Girlie AGDee's College Search Thread

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

I will say this...my boss, went to Barnard as well, she offered me some advise for my little sister when she was trying to decided between USC (SoCal) and Wellesley...The learning environment and social environment of an all female school is tremendous and empowering...and she really didn't appreciate the benefits of that environment until a few years later.

My sister goes to Wellesley, btw...

That is what she loves about Barnard!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Well, they all seem to think I can contribute half my take home pay to her education so there will be at least 60K in loans at any school. She is hoping that will be different for Michigan, but I am not that optimistic.

I don't know if the state schools have a lot of (any?) leeway, but for the private schools, you can always try to negotiate. The worst they can do is say no.

[christiangirl]

One of my little sisters at church was accepted to Wellesley and wait-listed at Barnard. She is holding out for Barnard because that was her top choice, but Wellesley was her #2 so she may just go ahead and accept. Talking to her made me feel like I was right here in this thread!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Loans for her or for you? If it's her, I think she should consider that long and hard. I agree that it will probably add up to more than 4 times this year's predicted cost. $60k+ is a heavy loan burden for a liberal arts graduate.

It's the same for every school so there's not a lot of choice. The thing is, Barnard is $60K a year, Michigan is $25K a year but I'd pay about the same either way. Those would mainly be parent plus loans, but still... I won't be paying those off by myself.

CG: That's really cool!

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

The learning environment and social environment of an all female school is tremendous and empowering...and she really didn't appreciate the benefits of that environment until a few years later.

It's interesting the different perspectives that people have. I can't imagine going to a school with all women. It just sounds... dull. I like women and all (I was in a sorority, after all!), but I equally appreciate being able to interact with interesting men.

Vive la difference!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie

It's interesting the different perspectives that people have. I can't imagine going to a school with all women. It just sounds... dull. I like women and all (I was in a sorority, after all!), but I equally appreciate being able to interact with interesting men.

Vive la difference!

Barnard is a little different than some of the others in that way though because they essentially share a course catalog with Columbia, join Columbia sororities, can be in the Columbia marching band and student organizations, etc. Likewise, Columbia students can take courses at Barnard also. There are some required classes at Barnard that are just female and they have their own dorms and some of their own student organizations also, but there is a lot of integration.

[AGDee]

I also meant to note that her brother will start college when hypo is a junior so while the EFC overall may increase, some of that will be on her brother instead of her at that point, so that will help some. I'm hoping her summer jobs and internships also help more! I fully expect that!

[AGDee]

And Michigan has updated the financial aid information to reflect her resident status. They took away about $10,000 in grants. Total loans- subsidized and parent loans would be about $19K a year. Total loans for Barnard about $22K a year. Given the opportunities available to her at Barnard, I believe we have a final decision

She will become a strong, beautiful Barnard woman, majoring in unafraid. She's going to make a brand new start of it in old New York. And if she can make it there, she's going to make it anywhere...

[DubaiSis]

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by AGDee

And Michigan has updated the financial aid information to reflect her resident status. They took away about $10,000 in grants. Total loans- subsidized and parent loans would be about $19K a year. Total loans for Barnard about $22K a year. Given the opportunities available to her at Barnard, I believe we have a final decision

She will become a strong, beautiful Barnard woman, majoring in unafraid. She's going to make a brand new start of it in old New York. And if she can make it there, she's going to make it anywhere...

This is a similar situation to what happened to me...no grant aid at my state flagship, but private univ. with great endowment offered a big enough grant that there was virtually no difference. This is why private universities have continued to see high application numbers even in a recession. Good luck to your daughter - I'm sure she will have an amazing, remarkable experience at Barnard!

[ms_gwyn]

Congrats!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Congrats! I'm glad she's settled on her #1, and you guys are able to make it work!

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by AGDee

And Michigan has updated the financial aid information to reflect her resident status. They took away about $10,000 in grants. Total loans- subsidized and parent loans would be about $19K a year. Total loans for Barnard about $22K a year. Given the opportunities available to her at Barnard, I believe we have a final decision

She will become a strong, beautiful Barnard woman, majoring in unafraid. She's going to make a brand new start of it in old New York. And if she can make it there, she's going to make it anywhere...

Yay! So exciting! Barnard's mascot is a dancing bear--who can't love that?

Will she be going to the Accepted Students event?

[AGDee]

We've been going back and forth about the accepted students event. At this point, airfare is extraordinarily high because it is less than three weeks away. She would like to start making connections with her future classmates, but at the same time, is not sure she wants to spend the money for that plane ticket. Last night, she had decided it wasn't worth it and she can make connections through Facebook and during orientation. She did spend a week on campus last summer and some of the activities seem geared toward convincing students who are undecided to commit to Barnard. She's not sure there's enough value added to make the money worth it. We leave for a cruise tomorrow, she has prom expenses coming up, we have to pay the deposit when she accepts her admission, we have a graduation party to pay for, and my own tuition is due. It's an expensive time right now.

Would it be a huge mistake to miss this event? I could use some advice Is it worth $500 for an overnight on campus and a chance to attend one class?

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Would it be a huge mistake to miss this event? I could use some advice Is it worth $500 for an overnight on campus and a chance to attend one class?

She's already committed, right? I think those weekends are what colleges use as their last chance to change minds before the May 1 deadline. She's visited the campus before, as well. Even before the days of FB, I was able to network with my fellow freshmen during the summer before so she might not be missing that much.

I'd say save the money. When does Orientation begin? My recommendation is to start looking at plane tickets now. Do you have an airline where you already have FF miles?