Help me understand the process after college admission offer

[Blueridge]

Hello. Our dd has applied at 4 colleges, and received her first admission offer today. Hopefully the others will follow shortly. :) Since they expect the student to send in an acceptance of their offer, as well as a deposit, how do you decide on which college to choose when you don't yet know about scholarship offers? What they offer will most likely determine her school choice.

[Chris in VA]

I'm really not sure, but I'd just contact Financial Aid at the schools and tell them you haven't received your financial aid offers yet--and you want to have that info before you accept and send in a deposit. See what they say. (You did send in FAFSA and any other requested info already, right?)

[Guest Barb B]

It might depend on the school. Some schools seem to give back your deposit it you don't end up enrolling; others might not. Best to ask each school. Also, check to see when those getting scholarships are notifidied by. My son got accepted into OU and has already heard about one scholarship from them because their academic scholarships are on a rolling basis. But each school is different.

Barb

Edited October 20, 2010 by Barb B

[Blueridge]

Thanks very much. I know I am being premature and very presumptuous ;), but I really don't know much about this. Years ago, our oldest dd applied to only one school, so it wasn't an issue with her. Now this acceptance for dd17 is for the fall 2011, so I am understanding that we can't send in the FAFSA until January. Well, it is a happy day that *mommy's home made application package* wasn't rejected! :D

[Grace is Sufficient]

I've been wondering. One of the 5 schools we're looking at says the application deadline for 'priority admissions and scholarships' (whatever that means) is Nov. 1st, and that they let you know within a few weeks, and would like a decision from you in a few weeks... but that's way too early to know about financial aid packages, especially from other schools... so I've been wondering.

 

He's visiting that school Friday with his dad, and I've requested that they ask about this while there.

 

Good luck!

[JFSinIL]

My understanding is that the colleges are required, by some national organization to which most belong, to give until May 1st to demand a student accept an offer. Do not let anyplace pressure you into giving a deposit NOW.

[JFSinIL]

My understanding is that the colleges are required, by some national organization to which most belong, to give until May 1st for a student to accept an offer. Do not let anyplace pressure you into giving a deposit NOW.

[creekland]

They all WANT a commitment as soon as possible. However, they almost always do not NEED a commitment until May 1st. If money is an object, there's certainly no need to hurry. Definitely wait until you receive final financial aid packages (which might not come until March or later).

 

Generally too, if you get a "better" offer from college B, it doesn't hurt to run the offer by college A to see if they can match it. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't. The worst they can tell you is, "no."

[Janice H]

JFS in IL: My understanding is that the colleges are required, by some national organization to which most belong, to give until May 1st for a student to accept an offer. Do not let anyplace pressure you into giving a deposit NOW.

This is my understanding as well. Later on however, if on-campus housing for freshmen is important/in high demand, you might want to consider leaving a housing deposit, if necessary. In our case, $200 of the deposit would be forfeited if we end up at another school. The race for housing spots and the deposit is not until March though.

[Gwen in VA]

I am assuming this is not an ED decision. If not, you almost certainly have until late April to decide, with the college NEEDING to know by May 1.

 

We only dealt with two exceptions to the May 1 deadline.

 

One exception was a scholarship offer that he received in the mail on April 1 and he needed to reply by April 10. The offer was EXTREMELY clear that if they hadn't heard by paper (not just phone call) by April 10 he would lose the scholarship.

 

And the other exception to the May 1 deadline was a scholarship offer from a school that receives no federal aid. I don't know if the fact that it doesn't receive federal aid exempts it from the general May 1 deadline, but since my son didn't reply by February 1 he lost the scholarship. We were annoyed at the pressure on that one, since we hadn't heard about aid from the other schools yet.

[TravelingChris]

My dd received her first acceptance in early September. She got a card with that to send them about her plans. She checked the box that said she is still interested but not fully decided yet. SInce that time, (and I don't think it would have happened if she had quickly returned the card with a yes) she has been awarded their top merit scholarship award and also been accepted into the honors program.

[creekland]

I am assuming this is not an ED decision. If not, you almost certainly have until late April to decide, with the college NEEDING to know by May 1.

 

We only dealt with two exceptions to the May 1 deadline.

 

One exception was a scholarship offer that he received in the mail on April 1 and he needed to reply by April 10. The offer was EXTREMELY clear that if they hadn't heard by paper (not just phone call) by April 10 he would lose the scholarship.

 

And the other exception to the May 1 deadline was a scholarship offer from a school that receives no federal aid. I don't know if the fact that it doesn't receive federal aid exempts it from the general May 1 deadline, but since my son didn't reply by February 1 he lost the scholarship. We were annoyed at the pressure on that one, since we hadn't heard about aid from the other schools yet.

 

:iagree:

 

Many scholarships have their own deadlines. We've run into that too. It sure can be frustrating when one doesn't have all the packages from all the schools.

[JFSinIL]

This is my understanding as well. Later on however, if on-campus housing for freshmen is important/in high demand, you might want to consider leaving a housing deposit, if necessary. In our case, $200 of the deposit would be forfeited if we end up at another school. The race for housing spots and the deposit is not until March though.

 

Yes - I ate a $200 housing deposit for one school ds ended up not attending.

[distancia]

My understanding is that the colleges are required...to give until May 1st for a student to accept an offer. Do not let anyplace pressure you into giving a deposit NOW.

 

I have read this, also.

 

An added consideration is if housing is in short supply. In Florida, Freshman are required to live-on campus (unless they live within 30 miles of campus). One particular state school was recently in the news because they did not have enough housing to accommodate all incoming Freshman. Those Freshman who were the last to put down their housing deposits did not have on-campus housing, and the university had to provide alternate accommodations. So the university ended up renting rooms at the nearby Hilton (!) for the students to live in during their first semester!

Edited October 21, 2010 by distancia

[Kareni]

My understanding is that the colleges are required, by some national organization to which most belong, to give until May 1st to demand a student accept an offer. Do not let anyplace pressure you into giving a deposit NOW.

 

The organization referred to above is NACAC which is the National Association for College Admission Counseling. If the college belongs to this organization, they are required to adhere to these standards and allow the student until May 1 to reply to such an offer. (There are a few exceptions.) I used to have a link to their pdf which discussed the May 1 date; however, the link I had is no longer active. A little searching might find it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DD's school of choice told us that the initial scholarships offered at this time would be academic (merit based) and not need based. If the school has money set aside for students who earned a 30 and above on the ACT those monies would be offered now, for example. Once that money is depleted no further offers would be made. This is the reason schools encourage early application and early decision making. If the scholarship money is sitting there, tied up in students who are waiting for the best offer, then other students won't be offered the money and it might alter their decision to attend that school as well.

 

The FAFSA money is from a different funding source and not tied into the scholarship funds.

[Blueridge]

DD's school of choice told us that the initial scholarships offered at this time would be academic (merit based) and not need based. If the school has money set aside for students who earned a 30 and above on the ACT those monies would be offered now, for example. Once that money is depleted no further offers would be made. This is the reason schools encourage early application and early decision making. ...

 

Yes, that is what is concerning me. Our dd was offered the closest school's top merit scholarship, $8,000...but since their tuition and fees are almost $25,000, it is very discouraging! She has to accept this offer by a certain date of forfeit it. We are still waiting for word from the other schools, but I am worrying that we've been rather naive about scholarships.

[choirfarm]

Our homeschool program this past week was with a lady from LeTourneau. She encouraged all of us to apply the summer before your child's senior year. They start accepting in August and the 200 dollar deposit guarantees your place in the dorm and such. Not only that but once you are on their list, then they can fit scholarships to you. Apparantly they have people that just come in and want to give a scholarship for x criteria, so they look on the acceptance list and give it out. If you waited until May, then you wouldn't get the money as it would already have been given out. Now you can come back May 1st and say you've changed your mind and get all your money back. I thought that was interesting. Someone gave a huge scholarship just for homeschool students. I think it is going over the next 5 years. Anyway, just food for thought.

 

Christine

[creekland]

Now you can come back May 1st and say you've changed your mind and get all your money back.

Christine

 

It's really nice that they do that. Some schools get angry if you commit to them, then change your mind unless it's due to being accepted from a waitlist. There have been threads about that on College Confidential... it's been a while since I read them, but I remember being cautioned against doing that.

 

The trouble my middle son will have (next year) is that many of the schools he is actively considering don't send out notices of acceptance until late March or early April. Since they are likely to be his top choices if the money is also there, we simply can't and won't commit elsewhere. He's likely to even avoid applying to what once was his backup choice because they would require a commitment on top scholarships BEFORE he would know if he was accepted (and with enough $$) at his top choice(s). Without the scholarships, he couldn't afford his backup... so it's no longer good as a backup.

 

If he scores high enough on his ACT today (or in April if necessary) then Pitt is likely to be his back up since he'd have a good chance of going for free and wouldn't have to commit super early.

 

With my oldest, our focus was totally different. It sure was nice knowing all was said and done by Feb! With middle guy, we'll still be waiting and wondering in Feb.

[choirfarm]

Yep, I can totally understand that. I just had no idea that some place did scholarships like that.

 

I don't know where my oldest will go and he's only 10th. LeTourneau is still on his radar, but to me it is too close ( 15 minutes away).

 

It was funny with the ACT. I was having a conversation with a homeschool mom yesterday and her husband work at a Christian school that shall remain nameless in a town not too far away. But she was talking about how you only had to make a 19 on the ACT... and I thought: exactly!! When we first looked at colleges, we realized that his 7th grade ACT scores would gain him admittance there ( composite 21)!!! I guess he would qualify for some great scholarships, though. But he has pretty much dismissed it in his mind.

 

Hope your boy does well!!!

 

Christine

[creekland]

Yep, I can totally understand that. I just had no idea that some place did scholarships like that.

 

I don't know where my oldest will go and he's only 10th. LeTourneau is still on his radar, but to me it is too close ( 15 minutes away).

 

It was funny with the ACT. I was having a conversation with a homeschool mom yesterday and her husband work at a Christian school that shall remain nameless in a town not too far away. But she was talking about how you only had to make a 19 on the ACT... and I thought: exactly!! When we first looked at colleges, we realized that his 7th grade ACT scores would gain him admittance there ( composite 21)!!! I guess he would qualify for some great scholarships, though. But he has pretty much dismissed it in his mind.

 

Hope your boy does well!!!

 

Christine

 

Thanks! I'm hoping he does well too. It's really the only way he has a chance of going to the schools he would really like to attend (a 19 wouldn't cut it! :tongue_smilie:). At home he tests superbly. On his last ACT (sophomore year) he got a 31 overall, but science and reading were too low. He never practiced for them at all and ran out of time. Now he's done practice for them to get quicker and easily has them higher. I'm just hoping he doesn't slide on Math/English which were already high enough to not have to retake them had the others been up to snuff. I told him not to worry. He still has April if need be. I was afraid too much pressure would get him too keyed up to think properly. Time will tell.

 

Disclaimer: a 31 was perfect for my oldest - no retesting necessary and we were thrilled he got it. However, this son simply wants a whole different level of school - and the money to afford it. He needs a 33 - 36. I'm hoping for a 34 or 35. That's his usual score on practice tests (he did three). I'm NOT saying ALL students need to get that high of a score, nor passing judgment on those that don't. It all depends on what a student wants and is capable of. If this guy gets less than a 33 or 34 and still keeps his same desires for colleges, he'll be retesting in April for a final try. For 99% of other students I wouldn't recommend the same. For 100% with his desires and our checkbook, I would.

[mcconnellboys]

You have until whatever their deadline is to let them know something. That's generally sometime next spring. So you have time to wait until you get the info in from the other schools as well as potential scholarship info.

[TravelingChris]

Well DD has one acceptance so far. She has about four or five colleges that will say yes or no by mid Dec. Then the rest will tell by mid March. Now even the earlier schools won't necessarily tell us early about things like merit scholarships, honors programs, or yellow ribbon. After I am done mailing out my things this week (secondary school reports, home school supplements, and transcripts), I will attack getting new documentation for her ADHD and also maybe for her slight learning problems (spelling). My dd doesn;t want to decide early because one possible big factor for her will be where we will be living. She would really prefer to go to college a day's drive away at most but we know that may not be possible. We will be finding out where we will be stationed sometime between Jan and April, most likely. Oh, and if it is overseas, she wants to be in a place where it is easy to fly from.