OMG, I just looked up next year's expenses at Pomona College (youngest is a grad): Tuition and fees - $33,635. + R&B $11,748.
M

Here's another endorsement for you to fit in a visit to TCU/SMU since you'll be flying into Dallas (or will it actually be DFW?). While in San Antonio, you might want to add Trinity to the mix...don't we have great college choices in Texas!

Chiming in for the Aggies here since you were interested in people that attended each school. I earned both my undergrad and master's at A&M and absolutely loved it. It's an extremely friendly school with great traditions; I felt like I had joined a family the minute I stepped on that campus, and the quality of the teaching was excellent. My friends who went to UT loved going there.

Any of the schools you're interested in would be great - each has something to offer. They all have their own individual personalities - Baylor and A&M tend to be more conservative than UT and Rice. UT and A&M are much larger schools than the other two. I think your best bet is just to see where your daughter is most comfortable. And of course where she can get the best scholarship!

When you get to College Station, I'd recommend going to Cafe Eccel for lunch or dinner if you can fit it in to your schedule. It's a great restaurant with wonderful food and amazing desserts. Have fun!

One of the very nicest folks on the planet is a (full) Professor at TCU - Leo Newland!
M

Christine, if your daughter has good grades and would be open to considering a smaller/non-Division 1 school, check out Angelo State University in San Angelo. They have an excellent endowed scholarship program, the Carr Scholarships, that could be a HUGE help with tuition. (It was a big help with me in the early 1990's!) www.angelo.edu

Christine, I forgot to mention that A&M has some very generous scholarships for good students. My niece is a National Merit scholar, she received a full scholarship to A&M. If your daughter is an honors student, you might want to check out the honors dorms at A&M; I believe Lechner is the name of the one my niece lived in.

Does your daughter have an idea of what she'd like to study? I was curious about what she disliked about NYU. It's a tough decision, isn't it?

vg,
National Merit Scholar?
Younger son was a finalist and JHU said "so what?"
The former SWC used to (and perhaps still does) "buy" those for bragging rights.
Simply look at the U of OK today.
M

Mike, I'm not sure if her scholarship was awarded fully on the National Merit basis; she's also had a 4.0 and loads of leadership experience and volunteer work. She was accepted at a number of schools including West Point, but A&M was the best fit for her; she's getting an engineering degree.

Johns Hopkins is a great school - one of my best friends just graduated after studying epidemiology. I know it's tough to get scholarships there and is very competitive, but Christine is interested in schools in Texas.

Christine, sounds like your daughter has what it takes to get financial aid; I wish you lots of luck. Let us know how everything turns out!

Well, I think we have narrowed down our plans...
Fri.Aug.17th Dallas..18th San Antonio (doing the riverwalk with friends).. 19th Schlitterbaun on the way to Austin..20th UT and Baylor..stay in College Station..21st A&M then drive to Houston..22nd Rice and another night in Houston (we have lots of friend to see)..23 back to Dallas for the night and home on the 24th!

I hope it's all doable.
Thanks to all of you for your ideas!! I hope one of these schools works out...

Sounds doable and good luck.

I worry about 8/20. It's 2 hours from Austin to Waco, and another 2 hours Waco to College Station. That's 4 hours driving already, and you're planning to tour UT and Baylor on that one single day.

rkkwan: I'm alittle concerned myself. Plan on doing the UT tour @ 830-1115 and last tour at Baylor starts @ 3. So we'd have to get on the road and haul to Waco...

You can easily get from Austin to Waco in 1.5 hours. I have probably done the drive a hundred times, and unless its rush hour or there is a major accident, I think you'll be fine. :)

Good luck, Christine! I hope your daughter finds the perfect spot where she feels happy and comfortable. Still cheering for the Aggies, though. :) I grew up going to the Schlitterbahn every year - can't believe how much it's changed! Have a wonderful time.