Girlie AGDee's College Search Thread

[Sciencewoman]

Dee, I'm glad hypo's wait will be over today! I'm heading to a conference and I'm going to end up paying the exorbitant hotel internet fee just so I can keep up with the latest college admissions developments!!!

My daughter will hear re. Harvard today (I will be shocked if she gets in...this was really a "you never know unless you try" application), and Georgetown's snail mail letter should arrive any time between now and Monday.

[AGDee]

Hypo did not get into Brown. She can't get into Columbia's site because she didn't create the password she was supposed to create and they said she would get an email within a few hours but we're assuming it is a "no" anyway. And, her college diploma, should she choose to go there, will say Barnard College of Columbia University. She likes Barnard better so even if Columbia accepted her, unless the financial aid package was better, she wouldn't go there. As a Barnard student, she can take classes at Columbia, join Columbia sororities and join Columbia's other student organizations. She can eat at some of their dining halls. However, she will take Barnard's core curriculum (9 ways of knowing).

So, our tally at this point:

Accepted:
Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, NY
American University, Washington, DC
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Waitlisted:
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

Rejected:
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Brown University, Providence, RI

We'll find out eventually, but are assuming rejection: Columbia University, New York, NY.

[barbino]

Congrats, Dee & hypo. Now hypo just needs to decide where she wants to go. Decisions, decisions ...

[AGDee]

Update: Columbia is official now.

Accepted:
Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, NY
American University, Washington, DC
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Waitlisted:
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

Rejected:
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Brown University, Providence, RI
Columbia University, New York, NY.

[Sciencewoman]

That Barnard deal sounds great...she can take full advantage of Columbia's resources! Cool!

My daughter's still waiting on that Harvard rejection e-mail.

And College Confidential crashed again tonight....

[AGDee]

My brother called tonight. He wanted to know the latest on hypo's college admission decisions. My brother graduated from Michigan and is the biggest Michigan fan I know. I told him the expected differences in financial aid packages and how much hypo will be in debt when she graduates from each. My brother, the biggest proponent of Michigan that I've ever known, said he was looking at the Barnard web site and think that the connections she could make there and the opportunities afforded her at Barnard can't be matched by Michigan. I was floored to hear him say that.

I spoke to a sorority sister who went to undergrad in Texas, grad school at Michigan (and worked there too), finished her master's in Florida and is now working on her PhD at Oregon (and working there). Her dean went to Barnard for undergrad and was telling her that the networking opportunities there are incredible. Other students there will know important people (senators children, etc.) that could also be very helpful to hypo in the future, not to mention the internship possibilities that hypo would have in comparison to what is available here. One of hypo's concerns was that the girls there might be snobby toward her because she will be a "poor kid" compared to many of them. My sister said that her dean said that in her experience, the students there don't tend to be snobby regarding social stature, but are intellectually snobby. I told hypo that and she said "So they're like me?" and laughed. She gets very frustrated with students in her high school who don't know about world events, don't care about learning, etc. Her main goal is to be with people who are passionate for learning, just for the sake of learning.

And, my father, who I thought would say go with the lesser expensive option, was also in favor of Barnard over Michigan for similar reasons. Opportunities, connections, etc.
She has this fantasy that it will come in requiring no loans. I don't think that's going to happen.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Yeah it's been my experience that Columbia and Barnard people aren't really that snobby money wise. But this is from an outsider so take that with a mountain of salt.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by AGDee

My brother called tonight. He wanted to know the latest on hypo's college admission decisions. My brother graduated from Michigan and is the biggest Michigan fan I know. I told him the expected differences in financial aid packages and how much hypo will be in debt when she graduates from each. My brother, the biggest proponent of Michigan that I've ever known, said he was looking at the Barnard web site and think that the connections she could make there and the opportunities afforded her at Barnard can't be matched by Michigan. I was floored to hear him say that.

I spoke to a sorority sister who went to undergrad in Texas, grad school at Michigan (and worked there too), finished her master's in Florida and is now working on her PhD at Oregon (and working there). Her dean went to Barnard for undergrad and was telling her that the networking opportunities there are incredible. Other students there will know important people (senators children, etc.) that could also be very helpful to hypo in the future, not to mention the internship possibilities that hypo would have in comparison to what is available here. One of hypo's concerns was that the girls there might be snobby toward her because she will be a "poor kid" compared to many of them. My sister said that her dean said that in her experience, the students there don't tend to be snobby regarding social stature, but are intellectually snobby. I told hypo that and she said "So they're like me?" and laughed. She gets very frustrated with students in her high school who don't know about world events, don't care about learning, etc. Her main goal is to be with people who are passionate for learning, just for the sake of learning.

And, my father, who I thought would say go with the lesser expensive option, was also in favor of Barnard over Michigan for similar reasons. Opportunities, connections, etc.
She has this fantasy that it will come in requiring no loans. I don't think that's going to happen.

I can say the connections at a private school like Barnard can really help in networking for some careers but it is specific to some areas .My lawyer friends have all agreed that the connections at the smaller school were well worth it. Some areas it doesn't matter. Since I went away, I always missed being able to go home for just a weekend. I also have noticed that if you want to have a huge wedding with a gazillion sorority sisters to show up you need to stay in state. Likewise if you go off to school (even Harvard) you need to keep an open mind about where you are going to graduate school or where you are going to get a job when you graduate.

[southbymidwest]

It certainly will be interesting to see where she ends up. as the frontrunners couldn't be more different. Good luck, and I hope Barnard gives her big big big bucks!

[AGDee]

We know Barnard's package. It is Michigan's package we're unsure about. It is Michigan's that is messed up because she was listed as a non-resident when they did her package. I suspect our expected family contribution will remain about the same though.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by AGDee

We know Barnard's package. It is Michigan's package we're unsure about. It is Michigan's that is messed up because she was listed as a non-resident when they did her package. I suspect our expected family contribution will remain about the same though.

As someone who has never taken out a student loan, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty nice to graduate without that debt. If she expects she'll go to grad school and need loans then, just make sure she knows what she'd be getting into.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I spoke to a sorority sister who went to undergrad in Texas, grad school at Michigan (and worked there too), finished her master's in Florida and is now working on her PhD at Oregon (and working there). Her dean went to Barnard for undergrad and was telling her that the networking opportunities there are incredible. Other students there will know important people (senators children, etc.) that could also be very helpful to hypo in the future, not to mention the internship possibilities that hypo would have in comparison to what is available here. One of hypo's concerns was that the girls there might be snobby toward her because she will be a "poor kid" compared to many of them. My sister said that her dean said that in her experience, the students there don't tend to be snobby regarding social stature, but are intellectually snobby. I told hypo that and she said "So they're like me?" and laughed. She gets very frustrated with students in her high school who don't know about world events, don't care about learning, etc. Her main goal is to be with people who are passionate for learning, just for the sake of learning.

My experience was that the super-wealthy (children of celebrities, foreign heads of state, random wealthy people) were a world onto themselves and, as such, most middle and upper-middle class students didn't interact with them so much outside of class. There wasn't any snobbishness behind it, so much as familiarity. A lot of them have known each other for a long time, or travel in the same circles, so when they end up at college together it's like Rich Kid Grade 13. Vanity Fair wrote an article about this phenomenon at my undergrad right before I started college.

I've heard that the difference between "haves" and "have-nots" is starker and more visible at state schools than it is private schools. For us, freshmen weren't allowed to have cars on campus and everyone has to live on campus the first three years. That's a real equalizer, as opposed to a place where off-campus housing can range from ratty apartments to luxury condos and some kids might come to college in a brand new car and some might not be able to afford a car at all.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

As someone who has never taken out a student loan, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty nice to graduate without that debt. If she expects she'll go to grad school and need loans then, just make sure she knows what she'd be getting into.

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.

[Munchkin03]

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.

Something to be aware of, but I'm sure the school mentioned this in the fine print: as she gets older and closer to graduation, the expected loan amount will increase each year. It may be $15K a year this year, but it will creep up. Also, the EFC may increase because it's expected that she'll be able to contribute more of her summer earnings.

[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...