Anyone’s kid still undecided??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Say she is still undecided but keeps wearing a hoodie with the logo of the college we think she is most likely to choose.

People buy their kids college gear before they actually decide where to go?

We bought something from some of the schools (on clearance) and some gave swag. DD has a younger sis, so she will keep whatever DD doesn't want (any college gear is cool in HS)!

We wouldn’t let DC buy any swag until
making a decision LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why push to decide?
Just excited for her?

Because the deadline is 2 weeks away and DC's had weeks to think about it without making any progress.

So a decision will be made in two weeks. It’s not like this process will never end.

I was a last-minute decider. I applied to only a few schools and was accepted on a rolling basis to one in the fall; I was pretty sure I wouldn’t get into my first choice, so mentally I had gotten comfortable with the rolling admissions school. Then I did get in to my first choice, which threw me for a loop and made the decision much harder.

Thirty years later I’m still extraordinarily grateful to my parents for letting me make the decision on my own time and not forcing the issue. They helped me tease out pros and cons, and I remember a final, tearful conversation the night before my decision was due, where they made clear that it was my call and they would support me either way. I chose the first-choice school, but I needed the time to process and deadline hanging over my head to pull the trigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Yes - we are turning down Ivy for an out of state public school. Not as prestigious as Ivy, but public has smaller class size and better career placement opportunities. Also public less $$$. Total of $145K for public vs $332K for Ivy. It was a no brainer

Wow! which public is this (or at least which part of the country)? Does the $145K total include some merit?

It is a public school in a state where it is easy to go in-state after the first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Yes - we are turning down Ivy for an out of state public school. Not as prestigious as Ivy, but public has smaller class size and better career placement opportunities. Also public less $$$. Total of $145K for public vs $332K for Ivy. It was a no brainer

Wow! which public is this (or at least which part of the country)? Does the $145K total include some merit?

Why does it have better career opportunities?

It has a unique, small cohort type program that is highly recruited. 75% of students in the program get internships between freshman and sophomore year. As compared to the Ivy, it was much more rare to get internships between freshman and sophomore year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Yes - we are turning down Ivy for an out of state public school. Not as prestigious as Ivy, but public has smaller class size and better career placement opportunities. Also public less $$$. Total of $145K for public vs $332K for Ivy. It was a no brainer

Wow! which public is this (or at least which part of the country)? Does the $145K total include some merit?

Was this Sasha Obama ? ; )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Yes - we are turning down Ivy for an out of state public school. Not as prestigious as Ivy, but public has smaller class size and better career placement opportunities. Also public less $$$. Total of $145K for public vs $332K for Ivy. It was a no brainer

Wow! which public is this (or at least which part of the country)? Does the $145K total include some merit?

Why does it have better career opportunities?

It has a unique, small cohort type program that is highly recruited. 75% of students in the program get internships between freshman and sophomore year. As compared to the Ivy, it was much more rare to get internships between freshman and sophomore year.

NP, thank you to the person who is sharing these comments. Each is super helpful and encouraging! Have not thought to inquire about in-state tuition after the first year as that would be a big help to my family as well. DC is in same boat but has not decided yet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We finally decided yesterday, after an admitted student visit on Saturday. The admitted student was at his ED school where he initially was deferred and then later accepted.

DS was pretty sure where he was headed going into the student visit, but wanted to do his due diligence. The visit confirmed his decision and he pulled the trigger yesterday. DS also waited listed at two schools that could change his decision.

All I have to say is the ED school should have accepted him early. The deferral gave him space and time to find an even better fit in the end.

If anther school was a better fit for your child, the deferral was actually a blessing it a mistake.

[Anonymous]

Mine. Down to the wire. He isn't concerned about dorm choices. So...last minute here we come.

[Anonymous]

He says he has, but he's dragging his feet paying the deposit. I'm not sure if it's nerves or just laziness.

[Anonymous]

Ugh- We have narrowed it down to two. There is a six figure price difference...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Identical situation here - DC knew going in that his top choices would need to offer strong merit to go there - he was accepted, but little to no merit and so we couldn't justify it. He knows where he'll end up going, but says he doesn't want to go there and so hasn't committed, which pisses me off because it's an out of state public that still isn't cheap. He could go to our in-state public (UMD Scholars) for MUCH less and knows that many friends from his school who got in had were given no choice and attending there I'm chalking up his crap attitude and guilt trip to feeling deflated that he worked very hard for years and in the end won't be going where he wants to go. Our second kid will be in this situation in two years and I have the same dollar threshold for him too - I won't sacrifice his college savings so my oldest can go to a more expensive school.

This whole thing is such a racket, in my opinion. Unless your kids goes to an Ivy or Ivy-like school (and maybe not even then), it's more so going to be about what your kid does in the school while there. I want to blame all the B-S US News, Princeton, Forbes, etc. rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid started by declining some schools she knew she didn’t want. Baby steps!

Kind of where we are. I told him to start declining the ones he doesn't want. It's down to 2 left at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is still deciding. They are upset because their top two schools did not give any merit, so we said they need to decide between the other schools. They have other options that we feel are good but a little less selective. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? We have two younger children and just can’t justify an extra $100k for these schools. We feel like we would have to spend the same amount on their siblings.

Identical situation here - DC knew going in that his top choices would need to offer strong merit to go there - he was accepted, but little to no merit and so we couldn't justify it. He knows where he'll end up going, but says he doesn't want to go there and so hasn't committed, which pisses me off because it's an out of state public that still isn't cheap. He could go to our in-state public (UMD Scholars) for MUCH less and knows that many friends from his school who got in had were given no choice and attending there I'm chalking up his crap attitude and guilt trip to feeling deflated that he worked very hard for years and in the end won't be going where he wants to go. Our second kid will be in this situation in two years and I have the same dollar threshold for him too - I won't sacrifice his college savings so my oldest can go to a more expensive school.

This whole thing is such a racket, in my opinion. Unless your kids goes to an Ivy or Ivy-like school (and maybe not even then), it's more so going to be about what your kid does in the school while there. I want to blame all the B-S US News, Princeton, Forbes, etc. rankings.

I'm sorry you are going through this too. I agree with everything you are saying. My DC is acting a little like Veruca Salt. Lol. Okay, not that bad but I wish I had these options when I went to college!

[Anonymous]

Mine is still undecided. Going to accepted students' day this weekend to reach a final answer.

[Anonymous]

It’s so hard because while we followed the advice of not letting our DD “fall for”/apply to a school we couldn’t afford, it is so hard to predict merit d as if amounts do this crappy situation can happen anyway.

It’s hard to balance encouraging them to “go for it” and reach for their dreams vs. telling them to actually only apply to fairly easy to get into schools so the price is acceptable.