All the little tech schools

[Roadrunner]

things like Stevens, RIT, Rose Hulman…. 
Does anybody know what sort of a kid would be happy there? Does a student need to be hands on into projects to enjoy a school like that? Would a kid who likes theory mostly be happy at a place like that?

Also is that RIT that has a terrible campus?

 

[Sneezyone]

30 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

things like Stevens, RIT, Rose Hulman…. 
Does anybody know what sort of a kid would be happy there? Does a student need to be hands on into projects to enjoy a school like that? Would a kid who likes theory mostly be happy at a place like that?

Also is that RIT that has a terrible campus?

 

I don’t feel like RIT is a ‘little tech school’. Friend’s non-binary child lives within three hours of the school and is thrilled with their animation program. They do seem to be more hands-on and productive vs theory.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Roadrunner]

7 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

I don’t feel like RIT is a ‘little tech school’. Friend’s non-binary child lives within three hours of the school and is thrilled with their animation program. They do seem to be more hands-on and productive vs theory.

Well "little" implies their actual size, as opposed to larger universities. I didn't mean "little" as in "unimportant." 

Thank you. That's my impression as well that they are better fit for kids who are more hands on.

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Roadrunner

[MamaSprout]

I think it depends on the program, but I know Rose Hulman is as hands on as you want to make it. There are two large project buildings, one primarily for clubs and independent projects. Lots of research opportunities if that your jam, though. 

[Roadrunner]

3 hours ago, MamaSprout said:

I think it depends on the program, but I know Rose Hulman is as hands on as you want to make it. There are two large project buildings, one primarily for clubs and independent projects. Lots of research opportunities if that your jam, though. 

Do you have to commit to the major when you apply or can you change your mind? 

[Clarita]

Have you looked at Harvey Mudd? My parents didn't let me apply there because it was a private school. I remember doing a tour there and really liking the campus and thinking people there were really nice. My husband actually met people who went there and he said they were so nice that he wished he knew about the school because he too thought it would have been good for him. I don't know if it's saying much to say a school seems friendlier compared to a UC.

[MamaSprout]

1 hour ago, Roadrunner said:

Do you have to commit to the major when you apply or can you change your mind? 

The only major you really need to know for sure going in is Chem Engineering. Pretty much everything else have the same Freshman- Sophomore courses. Most students go in with at least Calc 1-2 and Univ Physics 1-2 done.

[Eos]

WPI was very hands-on when ds was there.  Lots of group and individual projects.  I guess it comes down to whether a school bills itself as primarily "engineering", which to me denotes "hands-on." 

It has a really nice campus in the midst of Worcester, MA which isn't my favorite small city.

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by Eos

[Miss Tick]

One difference is that most of those are not "research 1 schools", meaning in a very general sense, that most of the funding comes from tuition and legacy money, classes are smaller and teachers are more focused on teaching as their primary deliverable. Larger research schools have a sizable portion of outside funding for primary research and research is a primary focus alongside of teaching. Obviously these are large generalizations. On the personal level the school experience is going to be a combination of what is available and what you make of it. However, the fundamental motivators are different and lead to a different value scale within the institutions. I feel like we lump all institutions together as if they are all from the same tree - but it is really more that they are all different varieties grafted on the same root stock of higher education.

[Library Momma]

I can answer some of your questions from visits and knowing students who have attended.  My son is headed to RIT this fall and to be honest he loved the campus. I'm hoping he will enjoy being there as well, everyone we know who has attended absolutely loved it there and in particular raved about the co-op programs. We have a large engineering program at our high school so many kids each year head off to small (and large) tech schools.

We know quite a few students that attended WPI their reviews are a mixed bag.  

DS's second choice was Stevens.  I think we were a little scared off though by the added costs that kept cropping up. for a school that is quite expensive in the first place.  Most students we were told move off campus after freshman year and that area is very expensive and kind of a headache to navigate. and park.

 

[Farrar]

I would call RIT more medium. Their campus is fine. Several of the buildings are really nice and new. The dorms are pretty comfortable. It's not a gorgeous campus by any means, but the interiors are nice and it's not like you're walking around like, ew, all the time. I'd say the biggest drawback of the RIT campus is that it has zero connection to Rochester. It's just off on its own, practically surrounded by empty space practically a mile from anything else. It's not like the rest of Rochester (and things like a Target, etc.) are super far, but there's nothing walkable. It's just campus.

RPI hasn't been mentioned yet. Or Union. Or Embry-Riddle. And what about schools like LeHigh that serve a large tech crowd but aren't tech schools per se?

[MEmama]

17 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

things like Stevens, RIT, Rose Hulman…. 
Does anybody know what sort of a kid would be happy there? Does a student need to be hands on into projects to enjoy a school like that? Would a kid who likes theory mostly be happy at a place like that?

Also is that RIT that has a terrible campus?

 

Those were the type of schools DS mostly applied to in the US— Colorado School of Mines, Rose Hulman, RIT, Case Western, RPI, WPI, Northeastern… I’d say the “type” of student really varied between them, as best as we could tell between pre Covid tours and online research. Some were immediately ruled out— Renesselaer, for example, was an awful fit in every way for him, despite looking perfect on paper (thank goodness we got to tour that campus), yet WPI was *perfect* despite the location (sorry, Worcester!). Theory vs hands on will vary too; we had the distinct impression RPI wasn’t going to be collaborative at all, yet WPI prides itself on hands on projects (though their physics program seemed more theoretical, which DS thought suited him until we went to an open house there and learned more). So I think it’s really going to vary by major as well. Other schools were ruled out by location, there was no way Rose Hulman was going to be a fit for my kid who craved an international, urban university experience, and Stevens was ruled out when he didn’t relish the idea of making his connections in NYC.

I'd suggest going to as many tours as you possibly can, it can get expensive and hard especially since the schools you mentioned are far away, but it’s really the best way to get a true sense of fit. 

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Those were the type of schools DS mostly applied to in the US— Colorado School of Mines, Rose Hulman, RIT, Case Western, RPI, WPI, Northeastern… I’d say the “type” of student really varied between them, as best as we could tell between pre Covid tours and online research. Some were immediately ruled out— Renesselaer, for example, was an awful fit in every way for him, despite looking perfect on paper (thank goodness we got to tour that campus), yet WPI was *perfect* despite the location (sorry, Worcester!). Theory vs hands on will vary too; we had the distinct impression RPI wasn’t going to be collaborative at all, yet WPI prides itself on hands on projects (though their physics program seemed more theoretical, which DS thought suited him until we went to an open house there and learned more). So I think it’s really going to vary by major as well. Other schools were ruled out by location, there was no way Rose Hulman was going to be a fit for my kid who craved an international, urban university experience, and Stevens was ruled out when he didn’t relish the idea of making his connections in NYC.

I'd suggest going to as many tours as you possibly can, it can get expensive and hard especially since the schools you mentioned are far away, but it’s really the best way to get a true sense of fit. 

Oh yes! Now I remember you mentioning this. I don’t know why I confused them with RIT! 

[MEmama]

21 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Oh yes! Now I remember you mentioning this. I don’t know why I confused them with RIT! 

To be clear, I’m not dissing RPI at all— it was just (very, very, very) wrong *my* kid. A lot of techy/sciency kids will fit there perfectly, I’m sure.

[JenneinCA]

My middle child graduated from RPI in May 2020.  He got a computer science degree and totally loved the place.  He joined a bunch of clubs and was really sad about missing all the senior week stuff because of covid.  
(My husband and I met there and both of us have degrees from there too.  But that info is many many years out of date.)

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

My dad graduated from RIT in the dark ages and has been an extremely successful engineer.  Obviously his education was a long time ago,  but for the last 25 years he’s had engineering co-op students from RIT as well as employees who graduated from there and is continually very impressed with their knowledge and education.

[crazyforlatin]

DD’s friend is heading to RIT next month. He applied ED; I’m not sure why exactly but it could be that his private high school does not give grades and that they were confident enough with the financial circumstances. I can always update later to see how he’s liking it. He seems like a gifted and passionate coder from what Dd has told me. I think Dd will be applying, though attending if accepted would be a different issue. I happen to like a less urban environment for Dd. 
 

I know you didn’t ask about UC Merced, but Dd and her dad took a road trip there this weekend. There’s nothing much around the campus, though there are plans to expand the campus, which is modern, clean, and eco friendly. Dd liked the campus, not the rural nature of the surrounding area. 
 

 

[Farrar]

11 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

DD’s friend is heading to RIT next month. He applied ED; I’m not sure why exactly but it could be that his private high school does not give grades and that they were confident enough with the financial circumstances. I can always update later to see how he’s liking it. He seems like a gifted and passionate coder from what Dd has told me. I think Dd will be applying, though attending if accepted would be a different issue. I happen to like a less urban environment for Dd. 
 

I know you didn’t ask about UC Merced, but Dd and her dad took a road trip there this weekend. There’s nothing much around the campus, though there are plans to expand the campus, which is modern, clean, and eco friendly. Dd liked the campus, not the rural nature of the surrounding area. 
 

 

RIT is a lot tougher acceptance for engineering than for business and design. It's still a very reachable school, but I get why some students would do ED there, though ED is... not a great practice for most students in general.

[Matryoshka]

On 7/11/2022 at 3:57 PM, Roadrunner said:

things like Stevens, RIT, Rose Hulman…. 
Does anybody know what sort of a kid would be happy there? Does a student need to be hands on into projects to enjoy a school like that? Would a kid who likes theory mostly be happy at a place like that?

Also is that RIT that has a terrible campus?

One of mine had RIT as a top choice.  We toured the campus, and actually thought it was kinda nice.  They do have tunnels and heated steps/walkways to prevent ice buildup for getting around in cold and snowy weather.  She even went and did a summer program for interested kids there.

She got in, and they gave her enough $ that it would've been doable.  (Hot tip from tour guide - Clarkson gave her a better deal and RIT matched it - so dd then applied to Clarkson even though she didn't really want to go so far, and they also gave her a better deal, and RIT matched it for us too...)

She ended up going to the local public that gave her 50% tuition and also had a good coop program (she did CompSci, and really wanted a coop program).  She could've gotten out of RIT debt-free by using coop money to pay off the loans she'd've had to take, but at the local school she ended with money in the bank.  She's a practical kid.

On 7/13/2022 at 10:07 AM, MEmama said:

To be clear, I’m not dissing RPI at all— it was just (very, very, very) wrong *my* kid. A lot of techy/sciency kids will fit there perfectly, I’m sure.

Dd also toured RPI and really disliked it.  She didn't even apply.  A friend's kid went there and liked it fine, so YMMV.

She also applied and got into WPI and would've loved to go there, but the money didn't work out.  RIT ended up way more affordable.  They probably both gave her about the same merit $, but WPI's base tuition is so much higher that the bottom line was ... much higher.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Matryoshka

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, crazyforlatin said:

DD’s friend is heading to RIT next month. He applied ED; I’m not sure why exactly but it could be that his private high school does not give grades and that they were confident enough with the financial circumstances. I can always update later to see how he’s liking it. He seems like a gifted and passionate coder from what Dd has told me. I think Dd will be applying, though attending if accepted would be a different issue. I happen to like a less urban environment for Dd. 
 

I know you didn’t ask about UC Merced, but Dd and her dad took a road trip there this weekend. There’s nothing much around the campus, though there are plans to expand the campus, which is modern, clean, and eco friendly. Dd liked the campus, not the rural nature of the surrounding area. 
 

 

Why apply if you wouldn’t seriously consider attending?

I am not paying an application fee for any school where we wouldn’t be happily sending our kid. Even safeties for us are schools we would be more than happy to have DS attend. 

Merced is absolutely out of question for us for a multitude of reasons. 

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, crazyforlatin said:

DD’s friend is heading to RIT next month. He applied ED; I’m not sure why exactly but it could be that his private high school does not give grades and that they were confident enough with the financial circumstances. I can always update later to see how he’s liking it. He seems like a gifted and passionate coder from what Dd has told me. I think Dd will be applying, though attending if accepted would be a different issue. I happen to like a less urban environment for Dd. 

I'm a bit confuzzled by the bolded.  RIT is not at all urban.  It's on a self-contained campus a ways outside the (quite small) city, surrounded by green stuff.  Barely suburban.  You have to take a bus to get off campus.

University of Rochester is in the city, but RIT is outside it.

[EKS]

My son went to WPI.  It was a perfect fit for him, given that he thrives in a hands on, collaborative environment.  Interestingly, though, he told me that there were lots of people there who were really bad at the hands on stuff.  His grades seemed to weight theory and practical work about 50:50, so what that meant was that he could do poorly on exams (he chose not to use his dyslexia accommodations), get "above 100%" (his words) on projects, and somehow pass his classes.  According to him, it was very common for students to have the reverse situation--with good grades on exams and terrible project scores.

Also, with regard to Worcester--it has gotten better over the past eight years, but it isn't a classic college town by any stretch of the imagination, which is weird given that there are something like 13 colleges there!

Edited July 19, 2022 by EKS

[Matryoshka]

4 minutes ago, EKS said:

My son went to WPI.  It was a perfect fit for him, given that he thrives in a hands on, collaborative environment.  Interestingly, though, he told me that there were lots of people there who were really bad at the hands on stuff.  His grades seemed to weight theory and practical work about 50:50, so what that meant was that he could do poorly on exams (he chose not to use his dyslexia accommodations), get "above 100%" (his words) on projects, and somehow pass his classes.  According to him, it was very common for students to have the reverse situation--with good grades on exams and terrible project scores.

Also, with regard to Worcester--it has gotten better over the past eight years, but it isn't a classic college town by any stretch of the imagination, which is weird given that there are something like 13 colleges there!

Worcester is... not a great city.  It has a nice small art museum.  There's not much else good to say. I live about a half hour away, I know whereof I speak. 

WPI does have a cute campus; it's in the city but not a city campus like BU or Northeastern. Dd liked the campus. But once you leave it, Worcester is very... blah.

[EKS]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Worcester is... not a great city.  It has a nice small art museum.  There's not much else good to say. I live about a half hour away, I know whereof I speak.

I certainly didn't say Worcester is a great city.  I said that it seems to have improved over the course of eight years.  I can assure you that that isn't a ringing endorsement.

[Roadrunner]

So which one of those is in a great little town? Any of them?

[Matryoshka]

20 minutes ago, EKS said:

I certainly didn't say Worcester is a great city.  I said that it seems to have improved over the course of eight years.  I can assure you that that isn't a ringing endorsement.

Lol, I know, I was agreeing with you!  It is marginally better, but the bar was looow! 😅

[crazyforlatin]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I'm a bit confuzzled by the bolded.  RIT is not at all urban.  It's on a self-contained campus a ways outside the (quite small) city, surrounded by green stuff.  Barely suburban.  You have to take a bus to get off campus.

University of Rochester is in the city, but RIT is outside it.

I should have started a new paragraph. I can see from aerial photos that RIT does seem more secluded. When Dd visited Merced her biggest complaint was the vastness right outside the campus. And Merced is not exactly a thriving town. Because we live in the city with loads of city problems, I tend to prefer less urban surroundings.

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

I should have started a new paragraph. I can see from aerial photos that RIT does seem more secluded. When Dd visited Merced her biggest complaint was the vastness right outside the campus. And Merced is not exactly a thriving town. Because we live in the city with loads of city problems, I tend to prefer less urban surroundings.

You should visit. The campus is pretty much surrounded by conservation land, or trees at any rate. The closest shopping is a strip mall you have to take a bus to, even that isn't right outside campus.  

[Roadrunner]

2 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

I should have started a new paragraph. I can see from aerial photos that RIT does seem more secluded. When Dd visited Merced her biggest complaint was the vastness right outside the campus. And Merced is not exactly a thriving town. Because we live in the city with loads of city problems, I tend to prefer less urban surroundings.

I think sadly the type of problems we see in certain CA cities are CA problems. 😢

We know so many people who have fled SF. 😞

 

And I meant to ask you if UCB is as bad as we are hearing. I was told by a friend somebody got knocked out over her head and her things stolen while she was studying on campus. 

[MamaSprout]

12 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

So which one of those is in a great little town? Any of them?

Well, I'm not sure Terre Haute is "great" little town either. It's a small college city with at least two other colleges and community is supportive of the schools, but it does have some rust belt vibes. The Rose campus if fairly self-contained and has easy access locally to green space, parks with good hiking, and Indy less than an hour away.

[Library Momma]

I'm finding this thread interesting because I can see perspectives are very different based on where people are from and perhaps that is something they should consider when looking at schools.  RIT is a five minute bus ride to a road with practically every store and restaurant and a 10- 15 minute ride to downtown Rochester.  I wouldn't consider that secluded because from my home  it would take me at least 25 minutes to get to a shopping area like that.  It reminds me of many other schools that are on the outskirts of a city but for some that might be too much nature.  My daughter goes to UMass and the campus is similarly distant from a shopping "strip" but she doesn't have  a large city nearby, just quaint downtown Amherst. 

Conversely I know plenty of people who go to schools that are physically located in cities but they cant just walk out the door and wander - they still have to hop on a bus or train to get to the part of the city they can shop or hang out in.  

 

[Library Momma]

12 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

I think sadly the type of problems we see in certain CA cities are CA problems. 😢

We know so many people who have fled SF. 😞

 

And I meant to ask you if UCB is as bad as we are hearing. I was told by a friend somebody got knocked out over her head and her things stolen while she was studying on campus. 

I think it is so important to visit schools because there is often no other way to really get the vibe of the area.  But, if you go to a school's website and there is an entire page dedicated to student safety and gun violence in the community that is a red flag.

 

[MEmama]

20 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Why apply if you wouldn’t seriously consider attending?

I am not paying an application fee for any school where we wouldn’t be happily sending our kid. Even safeties for us are schools we would be more than happy to have DS attend. 
 

DS really wanted to go to uni in Ireland, his school was his first choice hands down. But he especially liked WPI and Northeastern if he stayed local; getting accepted into all three made for a tough choice in the end but truly his heart was in Dublin. But we actually asked him to apply to a good number of schools here, because 1. it’s a crapshoot which schools will offer an acceptance, 2. it was Covid times and there was a possibility going overseas wasn’t going to get to happen, and 3. a lot can change between application and acceptance and we wanted him have good options.
 

IIRC all his application fees were waived, so it was nbd to apply to schools he might not have been truly serious about (School of mines, Rose Hulman) and to an extra safety (Clarkson). There were a couple that he applied to that felt like maybe a reach just to find out if he’d be accepted (Case Western and Northeastern) and getting accepted felt validating. 
 

Having a wide array of choices was good for him and I’d absolutely go that route again, but it’s not necessary for every student. We are admittedly spoiled with terrific options here in New England/ the Northeast; it’s completely different than the state uni system I grew up with in California. It was a huge learning curve for sure.

[Roadrunner]

But would you apply to a school you would never consider attending? Applying to a variety I understand,  but applying to ones one wouldn’t want to attend, I don’t. For example, there is no possibility my son would ever attend Merced. There is no way we would ever even consider them. But if he were not to get into any place he wants, he would be very happy at Lewis and Clark (also a safety for him). So why not pick safeties based on where you might actually be inclined to attend? What am I missing? We have several schools in mind that are safeties where DS would be happy to attend. 

 

Editing to add, I forgot financial considerations. So that makes sense if finances are an issue and not the school offerings. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Roadrunner

[Roadrunner]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

DS really wanted to go to uni in Ireland, his school was his first choice hands down. But he especially liked WPI and Northeastern if he stayed local; getting accepted into all three made for a tough choice in the end but truly his heart was in Dublin. But we actually asked him to apply to a good number of schools here, because 1. it’s a crapshoot which schools will offer an acceptance, 2. it was Covid times and there was a possibility going overseas wasn’t going to get to happen, and 3. a lot can change between application and acceptance and we wanted him have good options.
 

IIRC all his application fees were waived, so it was nbd to apply to schools he might not have been truly serious about (School of mines, Rose Hulman) and to an extra safety (Clarkson). There were a couple that he applied to that felt like maybe a reach just to find out if he’d be accepted (Case Western and Northeastern) and getting accepted felt validating. 
 

Having a wide array of choices was good for him and I’d absolutely go that route again, but it’s not necessary for every student. We are admittedly spoiled with terrific options here in New England/ the Northeast; it’s completely different than the state uni system I grew up with in California. It was a huge learning curve for sure.

Case Western to me seems a category of its own, more in line with John’s Hopkins. Am I wrong? They are science/engineering, but also have a connection with CIM and have an amazing music program of their own. I could be wrong.

@crazyforlatinthey have a connection to Cleveland Clinic if DD is still considering medicine. And they give merit aid! 

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Roadrunner said:

But would you apply to a school you would never consider attending? Applying to a variety I understand,  but applying to ones one wouldn’t want to attend, I don’t. For example, there is no possibility my son would ever attend Merced. There is no way we would ever even consider them. But if he were not to get into any place he wants, he would be very happy at Lewis and Clark (also a safety for him). So why not pick safeties based on where you might actually be inclined to attend? What am I missing? We have several schools in mind that are safeties where DS would be happy to attend. 

 

Editing to add, I forgot financial considerations. So that makes sense if finances are an issue and not the school offerings. 

Well it’s not necessary of course! I’ve learned here that some people only apply to one school and that works fine for them. 🙂 

[Roadrunner]

7 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Well it’s not necessary of course! I’ve learned here that some people only apply to one school and that works fine for them. 🙂 

Those people have nerves out of steel. ☺️ Or type of confidence levels we don’t process here. 
 

[Roadrunner]

Oh, I was talking to a friend yesterday whose kid is starting college this Fall. She said some of her kid’s friends applied to 35+ schools. I thought that was a myth but apparently it was fairly common at her kid’s private school. And I though 15 was too much. 

[Matryoshka]

5 hours ago, Library Momma said:

I'm finding this thread interesting because I can see perspectives are very different based on where people are from and perhaps that is something they should consider when looking at schools.  RIT is a five minute bus ride to a road with practically every store and restaurant and a 10- 15 minute ride to downtown Rochester.  I wouldn't consider that secluded because from my home  it would take me at least 25 minutes to get to a shopping area like that.  It reminds me of many other schools that are on the outskirts of a city but for some that might be too much nature.  My daughter goes to UMass and the campus is similarly distant from a shopping "strip" but she doesn't have  a large city nearby, just quaint downtown Amherst. 

Conversely I know plenty of people who go to schools that are physically located in cities but they cant just walk out the door and wander - they still have to hop on a bus or train to get to the part of the city they can shop or hang out in.  

Well, I wouldn't consider RIT 'secluded' as in 'far away from all conveniences', just as in 'not urban'.  I consider an urban campus to be one actually in the city, or even integrated into the city without an actual separate campus - locally I think of BU and Northeastern as having 'urban' campuses like that, where the buildings are all just part of the city itself, and MIT and Havard (and U Rochester) are the next level down with separate, quiet campuses but as soon as you step out the door, you're in the middle of the city.

RIT is a short distance from the city, so easy to get off campus to do lots of stuff, but the campus is very much not in the city, but just outside it, and the surrounding views are quite bucolic.  The poster I was responding to said her dd did not want to be someplace where even stepping off campus she was surrounded by bustle and noise, and PP thought then RIT would not be for her -  but RIT does not fit that profile.

As for UMass, it's a much smaller town, but it's actually easier to get to stuff from campus than RIT, which is closer to a large city, but there's nothing to walk to - even the strip mall is a hike.  You can get to downtown Amherst in a short walk by foot (I went to UMass, did it all the time), and while it's not a city there's a lot to do there - restaurants, shops, cafes, evening entertainment.  You do have to take a bus if you want to get to a strip mall; I spent a ton more time in town than at the strip malls.   But the poster I was reponding to wanted a more secluded school than one in the middle of a city; either of those would fit that bill.

[Matryoshka]

3 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

But would you apply to a school you would never consider attending? Applying to a variety I understand,  but applying to ones one wouldn’t want to attend, I don’t.  ...

Editing to add, I forgot financial considerations. So that makes sense if finances are an issue and not the school offerings. 

Yeah, the one school dd applied to that she had no intention of ever attending was one where we'd heard that they offered good aid and the school she did want to attend would match offers from the other school.  So it was roundabout financial.  (and it did work out that way - she just got an even better offer from a third school - but that match offer was what put the school that was her initial first choice at all within reach financially).

Edited July 20, 2022 by Matryoshka

[Matryoshka]

2 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Those people have nerves out of steel. ☺️ Or type of confidence levels we don’t process here. 
 

Two of my kids only applied to one school.  But for one, they were way over stats at the school they applied to, and pretty much guaranteed admission, esp. since they did EA.  They transferred to a better fit after one year.  The second did a CC->transfer program, so were guaranteed admission as well.  Do have to say made things a lot less stressful, though!

Ironically the dd that applied to a bunch of schools (and got in to every single one) still ended up attending an in-state public.  They offered her really good $ and had a good program with coop, and she couldn't resist.

[Eos]

On 7/20/2022 at 1:30 PM, Roadrunner said:

Oh, I was talking to a friend yesterday whose kid is starting college this Fall. She said some of her kid’s friends applied to 35+ schools. I thought that was a myth but apparently it was fairly common at her kid’s private school. And I though 15 was too much. 

Wow.  Mind blown.