Girlie AGDee's College Search Thread

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Still, I don't think anyone advised 10 schools when I was a high school student. I remember most people applying to 4 or 5, and something like 7 would be considered a lot. This is one of those game theory things, though, where if everyone is applying to 5, you can apply to 5, but if everyone is applying to 10, your chances at each school are less certain, so you have to apply to 10 as well.

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Still, I don't think anyone advised 10 schools when I was a high school student. I remember most people applying to 4 or 5, and something like 7 would be considered a lot. This is one of those game theory things, though, where if everyone is applying to 5, you can apply to 5, but if everyone is applying to 10, your chances at each school are less certain, so you have to apply to 10 as well.

Goodness! I remember my high school counselor kept pushing all of us to apply to junior college, even the students with the grades, means and motivation to go to a top-tier four-year university right away. I don't know what his deal was, but I later saw him in a Bowflex infomercial ::shudder::

I applied to 3 schools, all of them University of California schools, and therefore when I say "applied to 3 schools" I mean that I filled out one application and checked 3 campus boxes on the form.

[gebbie]

Hey AGDee!

I have only skimmed through this post, so if somebody has already suggested this, don't mind me! Has your she looked into Emory at all? I know it is in the south, but it is a spectacular place and boasts an incredible program for what she seems to be interested in. It might be worth a bit of research.
Honestly, my best advice to you and your daughter is to go with what feels right.

Good luck! Don't stress!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by gebbie

Hey AGDee!

I have only skimmed through this post, so if somebody has already suggested this, don't mind me! Has your she looked into Emory at all? I know it is in the south, but it is a spectacular place and boasts an incredible program for what she seems to be interested in. It might be worth a bit of research.
Honestly, my best advice to you and your daughter is to go with what feels right.

Good luck! Don't stress!

She did lots and lots of research, but at this point, it is too late to apply anywhere else. She has options. Personally, I wish she would see what a gem U of M really is, especially since it's so much cheaper than the others. I will be glad when the next week is over and we know who has accepted her for sure.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She did lots and lots of research, but at this point, it is too late to apply anywhere else. She has options. Personally, I wish she would see what a gem U of M really is, especially since it's so much cheaper than the others. I will be glad when the next week is over and we know who has accepted her for sure.

My husband loved his time at Michigan. He still talks about how smart, but well-rounded, the students were. Filled with intellectuals.

As someone who attended a very expensive private university, if your daughter was sitting in front of me I would tell her to seriously reconsider it unless the school gives her a very generous GRANT package. I got good financial aid from my university, but it was only half grants. The loan debt is stifling for the first 10 years after you graduate, which is the time in her career when she will be making the least amount of money. And that was for a loan debt significantly lower than it sounds like she would responsible for. When she's paying $500-$600/month for student loans, it's going to make it hard for her to even move out of your house! That's how a lot of young people get themselves into major credit card debt - it's the only way they can afford to live.

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

As someone who attended a very expensive private university, if your daughter was sitting in front of me I would tell her to seriously reconsider it unless the school gives her a very generous GRANT package. I got good financial aid from my university, but it was only half grants. The loan debt is stifling for the first 10 years after you graduate, which is the time in her career when she will be making the least amount of money. And that was for a loan debt significantly lower than it sounds like she would responsible for. When she's paying $500-$600/month for student loans, it's going to make it hard for her to even move out of your house! That's how a lot of young people get themselves into major credit card debt - it's the only way they can afford to live.

YES. And also, just to throw a wrench into things. I think major universities do a terrible job of explaining to their students the financial ramifications of picking a major.

For example, at my school Economics majors usually went into accounting firms and started in the mid-$40K-$50K range. Engineering majors were going into positions in the $40K-$60K range. My brother is about to graduate with a Bachelor's in computer science, and has already accepted a position starting at $70K+.

If you're following a humanities track, expect to start in the low $30K's. All of my friends who graduated as English, History and Poli Sci majors were in that boat. I worked in politics for many years, and started at around $33K, and it would have been LESS had it been an entry-level job with a federal elected official rather than a city official (different pay scale that is somewhat averaged nationally, or something like that).

A family friend just graduated from an Ivy League school with honors with a somewhat obscure humanities major, and is making barely over $40K in a very expensive city.

I think this is a BIG something to keep in mind in terms of future finances.

[DubaiSis]

Yes, Munchkin, I think the applications thing is geographic and also societal. In the city where I grew up (think largish suburb, but no adjacent urb) we had very good public schools, and everyone who went to college went to one of the Iowa schools, or to one of the good Catholic schools fairly nearby, Notre Dame and Marquette. I bet there weren't 10 applications total out of the 380 in my graduating class to any of the schools listed in this thread. Some certainly would have been able to get into those schools (it wasn't completely uncommon for a kid to have a perfect ACT score), but it just never occurred to most of us. Perfectly acceptable, close by and relatively affordable was pretty much what we thought, and between 3 big state schools, pretty much every major would have been covered.

I think this whole process would be really exciting but soooo anxiety-inducing.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by southbymidwest

Not that I am aware of anymore- they will publish 25%-75% ACT/SAT spreads, GPA averages for the current freshman class, etc., but you can never be sure until you get the notification that you are in.

Ahh, found the term I was looking for regarding a university trying to figure out if they are of importance to an applicant-they look for "demonstrated interest" in the form of visits, requests for information, discussions with admissions officers, etc. They track this stuff. Read it in a "Chronicle of Higher Education" article a few years back, was also echoed by daughter's high school counselor.

Yes, and this may be why she was waitlisted at Wellesley. She decided, last minute, to apply there.. no visit, no demonstrated interest ahead of time. One of her best friends since kindergarten will be swimming for them and she the application was free. When she scratched U Chicago off of her list, she added Wellesley. She is hoping that this will be the difference with Barnard since she went there for their Young Women's Leadership Institute last summer.

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

I think this whole process would be really exciting but soooo anxiety-inducing.

It is.. both, totally.

College confidential's Northwestern board was going nuts last night because Northwestern didn't publish results on the 4th Thursday of the month for the first time in 4 years. These kids are going insane over these decisions.

The Barnard board is going crazy too. Some people have called the admissions office and were told that decisions were being mailed yesterday or today. Others called and were told late next week. However, international students receive an email and they haven't gotten their emails yet, so decisions have likely not been mailed yet. For the past 7 years, accepted students get a large express mail envelope. Rejected get a regular envelope, not express.

I am regretting that I didn't push hypoallergenic to apply to some of the state schools where she would have gotten free ride tuition scholarships. I'm trying to let her follow her dreams, but perhaps I didn't push for some more practical options too. More safeties would have been a good idea. She considered "target" schools to be safeties and the rest are definitely "reach" schools.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by AGDee

She is hoping that this will be the difference with Barnard since she went there for their Young Women's Leadership Institute last summer.

It is.. both, totally.

College confidential's Northwestern board was going nuts last night because Northwestern didn't publish results on the 4th Thursday of the month for the first time in 4 years. These kids are going insane over these decisions.

The Barnard board is going crazy too. Some people have called the admissions office and were told that decisions were being mailed yesterday or today. Others called and were told late next week. However, international students receive an email and they haven't gotten their emails yet, so decisions have likely not been mailed yet. For the past 7 years, accepted students get a large express mail envelope. Rejected get a regular envelope, not express.

I am regretting that I didn't push hypoallergenic to apply to some of the state schools where she would have gotten free ride tuition scholarships. I'm trying to let her follow her dreams, but perhaps I didn't push for some more practical options too. More safeties would have been a good idea. She considered "target" schools to be safeties and the rest are definitely "reach" schools.

I think attending the institute at Barnard has to help. My daughter attended summer programs at Northwestern for 3 years and took on-line classes there for another 3. If she gets in there, I'm thinking that this would be a factor. She did get a special invitation to apply, which was obviously sent to the kids who are in the summer program's database. I heard from our NU chapter president that they do track visits/calls, etc. there...another sister works in the admissions office and this is what she said. On the other hand, the Georgetown rep. told us they do not track visits, because that would discriminate against students who cannot afford the travel expense of making college visits. I've heard/read this about some other schools, as well. I'm taking some of this with a grain of salt...I think you'd have to get a more serious look if you show demonstrated interest and they know you'd really love to attend if you got in (as opposed to padding your application list with this school just to be on the safe side).

My daughter applied to one definite safety state school with a great Honors program...where nice merit was an additional lure, one target flagship state school (virtually no aid), and 5 private schools that range in the 6%-30% acceptance range. Of those, she's accepted to the state schools, received early action deferred decision from one private school, and is in with a full ride at another. The rest she is waiting on. I'm predicting that she'll get into 2 that are left, and not the other 2. It was amazing to me, though, that the deferred school and the full-ride school have the exact same admissions stats and very similar "rankings"...one obviously loved her and the other deferred her. I will say that the one that loved her is one she loves back, and they knew it. It really is a great fit, and that came through in her application, interviews, etc. Everything just seemed to go great at every stage. Last night an admission rep. called to talk to her and see if she had any additional questions.

I do think she's going to end up where she was meant to. I think your daughter will, too. Sometimes this whole process feels like a crap shoot, and sometimes it feels like these admissions officers know what they're doing and they can tell who would bit a good fit, likely accept, etc. Too late, I found out that a number of flagship, OOS schools offer big merit scholarships, unlike the Michigan flagship schools. If I had known that, I might have encouraged her to apply to some of those. But I don't know if any of them would have actually appealed to her, so it might have been a waste of time anyway. I just don't think I can second guess any more.

I am thinking about you and your daughter. The NU boards blow-up is really an indication of how much stress these kids are under when they put themselves out there and await judgment from the highly selective schools. I think your daughter is brave, and I think there are many valuable life lessons to have learned throughout this process...interviewing skills, reaching for challenges, setting goals, handling rejection, etc. I say good for our daughters for taking on a challenge, knowing there would be some rejection, because the process does involve taking risks. They deserve a pat on the back for putting themselves out there at this tender age.

[IrishLake]

Peppy is sooooooo wise and spot on with this. Had I known then what I know now, I would have gone to Ohio State. Our overall out of pocket costs between Ohio Northern (small and private) was the same as Ohio State. But I ended up with about $40K in student loans, only which about 30K is paid off to date. I don't know anyone with that amount of loan debt who went to OSU for undergrad.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

One of the biggest things that costs money, though, is NOT GRADUATING IN FOUR YEARS. This isn't to say that students shouldn't change majors, or that every class you want is always available, but students should be working with their advisors from day one to ensure they have everything they need to get out in time.

[Munchkin03]

I don't know--if you're good at reining in the loan amounts, I don't see anything terribly wrong with a small amount of student loan debt, especially if it means that you were able to go to a fantastic school. I don't agree with taking out loans for schools that aren't in the top 50, though.

My parents made a deal with me--go to my dream school and be on my own for grad school, or go to a state school and they'd pay for grad school. I took the first option and I have the grad school loans to prove it, but I'm so glad I went where I did. No regrets (even on the 23rd of the month ). I know people say that it doesn't matter where you went to college after the first or second job, but doors--both professionally and personally--keep opening up for me and I'm nearly 10 years out.

[KSUViolet06]

^^^I always tell kids to save the loan debt for grad school, as I think where you get your GRAD degree from matters more to your professional mobility than undergrad (unless you're in a field that allows you to reach your highest earning potential with just an undergrad degree.)

[DubaiSis]

I guess I always figured you go to a good full-service (so to speak) undergrad university and go to the most prestigious grad school you can afford. I had $10,000 in debt, and $110/month payments and THAT was hard for me. I can't image having to handle $500/month payments. And 30K? I didn't get paid $30K until just several years ago. My first job out of college, with a degree, paid $5.50 an hour. And I made rent, a car payment and a student loan payment. And I'll spare you the rest of the sob story, but I'm not a starving artist; I'd say I had a pretty typical situation, except that my parents paid for about half of my education which is better than a lot of kids get.

I would REALLY consider what it means to attend some of these schools, if Mom and Dad aren't (can't/won't doesn't matter) footing the bill. And maybe just maybe "only semi-prestigious in-state school" won't sound so bad.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

And 30K? I didn't get paid $30K until just several years ago. My first job out of college, with a degree, paid $5.50 an hour. And I made rent, a car payment and a student loan payment. And I'll spare you the rest of the sob story, but I'm not a starving artist; I'd say I had a pretty typical situation...

Wow. Well, I don't know how typical that is. For instance, minimum wage in my state is $9.09, and many many retail employers even pay more than that (when I worked at Starbucks in college 15 years ago they paid more than $10/hour, Nordstrom retail was $13 I think).