Ah, polarbear, I didn't mean that they are a step down at all. But the public universities in our region, encompassing several states, are excellent and very popular, and very popular with students from our area, so the competition is fierce. We were hoping for the price break of the public schools, even out of state (though that gets into the price range of the LA colleges as we recall from an older child). The technical/engineering schools are farther away and we are just less familiar with them. I just meant that we are broadening our search.
In the past we would never have considered a professional college advisor, but DS is an interesting case and I am understanding why people hire them. DS is interested in math, computer science, and music. He is especially interested in composition, I'm looking for a local experience in music engineering or technology to see if it piques his interest.
