waiting...waiting...waiting......

[Jenny in Florida]

Today's mail brought the financial packages from Alma and University of Tampa. As expected, UTampa results in a lower out-of-pocket cost, one that is perilously close to being something we can actually pay. Since it is also probably my son's first choice, this is very good news.

 

This means we're now just waiting for financial info from LIU-Post and the program admission decision from Marymount Manhattan.

 

The field is definitely narrowing now.

[8filltheheart]

Well, my son did not get the tuition exchange at the last school we were waiting to hear from. It is just hard to see him get into all the schools, but not be able to afford them. Our EFC is just too high. We still have options; they just aren't the ones he wanted.

I'm sorry, too, Maryann. I'm glad he does have real options though. It has been tough reading some scenarios where there aren't any real decent choices available.

[Susan in TN]

Well, my son did not get the tuition exchange at the last school we were waiting to hear from. It is just hard to see him get into all the schools, but not be able to afford them. Our EFC is just too high. We still have options; they just aren't the ones he wanted.

I'm sorry. We are in the same boat. Dh spent a couple days taking with admissions and financial aid at ds's top choice (UNC Greensboro)to see if they would offer in-state tuition or a similar arrangement and he said they just will not do anything for us. They suggested that we accept their offer anyway and see if any outside scholarships come in at a later time since we dont have to make any payments until August. Uh, no, don't think we'll do that.

 

We are still waiting for word from one more school, and it will likely be a decision between TN Tech and MTSU. TN Tech profs have indicated a great willingness to throw money at ds :D. We shall see - their financial aid offer should be in the mail. MTSU would be quite affordable for us, as they have offered a good amount of merit and dept. scholarships, plus the HOPE scholarship..

[galtgrl]

I'm sorry. We are in the same boat. Dh spent a couple days taking with admissions and financial aid at ds's top choice (UNC Greensboro)to see if they would offer in-state tuition or a similar arrangement and he said they just will not do anything for us. They suggested that we accept their offer anyway and see if any outside scholarships come in at a later time since we dont have to make any payments until August. Uh, no, don't think we'll do that.

 

We are still waiting for word from one more school, and it will likely be a decision between TN Tech and MTSU. TN Tech profs have indicated a great willingness to throw money at ds :D. We shall see - their financial aid offer should be in the mail. MTSU would be quite affordable for us, as they have offered a good amount of merit and dept. scholarships, plus the HOPE scholarship..

 

I don't know if these posts are making me feel better or worse!  We are in a similar situation. I would be concerned about the quality of the business or economics dept. at the schools that are recommending the "just go with it, take on the crushing debt, & see what happens" course of action, lol. 

[Gwen in VA]

Still waiting here for one last bit of financial information.Amusingly, this is the school she applied to as a "priority applicant" -- just to a special program within the school so we knew she wouldn't hear at the PD decision time.

 

This is a LONG process.

 

Hugs to anyone still waiting! My dh has bought me chocolate multiple times this week!

[MicheleinMN]

Still waiting here!  I think I am more stressed than ds, but then again he's not really sure he wants to go to college. sigh.

[Teachin'Mine]

We've made the happy transition from waiting, waiting, waiting to decisions, decisions, decisions.  Dd is way to busy to have been concerned about any of this, but I'm so glad it's over.   Hoping that all those who are waiting get good news soon.   :grouphug:

[dirty ethel rackham]

Well, we finally got all of the packets in.  We had to eliminate 2 schools due to distance and my son's health issues.  One school dropped down due to re-evaluating the program and realizing that it wasn't as good as we thought.  The numbers weren't as good as we hoped on any of them - I was really expecting more help with two in college, but that hasn't been the case.  Some really hard decisions to be made.  I wish we had something of value that we could sell. While we have some $$ put away from my mom's IRA, it won't last for the 3rd child at these rates. 

 

[Teachin'Mine]

Ellen it really is shocking what some schools consider financially feasible.  I have no idea what kind of math they use, but it surely involves imaginary numbers. 

:grouphug:

[dirty ethel rackham]

Yeah, only one is less than what we pay with no loans for my son when he is the only one in school.  He has the top scholarships at all of his schools.  Just blows my mind. 

[Gwen in VA]

 

it really is shocking what some schools consider financially feasible.  I have no idea what kind of math they use, but it surely involves imaginary numbers.

 

This is so true!

[creekland]

Ellen it really is shocking what some schools consider financially feasible.  I have no idea what kind of math they use, but it surely involves imaginary numbers. 

:grouphug:

 

What amazes me is that different schools, using the EXACT same data, can come up with wildly different numbers.  Middle son's varied by over 25K when he was in this position.

[snowbeltmom]

Ellen it really is shocking what some schools consider financially feasible.  I have no idea what kind of math they use, but it surely involves imaginary numbers. 

:grouphug:

 

I think they are using the exact same set of imaginary numbers the banking industry used before the housing bubble burst.  I was hoping the education bubble would burst before my kids started college, but it is not looking very promising.

 

 

[J-rap]

It's interesting to read about everyone's experiences.  We are on child #5 but this is our first time going the traditional college application route!  Our daughter applied at 5 smallish private liberal arts colleges all within the same metropolitan area.  She applied early for all of them, and heard from the last one by Christmas.  (She was accepted at all five.)  She felt she'd be happy at any of them really;  several of them are very similar.  So, it was going to boil down to $$ for us.  We've been able to eliminate 3 now, and so far her top two choices are providing the most aid/scholarship money -- far more than we were expecting, given her low ACT math score!  We are hoping for 75% tuition coverage and we are getting close.

 

Now we are just waiting for the final financial package offer from the top two that are left.

 

On an interesting note, our daughter applied for a music scholarship at all of the colleges.  (This is not her major, but is just something she loves to do.)  Two of the schools she applied at have excellent, very competitive choirs.  She received only a token amount from them.  But a third school (one of the two still in the running!) is presently working hard to up its status.  They became a university and added a law school about 25 years ago, and now they are trying to really build up their music program.  However, because they are not yet known for their music and so don't yet have all the competition for music scholarship money, my daughter was awarded the highest music scholarship award, which amounts to almost 75% of a full year's tuition!  We are just thrilled about this.  One of those very, very unexpected surprises!

[Nan in Mass]

I don't think the number they give you is based on what they think YOU can afford, but rather what they think THEY can afford, which varies greatly from college to college.  And I think perhaps that number depends more on things like their budget, how wealthy and generous the alumni are, how the economy is doing, how many wealthy students they have, and how much they want your student than it does on your family's finances.  Unfortunately.

 

Remember how before the crash, some of the ivy's were talking about free tuition for all their students?

 

Lots of hugs for those facing sad realities,

Nan

[creekland]

I don't think the number they give you is based on what they think YOU can afford, but rather what they think THEY can afford, which varies greatly from college to college.  And I think perhaps that number depends more on things like their budget, how wealthy and generous the alumni are, how the economy is doing, how many wealthy students they have, and how much they want your student than it does on your family's finances.  Unfortunately.

 

Remember how before the crash, some of the ivy's were talking about free tuition for all their students?

 

Lots of hugs for those facing sad realities,

Nan

 

The number often seems to correlate with how much they want a student.  They'll accept many as it doesn't look good to reject terrific applicants (unless a school has a really low acceptance rate), but if they don't particularly want you, you can come if you pay enough.  Students they really want often get decent packages - even from notoriously stingy schools.  At least, that seems to be what happens at our school.  It's also why I suggest students "with need" check out schools farther away from home as geographic location can be a hook at some places.  It's not a definite, but packages almost always beat schools within 3 - 4 hours of home or closer.

 

[Gwen in VA]

Are any other WTM'ers still waiting.....?

 

Dd is starting to write punchy take-off lyrics about standing by the mailbox waiting to hear about her future.....

[8filltheheart]

Are any other WTM'ers still waiting.....?

 

Dd is starting to write punchy take-off lyrics about standing by the mailbox waiting to hear about her future.....

 

The only thing ds was waiting for was for winners of full-ride scholarships that were announced today.   Since he didn't hear (not surprised), we are done waiting.   I will say, though, that reading some of the waitlisted stats at a couple of the schools that he is about to send "not attending" to knowing that the scholarship $$ they offered was actually really good.....there is something daunting about committing to not attending. even though he has already committed to attending another school!  I have no clue if that makes any sense or not!   I guess it is the no turning back aspect.

[Jenny in Florida]

Are any other WTM'ers still waiting.....?

 

My son heard yesterday from the one remaining program. He's been offered a slot on the wait list. And, since he's already been admitted to the college and they have promised to notify everyone by April 25, he's thinking he'll give that a try.

 

He's also waiting on the official financial package from the (distant) third real possibility.

 

I sent off a financial aid appeal letter today to his presumed first choice. So, now I guess we're waiting to hear the results of that.

[Gwen in VA]

This process is getting OLD! I'm sorry that you too are in waiting mode, Jenny!

[Elisabet1]

I don't get why the state universities only gave loans in financial aid when our EFC was so low and we will have 2 in college. It will be private school for us.

[creekland]

I don't get why the state universities only gave loans in financial aid when our EFC was so low and we will have 2 in college. It will be private school for us.

 

PA schools are not at all well-known for great aid either (need based or merit with the exception of a handful of good merit offers from Pitt, but one must be VERY high scoring).  Students with high standardized test scores can often do better at private schools - esp with need-based aid.

 

It's why many of us on here often tell parents to consider (generous) privates if their kids have good scores.  They may come in better financially (no guarantee, but worth trying).  All three of mine are going private, and only Pitt (with merit aid) was competitive financially for middle son.

 

[Jane in NC]

I don't think the number they give you is based on what they think YOU can afford, but rather what they think THEY can afford, which varies greatly from college to college.  And I think perhaps that number depends more on things like their budget, how wealthy and generous the alumni are, how the economy is doing, how many wealthy students they have, and how much they want your student than it does on your family's finances.  Unfortunately.

 

Remember how before the crash, some of the ivy's were talking about free tuition for all their students?

 

Lots of hugs for those facing sad realities,

Nan

Being the numbers gal that I am, I looked at the size of endowments before my son began the college app process.  Of course, he was a first year college student in 2010--before many of those endowments had recovered from the big hit two years before. 

 

Also remember that zip code figures into this.  Colleges want diverse student populations so applicants from Montana might want to think about coming East.

I don't get why the state universities only gave loans in financial aid when our EFC was so low and we will have 2 in college. It will be private school for us.

NC state unis have never given much in merit aid but in state tuition here is lower than in some other states.  Do you or your husband have an employer that gives scholarships?  Or how about your credit union or one of your utility companies?  Some of these locally based scholarships might help.

 

Sending good wishes to all,

Jane

[Nan in Mass]

I don't get why the state universities only gave loans in financial aid when our EFC was so low and we will have 2 in college. It will be private school for us.

 

It would be interesting to compare the operating budget, the number of students, and the amount of scholarships and grants given by a private school known for giving good aid and compare it to those numbers for your state flagship. 

[Nan in Mass]

Being the numbers gal that I am, I looked at the size of endowments before my son began the college app process.  Of course, he was a first year college student in 2010--before many of those endowments had recovered from the big hit two years before. 

 

...

 

We knew (or thought we knew - we were wrong) that the state would give us only loans.  We can afford to have me not working.  I even have my own car.  We have a house.  The people we knew growing up who received aid were either geniuses with merit scholarships or had two parents working, one car, and couldn't afford a house.  We were not exactly happy that our son's top-choice-by-far was a private school that was known for giving very little aid.  There was enough chit-chat at my husband's work that none of the financial stuff was a surprise except in a good way.  This was one of the advantages of looking at fairly local schools - lots of hearsay.

 

Lots of hugs for those facing bad news, so hard,

Nan

[8filltheheart]

It would be interesting to compare the operating budget, the number of students, and the amount of scholarships and grants given by a private school known for giving good aid and compare it to those numbers for your state flagship. 

 

For us, we knew that the cost for OOS at GA Tech or NCSU would be too high if he didn't win one of their very few competitive scholarships.   But, if he didn't try, he would never know.   He didn't and so they immediately became '"not affordable" options.    Multiple schools have automatic scholarships that are number driven, whether in or out of state.  This link has a fairly comprehensive list.  https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html

 

Need-based merit is a far more fickle thing.  FA is another factor.  

 

It was worth it to ds to spend the time applying for merit scholarships at schools he was interested in.   Applying for merit money at Case and Wooster had high returns.

[Jenny in Florida]

PA schools are not at all well-known for great aid either (need based or merit with the exception of a handful of good merit offers from Pitt, but one must be VERY high scoring).  Students with high standardized test scores can often do better at private schools - esp with need-based aid.

 

It's why many of us on here often tell parents to consider (generous) privates if their kids have good scores.  They may come in better financially (no guarantee, but worth trying).  All three of mine are going private, and only Pitt (with merit aid) was competitive financially for middle son.

 

 

I can't speak to anything Pennsylvania specific, but even without super-high test scores, my son has gotten offers from private colleges that will result in less out of pocket than we would pay for him to attend an in-state, public university. In his case, it's almost entirely merit aid, too.

[creekland]

I can't speak to anything Pennsylvania specific, but even without super-high test scores, my son has gotten offers from private colleges that will result in less out of pocket than we would pay for him to attend an in-state, public university. In his case, it's almost entirely merit aid, too.

 

PA state schools rarely give much if any - pending school - merit aid, so pretty much any student who can qualify for decent merit aid can often do better at private schools.  Tippy top national scores aren't needed as long as those scores fit the school (top 25% or better of students for larger awards).

 

However, there aren't many engineering schools (or similar) that offer great aid for anything but high scores, so some students do get a better deal by the lower overall cost of a place like Penn St.  None of PA's "cheaper" state schools (West Chester, Shippensburg, Indiana U of PA, Slippery Rock, Bloomsburg, etc) offer engineering.  One can start at satellite schools of Penn St or Pitt and get by with less $$ though.

 

It can take a bit of guidance counselor work to figure out schools worthy of consideration for fit and finances.  There is no single answer.

 

[Jane in NC]

Too many parents in my real life dismiss private colleges on the basis of the sticker price not realizing how the privates often come through with merit aid to make them as affordable or even a better deal than some of the in-state schools (again all depending on what your in-states charge, your kid's stats, etc.). 

 

That said, there is one huge caveat that needs to be mentioned concerning merit aid scholarships.  They are often tied to GPA which on the surface may not look unreasonable. But remember that your 4.0 high school kid may face new challenges in college and not be able to maintain a 3.5.  Always take a look at conditions tied to merit aid.

[8filltheheart]

Too many parents in my real life dismiss private colleges on the basis of the sticker price not realizing how the privates often come through with merit aid to make them as affordable or even a better deal than some of the in-state schools (again all depending on what your in-states charge, your kid's stats, etc.). 

 

That said, there is one huge caveat that needs to be mentioned concerning merit aid scholarships.  They are often tied to GPA which on the surface may not look unreasonable. But remember that your 4.0 high school kid may face new challenges in college and not be able to maintain a 3.5.  Always take a look at conditions tied to merit aid.

 

I agree.   Wooster is incredibly generous with their conditions for maintaining scholarships.   I think 3.5 is too high.   All of ds's are linked to 3.0.   Based on how he has done in his dual enrolled classes (freaking out when he doesn't make a 96), I don't think we have too much to worry about.   That and the fact that b/c his DE credits are being accepted, there is no pressure to take a high number of credit hours.

 

[MysteryJen]

Thanks to this board, conditions for keeping merit aid scholarships were the first thing I looked at. Almost all his offers are tied to "satisfactory academic progress" for the first two years, with a reasonable gpa in the last two.  I didn't want him to not challenge himself due to fear of a low grade.

 

Jane, my dh looked at all the endowments for the schools as well  :laugh:

[Hoggirl]

Too many parents in my real life dismiss private colleges on the basis of the sticker price not realizing how the privates often come through with merit aid to make them as affordable or even a better deal than some of the in-state schools (again all depending on what your in-states charge, your kid's stats, etc.).

 

That said, there is one huge caveat that needs to be mentioned concerning merit aid scholarships. They are often tied to GPA which on the surface may not look unreasonable. But remember that your 4.0 high school kid may face new challenges in college and not be able to maintain a 3.5. Always take a look at conditions tied to merit aid.

I think this can be tricky. Our GC advocates trying for private schools because, yes, they will often come through with merit aid. However, I think one has to be careful with the "you never know..." idea because sometimes you can. We have friends whose ds applied to and was accepted at a couple of New England LACs. Not elite ones, but good ones that had desirable majors to him. He did receive merit at both schools, but they were left with large gaps. I think had they reserached the schools a bit further they could have determined what the maximum amount he was going to receive was and preemptively dismissed them.

 

My alma mater of Hendrix is a good example for this. Many, many kids receive merit money there, but the most one can *reasonably* hope to get is probably around $28,000 or so. Is there the opportunity to get more? Yes, but only by obtaining a VERY competitive scholarship. Only four full-rides are given per year, plus four full-tuition scholarships. That competitive weekend probably had 125 kids competiting. So, yes, is it *possible* to get more, but it isn't probable. Perhaps my friend's son was in the same situation at the LACs they considered, but I don't think the mom knew how unlikely it would be to get that type of scholarship. So, yes, "while you never know..."I think odds can be determined a bit better, and I think a big, fat dose of reality has to be injected at the beginning of the conversation.

 

I don't know if all schools do this, but sometimes for these super-competive scholarships you can do a bit of sleuthing to really see if you are in range. I haven't looked at the Hendrix site in awhile, but I know they used to show photos of the Hays Memorial Scholarship winners with some of their stats, where they were from, etc. Yes, maybe one only needs a 32 ACT and a 3.8 to apply (I have no idea - just giving an example), BUT if you can find info on previous years' recipients and see that the four who got it all had 34s and 35s and 4.0's, or if those with lower stats who recieved it were a URM and you're not, well, one can reasonably deduce whether or not you are really going to be where you need to be. There can be a lot of expense in traveling to multiple competitive scholarship weekends.

 

I'm not saying folks shouldn't *try*, but I am saying that parents should not get their kids' hopes up, prattle on about great they are, how they'll stand out because they're from Arkansas and this school is in Massachusetts or whatever!

 

I hope that doesn't sound harsh.

[Jane in NC]

 

I hope that doesn't sound harsh.

 

Not at all!  The reality of financial/merit aid requires many perspectives since there is no uniformity in how it is provided!

 

I was not suggesting that students expect a full ride or even full tuition merit aid.  Far from it.  But I will fall back on an example of one of my son's pals who lives in a state that offers free or discounted in-state tuition to kids with certain GPAs or test scores.  Turns out that the unis there have raised fees to rival tuition.  So when the financial packets came from in state public unis and private colleges, it was cheaper for the lad to attend a private LAC. 

 

The College Navigator portion of the IPEDS government site can help parents see what the average cost of attendance proves to be.  This can also help parents determine if a college gives a little bit of aid to many students or a lot of aid to a few. 

[8filltheheart]

I'm not saying folks shouldn't *try*, but I am saying that parents should not get their kids' hopes up, prattle on about great they are, how they'll stand out because they're from Arkansas and this school is in Massachusetts or whatever!

 

I hope that doesn't sound harsh.

BUT if you can find info on previous years' recipients and see that the four who got it all had 34s and 35s and 4.0's, or if those with lower stats who recieved it were a URM and you're not, well, one can reasonably deduce whether or not you are really going to be where you need to be. There can be a lot of expense in traveling to multiple competitive scholarship weekends.

 

I think it can sometimes be harder to quantify.   Our ds was accepted into programs and awarded scholarships where he didn't meet the profile based on test scores.   I am assuming that the schools and programs took a more holistic approach and looked at his entire application.   His test scores weren't low by any stretch, but neither did he have a 2400 (and his ACT score was over all pretty avg b/c of the reading and SR sections.   In hindsight, pursuing extra time for his dyslexia probably would have been wise)  Conversely, having a 4.0 in 200-300 level math and physics classes is far outside the norm.     It made it difficult for navigating apps based strictly on stat info b/c he just doesn't fit the norms.  (Just looking at Case's rejected and waitlist stats vs. the huge scholarship they offered him confirms that it isn't always very simple.)

[Susan in TN]

Are any other WTM'ers still waiting.....?

 

Dd is starting to write punchy take-off lyrics about standing by the mailbox waiting to hear about her future.....

We are still waiting for word from one school - we have gotten 2 emails from the school saying we should check the online account, but there is only one thing listed and that has been there since January. We are expecting a departmental scholarship and haven't gotten any word on that or on FAFSA related aid. We may call in the next day or two to find out what is going on. Waiting waiting waiting... :D

[MysteryJen]

It is important to be very realistic about your stats when you are deciding what schools to apply for. For us, we knew that ds1 would be a run-of-the-mill applicant at top (not tippy top) schools and a strong one at a different tier. Thanks to automatic scholarship info on websites, we could run pretty accurate calculations of what tuition would end up being. 

 

We have not been surprised either. The financial safety is that. The financial reach remains the reach. The rest all came in with what we expected and frankly, all within a couple of thousand dollars of each other. 

 

 

[Hoggirl]

I think it can sometimes be harder to quantify. Our ds was accepted into programs and awarded scholarships where he didn't meet the profile based on test scores. I am assuming that the schools and programs took a more holistic approach and looked at his entire application. His test scores weren't low by any stretch, but neither did he have a 2400 (and his ACT score was over all pretty avg b/c of the reading and SR sections. In hindsight, pursuing extra time for his dyslexia probably would have been wise) Conversely, having a 4.0 in 200-300 level math and physics classes is far outside the norm. It made it difficult for navigating apps based strictly on stat info b/c he just doesn't fit the norms. (Just looking at Case's rejected and waitlist stats vs. the huge scholarship they offered him confirms that it isn't always very simple.)

I don't disagree with this at all. For kids that have unusual skill sets or backgrounds or unique experiences, I think things can definitely fall outside the "norm." I'm just saying it is important to know what the norm is. And, I think parents needs to be cautionary that that can make it even more unpredictable. I don't think my friend did, and I think she put way too much false hope in his head in her enthusiasm for his applying to these schools where getting enough money was HIGHLY unlikely. He now feels like he "settling" because he is going to have to remain in-state. Either at our state flagship or at Hendrix. They are roughly equivalent in cost because of that scholarship that our department of education awards to in-state residents. But, he is disappointed. She spent a lot of time "dissing" the U of A. That is now biting her in the behind.

 

I am just saying that I think too many parents have unrealistic expecations and suffer too much from the "my kid will be the exception rather than the rule" syndrome.

[8filltheheart]

I don't disagree with this at all. For kids that have unusual skill sets or backgrounds or unique experiences, I think things can definitely fall outside the "norm." I'm just saying it is important to know what the norm is. And, I think parents needs to be cautionary that that can make it even more unpredictable. I don't think my friend did, and I think she put way too much false hope in his head in her enthusiasm for his applying to these schools where getting enough money was HIGHLY unlikely. He now feels like he "settling" because he is going to have to remain in-state. Either at our state flagship or at Hendrix. They are roughly equivalent in cost because of that scholarship that our department of education awards to in-state residents. But, he is disappointed. She spent a lot of time "dissing" the U of A. That is now biting her in the behind.

 

I am just saying that I think too many parents have unrealistic expecations and suffer too much from the "my kid will be the exception rather than the rule" syndrome.

 

Definitely agree with the unpredictability!   I think it is why ds was so dis-connected from becoming attachted to any options until everything settled.   Unfortunately, his dyslexia also really limited some of choices b/c he was pretty sure that taking a lit class via a 1/4 system would be overwhelmingly difficult to keep up the pace with.   But, he is happy that so many schools did look past just test scores to pay attention to who he really is as a student.  

[Jenny in Florida]

I think it can sometimes be harder to quantify.   Our ds was accepted into programs and awarded scholarships where he didn't meet the profile based on test scores.   I am assuming that the schools and programs took a more holistic approach and looked at his entire application. 

 

My son has had similar experiences. When I initially tried to guesstimate the amount of scholarship he might qualify for at various schools, I assumed he would need to meet the benchmarks for both test scores and GPA. In his case, his grades are a bit higher than his test scores, and I assumed that would keep him out of the higher-value scholarships. However, at pretty much every school to which he's been accepted, he's been offered the highest merit scholarship available, even when his ACT score misses the mark by a couple of points. So, it is clear they are using a more complex equation than I had thought.

[8filltheheart]

My son has had similar experiences. When I initially tried to guesstimate the amount of scholarship he might qualify for at various schools, I assumed he would need to meet the benchmarks for both test scores and GPA. In his case, his grades are a bit higher than his test scores, and I assumed that would keep him out of the higher-value scholarships. However, at pretty much every school to which he's been accepted, he's been offered the highest merit scholarship available, even when his ACT score misses the mark by a couple of points. So, it is clear they are using a more complex equation than I had thought.

 

It sounds like he is a very talented young man.   I am sure that they see the talent and the promise in his abilities!  It actually makes me happy and gives me hope for the educational future when standardized test scores don't trump all.

[katilac]

I agree.   Wooster is incredibly generous with their conditions for maintaining scholarships.   I think 3.5 is too high.    

 

 

I think that requiring a 3.5 to keep scholarships leads to students making only safe choices in their class selections, and passing up the chance to extend and challenge themselves. It's making my list of factors to be really cautious about. 

 

I think it can sometimes be harder to quantify.   Our ds was accepted into programs and awarded scholarships where he didn't meet the profile based on test scores.   <snip>  Conversely, having a 4.0 in 200-300 level math and physics classes is far outside the norm.     It made it difficult for navigating apps based strictly on stat info b/c he just doesn't fit the norms.  

 

Very true, but I think, as an applicant or parent, you pretty much know if you have an 'outside the norm' situation. Smoking hot math and science achievements are a much more reliable hook than geography. 

 

Also, strictly imo, it may be for the best that you didn't get accommodations for testing.  This way, you know these schools think he has a high chance for success 'as is.' Accommodations might have led to offers from schools that would not be as good of a fit, b/c tests are no longer flagged. This doesn't follow for every student, but, in your situation, I think you made the best choice. 

[Jane in NC]

I think that requiring a 3.5 to keep scholarships leads to students making only safe choices in their class selections, and passing up the chance to extend and challenge themselves. It's making my list of factors to be really cautious about. 

 

 

Schools with more lenient terms attached to merit aid usually say that they want students to feel they are able to try things outside of their comfort zone.

 

For example, my kid took bagpipe lessons for a semester. It was not his thing so he did not continue but at least he felt that he could try something rather out there.

 

[Nan in Mass]

My son is taking human biology.  He knows this is a hard class which he may have to skimp because he's overloaded, but he is an athlete and wanted to know more about how his body works.  He just needs a C.  If his scholarship requirements weren't so generous, he couldn't do things like this and college would not be serving the function we would like it to serve.  I would rather see him at a cheaper school, I think, where he could enrich himself than at a more expensive one with scholarships that made him afraid to try anything extra and with no time to make friends.  That he had such choices is one of the things that is making us feel rich.  In his particular case, the cheaper schools would have required a higher gpa, so this wasn't something we had to decide. : )

 

Nan

[JennyD]

I think that requiring a 3.5 to keep scholarships leads to students making only safe choices in their class selections, and passing up the chance to extend and challenge themselves. It's making my list of factors to be really cautious about. 

 

 

 

 

I completely agree.  I also think that it puts pressure on faculty to shift the curve upwards.  

[8filltheheart]

Very true, but I think, as an applicant or parent, you pretty much know if you have an 'outside the norm' situation. Smoking hot math and science achievements are a much more reliable hook than geography. 

 

 

Also, strictly imo, it may be for the best that you didn't get accommodations for testing.  This way, you know these schools think he has a high chance for success 'as is.' Accommodations might have led to offers from schools that would not be as good of a fit, b/c tests are no longer flagged. This doesn't follow for every student, but, in your situation, I think you made the best choice. 

 

Ds self-selected schools.   He out-right rejected 1/4 system schools b/c he knew they would be a poor fit.    He would have been fine at any of the schools he applied to.  I think most kids that are dealing LDs know their own limitations.

[creekland]

 Smoking hot math and science achievements are a much more reliable hook than geography. 

 

This depends upon the geography.  One school we visited had students from 49 states (missing ND).  They flat out told us (group session) if we knew of any applicants from ND that they'd be eager to see them.  I suspect their scores could have been lower.  ;)

[Kareni]

This depends upon the geography.  One school we visited had students from 49 states (missing ND).  They flat out told us (group session) if we knew of any applicants from ND that they'd be eager to see them.  I suspect their scores could have been lower.  ;)

 

I remember this happening at what ultimately became my daughter's college when she visited in the summer between her junior and senior years.

 

Advice to those with eighth graders:  Move to North Dakota!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Gwen in VA]

Dd was just told that she has to wait up to one MORE week before final information is given. Really? I've about had it. :glare:

[Kareni]

Dd was just told that she has to wait up to one MORE week before final information is given. Really? I've about had it. :glare:

 

How frustrating for you both.  I can sympathize as I remember that College of the Holy Cross waited until about mid-April before finally coming through with their financial aid offer.   (My daughter was in the running for a scholarship; I can't help but wonder if they were waiting for their first choice to give a yea or nay.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[*LC]

A friend's daughter has a scholarship interview next Saturday, April 12 at a private college. They don't know when the winners of the scholarship will be announced. (They were a week or two late announcing the interviewees.) That scholarship will be the decision maker since that school is her first choice. She just went and visited her second choice a regional state university in case the scholarship doesn't work out. 

 

I have another friend's daughter who is still waiting on the financials from her first choice music school. 

 

Sorry to all of you still waiting on decisions or financials.