Prioritizing the various aspects of a college search

[cintinative]

I feel like my brain is a jumble.  I need to prioritize these aspects, and sometimes I get mixed up on which is most important.

I know we will need to either commute or attend a college with considerable merit aid (will not be eligible for need based aid based on our EFC calculation). 

I know that if my son attends a university and lives on campus, that his ability to eat on site (he has Celiac) will be important. He could potentially get out of a meal plan and/or get a room with a kitchenette, but this would impact some of the social elements of his university experience. I would really not encourage him to go to a college where he has to cook all his own meals unless we got a very generous merit offer.

My son really has no idea what he wants to study, except that he has an interest in working in 3 dimensions/design, is pretty strong in math and English, and likes symbolic logic and physics. So my thought is computer based design of some kind, so that could be a whole slew of programs from computer science to something under IT to graphic design to some type of computer engineering. To me, it doesn't really make sense to chase down schools with heavy merit aid if they don't have the potential majors he wants. 

Lastly I am confused about the balance of seeking good merit aid and making sure it is a good "fit" for him academically. I don't want him to be bored. 

If you were going to tackle this, would you search by merit aid availability first, then the major, then the food, then the academic fit?  Or, what order would you use?  

[Aloha2U]

Looking at this through a different lens...

Has foregoing the traditional college path and looking to a technical ed or workforce training center been considered? They are usually affiliated with a local community college but offer their own scholarships. What's more, depending on the field, some of the areas offer courses that can be transcribed to the CC and applied towards a degree.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Aloha2U

[cintinative]

13 minutes ago, Aloha2U said:

Looking at this through a different lens...

Has foregoing the traditional college path and looking to a technical ed or workforce training center been considered? They are usually affiliated with a local community college but offer their own scholarships. What's more, depending on the field, some of the areas offer courses that can be transcribed to the CC and applied towards a degree.

I have poked around on the local CC's website but not technical schools. Off to Google.  😃

[BusyMom5]

Even if you do CC at home first,  you still need to know the 4-year school degree info to be sure everything transfers. I'd start there, making a list of degree options at local schools.  I think lots of schools are trying to work with dietary restrictions,  so call and ask, and ask again on your tour.  

So far both my high schoolers have had good grades and good test scores, so great merit aid.  I write out cost in each category (tuition,  books, room & board, travel expenses if out of state).   Estimate for years 2-4, then total up how the scholarships would work out to get a good idea how much the total price difference would be.  I do this for transfer from CC to university,  too.  Lots offer transfer scholarships.   I do probably do too much overthinking!  

[8filltheheart]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

Lastly I am confused about the balance of seeking good merit aid and making sure it is a good "fit" for him academically. I don't want him to be bored. 

If you were going to tackle this, would you search by merit aid availability first, then the major, then the food, then the academic fit?  Or, what order would you use?  

FWIW, I think the premise that strong students have to be worried about being bored is an incredibly inflated premise.  There are a few small directional schools where the mix of students might lead to limited course offerings and fewer academically focused peers, but by far, state flagships and other large schools, especially those with large merit packages and honors colleges are going to have a significant number to top performing students.

In terms of major, I would have him spend time doing some research on careers.  And look at gen ed requirements and schools where admission is not based on major. (Some schools, for example, make it next to impossible to transfer into high demand majors like engineering and CS.)

 

 

[Farrar]

Most colleges are going to be willing to work with students with dietary restrictions. I'm not in that situation, but I'd put it as a secondary consideration because you're likely to find potential solutions among the different options you consider.

Transfer from CC paths can be great. They can save money. Or they can not save money at all. And they can take longer, even if you think you're doing it all right. And the overall graduation rates aren't great. So those are all considerations with that. 

I'd start with dealbreakers and work from there. Not being able to choose a major in a field that might interest you is a dealbreaker. Not getting enough money is too... but that aspect is unpredictable. That's why he has to apply widely to schools that do give merit aid, make sure your student keeps his mind open, and see what happens to some extent.

Aren't you in Ohio? You've got great in state options and many give amazing merit, which is not something all publics do. And you've got great options for tech and design overlaps.

Also, some day I'm going to convince a spatially gifted kid to minor in spatial studies at Redlands because... that is the coolest field of study.

ETA: And seconding what 8fills said about how undermatching (a student getting bored by the school they picked) isn't that common. What's more common is families who are chasing name brands (even lower tier name brands) getting a bit snotty about their options. Or students who chose a great school and aren't bored, but want to change their course to something not offered there or not strong there or inaccessible there.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Farrar

[cintinative]

24 minutes ago, Farrar said:

 

Aren't you in Ohio? You've got great in state options and many give amazing merit, which is not something all publics do. And you've got great options for tech and design overlaps.

 

Yes, we're in Ohio. 

I'm not sure what is considered amazing merit.  Some of the KY schools appear to be a bit more generous, but I have only looked at three or four Ohio schools so far. 

Do you know of good schools for the tech/design overlap in Ohio? I have been poking around at UC (which would be commute distance), U Toledo, and Kent State.  

[Farrar]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

Yes, we're in Ohio. 

I'm not sure what is considered amazing merit.  Some of the KY schools appear to be a bit more generous, but I have only looked at three or four Ohio schools so far. 

Do you know of good schools for the tech/design overlap in Ohio? I have been poking around at UC (which would be commute distance), U Toledo, and Kent State.  

Miami has the Emerging Technology in Business and Design program. UC is excellent but you definitely have to pick and track and stick with it there, at least for design or engineering.

[MamaSprout]

If he's considering engineering of some sort, that's rarely offered as a transfer option. There are definitely engineering design -type programs in Ohio, probably near you. Any ABET-accredited engineering program is going to be rigorous, so he most definitely would not be bored.

Be cautious of engineering-anything with technology in the name. I'm at a school that offers that for students who can't do the math for regular engineering, and they often end up in careers that could be done with a two-year degree.

Celiac. I have one of those. Make your list of schools that work every way else and then eliminate those that can't accommodate his dietary need. Join the FAACT parent page on Facebook. Celiac is not something colleges accommodate well for because nobody dies from a single exposure, even though my kiddo is out of the game for days. Definitely talk to the foodservice/ dietician when you tour. As you know, "made without gluten ingredients" is not necessarily Celiac-friendly. 

For social reasons, I felt strongly that she should be able to have some meals in the cafeteria, both because she will not have time to cook every meal (athlete/ engineering) and for social reasons. We settled on a school that can can keep her safe even if the choices are minimal. She'll have access to a shared kitchen and probably a small freezer in her room.

Edited April 17, 2022 by MamaSprout

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, MamaSprout said:

Join the FAACT parent page on Facebook.

I follow that and there is a Gluten Free College group I follow as well.  I recommend it to other Celiac parents for individual school info. 😃

[Bootsie]

I would focus on what he wants for a college experience--does he see himself at a large school or a small school?  Does he want to be close to home or does he see himself far from home?  Does he want a primarily residential campus at which students are highly involved in activities?  Or, is he interested in a college with more of a commuter-based student body?  Does climate, access to outdoor activities, being in a city, or the ability to participate in a particular extracurricular activity factor in?  Is it important to him to go to a school where he already knows some other students?  I would look at what schools sound appealing to him and then see what the common thread is.  

I would make it clear to him upfront that cost is a major constraint.  Just because you look at a school, it may not end up being practical due to costs, but you can still learn something about what will be a good fit for him and then look for cost effective ways of getting those things.  

[TerezaM]

Oh, yes, such prioritization can be extremely challenging. I think I would focus more on the college experience. When I was thinking about where to apply, I started with which specialty I wanted, which institution, and then chose the best one for me. And then I thought about campus, accommodation and some extra activities provided. I study psychology, so it was the most important to find that uni, which would offer the best. And I made the right choice. Somethimes I use the help of or a few other resources because I have somethimes difficulties. Applying is always a challenge, so take your time and think properly about it. Because if you make the wrong choice, well, it won't affect your academic success positively.

Edited December 20, 2023 by TerezaM
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[Eos]

13 hours ago, TerezaM said:

Oh, yes, such prioritization can be extremely challenging. I think I would focus more on the college experience. When I was thinking about where to apply, I started with which specialty I wanted, which institution, and then chose the best one for me. And then I thought about campus, accommodation and some extra activities provided. I study psychology, so it was the most important to find that uni, which would offer the best. And I made the right choice. Somethimes I use the help of or a few other resources because I have somethimes difficulties. Applying is always a challenge, so take your time and think properly about it. Because if you make the wrong choice, well, it won't affect your academic success positively.

I think you're a bot, dear.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Eos
Followed desertflower's example

[Farrar]

1 hour ago, Eos said:

I think you're a bot, dear.

I had no idea the bots went to college!

[Alice]

We didn't have the same priorities but the way we looked it we had three things we were looking at as far as fit. For us that was swim, academics and financial. Swim was in some ways the least important but it also helped narrow things down so we started with that and only looked at schools with D3 swim teams. We knew we needed merit aid and we also knew ds wanted a smaller school, likely a LAC so we looked at ones where his scores were roughly above the top 25% thinking towards aid. He knew he was interested in Math so talking to the Math professors/department was part of the process to make sure it was a good fit for him. We were very open about cost and told him pretty much exactly what we felt like was a good financial fit. He applied to places that we guessed would not be a good fit financially and he knew that going in but we figured as long as he had that expectation it was fine to try.