High School class of 2011

[DisneyNutMary]

Here is what Penn State sent me in answer to my question about whether my son's fafsa info was received. I am posting the whole thing, just eliminating personal info, so you can see my original question.

We are holding all FAFSA applications for students who have
completed the 2011-12 FAFSA and wanted it sent to Penn
State in an electronic file.

We will soon be ready to electronically transfer them to
our system. When they are transferred, we will send the
student an email to the email address you put on the FAFSA
saying we have received it.

We will start our awarding to new students the end of
March. If you did not use completed 2010 Federal
income tax information on your FAFSA, please go back to the
FAFSA on the Web, and put the updated income question
information on your FAFSA.

The Penn State Office of Student Aid, as the manager
of Penn State’s University-wide scholarships,
automatically considers you for University-wide
scholarships once you are offered admission to the
University.

We want prospective students to know Penn State is
a partially related State University, and we regret that
Penn State lacks sufficient scholarship endowments to
provide more substantial assistance for our students.
We cannot meet the difference between the family EFC
and the cost of education at Penn State University.

Unlike many other colleges and universities,
Penn State's Admissions and Student Aid
Offices do not have standard academic merit
awards that are offered to all high school
valedictorians or students who graduate in the
top fifth of their classes.

Most scholarships awarded at Penn State are
from endowments created by generous alumni
and friends of the University. The Office of
Student Aid, all Penn State campuses, and most
academic colleges consider first-year students
for their limited endowed scholarship dollars.
Awards are based on academic talent, financial
need, and an array of other eligibility
requirements specified by the donors of these
endowments.

Academic colleges and campuses award scholarships
individually and may require a separate application.
We encourage you to explore the campus and college
Web sites relevant to your academic interests and
check them regularly for new information.

In February, we will begin advertising on our website
scholarship page, application processes for a few very
unique opportunities that require students to self-
identify –

students who have battled cancer or a family member has;
students from certain high schools; students whose
relatives are employed at certain companies.

Watch for these scholarship opportunities.

While we value all students who bring a passion for
excellence, the competition for scholarships is strong, and
University scholarships for students are limited. Many
students, however, enter Penn State with scholarships from
their high schools, community organizations, or other
private philanthropies.

The Office of Student Aid Web site at

www.psu.edu/studentaid

provides helpful tools for students to conduct a scholarship
search. Select ‘Scholarships’ from the menu bar, and then
select ‘Private Scholarships’ from the menu list.

Aid notification begins the end of March for new students.
Students selected for a Penn State scholarship will receive
acknowledgement in their Student Aid Notification or in a
separate scholarship award letter.

Best regards,

Penn State Office of Student Aid

_____________________
Office of Student Aid
The Pennsylvania State University
314 Shields Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802
Ask Questions at: http://www.psu.edu/studentaid/contact.html
Web site: http://www.psu.edu/studentaid

Ph: (814) 865-6301
Fax: (814) 863-0322



------------ Original Message --------------
From:
Subject: Other
Body:



My son was looking at the student aid page in eLion, and
noticed that it says that his fafsa info has not yet been
received. I just spoke with an agent at fafsa, and she said
I should let you know that his information was made
available to Penn State University on process date 01-06-
2011 and transaction number is xx to download the info.

I read this, scratched my head and said huh?
I guess they figure they better let me down easy now.... my EFC plus some is what I can expect to pay, I guess.
The boy doesn't know any of this yet, but his 2nd choice school is about to become his 1st choice

 

[ctinct]

I just sent in my last Profile form. I didn't send it with the three others I already sent because we are still waiting to hear if we will be granted a non-custodial waiver, but time is growing short so I had to send it or it would be late. The three other schools do not require ncp info, which is one of the reasons my d picked them. Anyhow, I got a little surprise when I clicked to send; there is a supplement. Not a long one, but still, I had to go gather more info. Also, this is the only school that does I-Doc, so now I've got to get all that stuff together. I can't wait till May 1 so a decision will be made and we can all move forward.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

subscribing!

 

[DisneyNutMary]

subscribing!

Welcome!

 

[jstbcuz]

Just found this thread too........

My DD is a Senior, and doesnt know what she really wants to do for the rest of her life........LOL but can not imagine graduating and never playing sports again, so she is looking at athletic training or coaching/recreation.

She is going to a community college about and hour and twenty minutes away and playing softball.

She has taken college classes for dual credit her junior and senior year of high school and will have about 20 hours at the end of May. This should help lighten her load so she will only have to take 12 hours each semester, and still work part time (on campus 10 hours a week) and play ball.

 

[golfgal]

Just found this thread too........

My DD is a Senior, and doesnt know what she really wants to do for the rest of her life........LOL but can not imagine graduating and never playing sports again, so she is looking at athletic training or coaching/recreation.

She is going to a community college about and hour and twenty minutes away and playing softball.

She has taken college classes for dual credit her junior and senior year of high school and will have about 20 hours at the end of May. This should help lighten her load so she will only have to take 12 hours each semester, and still work part time (on campus 10 hours a week) and play ball.

Athletic training is a great field. It is very marketable as you can work in a clinic, hospital, high school or college setting--or heck, a pro sports team too. She may want to investigate programs at 4 year schools (a little late now) because often programs start right away freshman year and they only take limited numbers. Just an FYI. I was an athletic trainer at a college/pre-kid days.

 

[DisneyCrazy2]

Hi friends! I thought the FAFSA was actually pretty easy; especially if you have your taxes already completed. My DD will be attending Purdue and they encourage everyone to fill it out regardless of your financial situation.

I too am dreading the CSS, especially after reading previous posts. Some scholarships that my DD is applying for require it. Now I am debating whether it is even worth it to apply for those scholarships. Maybe that time would be better spent on other scholarship applications.

 

[kalliyan1]

My son applied to Uof Michigan and John's hopkins. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering, which, when choosing colleges is very difficult as there are not alot of schools which offer that program.
He was accepted to both schools. DS #1 choice is Hopkins which is also ranked #1 in the biomedical engineering. So what's the problem you ask.....our EFC indicates we are too rich to receive anything and the school is $50,000/year
when we compared the out of state tuition at michigan to hopkins, michigan was ~$6-8 thousand less. When DS#2 starts college 2 yrs after DS #1, we will actually then be given aid from Hopkins but not from Michigan as they consider need based on instate tuition and not out of state tuition. So with all that said, 4 yrs at hopkins will actually cost us less than 4yrs at Michigan.

As we are scrambling as to how to pay for hopkins, we found out last week that our son has progressed to being a finalist in the national merit scholarship, which is quite an honor. Along with that came a full ride offer from Auburn including a monthly stipend and a new laptop. Auburn has an engineering program but its NOT biomedical and overall the engineering program is not ranked that highly. People that we have talked to said that we should send him to auburn on the full ride doing some kind of engineering and then grad school at a more prestigious school such as hopkins.

Question.....is that really a good thing to do? how do we know that if he goes to a school with a lesser engineering program that a school like hopkins will even be interested in him after the four years(assuming he continues to do well) vs. other kids trying to get into the same grad program that are from hopkins or other schools that would be much higher ranked than auburns program. Is it right to make such an important decision like this based solely on money???? This is our first child going to college so this whole process is new but i gotta tell you, I feel really guilty at just the thought of having him accept the auburn offer just because of money. He has worked so hard in school and has had great achievements as a result of that so wouldn't that just be holding him back? I understand money IS very important factor but........

 

[golfgal]

My son applied to Uof Michigan and John's hopkins. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering, which, when choosing colleges is very difficult as there are not alot of schools which offer that program.
He was accepted to both schools. DS #1 choice is Hopkins which is also ranked #1 in the biomedical engineering. So what's the problem you ask.....our EFC indicates we are too rich to receive anything and the school is $50,000/year
when we compared the out of state tuition at michigan to hopkins, michigan was ~$6-8 thousand less. When DS#2 starts college 2 yrs after DS #1, we will actually then be given aid from Hopkins but not from Michigan as they consider need based on instate tuition and not out of state tuition. So with all that said, 4 yrs at hopkins will actually cost us less than 4yrs at Michigan.

As we are scrambling as to how to pay for hopkins, we found out last week that our son has progressed to being a finalist in the national merit scholarship, which is quite an honor. Along with that came a full ride offer from Auburn including a monthly stipend and a new laptop. Auburn has an engineering program but its NOT biomedical and overall the engineering program is not ranked that highly. People that we have talked to said that we should send him to auburn on the full ride doing some kind of engineering and then grad school at a more prestigious school such as hopkins.

Question.....is that really a good thing to do? how do we know that if he goes to a school with a lesser engineering program that a school like hopkins will even be interested in him after the four years(assuming he continues to do well) vs. other kids trying to get into the same grad program that are from hopkins or other schools that would be much higher ranked than auburns program. Is it right to make such an important decision like this based solely on money???? This is our first child going to college so this whole process is new but i gotta tell you, I feel really guilty at just the thought of having him accept the auburn offer just because of money. He has worked so hard in school and has had great achievements as a result of that so wouldn't that just be holding him back? I understand money IS very important factor but........

Have you gotten an aid package from Hopkins yet? If not, you really don't know what it will cost--they may come through with a great package, especially with the National Merit Finalist ranking.

Keep in mind that not every engineer in the country went to Hopkins. There are plenty that went elsewhere and are completely successful. If they have the information, look to see where the professors he would have at Hopkins graduated from? Did they all graduate from Hopkins, most likely not. I would have to agree that if he is going into the biomed research area, his grad school will be more important then his undergrad. Also, where did you get the "rankings"? What are they based on. Not that Hopkins isn't an excellent school but does it really make all that much difference to go to #3 vs #1? Who's to say that #3 isn't really a better fit, thus he will perform better? Don't get hung up on rankings in a limited field. If they have a program, they are good or they wouldn't have a program.

I just googled rankings and Michigan isn't top 10 for undergrad but you were ok with that, Auburn should be ok too, right?

 

[kbeverina]

My son applied to Uof Michigan and John's hopkins. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering, which, when choosing colleges is very difficult as there are not alot of schools which offer that program.
He was accepted to both schools. DS #1 choice is Hopkins which is also ranked #1 in the biomedical engineering. So what's the problem you ask.....our EFC indicates we are too rich to receive anything and the school is $50,000/year
when we compared the out of state tuition at michigan to hopkins, michigan was ~$6-8 thousand less. When DS#2 starts college 2 yrs after DS #1, we will actually then be given aid from Hopkins but not from Michigan as they consider need based on instate tuition and not out of state tuition. So with all that said, 4 yrs at hopkins will actually cost us less than 4yrs at Michigan.

As we are scrambling as to how to pay for hopkins, we found out last week that our son has progressed to being a finalist in the national merit scholarship, which is quite an honor. Along with that came a full ride offer from Auburn including a monthly stipend and a new laptop. Auburn has an engineering program but its NOT biomedical and overall the engineering program is not ranked that highly. People that we have talked to said that we should send him to auburn on the full ride doing some kind of engineering and then grad school at a more prestigious school such as hopkins.

Question.....is that really a good thing to do? how do we know that if he goes to a school with a lesser engineering program that a school like hopkins will even be interested in him after the four years(assuming he continues to do well) vs. other kids trying to get into the same grad program that are from hopkins or other schools that would be much higher ranked than auburns program. Is it right to make such an important decision like this based solely on money???? This is our first child going to college so this whole process is new but i gotta tell you, I feel really guilty at just the thought of having him accept the auburn offer just because of money. He has worked so hard in school and has had great achievements as a result of that so wouldn't that just be holding him back? I understand money IS very important factor but........

Congrats to your son--what an accomplishment!

Have you browsed the College Confidential website at all? There's a parents forum:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/

where you can get some information from parents/students who are very familiar with the schools and programs. There are always some who think money should be no object and some who think no school is worth that kind of money when there's a free ride on the table. But it's worth asking to get some well-informed opinions on both ends and everywhere in between.

 

[johnsontrio]

My son applied to Uof Michigan and John's hopkins. His intended major is Biomedical Engineering, which, when choosing colleges is very difficult as there are not alot of schools which offer that program.
He was accepted to both schools. DS #1 choice is Hopkins which is also ranked #1 in the biomedical engineering. So what's the problem you ask.....our EFC indicates we are too rich to receive anything and the school is $50,000/year
when we compared the out of state tuition at michigan to hopkins, michigan was ~$6-8 thousand less. When DS#2 starts college 2 yrs after DS #1, we will actually then be given aid from Hopkins but not from Michigan as they consider need based on instate tuition and not out of state tuition. So with all that said, 4 yrs at hopkins will actually cost us less than 4yrs at Michigan.

As we are scrambling as to how to pay for hopkins, we found out last week that our son has progressed to being a finalist in the national merit scholarship, which is quite an honor. Along with that came a full ride offer from Auburn including a monthly stipend and a new laptop. Auburn has an engineering program but its NOT biomedical and overall the engineering program is not ranked that highly. People that we have talked to said that we should send him to auburn on the full ride doing some kind of engineering and then grad school at a more prestigious school such as hopkins.

Question.....is that really a good thing to do? how do we know that if he goes to a school with a lesser engineering program that a school like hopkins will even be interested in him after the four years(assuming he continues to do well) vs. other kids trying to get into the same grad program that are from hopkins or other schools that would be much higher ranked than auburns program. Is it right to make such an important decision like this based solely on money???? This is our first child going to college so this whole process is new but i gotta tell you, I feel really guilty at just the thought of having him accept the auburn offer just because of money. He has worked so hard in school and has had great achievements as a result of that so wouldn't that just be holding him back? I understand money IS very important factor but........

My niece is graduating from UM this April and staying on to get a master's in Information Sciences. One of the things my DSis has commented on most is how much more the credit hours cost as the student advances in class standings. Meaning Jr and Sr class hours are more expensive than those classes you take as a Freshman or Sophomore. They are not upfront with this information and many other schools do not do this. It makes it more difficult to compare costs for four years. UM is stingy with aid. My niece was Valedictorian and National Semi Finalist. She also scored 10 points off perfect in the math section of her SAT. She entered UM with 48 college credits from her IB program and AP courses. She received a one time cash award of $1500 from the Board of Regents based on "the strength of her application" and nothing else.

It's a hard call regarding sending him to a lesser program given that he knows what he wants to study. I would think that Biomedical Engineering would be an expanding field with plenty of jobs going forward along with the demographic growth of the aging population. Health care is definitely going to expanding to take care of the sizable elderly population we will have and they will need Biomedical Engineers. Does he know if he will definitely be going into a Master's Program? That may make the difference. I would think that he would be competitive for a Master's program coming out of Auburn.

Since our DD did not have any direction for her undergraduate studies, we asked her to apply to a couple Nursing programs. Since she has been direct admitted into Nursing, and given a very generous merit package, we have asked her to take that and at least get a Bachelor's degree in a field where she can get a job. If she finds another area that she is interested in, we will then pay for her master's program. We feel that this is a better option than spinning her wheels at a big school as an undecided major, especially since she will be 17 in the Fall. Too much opportunity for distraction.

I don't think you can be faulted for looking at this from an economic standpoint. That is just reality. You have other children that need an education and there is no guarantee that there will not be a change in your finances in the next 10 years while you have children in college. We presented all options to our DD and she eventually made the choice that makes the most sense economically. She had lots of input from various teachers and others and she now understands that there is no freedom like economic freedom. She is happy with her decision.

Good luck!

 

[kalliyan1]

Have you gotten an aid package from Hopkins yet? If not, you really don't know what it will cost--they may come through with a great package, especially with the National Merit Finalist ranking.

Keep in mind that not every engineer in the country went to Hopkins. There are plenty that went elsewhere and are completely successful. If they have the information, look to see where the professors he would have at Hopkins graduated from? Did they all graduate from Hopkins, most likely not. I would have to agree that if he is going into the biomed research area, his grad school will be more important then his undergrad. Also, where did you get the "rankings"? What are they based on. Not that Hopkins isn't an excellent school but does it really make all that much difference to go to #3 vs #1? Who's to say that #3 isn't really a better fit, thus he will perform better? Don't get hung up on rankings in a limited field. If they have a program, they are good or they wouldn't have a program.

I just googled rankings and Michigan isn't top 10 for undergrad but you were ok with that, Auburn should be ok too, right?

We have been officially told that he will receive no aid from hopkins. We didn't choose hopkins based on rankings, we didn't realize it was #1 until after he was accepted. The rankings I pulled were from the us news & world reports college rankings, specific to the Biomedical engineering, not what has the best overall ranking in engineering.
Again, the problem is, his choosen field, BME, is a new area of study that is really starting to be recognized as a major(withing the last 10 yrs or so) so there are not alot of universities that offer it as a specific major and that have the money to allocate to the research that is required in such a major.
Auburn has an engineering "program" They do not offer biomedical engineering at all. I just don't know if he got an undergrad in, lets say, civil engineering, if he would:
1. even qualify for a grad program for BME
2. if he were to be accepted, would he have to take extra classes to make up for not having a BME undergrad, which could become expensive as well depending how many he would have to take

At hopkins, he will have his master's degree in 5yrs with the program they set up. He not only had to be accepted to the school in general, but than there was another application/acceptance process he had to go through in order to even be in the BME program. You cant just decide (at most schools that offer it) to be a BME major. It's currently very competitive to get into these programs and we are so very proud of him for working so hard to be honored enough to even be accepted at what turns out to be the top school for BME.
At UofMichigan...they accepted him to the school generally speaking, then his sophomore year the have to go through the application process to get into the BME program. They only have so many slots available so that was also a risk at U of M that we weren't willing to take.(plus in the long run it costs more)

Please understand, we are not brand name people. When he decided he wanted this field, we looked up ALL the universities that offered the program, he narrowed the list down based on basic information about the program, and geographical location. Then we started making college visits and asking alot of questions, and learning a ton. Hopkins was just the perfect fit all the way around for him

 

[golfgal]

We have been officially told that he will receive no aid from hopkins. We didn't choose hopkins based on rankings, we didn't realize it was #1 until after he was accepted. The rankings I pulled were from the us news & world reports college rankings, specific to the Biomedical engineering, not what has the best overall ranking in engineering.
Again, the problem is, his choosen field, BME, is a new area of study that is really starting to be recognized as a major(withing the last 10 yrs or so) so there are not alot of universities that offer it as a specific major and that have the money to allocate to the research that is required in such a major.
Auburn has an engineering "program" They do not offer biomedical engineering at all. I just don't know if he got an undergrad in, lets say, civil engineering, if he would:
1. even qualify for a grad program for BME
2. if he were to be accepted, would he have to take extra classes to make up for not having a BME undergrad, which could become expensive as well depending how many he would have to take

At hopkins, he will have his master's degree in 5yrs with the program they set up. He not only had to be accepted to the school in general, but than there was another application/acceptance process he had to go through in order to even be in the BME program. You cant just decide (at most schools that offer it) to be a BME major. It's currently very competitive to get into these programs and we are so very proud of him for working so hard to be honored enough to even be accepted at what turns out to be the top school for BME.
At UofMichigan...they accepted him to the school generally speaking, then his sophomore year the have to go through the application process to get into the BME program. They only have so many slots available so that was also a risk at U of M that we weren't willing to take.(plus in the long run it costs more)

Please understand, we are not brand name people. When he decided he wanted this field, we looked up ALL the universities that offered the program, he narrowed the list down based on basic information about the program, and geographical location. Then we started making college visits and asking alot of questions, and learning a ton. Hopkins was just the perfect fit all the way around for him

Have you compared the grad school cost beyond the costs if he goes to Auburn or U of MI? It's possible that having to do the grad program at JH will cost more then going to Auburn for free and then Grad at JH vs doing 5 years at JH (especially if he gets any outside scholarships for the undergrad)? I don't have any idea of the costs but do know that grad school is very expensive.

The other part of this equation-what if he gets into college and doesn't LIKE biomed engineering. Kids change their mind ALL the time. I think the admissions director at DS18's school said something like 90% of all college students change their major at least once.

Can you talk to the JH Grad program people and ask what their acceptance rate is from programs outside of JH, explain the situation and see what they have to say? A couple things will happen--they will want your son badly enough and find some money or they will be able to give you some good advice as to what to do.

I agree that getting a degree from JH carries a lot of prestige and if he can work it out it makes sense to go there-especially with the accelerated masters program but if it means spending an extra $200,000 to that--is THAT worth the prestige? Have you looked into other grad programs for biomed too?

 

[kalliyan1]

My niece is graduating from UM this April and staying on to get a master's in Information Sciences. One of the things my DSis has commented on most is how much more the credit hours cost as the student advances in class standings. Meaning Jr and Sr class hours are more expensive than those classes you take as a Freshman or Sophomore. They are not upfront with this information and many other schools do not do this. It makes it more difficult to compare costs for four years. UM is stingy with aid. My niece was Valedictorian and National Semi Finalist. She also scored 10 points off perfect in the math section of her SAT. She entered UM with 48 college credits from her IB program and AP courses. She received a one time cash award of $1500 from the Board of Regents based on "the strength of her application" and nothing else.

It's a hard call regarding sending him to a lesser program given that he knows what he wants to study. I would think that Biomedical Engineering would be an expanding field with plenty of jobs going forward along with the demographic growth of the aging population. Health care is definitely going to expanding to take care of the sizable elderly population we will have and they will need Biomedical Engineers. Does he know if he will definitely be going into a Master's Program? That may make the difference. I would think that he would be competitive for a Master's program coming out of Auburn.

Since our DD did not have any direction for her undergraduate studies, we asked her to apply to a couple Nursing programs. Since she has been direct admitted into Nursing, and given a very generous merit package, we have asked her to take that and at least get a Bachelor's degree in a field where she can get a job. If she finds another area that she is interested in, we will then pay for her master's program. We feel that this is a better option than spinning her wheels at a big school as an undecided major, especially since she will be 17 in the Fall. Too much opportunity for distraction.

I don't think you can be faulted for looking at this from an economic standpoint. That is just reality. You have other children that need an education and there is no guarantee that there will not be a change in your finances in the next 10 years while you have children in college. We presented all options to our DD and she eventually made the choice that makes the most sense economically. She had lots of input from various teachers and others and she now understands that there is no freedom like economic freedom. She is happy with her decision.

Good luck!

I'm happy for your daughter...nursing is a great field. I can say that as a nurse myself
I remember when I was making my college decision, I really did not like school, I couldn't bear the thought of 4 years to get my BSN, plus economics was a huge issue. It was then that I realized you could become an RN through an associates 2yr program. We lived in Ann Arbor at the time and I choose to go to the community college and get my ADN. When I graduated from school, I was in competition with the UofMichigan BSN nurses and had NO PROBLEM at all securing a job plus the pay scale was the exact same as the nurse from UofM.
I don't know if you are aware of this or would be interested, but getting an ADN makes alot of sense from alot of different levels
1. it's quicker
2. it's cheaper
3. in the program you have a lot more clinical rotations and hands on patient care so the general opinion of ADN's are they make "better" clinical nurses
4. your out working quicker and making money
5. the pay scale is based on YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, not degree. An RN is and RN is an RN. The only time where a BSN vs. an ADN would make a difference is if she wanted to go into a management or teaching position. You would need a BSN, but also nursing experience, to be considered for that job so you wouldn't be a candidate fresh out of school for those positions anyways. I've always said if that was the goal, go get an ADN, get a job and some experience under you belt and then do a BSN completion program. A lot of hospitals will fund a good portion of that and some of the bigger hospitals will also host those programs.

I have no regrets in my decision. I still have only and ADN as I never wanted to be any kind of management. I went to nursing school to work in L&D. Having an ADN has never held me back. I've been in L&D for many years and Love it. Plus nursing is great when you have kids, very flexible.

What ever your daughter chooses to do is the right decision and I wish her the best of luck!!!!

 

[cruisnfamily]

We have been officially told that he will receive no aid from hopkins. We didn't choose hopkins based on rankings, we didn't realize it was #1 until after he was accepted. The rankings I pulled were from the us news & world reports college rankings, specific to the Biomedical engineering, not what has the best overall ranking in engineering.
Again, the problem is, his choosen field, BME, is a new area of study that is really starting to be recognized as a major(withing the last 10 yrs or so) so there are not alot of universities that offer it as a specific major and that have the money to allocate to the research that is required in such a major.
Auburn has an engineering "program" They do not offer biomedical engineering at all. I just don't know if he got an undergrad in, lets say, civil engineering, if he would:
1. even qualify for a grad program for BME
2. if he were to be accepted, would he have to take extra classes to make up for not having a BME undergrad, which could become expensive as well depending how many he would have to take

At hopkins, he will have his master's degree in 5yrs with the program they set up. He not only had to be accepted to the school in general, but than there was another application/acceptance process he had to go through in order to even be in the BME program. You cant just decide (at most schools that offer it) to be a BME major. It's currently very competitive to get into these programs and we are so very proud of him for working so hard to be honored enough to even be accepted at what turns out to be the top school for BME.
At UofMichigan...they accepted him to the school generally speaking, then his sophomore year the have to go through the application process to get into the BME program. They only have so many slots available so that was also a risk at U of M that we weren't willing to take.(plus in the long run it costs more)

Please understand, we are not brand name people. When he decided he wanted this field, we looked up ALL the universities that offered the program, he narrowed the list down based on basic information about the program, and geographical location. Then we started making college visits and asking alot of questions, and learning a ton. Hopkins was just the perfect fit all the way around for him

Well, there you have it! I'm thinking this kid should be going to Hopkins.

Can you talk to the JH Grad program people and ask what their acceptance rate is from programs outside of JH, explain the situation and see what they have to say? A couple things will happen--they will want your son badly enough and find some money or they will be able to give you some good advice as to what to do.

I agree that getting a degree from JH carries a lot of prestige and if he can work it out it makes sense to go there-especially with the accelerated masters program but if it means spending an extra $200,000 to that--is THAT worth the prestige? Have you looked into other grad programs for biomed too?

I would talk to the grad program people, and the undergrad program people and tell them about the free ride that's on the table and see if they want to sell you on Hopkins and what they might come up with.

Congratulations to your son! He will go far no matter which school you choose.

My DD18 is a struggling "undecided" at the moment who can't even write her scholarship essays as she doesn't know what to say about herself or what she wants to do in the future. It's a fabulous thing to know what you want!

 

[kalliyan1]

Well, there you have it! I'm thinking this kid should be going to Hopkins.

I would talk to the grad program people, and the undergrad program people and tell them about the free ride that's on the table and see if they want to sell you on Hopkins and what they might come up with.

Congratulations to your son! He will go far no matter which school you choose.

My DD18 is a struggling "undecided" at the moment who can't even write her scholarship essays as she doesn't know what to say about herself or what she wants to do in the future. It's a fabulous thing to know what you want!

Thanks, he's wanted this for a LONG time....my son struggled with the essays too.... I'm surprised he did any of them, hes not a writer.
I wish your daughter luck. Those essays are overwhelming. It can be a good thing to not know at such a young age as to what you want to do. That way your are openminded and are exposed to so many things you didn't even know existed.

 

[johnsontrio]

I'm happy for your daughter...nursing is a great field. I can say that as a nurse myself
I remember when I was making my college decision, I really did not like school, I couldn't bear the thought of 4 years to get my BSN, plus economics was a huge issue. It was then that I realized you could become an RN through an associates 2yr program. We lived in Ann Arbor at the time and I choose to go to the community college and get my ADN. When I graduated from school, I was in competition with the UofMichigan BSN nurses and had NO PROBLEM at all securing a job plus the pay scale was the exact same as the nurse from UofM.
I don't know if you are aware of this or would be interested, but getting an ADN makes alot of sense from alot of different levels
1. it's quicker
2. it's cheaper
3. in the program you have a lot more clinical rotations and hands on patient care so the general opinion of ADN's are they make "better" clinical nurses
4. your out working quicker and making money
5. the pay scale is based on YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, not degree. An RN is and RN is an RN. The only time where a BSN vs. an ADN would make a difference is if she wanted to go into a management or teaching position. You would need a BSN, but also nursing experience, to be considered for that job so you wouldn't be a candidate fresh out of school for those positions anyways. I've always said if that was the goal, go get an ADN, get a job and some experience under you belt and then do a BSN completion program. A lot of hospitals will fund a good portion of that and some of the bigger hospitals will also host those programs.

I have no regrets in my decision. I still have only and ADN as I never wanted to be any kind of management. I went to nursing school to work in L&D. Having an ADN has never held me back. I've been in L&D for many years and Love it. Plus nursing is great when you have kids, very flexible.

What ever your daughter chooses to do is the right decision and I wish her the best of luck!!!!

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. We have a ton of medical people on both sides of the family so we are well versed in the options. My DH and I are both RNs. I graduated from an ADN program that I entered after my 3rd year in college. Talk about spinning your wheels but DD is light years ahead of where I was at 17. After graduating from the ADN program, I worked and went to school another year in order to get a BS in Psychology, as that was the degree I was closest to finishing. After moving to Detroit, I worked at Henry Ford and they paid for me to complete my BSN. I met my DH while working at Henry Ford. He had spent a couple years at Community College before applying to a hospital based Nursing program. He finished that and then completed his BSN at a local Catholic College, now University. After working over 10 years he went back to anesthesia school and is now a CRNA.

DD is quite smart but needs the 4 years of college for maturation. Her scholarship is generous enough that college will cost us about what her high school tuition did. We only have 1 child so this should not be too difficult for us. She is entering the Nursing program with another friend from high school and they will do it together. Her BF is also going to that college, and while it may not last forever, it will certainly make the transition easier for her.

We felt like Nursing was a great option for now. It is portable, you can leave and come back, and you have part time options without it taking a huge toll on your career. Best of all, you have so many fields in which to work. I always say you can quit your job 7a to 3p and have a new job 3p - 11p, the same day. Also, there are many avenues for graduate education open to you with a BSN. I've been telling her I have to pay for an education not an experience. For a while she was sad not be going to the big State school to partake in sorority, football games, etc.. but now I think she is focusing on having a career that will give her choices for the future.

 

[kalliyan1]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. We have a ton of medical people on both sides of the family so we are well versed in the options. My DH and I are both RNs. I graduated from an ADN program that I entered after my 3rd year in college. Talk about spinning your wheels but DD is light years ahead of where I was at 17. After graduating from the ADN program, I worked and went to school another year in order to get a BS in Psychology, as that was the degree I was closest to finishing. After moving to Detroit, I worked at Henry Ford and they paid for me to complete my BSN. I met my DH while working at Henry Ford. He had spent a couple years at Community College before applying to a hospital based Nursing program. He finished that and then completed his BSN at a local Catholic College, now University. After working over 10 years he went back to anesthesia school and is now a CRNA.

DD is quite smart but needs the 4 years of college for maturation. Her scholarship is generous enough that college will cost us about what her high school tuition did. We only have 1 child so this should not be too difficult for us. She is entering the Nursing program with another friend from high school and they will do it together. Her BF is also going to that college, and while it may not last forever, it will certainly make the transition easier for her.

We felt like Nursing was a great option for now. It is portable, you can leave and come back, and you have part time options without it taking a huge toll on your career. Best of all, you have so many fields in which to work. I always say you can quit your job 7a to 3p and have a new job 3p - 11p, the same day. Also, there are many avenues for graduate education open to you with a BSN. I've been telling her I have to pay for an education not an experience. For a while she was sad not be going to the big State school to partake in sorority, football games, etc.. but now I think she is focusing on having a career that will give her choices for the future.

That sounds like the perfect situation for her!!! It's surprising how many people who are interested in nursing don't know about the ADN option.
After we moved from Ann arbor, we moved to redford and I got my eye opening experience into the L&D world at Hutzel (or least that's what it used to be called)
Again, Good luck to your daughter!!!!!

 

[johnsontrio]

That sounds like the perfect situation for her!!! It's surprising how many people who are interested in nursing don't know about the ADN option.
After we moved from Ann arbor, we moved to redford and I got my eye opening experience into the L&D world at Hutzel (or least that's what it used to be called)
Again, Good luck to your daughter!!!!!

Oh yeah..... DH is now at Sinai-Grace which gets all the trauma from the westside... It's a whole different world.

 

[minkydog]

Okay, we're off to Valdosta State for musical theater and scholarship auditions. Keep your fingers crossed for my Minkypup