As a former staffer at OU, I know that it would not have been my *personal* choice to study at as an undergraduate. Don't get me wrong, there's a ton to do in terms of clubs and etc, there's infinite resources, there's amazing facilities, and if you like the weather, it's pretty much second only to football as an interest.

But for me it was too big, too football focused (I know, coming from someone from Pittsburgh, I should be used to this), and too bleeding hot. How people learned to adapt to that kind of heat, I have no idea. I was a scared wee freshman who knew nothing about college or Greek life, and I think that if I personally had gone to OU as a freshman, I'd have sunk. The Greek life there was so different from what I knew of Greek life from my tiny Ohio school that we might have been talking about completely different planets. Not even in the same galaxy.

The same was true for me for Penn State, which I seriously considered due to reputation and clout in the area. Again, living in PA, Penn State is the big blue and white elephant in the room. If you walk in to any room and ask for Penn State alum to raise their hands, I can almost guarantee you that there will be at least two. It's a huge school, and has an equally huge and rabid alum base which is pretty darn helpful. I will say this, PSU is in pretty much the middle of nowhere. Like OU, if you like the countryside, you can get it if you want it. If you want an urban campus, this is not it.

Like OU, Penn State has almost endless resources. Crazy resources. If you want to study it, club it, play it, or be it, you can find it there. But it might take you a while to find it. Again, swimming in a pool of 50,000 students was, for 18 year old me, no bueno. The fact that it was 2 hours away and 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere was not a huge selling point for me. I participated in a bunch of summer clubs and camps there, and those were fun and I enjoyed the campus and the student assistants were great..but I didn't want to spend 4 years there because of the size.

Now, all my pessimism aside: they're both great schools. For the right student. But you can say that about any school. It's worth a visit any old how. You can visit my former employer and their beautiful new building when you're at OU. If you come for a visit to PSU, make sure you get some Creamery ice cream (SO GOOD).

Understood. My oldest daughter is currently attending a university out of state. One of my first stops on the websites of the universities that Cheddar is interested in is the financial aid site. I look very closely at the scholarships available to out of state students and the requirements for the honor colleges.

PhoenixAzul, Penn State is out of the running and I don't expect that to change. Our trip to OU next month will be a big indicator to size preference and a meteorology degree path. She may love it or hate it, but I think it's a good starting point to be able to focus on a solid path forward.

Oooh - I'd like to "third" this.

Remember that part of the rising cost of college has to do with the strategy increasingly employed by many universities - "high tuition, high aid".

Universities use merit scholarships to lure in the very top of their applicant pool, because they really want those best candidates for all the metrics that go into rankings. So, regardless of public or private, the real issue should be how desired is that school, and how does Cheddar compare to their typical pool of applicants? Obviously, you'll balance that with fit, reputation and her definition of "good" school.

If you're interested in podcosts, I listened to two interesting ones recently:
Planet Money's "The Real Price of College"
This American Life's "How I Got Into College"



Also keep in mind that the overall pool of high school-aged students is declining with movement of that second baby boom, so many smaller universities are finding it much harder to recruit students than they did 5-7 years ago.

For example:
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt...tribution1.jpg
This is from 2010, where there was a noticeable bulge at the 18-20 year old mark. I'm guessing your daughter was about 11 or 12 in 2010 - placing her right in that nice little valley around the 10-year-old mark. I think your daughter is in the best position (numbers-wise) as any student has been in 15 years.

I'm working very hard to keep this in perspective as I try not to hyperventilate over some of the $45,000 tuition prices.

Intriguing statistics.

On a related note, also remind yourself just how many colleges the average student is applying to nowadays - 10, 15, 20, 25 schools. The common application has made it much easier for students to apply to lots of schools, and that helps drive down those record-low acceptance rates we hear about every single year.

Oh my. As the mom of four girls, I guess I was just clueless. We were a military family with our home of record in Texas. My oldest daughter wanted to be a nurse. Quick scan and found the state schools in Texas that offered nursing. Second scan showed which state school in Texas had a chapter of Alpha Gam. One chapter was an Annulet chapter. My oldest went there. Her sisters followed. All are Alpha Gams, although one gave me a heart attack during recruitment... All 4 have wonderful jobs and wonderful husbands and families, only the nursing major actually uses her degree. All four are forever grateful for their alma mater and the fact that they graduated without loans. It seemed to work.

Your approach with your daughters would be my approach with daughters #1, 3 and 4. Cheddar is just scholastically on a different level and I can't let that fact go un-noticed.

Is the rockwall in your name in reference to rockwall, tx by chance?

Valpo Graduate here.

I graduated from Valpo and the Meteorology program is top-notch! They have a great building that was built in the last 10 years, have excellent opportunities for Storm Chasing (both summer trips and those during the year). The professors in the program are well loved and the class always seems to have a great bond. It's smaller and liberal arts so that may suit her needs and although Greek Life is growing it's not the only way to connect on the campus. Many of the graduates go on to graduate work although there is also a cohort that are going to be on-air meteorologists (Probably one of our most famous Alumni is Ginger Zee, from Good Morning America).

The weather is definitely different than Texas but there's a lot of it and getting to track snow storms and with our Lake Effect Area it could be fun for your daughter!

Let me know if you have anymore questions? There are actually a decent amount of Valpo Alumni in Texas so have her reach out to admissions now!

Yes! I've lived in Rockwall for going on 10 years, a newcomer, I know!!

That thought never crossed my mind. We will get right on that.

We're neighbors. :)

If she's not familiar with the terms "cooler by the lake" or Lake Effect Snow, She Will (said in a scary foreboding tone with horror music rising up)

Lake Effect Snow: You may be buried up to your ears in snow, the neighboring zip code won't even have a flake. Also known as the bane to existence in NWI and SW Michigan

When I lived in Chicago I was a block off the lake, in the heart of the greenhouse effect, so while it would be several degrees cooler by me than at, say, O'Hare, we really didn't get as much snow as outside the little bubble I lived in. Chicago is really a microcosm of SO MUCH WEATHER. Including tides, by the way, for people who don't know much about Lake Michigan. When a storm blows it, it totally looks like a Nor'easter. Except I don't know that there are any roads that freakishly close to the Atlantic ocean, such that you have to worry about the storm surges crashing onto and even over LSD. It was terrifying sometimes.

Her inner weather geek is familiar with lake effect snow, but being knowledgable and experiencing it are two different things.

WKU Graduate here. I would suggest WKU's B.S. in Meteorology http://www.wku.edu/meteorology/.

I suggest that she look at the Honors College at WKU. If she is accepted into the Honors College, it would give WKU a smaller feel. Just a thought and a shameful plug. There are two WKU alumni chapters in TX. I can put you in touch with one of them, if you like.

Greek life is growing and strong on The Hill.

Thought of this thread today when I read this week's Bloomberg Businessweek cover story:
How to Get Into an Ivy League College - Guaranteed

Also, and slightly more on topic - this Lake Effect sounds like my personal nightmare.

:) A friend from my rush group in college was from San Diego. She couldn't take the harsh Michigan winters, so she stayed in CA each winter semester. I don't know how she was able to do it academically, but she graduated with us on time.

Our "pool" this past winter. This was really an exceptionally snowy winter.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...d9bf1072759aa7

I don't know any current members, but the Valpo Gamma Phi alumnae I have met are all great...I know several who are very active alumnae (chapter advisors or volunteer leaders) and the chapter came to do the Philanthropy round when the chapter I advise colonized. The resident CLC for the first semester was also a Valpo alum, as was the first chapter advisor.

Our first official tour is today. OU bound for the day. This will set the standard for our college. This is the school Cheddar has said she wanted to attend since she was 8 years old. She's so excited she can hardly contain herself.