Question about college offers

[Virginia Dawn]

Let's just say one college offerred your child a $5,000 stipend to go to Oxford the summer after his freshman year. Besides the Oooh-Aaah factor, would you consider this a big plus in favor of this school when making the final decision? I feel like we are out of our element here.

Can someone live on $5,000 over the summer in Oxford? Do any of you have children who have done something similar, how much extra out of pocket did your child need? Why is it always money that worries me?

Anyway, it would be nice to hear from someone who has been there done that.

[Laura Corin]

This page (http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/student_funding/cost_of_studying.html) gives an idea of costs. They are talking about a full-year course, but you might be able to get an idea.

Best wishes

Laura

[Gwen in VA]

A friend of dd's is studying at Oxford this summer (some program focusing on Shakespeare). He is taking out a $6K loan to do it.

I don't know any more details.

[Virginia Dawn]

Thank you. :-)

[Sandy in Indy]

Let's just say one college offerred your child a $5,000 stipend to go to Oxford the summer after his freshman year. Besides the Oooh-Aaah factor, would you consider this a big plus in favor of this school when making the final decision? I feel like we are out of our element here.

Can someone live on $5,000 over the summer in Oxford? Do any of you have children who have done something similar, how much extra out of pocket did your child need? Why is it always money that worries me?

Anyway, it would be nice to hear from someone who has been there done that.

Haven't BTDT, but if my child had such an offer, I'd jump on that. What a great opportunity! It would be worth taking a loan if necessary. (IMHO)

[Caroline]

I went to Oxford for a summer program during college. My scholarship included room, board, and tuition. I don't remember how much extra I spent 19 years ago. This program was sponsored by Virgina Tech's College of Engineering.

I loved it. We attended Shakespeare plays in the gardens of the various colleges at least once a week. Drinking in the Eagle and Child Pub, we felt the presence of Tolkien and Lewis. Local students took us punting on the river. We introduced the residents of Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) to Ultimate Frisbee. Trips into London, to see Warwick Castle, to the Cotswald Villages, to Stratford on Avon were weekly adventures. We even went to Paris for a weekend.

The experience still amazes me today. Of course, I fell in love with my husband in Oxford, which made the trip all the more wonderful. Our first date was to Brown's Restaurant and Pub in Oxford. (We actually met at Virginia Tech, but got to know each other that summer. Three years later, we married.)

One extra trip we got to make was to visit the Soviet Union for 10 days. Virginia Tech had received an endowment that year to take the top engineering students abroad. The trip to the USSR was completely funded by the endowment, as was the majority of the Oxford trip.

[Mama Lynx]

I do not know what my summer in Oxford cost - it involved several additional trips and events sponsored by my unversity, and my granparents, bless them, footed the bill.

My experience was very similar to Caroline's, though. It's an opportunity I would grab for my children in a heartbeat. It was the best summer of my life.

[Caroline]

I do not know what my summer in Oxford cost - it involved several additional trips and events sponsored by my university, and my grandparents, bless them, footed the bill.



My grandparents footed the bill for me, too. At the time, my sister and I were both attending out of state colleges, but my parents really wanted this trip for me. My grandmother, who, bless her heart, gets home sick if she is more than 10 miles from home, was more than happy to pay for my trip.

Have you been back? We went back in 2000 for my birthday. I want to go again!

[Chris in VA]

Haven't done that, but I've been there! lol
Just think, what marvelous memories and experiences you'd be allowing dc to aquire, if you let him go. So much of life is taken up with the "dailies;" daily life doing daily things. How wonderful to have had a time when something special happened.
I'd choose the college that allowed this, if all else were equal.