Besides cost/financial aid, what else are you and Dc considering when choosing a school?

[shanvan]

Bear with me--this is long!  Skip the paragraphs b/t the lines if you don't want to read details.  And, fyi, I am obsessed with the idea of needing a 5th year to graduate b/c I took 5 years--BUT, I also worked a 30 hour a week job while in school, which I do not think Ds will have to do.  (I like to think ahead and apply worst case scenario logic.  It makes me feel more in control. Lol)

 

Ds is in a very good position being accepted to every college/university he applied to--even his reach (which was amazing to me).  We are waiting on one school for financial aid details.  For the most part the costs are ending up very similar, but one of the schools looks like it will be a free ride b/c of a grant the school offers.  One school he ruled out b/c he would need to live with a family friend and commute--and he would need to buy his own car before fall, which would mean his own insurance. They are all close to home, so distance is not a factor.  The others are still very affordable and that is b/c of Dh's lay off almost 3 years ago and his new salary being so low.   He has narrowed them to top 3 choices.

 

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He and I feel overwhelmed with making the decision.  I have been looking at online comparison tools, but they don't really account for his specific situation.  Ds is interested in majoring in English, communications/journalism/public relations. 

 

School 1: Presidential scholarship, 1/2 hr commute, good journalism program with great establish internships, Ds likes campus, likes students.  This school is frowned upon by many b/c of the expense and value for the money, though it is not going to be expensive for Ds, assuming he can keep his scholarship. They will stack scholarships, and that will make the first 2 years low or no cost for tuition b/c of several outside scholarships.  I am not even sure he will need all of those scholarships--some may go to books.  They have a grant that will keep Ds's costs the same for 4 years.  However, a lot of students take more than 4 years to graduate.   A 5th year without the presidential scholarship would be unaffordable for us.

 

School 2: Free tuition, Honors College, Campus not as nice, students keep more to themselves, Ds has a friend still attending who is involved in many organizations, some of which he would also join.  The commute is easier since I only have to drive him 15 mins to a train station and he can take train.  His grandparents live in the town with the train station within walking distance.  He could stay overnight with them if for some reason I could not drive him. He will not have to worry about getting a car until he is ready to get one.  This school has no journalism major, but does have an English Major and will work to design a program with Ds.  They do offer a digital certificate Ds is interested in. It is a well recognized school nationally, though not highly ranked like school 3.  It is obvious he will get a lot of personal attention there based on his visit.  At this school many students take more than 4 years to graduate, but if Ds took 5 years it would still be affordable.

 

School 3: This is Ds's reach school and has a VERY good reputation--top ranked.  We do not have financial aid details yet. Commute is similar to school 1.  Costs are probably similar to school 1, but if Ds needed a 5th year it would still be affordable (school 1 would not). We do not know a lot about the English and Communications department b/c, frankly, we did not think he would get into this college.  We now feel we need to investigate more.  Outside of the Northeast I am not sure a lot of people have heard of the school, so it does not have the name recognition of school 2 and so far, Ds has not been invited to the honors college.  

 

With Schools 1 & 3, I suspect I am going to want him to get a car pretty quickly b/c of the commuting.  That is going to add the expense of insurance.  Realistically, he is going to end up getting a car at some point, so I am not sure it is going to be a huge factor. Ds is keeping his part time job, which is very flexible.  He will not work a lot during the school year, but enough to cover a few expenses.

 

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So now we are at the point of trying to compare:

 

• The actual course requirements for the majors he is considering.
• The statistics regarding graduation and whether a 5th year is normal for students and why.
• Whether or not a 5 year masters is available and how much it costs.
• The type of internships available.
• Where students end up when they graduate.

Am I on the right track with these comparisons?  In some ways I think they may be just overkill.  So many kids change their mind about majors, so then course specific info would not matter.  Am I nuts to think about graduation taking more than 4 years?  Why can't we just decide that he is going to have to graduate in 4 years?  A five year masters means locking into that school for graduate studies, and maybe he would rather go elsewhere.  

 

And as far as internships and where students go when they graduate--to me that info seems hard to find.  I can find some statistics, but statistics don't tell the whole story.  Those experiences seem very specific to individuals--so they may not apply to Ds.  Am I right, or are there ways to find out more about internships and employment that I am unaware of?

 

So far we have looked at the info the colleges supply themselves plus the advertised internships on the colleges websites, and some online statistics from sites that rank colleges.  Ds needs to visit the 3rd school since he has not been there yet.

 

So what else should we be doing?  What are you and your child comparing when making the decision?  I would appreciate feedback or suggestions.  Thanks for listening to all the thoughts that have been floating around in my brain!  

 

 

 

[Luckymama]

You said:

 

"So now we are at the point of trying to compare:

 

The actual course requirements for the majors he is considering.

The statistics regarding graduation and whether a 5th year is normal for students and why.

Whether or not a 5 year masters is available and how much it costs.

The type of internships available.

Where students end up when they graduate.

Am I on the right track with these comparisons? In some ways I think they may be just overkill. So many kids change their mind about majors, so then course specific info would not matter. Am I nuts to think about graduation taking more than 4 years? Why can't we just decide that he is going to have to graduate in 4 years? A five year masters means locking into that school for graduate studies, and maybe he would rather go elsewhere."

 

We are looking at

--the course requirements

--university requirements (she doesn't want a huge core)

--if AP/dual enrollment credits are accepted and for what

--if she can study two languages while majoring in a third area

--study abroad opportunities (through the school or do the students have to go through someone else)

--if merit aid can be used for study abroad semesters

--if all coursework taken during study abroad is accepted by the university

--internships: type (full time? part time during regular semester?), access, what students have done recently

--level of language reached by graduates of particular programs

--if students in the programs have been awarded CLS, Boren, Fulbright, etc fellowships

--does the school have a process and liaison who helps with applying for the above

--is grad school needed, is it needed right away or do most work for several years first, where do students do grad wirk

--employers of recent graduates

 

And then we're also considering

--distance from home

--ease of getting home for breaks

--how many years of guaranteed dorm living

--food service flexibility for food allergies and intolerances

[raptor_dad]

If he's looking at journalism, you should look at the school newspaper, especially at schools without a journalism major.

 

Is the paper good? How hard is it to get writing positions? Is it daily or weekly? What is the workload for writers and editors? etc etc

[almondbutterandjelly]

Honestly, for us, money trumps all.  And getting another car with insurance is expensive.  So based on the info provided, I like school 2.

 

That said, however, I would also investigate if there are other potential majors that your student might be drawn to, since kids often do change majors.  If there's a decent variety of stuff he would probably like, then I'd be comfortable there.

 

FWIW, though, my dd is right now in 9th grade, and we have a local community college and 4 year university.  She likes Early Childhood Education and maybe might be interested in Dental Assisting instead.  Both of which are offered by the CC.  And she can get her Associate's degree for the cost of one year the 4 year school.  Which has good transfer agreements with the cc.

 

So, ymmv, but, again, money trumps all.

[Guest2]

Things we look at in additon to what you have listed tend to deal more with religious develpment, social and interest clubs offered. We sort of stress that they "need" to get a job after college, but we also want them to have the opportunity to grow in areas of their lives that are not accademic.

 

Catholic presence on campus( Newman Center?) , bible or other studies that meet weekly,active social justice groups....... Not sure if this has any take away for you

 

Friendly campus...can they see themselves living or spending a great deal of time there for 4-5 years

 

Helpful administration/profs....no pushovers, but will there be any assistance if there is a problem? Sometimes scholarships are delayed or financial aid hits a snag...anyone to advocate for them?

 

Clubs : to explore hobbies and get to know a wide variety of people from all different types of backgrounds,some professional clubs, but some just for fun. College can be a great time to make friends.

 

Hth

Edited March 30, 2016 by Silver Brook

[shanvan]

Honestly, for us, money trumps all.  And getting another car with insurance is expensive.  So based on the info provided, I like school 2.

 

That said, however, I would also investigate if there are other potential majors that your student might be drawn to, since kids often do change majors.  If there's a decent variety of stuff he would probably like, then I'd be comfortable there.

 

FWIW, though, my dd is right now in 9th grade, and we have a local community college and 4 year university.  She likes Early Childhood Education and maybe might be interested in Dental Assisting instead.  Both of which are offered by the CC.  And she can get her Associate's degree for the cost of one year the 4 year school.  Which has good transfer agreements with the cc.

 

So, ymmv, but, again, money trumps all.

The difference is not much.  Tuition will be relatively easy for him to pay just by working in the summer at his current job even at the schools that will cost.  He should already have the first 2 years paid for with outside scholarships & money saved.  

 

I know what you are saying with the car, but he does need to get his own license and car at some point, so I go back and forth on that issue.

 

ETA: If we were talking about more money then school 2 would win out.   

Edited March 30, 2016 by shanvan

[JeanM]

You do seem very concerned about the 5 year possibility. Does your ds have any AP or community college credits that will be accepted? Is there a difference between the colleges in what they will accept? Those can make a difference in the time to graduation.

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

With the 5 year thing, I would be concerned about it only if students have difficulty getting the classes that they need to graduate in 4. That is a problem inherent to the college. If students can get into the classes but many take longer because they only take 12 credits per semester rather than 15 or change their majors, that's not a problem with the school.

 

I'm doing my 2nd bachelor's degree half-time so it is taking me longer to finish but that is my choice. I would have no difficulty getting the classes I needed if I wanted to go FT and finish the degree in the standard length (3 semesters).

[FaithManor]

Money is definitely a big issue for us, but IF ds had felt U of Rochester was the best fit for him, we would have made it happen some way. However, the premium consideration for him is the quality of the niche department of freshwaters ecology, research, and conservation. Western Michigan University has the ONLY BS in Freshwater Sciences and Sustainability in the nation, and research begins at the end of the freshman year with the junior and senior year being very heavy in research with students getting a lot of one to one oversight from PH.D researchers on the Great Lakes. That was the determining factor for him. Northern which does have a very good water ecology department was cheaper for us as we Michigan Tech which is a super strong school, and of course the Great Lakes Research center at University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee was also lucrative. But the bottom line was the place that would nurture his passion the most and challenge him in that way but also had a great, great reputation for getting their grads into the Coast Guard Marine Science program was WMU. So he's decided to be a Bronco.

 

To be honest with you, for a health reason (ds is medically underweight due to a metabolic condition and is working so very, very hard to gain weight in order to pass his physical for the Coast Guard when the time comes), WMU and U of R were also the very best fit. Northern and MTU are quite remote and their meal options are very, very limited. U of W in Milwaukee was better, however the Coast Guard affiliate at WMU was willing to have a sport nutritionist and personal trainer work directly with ds at no cost to help him gain muscle and weight (stamina and physical fitness itself are not issues as he is SUPER fit despite the issue). I think we might have found that kind of help at U of R too, however we didn't explore the idea with them once it was offered from WMU since they also have the uniqueness of their program going for them.