post a question asking if anyone knew what your son had decided! And so his (and your) college app journey ends! Very exciting and sounds like an excellent choice.

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DS confirmed his decision - time to switch from application to prep!

Where:  Virginia Military Institute

Why: Senior Military College with strong traditions and excellent preparation for a military career.

Major: History-maybe a concentration in Military History and/or a minor in Exercise Science

Other: Attending with a four year Marine Corps ROTC scholarship.

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3 hours ago, JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst said:

time to switch from application to prep!

Yes!  This is where we are.  DS is going to try to learn multivariate calculus in May so he can take the final exam during orientation week. :blink:  Then he has to do a 17 hour writing assessment in June to determine which English class list he can choose from.  And we still have our big Biology lab to do!  So much to do, so little time! He will be in Romania in July, and in the USA visiting grandma in August.  Time is about to get really short. 

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On 28/04/2018 at 5:03 AM, GoodGrief1 said:

Ruth, I came over here ready to post a question asking if anyone knew what your son had decided! And so his (and your) college app journey ends! Very exciting and sounds like an excellent choice.

It is just about a year to the day that he decided to apply to American universities, where my small panic started with his first and only opportunity to take the SAT happening in 4 weeks. I can't believe we are on the other side, and it feels so very good.  I'm actually really looking forward to having someone else in charge of his education, as it has been a hard road. Joyful, but hard. I'm really looking forward to focusing on my younger!

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We have had a decision for a while, but ds2 will go to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Major: undecided between philosophy/history/religion

Why? Small, Catholic, has a judo club and outstanding support for LD kids AND the money worked out

He is very pleased with his decision and I think it is a good one for him.

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Finally deposited yesterday. Didn't think the day would ever come; it's been a long haul.

Where? Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin

Why? DD loved it from the moment she stepped foot on campus. In fact, when we first arrived, we drove through campus and she enthusiastically said, "I LOVE Wisconsin!" We are from PA!

She liked the students and the professors and the classroom engagement. She liked the unique housing opportunities and the theatre and dance departments as extracurriculars.

Financially, it's a winner.

She was accepted to Oberlin which is financially impossible. Beloit has a very similar feel to Oberlin.

The main reason, I think, is that it is co-ed. Her top choice (out of the financially doable ones) had always been Agnes Scott. I think the idea of all women theatre and dance and life worried her in the end.

 

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4 hours ago, lisabees said:

Finally deposited yesterday. Didn't think the day would ever come; it's been a long haul.

Where? Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin

Why? DD loved it from the moment she stepped foot on campus. In fact, when we first arrived, we drove through campus and she enthusiastically said, "I LOVE Wisconsin!" We are from PA!

She liked the students and the professors and the classroom engagement. She liked the unique housing opportunities and the theatre and dance departments as extracurriculars.

Financially, it's a winner.

She was accepted to Oberlin which is financially impossible. Beloit has a very similar feel to Oberlin.

The main reason, I think, is that it is co-ed. Her top choice (out of the financially doable ones) had always been Agnes Scott. I think the idea of all women theatre and dance and life worried her in the end.

 

Congrats!!! Yippee!!! I have been following your DD's search since my son is a year behind her and looking at some of the same schools.

Well, not the all-women's ones, obviously :)

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3 hours ago, Penguin said:

Congrats!!! Yippee!!! I have been following your DD's search since my son is a year behind her and looking at some of the same schools.

Well, not the all-women's ones, obviously :)

I'd be happy to give you any trip reports or information if you'd like! 

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On 4/28/2018 at 11:17 PM, lewelma said:

Yes!  This is where we are.  DS is going to try to learn multivariate calculus in May so he can take the final exam during orientation week. :blink:  Then he has to do a 17 hour writing assessment in June to determine which English class list he can choose from.  And we still have our big Biology lab to do!  So much to do, so little time! He will be in Romania in July, and in the USA visiting grandma in August.  Time is about to get really short. 

 

Gosh-I was just thinking that I can put away my check lists of application and scholarship materials and turn to the packing list of how many pairs of socks he needs to bring, etc. I was busy thinking VMI will be easy, they literally list it all, dd was sort of a "free-for-all but bring a mattress protector" which took so much more thought.  But that is taking it up a notch.  (And he'll love Romania-one of my favorite places to have visited!)

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On 4/27/2018 at 2:02 AM, lewelma said:

DS has committed to MIT!  

Why?  He went to Campus Preview Weekend and loved the kids and the vibe.  He loves Boston and the energy he saw at MIT.  

Major: Math and Physics

Other info:  DS returned home from Campus Preview Weekend on Saturday, and committed to MIT on Sunday.  Monday morning (12 hours later) he received an e-mail from a professor at CMU to let him know that he had received a major scholarship!!! This about gave my dh and me a heart attack as we didn't know about it. How much was it? When had they given it to him?  Why did the prof know and we didn't?  It was not a pretty moment as we had just turned down CMU the prior night.

So the timeline:

4 April: Acceptance by CMU. No scholarship offered.

14 April: I called CMU. All the scholarships had been allocated.

19 April: We receive the letter in the mail. No scholarships.

22 April: DS commits to MIT and tells CMU no.

23 April: Prof emails ds to say CMU has offered ds a major scholarship. We look into his CMU portal to find that it had been awarded on the 18th of April!!!  We had not thought to check the portal before he committed to MIT, and CMU did not email us to say the portal had been updated.  The scholarship was not a full ride, but it was big!

So, that night we had a big think.  If we were going to beg our way back into the scholarship (if we even could), ds was going to have to commit to CMU (which we weren't even sure he could do, given he had committed to MIT). After 3 agonizing hours, we decided not to pursue CMU even though it was not a ton cheaper and a really good option.  DS absolutely loved MIT, and we could choose to afford it (beans and rice for the next 4 years!). It was done. MIT was the one.

But for all those reading this: check the portal up until the last minute.  All we can figure is that ds was second on the list for the scholarship and received it after the first person turned it down.  This possibility never occurred to us.  Now, 5 days later, we are at peace with our decision.  DS is over the moon about MIT and really looking forward to August!

Ruth in NZ

 

Our kids will be a mile from each other, MIT is just across the Charles River from BoCo! I don't know if you have family in the US, but if there is ever anything you need (or really that your son needs) that I can help with, please let me know. We will probably visit at least three or four times a year to see her perform in concerts and musicals and visit friends in Connecticut, where we lived prior to moving to Chicago. I know we don't know each other, but I have been on these boards for 5+ years and have gotten much wisdom and insight from you over the years. Would love to help in any way I can while your son is so far away from home! We are pretty familiar with Boston, visiting often during the 19 years we lived in CT. My husband also goes there a few times a year for business. 

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And we have a decision.

Son, age 17, is graduating from the local community college in about two weeks.  This is the kid who still doesn’t have four years worth of English or social studies credit, but he will have an associates degree.  Given this I am back dating his graduation date to when he passed the CHSPE and hoping for the best.

He got accepted to and will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall majoring in Computer Science.  He is happy.  We are happy.  Both my husband and I graduated from there so we are familiar with the school.  Now to get on with the rest of everything.

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