snowbeltmom Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 According to College Confidential, the cut-off for the 2013 PSAT is 201. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Yes, we're smiling a lot here! Still waiting for Lukeion to announce National Latin Exam results... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 According to College Confidential, the cut-off for the 2013 PSAT is 201. This varies by state doesn't it? I remember a long CC thread last year where they were tracking the lowest score someone had gotten a letter with from each state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 This varies by state doesn't it? I remember a long CC thread last year where they were tracking the lowest score someone had gotten a letter with from each state. That 201 score is the Commended cut-off. The Commended score is a national cut-off score. The Semi-Finalist score varies depending on the state. Those results will be released in September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 At what point does a student have to indicate their first choice college? Is this something they have to put on the PSAT answer sheet or is it part of the package if they meet the NM cut-off scores? [subtitled, One Should Not Run Net Cost Calculators without Chocolate in the House.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 At what point does a student have to indicate their first choice college? Is this something they have to put on the PSAT answer sheet or is it part of the package if they meet the NM cut-off scores? DD does not remember whether the PSAT form had this question. The deadline is in spring (I believe May 1st) of senior year. The student can make her selection through her online account and can also change it. The timing is so that the college acceptances are in (otherwise it would be pretty pointless.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thank you. I'm already feeling college anxiety creeping in. It's nice to know what I don't need to worry about. I made the mistake of running the cost calculator for a local private school. Turns out the CSS profile figures we can pay 60k a year out of pocket. My calculations on that front differ. But it confirms for me that it's merit aid or nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thank you. I'm already feeling college anxiety creeping in. It's nice to know what I don't need to worry about. I made the mistake of running the cost calculator for a local private school. Turns out the CSS profile figures we can pay 60k a year out of pocket. My calculations on that front differ. But it confirms for me that it's merit aid or nothing. I feel your pain. Our EFC was completely and totally unrealistic for our actual reality. Ds had to totally shift gears in what he was looking for in a school, but he is incredibly happy with his choice. Finances was common theme amg this past yrs group of srs. Disappointment with financial aid packages was not uncommon. Running NPCs is wise. Paying attention to what schools have good merit aid, etc is definitely a good plan. I would also recommend looking into honors colleges and honors programs at lower ranked schools if significant amts of merit aid are needed. These programs attempt to draw in top talent by offering unique opportunities and they offer significant scholarship $$ to the students they are trying to attract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thank you. I'm already feeling college anxiety creeping in. It's nice to know what I don't need to worry about. I made the mistake of running the cost calculator for a local private school. Turns out the CSS profile figures we can pay 60k a year out of pocket. My calculations on that front differ. But it confirms for me that it's merit aid or nothing. That's where we are. Because of retirement being very close on the horizon, committing to big $$$ for tuition isn't an option. I don't want to send them off and then say, "Sorry kid, our income is less than half of what it was. You have to come home." Yes, you can reapply for financial aid at that point, but none of the financial aid officers were optimistic that there would be more than a Pell grant at that point. The college money a relative saved for mine is likely never going to become a reality (long story involving multiple lawyers). Community college and commuting to one of the 4-year schools in the area is probably where we're headed, although we're applying to three more distant schools, one private. So we'll see. The local schools are "name brand," upper-middle schools with honors programs that we plan to apply to. We have a relative whose two recent high school grads are working at Chick-Fil-A with no goals in mind. The dad has multiple health problems that could disable him or take him out of the picture at any time. The mom hasn't worked in 20 years. So I think of them and am thankful that mine at least want to go to college and that we have the resources to do it locally with decent schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 G5052, have you seen this link? http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ (automatic full-tuition schools for test scores/gpa) This might at least be a place to start. Some of the schools offer departmental scholarships, honors college scholarships, etc on top of the automatic tuition scholarships. We have been very blessed by the generous merit scholarships ds received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 G5052, have you seen this link? http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ (automatic full-tuition schools for test scores/gpa) This might at least be a place to start. Some of the schools offer departmental scholarships, honors college scholarships, etc on top of the automatic tuition scholarships. We have been very blessed by the generous merit scholarships ds received. Yes, those are in the running. So many choices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thanks for the encouragement ladies. On a whim I ran the calculator for University of Southern California. Something I'd heard in the news put the school on my mind even though I've mentally packaged the UC and Cal State schools as too hard with their a-g requirements. I have to admit that I was stunned to see that the CSS based calculator had us paying full freight. It would zero out our savings to pay that. I was especially annoyed by the section on the result that said to lower what you are paying click here to enter other sources of money like outside scholarships and other sources of income. That's not lowering the price; it's just going through your other pockets. We have been comfortable with money. But not that comfortable. Thank goodness my oldest doesn't seem brand conscious. The honors college route at a lower tier school is quite likely. But I anticipate a lot of nights wondering if their would have been greener grass on the other side of 20+ years of choices. Sigh. I imagine my prayer life is going to have an opportunity to improve a lot, just from increased practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 It would zero out our savings to pay that. That sort of thing annoys me. Sure, I can pay full fare for #1, but that leaves nothing for #2-5. Seriously? I don't want to send them off and then say, "Sorry kid, our income is less than half of what it was. You have to come home." Neighbor's youngest kid is home from his third year of college for the summer. The mom commented off-hand that it might be "home for good." I think they ran out of money for his $$$ college and he might have to finish up at the local state college. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 That sort of thing annoys me. Sure, I can pay full fare for #1, but that leaves nothing for #2-5. Seriously? Neighbor's youngest kid is home from his third year of college for the summer. The mom commented off-hand that it might be "home for good." I think they ran out of money for his $$$ college and he might have to finish up at the local state college. :crying: Yes, frankly I don't think people are sometimes strategic about it. Mine are only two years apart, so if we blow everything on #1, then what about #2? And if we get into something we can afford now, what happens when our income predictably drops when DH retires, and we burn up most of we have put aside so #1 can finish at the pricey school. And #2 runs short? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Thank you. I'm already feeling college anxiety creeping in. It's nice to know what I don't need to worry about.Just saw this local news "The Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) The Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) is a new program beginning in the 2014-15 academic year that provides undergraduate students with family incomes up to $150,000 a scholarship to attend University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campuses." "The maximum amount of the scholarship will increase each academic year until 2017-18. At that point, the maximum scholarship amount will be: 40 percent of systemwide tuition and fees for students whose family income is up to $100,000, and between 10 percent and 40 percent of percent of systemwide tuition and fees for student whose family income is up to $150,000 per year (based on a sliding scale)." Link to info on California student aid commission http://www.csac.ca.gov/mcs.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The whole college finance game makes my head hurt. We sent the oldest off this year. She got offers of large scholarships at various places, but the tuition is so much larger, that even with the GI Bill in play, many just were not do-able. Her program is not offered in-state, unfortunately. That would have been the almost-free option. So, she's at a large out-of-state university, in the cheapest dorm, and it's still tough to scrape together the funds. Number two is coming up in two years. She's a National Merit contender, and we are taking test prep seriously. Not so much for the scholarship itself, which is quite small, but for the schools that offer decent aid to NM Finalists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 DD does not remember whether the PSAT form had this question. The deadline is in spring (I believe May 1st) of senior year. The student can make her selection through her online account and can also change it. The timing is so that the college acceptances are in (otherwise it would be pretty pointless.) The 1st choice school is for the National Merit Scholarship. It is not on the PSAT form, but on the scholarship application. Like you said, it can be changed on the online account with NMSC. Although May 1 of senior year is the deadline for committing to a school, I believe the NMS wants that info sooner, especially if it is a school sponsored scholarship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 The 1st choice school is for the National Merit Scholarship. It is not on the PSAT form, but on the scholarship application. Like you said, it can be changed on the online account with NMSC. Although May 1 of senior year is the deadline for committing to a school, I believe the NMS wants that info sooner, especially if it is a school sponsored scholarship. But committing to a school earlier can be very difficult. As all students applying to Ivies, DD did not find out about her acceptances until March 28, and then it took another few weeks for financial aid offers to arrive. It makes no sense to put a school as first choice one has not been admitted to, or one will not be able to afford (the National Merit may not be a game changer for finances; it might only amount to 2k) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Thanks for the encouragement ladies. On a whim I ran the calculator for University of Southern California. Something I'd heard in the news put the school on my mind even though I've mentally packaged the UC and Cal State schools as too hard with their a-g requirements. I have to admit that I was stunned to see that the CSS based calculator had us paying full freight. It would zero out our savings to pay that. I was especially annoyed by the section on the result that said to lower what you are paying click here to enter other sources of money like outside scholarships and other sources of income. That's not lowering the price; it's just going through your other pockets. We have been comfortable with money. But not that comfortable. Thank goodness my oldest doesn't seem brand conscious. The honors college route at a lower tier school is quite likely. But I anticipate a lot of nights wondering if their would have been greener grass on the other side of 20+ years of choices. Sigh. I imagine my prayer life is going to have an opportunity to improve a lot, just from increased practice. Just so you know, USC is a private school. It is not part of the UC or Cal State systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Just so you know, USC is a private school. It is not part of the UC or Cal State systems. That's actually why I was looking at it. The a-g requirements are daunting and the exemption by exam process may be doable but also seem capricious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 That's actually why I was looking at it. The a-g requirements are daunting and the exemption by exam process may be doable but also seem capricious. oh I see, I misunderstood your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 oh I see, I misunderstood your post. I can see where I was unclear. I was looking I up because I hadn't realized that it was private. I had some vague hope that it might have good aid packages that would make it with considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I can see where I was unclear. I was looking I up because I hadn't realized that it was private. I had some vague hope that it might have good aid packages that would make it with considering. Is your student in the range for National Merit Finalist? You probably saw USC's scholarship for NMFs - it's only half tuition but that's a big amount. http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/docs/uscScholarships1415.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Is your student in the range for National Merit Finalist? You probably saw USC's scholarship for NMFs - it's only half tuition but that's a big amount. http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/docs/uscScholarships1415.pdf I did but thanks for the reminder link. He is right on the edge and a lot will depend on the day. But it was the comment about marking as first choice school that got me wondering about timing. I know he will find a good place. And it will probably be a good match because he is super adaptable and a hard worker. I just wish it didn't feel like such an uncertain winners vs losers game to go through the applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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