Davidson. They are small but their alumni network is tight and strong and Charlotte is not far away and is booming.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has she been to either Macalester or Bates in the winter? Has she ever been anywhere cold in the winter? I grew up middle class (not poor) in the Houston area, and I did not see snow until I came to DC for school. I would be very worried about culture shock and the fact she may really HATE the winter. Just throw those out and stick with Davidson vs. UT.

You are going to need to factor in travel costs for these far away SLACS. She is not going to get to come home much, so, before you encourage her to attend a far away school make sure she is prepared to be so far from family.

I think these are all important considerations for someone who probably hasn’t traveled much. Austin being culturally familiar will not be an insignificant factor. How close she is to her family will come into play.

Generally, I’d say go for the cheapest, but it doesn’t matter if she is feels miserable and out of place. As someone who didn’t have money and went to a private college and UT, I found UT to be a much better place to be poor. It can be isolating at a smaller school when everyone has more money than you do for outside activities, clothes, etc. At UT, pretty much everyone I knew was as broke as I was. There are going to be more kids like her at UT (both due to just sheer numbers and the overall makeup of the student body). FWIW, I graduated with about $60,000 in loans, and I didn’t find that to be that much of a burden when I was starting out (and that would be more than that now, adjusted for inflation).

It does depend in her personality. Some kids can leave home and go to a strange place and never look back, and others feel completely lost.

Good luck to her!

This. I attended a T5 SLAC and even with my modest MC background, I was shocked by the number of students who had unlimited budgets when it came to travel, gadgets, entertainment, etc, (some kids never did laundry - just purchased new clothes regularly). I definitely felt more at ease at a big research institution for grad school. UT will have the resources to support students who are coming to campus with fewer resources than the majority of students (guidance about how to afford campus and school-related expenses, mentoring, and a a supportive community of students who have BTDT).

SLAC.

Davidson, Malcaster, and Bates are all outstanding schools. I'd choose one of these schools every time. They all should offer CS.

Davidson

Davidson is a darn good LAC and the cheapest, so it sounds like the best option. I seriously would not pay 10k more of it's a real challenge or hardship that I would have to pay back later, especially to go to a large state school where I could get lost in the crowd. Seriously, Davidson sounds like the place to be (that or another cheap LAC).

UT. She will not lack for internships in the Austin area.

Anonymous wrote:Has she been to either Macalester or Bates in the winter? Has she ever been anywhere cold in the winter? I grew up middle class (not poor) in the Houston area, and I did not see snow until I came to DC for school. I would be very worried about culture shock and the fact she may really HATE the winter. Just throw those out and stick with Davidson vs. UT.

You are going to need to factor in travel costs for these far away SLACS. She is not going to get to come home much, so, before you encourage her to attend a far away school make sure she is prepared to be so far from family.

I think these are all important considerations for someone who probably hasn’t traveled much. Austin being culturally familiar will not be an insignificant factor. How close she is to her family will come into play.

Generally, I’d say go for the cheapest, but it doesn’t matter if she is feels miserable and out of place. As someone who didn’t have money and went to a private college and UT, I found UT to be a much better place to be poor. It can be isolating at a smaller school when everyone has more money than you do for outside activities, clothes, etc. At UT, pretty much everyone I knew was as broke as I was. There are going to be more kids like her at UT (both due to just sheer numbers and the overall makeup of the student body). FWIW, I graduated with about $60,000 in loans, and I didn’t find that to be that much of a burden when I was starting out (and that would be more than that now, adjusted for inflation).

It does depend in her personality. Some kids can leave home and go to a strange place and never look back, and others feel completely lost.

Good luck to her!

These are all fine schools, and so she should absolutely go to the cheapest one. That sounds like Davidson. Congratulations to her.

Davidson

Loan free? Davidson hands down.

What would summer savings be - what if she wants to take an unpaid internship? Austin has a big alumni network and is closer to the kind of jobs/careers she would want after graduation. Not sure about the Twin Cities - is it forecast to be a place where tech/data jobs will be?

I will take UT for what she wants to do after graduation.

Has she been to either Macalester or Bates in the winter? Has she ever been anywhere cold in the winter? I grew up middle class (not poor) in the Houston area, and I did not see snow until I came to DC for school. I would be very worried about culture shock and the fact she may really HATE the winter. Just throw those out and stick with Davidson vs. UT.

You are going to need to factor in travel costs for these far away SLACS. She is not going to get to come home much, so, before you encourage her to attend a far away school make sure she is prepared to be so far from family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference in cost between Macalester or the other places and UT, and would it all be made up of loans? Offhand I can’t see going 100k into debt for those schools over UT.

Exact COA:
UT Austin- 13K a year (no coverage for room and board- can receive federal loans)
Macalester- 3K a year federal loan, 5K student contribution from work study + summer savings
Davidson- No packaged loans, 2K work study
Bates- 2K a year federal loan, 4K work study + summer savings

Do those numbers include pell grants?

Yes. So Davidson is the cheapest at a full ride and a small work allotment meant for personal expenses and traveling to/from home

If I had to work part time, UT or Macalester would my choices based on location. Well paying part time jobs in Lewiston or Davidson are going to be much harder to come by.