Tabernash2

Planning on getting into an Ivy, and expecting a generous aid package is going to set up your student for big disappointments. Sorry. That's just the reality of the competition that's out there now.

marvelousmouse

"Good" aid packages don't always mean much in the face of the cost. Even if you get 50% of your tuition covered, an Ivy will likely be out of reach to most families. And like tabernash2 said...admissions are a crazy, crazy game.

But given that we have no idea of the kid's skills or interests, I think it's kind of premature to be predicting that such a trip is ill advised. Maybe it's some kind of motivation thing. Just applying to schools is daunting and you might as well only apply to the ones you are serious about attending.

Ackislander

I think marvelous mouse and I agree on the essentials (including the random craziness of admissions.

Day 1 arrive Boston in the morning; tour Harvard in PM; dinner in Central-Harvard-Porter Square area; night near Red Line
Day 2 Red Line to South Station; AMTRAK to Providence; tour Brown; AMTRAK to New Haven; hotel
Day 3 Tour Yale. AMTRAK to NYC; hotel on Upper West Side; show
Day 4. Tour Columbia; train to Princeton; walk around town and campus; spend night
Day 5 Tour Princeton. AMTRAK to Philadelphia; tour Penn; fly home

Of course if you can't get into Boston in AM or home from Philadelphia in PM, you need to add time, but this gets you a little walking around time everywhere, and a little may be all you need.

ekscrunchy

Is Penn now considered an Ivy?

Just curious.

I don't think it was when I went to (a "seven sisters" school).

doug_stallings

U Penn has always been a member of the Ivy League.

ekscrunchy

Ok, thanks..

I should have known since I applied there.

emalloy

Ackislander's plan is good, but if it doesn't work with your air plans, or ability to get tours at the colleges, see if doing it in the opposite direction works.

Tabernash2

Well, good luck with it. Having been there/done that (only never trying to see so many schools in so little time), I recommend you take pictures of each campus as you tour, because after that many visits it can get confusing when you go home to remember which was which.

fishee

Maybe the student has already been admitted to at least one of the institutions via early action and has other applications in the queue for Spring?

It's not uncommon to get into one of the top schools and be denied at the others so it's fairly standard for those shooting for the Ivys to apply to 7+ schools.

Skiergirl

The Dartmouth Coach bus is fantastic and will easily get you to Hanover from Boston and NYC. Have taken it several times and it will drop you off at the Hanover Inn across the street from Dartmouth.

Skiergirl

https://dartmouthcoach.com/

cw

Ackislander has a good itinerary. What are your dates? Avoid being in Boston Easter and the next day because that is the Boston Marathon.

gail

Several of the Ivies have unique and generous financial aid formulas for students from low income (and not just poverty) families. For example, last year cost to attend Brown was computed as about $68,000 per year. For families with incomes below $60,000 and assets below $100,000 - Brown offered a full scholarship package (not loans) to cover all but $3000 which student was expected to earn. There was $0 family contribution computed with this formula.

Higher income and or/assets included a loan component and lesser aid. Do not under-estimate the other costs - travel, clothing, spending money - but students from poor families can and do attend Ivies. (often harder for those from middle-class families)

Most Ivies also have need-blind admission.

IMDonehere

The best deal in the country right now is at Stanford. Any student who qualifies for admission and whose family earns less than $125,000 goes tuition free.

Tabernash2

pbb, does your student have:
a 4.0+ GPA;
loads of community service; tons of extracurriculars-- like music, debate, sports; spectacular letters of recommendation;
and can interview under all circumstances, with flying colors?

Unfortunately, even with all of that, students do not gain admission into the most sought-after schools.

Is an Ivy really what your student wants, or what you want? Because, once there, academic competition continues to be tough.

These questions sound harsh, but you really need to consider them.

sf7307

Tabernash, my son had "all of the above" and still didn't get into many of the schools he would have liked to have gotten into (he went to Stanford). Look at it this way - assume an entering freshman class of 1600. First, half of them will be the "other" gender, leaving 800. Then, a certain number will be legacies, so down to maybe 600 or 700. Then remove the athletes. Bottom line, the "regular" smart kids are among thousands and thousands of regular smart kids nationwide seeking a few hundred spots.

Tabernash2

Sorry to be a downer, pbb.
I'm a realist, after seeing DD go through it all.

Untold amounts of time, expense and work she put into gaining admission to Johns Hopkins U., Harvard Med School, and now Stanford Med Center.

It seemed she was always writing essays and interviewing, studying for tests for the next step on her ladder to becoming an MD.

Whew. Glad that's over with!

Tabernash2

Yes, sf, that's my point. I saw some really outstanding students not get into their top choices.

And, when DD was at JHU, in their extremely old-school, competitive, pre-Med program, she once said, "I wish I'd gone to Pomona."

Tabernash2

BTW, sf, getting in to Stanford was no small feat for your son!

marvelousmouse

Madly impressed by your daughter's perseverance, Tabernash2!! Did she end up specializing? I looked into grad school at a few of those- I was being pushed pretty hard by my advisor and professors, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't see going through with the applications, let alone paying the tuition for a degree that I wasn't certain about.

Generally agree that disadvantaged students have opportunities, but middle class students are offered a lot less aid, even if parental assistance is impossible.