DD is not applying to the only state flagship that I *know* we can swing...

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have a difficult time seeing her drop from a school ranked #38 to #418.  Yet, UAH is guaranteed full tuition and housing, I even called to confirm.  That's hard not to keep in your back pocket, right?

 

Rather than looking at lists that try to put all colleges into one list, you might look at lists that break out National Universities, regional universities, liberal arts colleges, public universities, etc.  And consider what the terminology in the rankings means.  My alma mater is consistently a top ranked "liberal arts college" even though it is 70% STEM majors, because the rankings consider it a liberal arts college in large part because of the lack of a graduate program on campus.

 

And keep in mind that a lot of the US News ranking is about the scores of students who are accepted, the percentage accepted and the reputation of the school.  None of those things measure the actual educational experience within the college itself.  And the rankings make little to no effort to sort out the experience of students in specific departments.  Also remember that the larger the university, the less you can tell about the average test scores (especially if the school accepts students by specific college - like engineering, science, humanities; or if the school has extensive sports programs that would recruit outside the typical score profile).

 

The experiences of a biology major, mechanical engineering major, history major and interior design major will be very different.  My oldest was accepted at some wonderful schools.  But those school would be poor fits for his brother, who isn't intending to do a science or engineering degree.  (And for what it's worth, DS1 did turn down a top 25 school in favor of a lower ranked regional university that had a full education and experience package he preferred.  He would have liked the higher ranked school too, I think.   But he is happy as a clam in his current school and is thriving there.  He is already being tapped for leadership tasks and recently said that he's started "hanging out with the TA crowd."  Last weekend, he spent a couple hours showing his classmates without computer programming experience how to work with MatLab.  Happiness at college is only related to the college ranking in a nebulous way.)

[Matryoshka]

Schools that meet full need are great deals for families wifh low EFC. The price is right and you know if you get in you will get the need-based award. But, the lower admit rates mean these are also not great options for a safety school.

 

Well, there's EFC and there's EFC.  We found our FAFSA EFC to be high, but with savings and belt-tightening, doable.

 

Dd applied to one "meets full needs" school. So, we should have been offered aid up to our EFC, right?  Well, no.  They recalculated our EFC based on their own formula, which came out to over two times FAFSA EFC.   :svengo:  I asked how they could possibly think we could afford that? Because we could take out a home equity loan, and raid our 401k to pay for it, they said.  Thanks, CSS profile.  How we would ever pay back loans or live without any retirement income when dh will be 64 by the time the kids are done with college was not explained.  Not their problem.  The 'meet full needs' private school was actually the highest net cost of any school she got into (and she had a 34 ACT, so also high-stats), including all the other private schools that didn't claim to meet full needs.

 

I know part of the problem is that she limited her search to a certain radius from home, and we live in the Northeast, where the HCOL makes us  look better off than we are (why this is never taken into account in any formulas is beyond me), and there are Zero schools with those automatic merit scholarships (seems like they're all in the Midwest and South).  She got merit everywhere she applied (and got in everywhere she applied), but none of those brought the cost down to lower than state school.  But she just had to have emergency surgery, so I'm kind of glad she's not halfway across the country...

[Crimson Wife]

 They recalculated our EFC based on their own formula, which came out to over two times FAFSA EFC.   :svengo:  I asked how they could possibly think we could afford that? Because we could take out a home equity loan, and raid our 401k to pay for it, they said.  Thanks, CSS profile.  How we would ever pay back loans or live without any retirement income when dh will be 64 by the time the kids are done with college was not explained.  Not their problem.  

 

Sounds like how Harvard thought that 100% of my salary would be available to pay towards my DH's grad schooling and did not include a budget line for daycare or transportation costs to get to my job (the car was paid-off but we still needed insurance, gas, maintenance, registration, etc.) We appealed and got an additional $10k/year in grants but it was a huge PITA to do that.

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

I do know that private schools can be cheaper because of merit aid. The packages both of my girls got from private schools were half-tuition or more. I've just never heard of kids going to somewhere like Rice on a full ride because of need. The OP was saying the "lesser" schools were financially out of reach but with the stats to get into Rice-type schools there would be plenty of excellent options who would offer full rides so 'full tuition' seems within reach. Also, does the full need stuff cover room and board? Those tend to be quite pricey at the more exclusive schools and the OP is saying that some schools she's talked to would cover everything but food and books. That's tough to beat so I'm not sure how that can be out of reach but Rice wouldn't be even with need covered. I don't think anyone has a 0 EFC.  I was just confused by the different comments. 

 

Of course if she loves Rice, they can afford Rice, and she gets in - the more power to her. That's fantastic. The posts just seemed to me to say that a reason for avoiding having a safety school was that they couldn't find one they could afford and that confused me in light of the other posts. 

 

 

I never said that Rice or Emory would be a full ride.  We would pay sacrificially for our family, but it is still cheaper than most other options, including her preferred state school.  It is about equal to the state school that she doesn't want to apply to.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Is she National Merit??

 

If so, Ole Miss would be the same - tuition and housing. Nothing against UAH - I know nothing about it. National Merit can open doors at other schools.

 

I wholeheartedly agree about getting past the rankings. Smart kids who avail themselves of opportunities can get many fabulous opportunities at "lower-ranked" schools because they are standouts.

 

 

No ma'am.  She had surgery just before the test and was still in rough shape.  She was still in the top 1% but was two points shy of our state cut off. 

[JanetC]

Well, there's EFC and there's EFC.  We found our FAFSA EFC to be high, but with savings and belt-tightening, doable.

 

Dd applied to one "meets full needs" school. So, we should have been offered aid up to our EFC, right?  Well, no.  They recalculated our EFC based on their own formula, which came out to over two times FAFSA EFC.   :svengo:  I asked how they could possibly think we could afford that? Because we could take out a home equity loan, and raid our 401k to pay for it, they said.  Thanks, CSS profile. 

 

Yes, there is EFC and then there is EFC. And there are good and bad NPCs which do or don't give you a heads up as to what your situation is at a school.

Most schools do not count retirement accounts like IRAa and 401(k)'s, but the big, big difference between the Proflle and the FAFSA is that the Profile schools usually count home equity.

 

There is an EFC estimator for the Profile on the College Board website, but schools do tweak the formula so it is much less reliable than the FAFSA4caster EFC estimator.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Yes, there is EFC and then there is EFC. And there are good and bad NPCs which do or don't give you a heads up as to what your situation is at a school.

Most schools do not count retirement accounts like IRAa and 401(k)'s, but the big, big difference between the Proflle and the FAFSA is that the Profile schools usually count home equity.

 

There is an EFC estimator for the Profile on the College Board website, but schools do tweak the formula so it is much less reliable than the FAFSA4caster EFC estimator.

 

 

I've always used the calculator on the school's site - the one created with their own guidelines.  Are those not accurate either  :wacko:

[creekland]

I never said that Rice or Emory would be a full ride.  We would pay sacrificially for our family, but it is still cheaper than most other options, including her preferred state school.  It is about equal to the state school that she doesn't want to apply to.

 

I'm not quite sure how they do it, but I think private schools have some sort of ability to figure out what a student would be paying at their state school so can come in right around that cost - slightly lower if they really want the student, slightly higher if they don't really care (like them enough to offer admission and aid, but not anything special).

 

This is my own private thought - nothing I've read.  It just seems to work out that way for many high stat (for that school) students.

[Matryoshka]

Sounds like how Harvard thought that 100% of my salary would be available to pay towards my DH's grad schooling and did not include a budget line for daycare or transportation costs to get to my job (the car was paid-off but we still needed insurance, gas, maintenance, registration, etc.) We appealed and got an additional $10k/year in grants but it was a huge PITA to do that.

 

Since it was over double our FAFSA EFC (per kid) I thought at first that they'd forgotten to take into account that we had twins.  Nope.  And of course the third kid who will be attending in just another two years is also not taken into account.  The magic tuition fairy will apparently pay for her when it's her turn?

 

I did not bother with a formal appeal at that school.  They were so unsympathetic on the phone when I went over this verbally - no encouragement; they seemed to think more than doubling our EFC and completely impoverishing us in our later years was completely reasonable.  And an extra $10K off would still have made them one of the most expensive net costs on her list.  I do not know what they were smoking.

 

We did appeal at another school that gave her another $5K in grants and brought us within just a few K of EFC.  We told her that she could go there, but that package also included the standard loans, and she ended up choosing the state school, as she could go there debt-free.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Matryoshka

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I've always used the calculator on the school's site - the one created with their own guidelines.  Are those not accurate either  :wacko:

Most of them were for us with the exception of Grinnell. The NPC on their site gave us an EFC at about 1/2 of what the final aid package indicated. It was disheartening. Grinnell is a CSS school and wanted a lot of info. Once everything was said and done, Grinnell had the highest EFC and offered the least aid (when compared to overall cost). I'm still baffled with the formula they used to determine how much we could pay. We don't have that much equity because our home isn't all that expensive.

[Heather in VA]

Since it was over double our FAFSA EFC (per kid) I thought at first that they'd forgotten to take into account that we had twins.  Nope.  And of course the third kid who will be attending in just another two years is also not taken into account.  The magic tuition fairy will apparently pay for her when it's her turn?

 

I did not bother with a formal appeal at that school.  They were so unsympathetic on the phone when I went over this verbally - no encouragement; they seemed to think more than doubling our EFC and completely impoverishing us in our later years was completely reasonable.  And an extra $10K off would still have made them one of the most expensive net costs on her list.  I do not know what they were smoking.

 

We did appeal at another school that gave her another $5K in grants and brought us within just a few K of EFC.  We told her that she could go there, but that package also included the standard loans, and she ended up choosing the state school, as she could go there debt-free.

 

They are smoking the 'ego weed' and we are all supposed to be partaking. No matter how many articles are published about the horrors of extreme college debt or how many countless people go on to fulfilling and excellent careers without the benefit of the uber-elite degree, we are all still supposed to drink the kool-aid that good parents sacrifice everything and incur any debt necessary to send their student off to that amazing university that everyone says is the 'best'. 

[creekland]

Most of them were for us with the exception of Grinnell. The NPC on their site gave us an EFC at about 1/2 of what the final aid package indicated. It was disheartening. Grinnell is a CSS school and wanted a lot of info. Once everything was said and done, Grinnell had the highest EFC and offered the least aid (when compared to overall cost). I'm still baffled with the formula they used to determine how much we could pay. We don't have that much equity because our home isn't all that expensive.

 

There were no NPC's when my older two kids applied, but we had a similar financial "huh???" with Furman.  All of my middle son's other schools came in super close to each other with the final financial package - this includes CSS and Fafsa schools.  Furman gave him a token merit amount (around 14K I think) but wanted us to pay the rest - all the rest.  It made them roughly 33K more expensive than other options.  They simply aren't that desirable to us!  

 

I suspect they knew that and just didn't really want my guy.  He had high enough stats (and everything else) that it wasn't right to reject him and I'm sure if we had opted to pay they'd have welcomed him with open arms, but no thanks.  That school went off the list for consideration as soon as we picked our jaws up off the floor reading their "offer."  No regrets now either.

 

I'm glad that didn't happen with Eckerd and my youngest son or he'd have been doing Plan B.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Since it was over double our FAFSA EFC (per kid) I thought at first that they'd forgotten to take into account that we had twins.  Nope.  And of course the third kid who will be attending in just another two years is also not taken into account.  The magic tuition fairy will apparently pay for her when it's her turn?

 

I did not bother with a formal appeal at that school.  They were so unsympathetic on the phone when I went over this verbally - no encouragement; they seemed to think more than doubling our EFC and completely impoverishing us in our later years was completely reasonable.  And an extra $10K off would still have made them one of the most expensive net costs on her list.  I do not know what they were smoking.

 

We did appeal at another school that gave her another $5K in grants and brought us within just a few K of EFC.  We told her that she could go there, but that package also included the standard loans, and she ended up choosing the state school, as she could go there debt-free.

 

 

So frustrating.  The only reason DD wants to get into a full need met school (hopefully one without loans) is because our parent contribution is actually too high but by taking on the 5,500 student loan, I think we can cover the difference.  The schools where they max out her 5,500 loan and then expect for us to pay a hefty-for-us parent contribution is not going to work.  They may offer us parent loans but we simply cannot take them.  DH refuses.  We have 7,000 in retirement.  That is all.  We need to start saving for retirement after our kids are out of college and we can't do that if we are saddled with loans from 4 kids.  

[JanetC]

I've always used the calculator on the school's site - the one created with their own guidelines.  Are those not accurate either  :wacko:

 

 

1. Are they using the current cost of attendance? There are schools that have not updated the NPC since calculators were first mandated in 2012.

 

2. Are they asking detailed questions? If all they ask is income and student's and parent's age, they are missing a lot of information that will change your award.

 

3. When in doubt, ask the financial aid office flat out -- how accurate is your net price calculator? I have special circumstance XYZ, how will that affect my aid?

[creekland]

So frustrating.  The only reason DD wants to get into a full need met school (hopefully one without loans) is because our parent contribution is actually too high but by taking on the 5,500 student loan, I think we can cover the difference.  The schools where they max out her 5,500 loan and then expect for us to pay a hefty-for-us parent contribution is not going to work.  They may offer us parent loans but we simply cannot take them.  DH refuses.  We have 7,000 in retirement.  That is all.  We need to start saving for retirement after our kids are out of college and we can't do that if we are saddled with loans from 4 kids.  

 

High stat students can find good places.  As I mentioned before, mine would have been happy at UAlabama (even with a second choice major) if that had been the only offer we could afford.  It wasn't for him, but I'd have been a proud UA mama if it had been.

 

Don't buy the Kool Aid that it must be "top or bust," but also don't give up on applying to places she likes - it could happen.  Just be open with the financial realities of life with her so she's not setting her heart on a dream.

 

If she truly can't stand any safety schools, then have her come up with a valid Plan B like my youngest son did.

[Ann.without.an.e]

High stat students can find good places.  As I mentioned before, mine would have been happy at UAlabama (even with a second choice major) if that had been the only offer we could afford.  It wasn't for him, but I'd have been a proud UA mama if it had been.

 

Don't buy the Kool Aid that it must be "top or bust," but also don't give up on applying to places she likes - it could happen.  Just be open with the financial realities of life with her so she's not setting her heart on a dream.

 

If she truly can't stand any safety schools, then have her come up with a valid Plan B like my youngest son did.

 

 

The reason she is aiming for the more selective schools is because of price and not name.  Our state flagship that she doesn't want to go to is a fantastic, top ranked school.  She simply doesn't like it.  It was the only school where I could see a fairly good  safety for admissions and finances.  It is actually a very selective school but because she is in state and already on a student board and well within their stats, I would be shocked for her to be turned down.  I didn't look in detail at state schools because of the OOS cost being so high.  I was planning to look at them more if she got NMSF but I wasn't aware that some of them offer similar aid to high stats kids who didn't make NM.  One of her favorite schools is NC State but the cost is simply too high. The EFC is over 1.5 times the price for us as Rice or Duke, etc.  On top of that, they are counting less for personal expenses, books, and travel.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Attolia

[creekland]

The reason she is aiming for the more selective schools is because of price and not name.  Our state flagship that she doesn't want to go to is a fantastic, top ranked school.  She simply doesn't like it.  It was the only school where I could see a fairly good  safety for admissions and finances.  It is actually a very selective school but because she is in state and already on a student board and well within their stats, I would be shocked for her to be turned down.  I didn't look in detail at state schools because of the OOS cost being so high.  I was planning to look at them more if she got NMSF but I wasn't aware that some of them offer similar aid to high stats kids who didn't make NM.  One of her favorite schools is NC State but the cost is simply too high. The EFC is like 1.5 times the price for us as Rice or Duke, etc.  On top of that, they are counting less for personal expenses, books, and travel.

 

If it's her favorite, let her try anyway and see what happens.  You never know what could happen.  Just let her know the reality of going there if the cost is as it appears it will be.  All three of my guys were able to handle our financial reality of college options like champs, but we didn't spring anything on them.  We were open about what we could afford from the beginning.

[Ann.without.an.e]

If it's her favorite, let her try anyway and see what happens.  You never know what could happen.  Just let her know the reality of going there if the cost is as it appears it will be.  All three of my guys were able to handle our financial reality of college options like champs, but we didn't spring anything on them.  We were open about what we could afford from the beginning.

 

 

She is definitely applying,  She is even putting her name in for Park and Goodnight.  She knows that she is unlikely to get those and she knows that unless a magic fairy pops up and reduces our cost, we simply can't pay for her to be there.  It is one of the schools that with her stats is a safety for admissions (only because we are in state) but we can't dare think of it as a financial safety.  DD isn't a school snob, she just knows that finances are a big deal.  She was excited about UAH.  She will apply as a financial safety.  The school she just doesn't want to go to is Chapel Hill.  She just hates it.  Because of her stats, she is in state, and she has so many contacts there being on campus so much, I truly would be shocked for her to get turned away and it is financially doable for us but she just truly hates it :(

Edited October 4, 2016 by Attolia

[Pawz4me]

She is definitely applying,  She is even putting her name in for Park and Goodnight.  She knows that she is unlikely to get those and she knows that unless a magic fairy pops up and reduces our cost, we simply can't pay for her to be there.  It is one of the schools that with her stats is a safety for admissions (only because we are in state) but we can't dare think of it as a financial safety.  DD isn't a school snob, she just knows that finances are a big deal.  She was excited about UAH.  She will apply as a financial safety.  The school she just doesn't want to go to is Chapel Hill.  She just hates it.  Because of her stats, she is in state, and she has so many contacts there being on campus so much, I truly would be shocked for her to get turned away and it is financially doable for us but she just truly hates it :(

 

Has she considered the University of South Carolina? DS is at Chapel Hill (and would be horrified to know what your DD thinks of it ;)), but he also applied to USC. His SAT was 2240, so not as good as your DD's. But USC offered him in state tuition right off the bat (with his admissions letter) and pretty much said "consider this just the beginning; there will very likely be more coming." He chose UNC almost as soon as he was accepted by them, and so declined USC before we found out how much more they might have offered. But we really liked the school.  IIRC they have two levels of honors programs. DS knows some very high stats kids there who are really enjoying their college experience.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Has she considered the University of South Carolina? DS is at Chapel Hill (and would be horrified to know what your DD thinks of it ;)), but he also applied to USC. His SAT was 2240, so not as good as your DD's. But USC offered him in state tuition right off the bat (with his admissions letter) and pretty much said "consider this just the beginning; there will very likely be more coming." He chose UNC almost as soon as he was accepted by them, and so declined USC before we found out how much more they might have offered. But we really liked the school.  IIRC they have two levels of honors programs. DS knows some very high stats kids there who are really enjoying their college experience.

 

 

Does your DS like Chapel Hill?  DD has been on that campus so much so she should know if she would like it, right?  She finds it too crowded and she has a horrible sense of direction and thinks it is the worst campus in the world to navigate  :lol:   So many kids love CH, but she just really would rather go to State or Furman or Wake or somewhere else.  

[Pawz4me]

Does your DS like Chapel Hill?  DD has been on that campus so much so she should know if she would like it, right?  She finds it too crowded and she has a horrible sense of direction and thinks it is the worst campus in the world to navigate  :lol:   So many kids love CH, but she just really would rather go to State or Furman or Wake or somewhere else.  

 

Like is totally inadequate. I think it's fair to say it's pure love he feels for Chapel Hill.  :001_smile:

 

I don't find it difficult to navigate, or at least not the parts I've been to. It's certainly much better than some other campuses we visited (I thought Vanderbilt was a pure maze designed to confuse).

 

DS really liked Wake, too, and was accepted there. But ultimaitely he decided he wanted a bigger school. And when he weighed what the COA was going to be at Wake versus Chapel Hill and each schools' ranking of the department he was interested in -- it was a no brainer to go with Chapel Hill.

[Crimson Wife]

Has she considered the University of South Carolina? DS is at Chapel Hill (and would be horrified to know what your DD thinks of it ;)), but he also applied to USC. His SAT was 2240, so not as good as your DD's. But USC offered him in state tuition right off the bat (with his admissions letter) and pretty much said "consider this just the beginning; there will very likely be more coming." He chose UNC almost as soon as he was accepted by them, and so declined USC before we found out how much more they might have offered. But we really liked the school.  IIRC they have two levels of honors programs. DS knows some very high stats kids there who are really enjoying their college experience.

 

SC is on my list of target grad schools since they offer a specialty track in my area of interest. Good to hear that they offer merit aid and an honors program for undergrads since we could very well be living there when my oldest is applying to college.

 

[Pen]

The reason she is aiming for the more selective schools is because of price and not name.  Our state flagship that she doesn't want to go to is a fantastic, top ranked school.  She simply doesn't like it.  It was the only school where I could see a fairly good  safety for admissions and finances.  It is actually a very selective school but because she is in state and already on a student board and well within their stats, I would be shocked for her to be turned down.  I didn't look in detail at state schools because of the OOS cost being so high.  I was planning to look at them more if she got NMSF but I wasn't aware that some of them offer similar aid to high stats kids who didn't make NM.  One of her favorite schools is NC State but the cost is simply too high. The EFC is over 1.5 times the price for us as Rice or Duke, etc.  On top of that, they are counting less for personal expenses, books, and travel.

 

 

What doesn't she like about the state flagship school?  When I was at that stage, I was afraid of my state flagship school due to its huge size.

 

In retrospect, I think I would have been much, much, much happier there and it would have been better financially for my family if I had gone there instead of to a smaller more elite school.  A gap year to have matured enough to be ready for the big school would have helped.

[Hoggirl]

OP - do you have a firm budget in mind? I am a big advocate of telling kids ahead of time, "We can afford to spend $XXX on your education. We are okay with your taking Stafford loans (if you are okay with that), but we won't co-sign anything (if you won't)." I call this the "pile" approach. This is your pile. Spend it as you see fit. Divvy it between undergrad and grad school. Use it all on undergrad, and you're on your own for grad school. Take merit for undergrad and it's there for grad or professional school. Don't spend it all because you earn merit awards? Then use the remainder for a down payment on a house, for a car, furniture, computer, work wardrobe upon launching career. Anything reasonable (I am the arbiter of reasonableness) that won't trigger a gift tax (if there's a bunch left in the pile).

 

I can't tell if your budget is fixed or a moving target depending on the school. I understand that you are in that spot where if your dd can gain admission to certain elite schools, it *may* be less expensive than some of your in-state schools. But I am unclear if you are willing to pay a premium/make sacrifices at elite schools if it is not. I may have missed something.

[GoodGrief]

I'm a big fan of having a "geographic safety". If she absolutely won't apply to the in-state school, there's not much you can do about that, of course. But a lot can happen between now and Decision Day, and she could find herself in a situation where she needs to stay close to home (sick, injured, family crisis, whatever.) It's funny to see how the seniors' ideas can change as the year progresses too.

 

As far as the unpredictability of college admissions and financial aid, I'll just echo what everyone else has said. My recent grad has stats similar to yours; she's not first gen, but she's from a low population state, so had the geographic diversity going for her, plus exceptionally strong extracurriculars. You really just don't know how admissions are going to go, or the competition for the scholarships. It's good to know that you will qualify for need-based aid though; that does help.

[Hoggirl]

I'm a big fan of having a "geographic safety". If she absolutely won't apply to the in-state school, there's not much you can do about that, of course. But a lot can happen between now and Decision Day, and she could find herself in a situation where she needs to stay close to home (sick, injured, family crisis, whatever.) It's funny to see how the seniors' ideas can change as the year progresses too.

Ds's college counselor at his charter school was a big proponent of this as well. She had encountered situations where the student wound up needing to stay close to home after graduation. Most of these situations are not fun to think about, but issues can arise.

[Ann.without.an.e]

What doesn't she like about the state flagship school?  When I was at that stage, I was afraid of my state flagship school due to its huge size.

 

In retrospect, I think I would have been much, much, much happier there and it would have been better financially for my family if I had gone there instead of to a smaller more elite school.  A gap year to have matured enough to be ready for the big school would have helped.

 

 

It isn't the size as much as the size of campus for the amount of students.  I think that State is technically a larger student body but the campus supports the number of students.  

Edited October 4, 2016 by Attolia

[Ann.without.an.e]

Like is totally inadequate. I think it's fair to say it's pure love he feels for Chapel Hill.  :001_smile:

 

I don't find it difficult to navigate, or at least not the parts I've been to. It's certainly much better than some other campuses we visited (I thought Vanderbilt was a pure maze designed to confuse).

 

DS really liked Wake, too, and was accepted there. But ultimaitely he decided he wanted a bigger school. And when he weighed what the COA was going to be at Wake versus Chapel Hill and each schools' ranking of the department he was interested in -- it was a no brainer to go with Chapel Hill.

 

 

Ok so the craziest thing happened today.  I told dd that I was requiring CH or UAH as a financial safety.  She was fine with that and was pondering the options when a CH admissions recruiter called to check in and see if DD had any questions and to encourage her to aim for the Oct 15 Early action deadline.  I didn't hear the conversation, I was trying not to be nosy.  She just added CH to her common app and asked me to send her scores and FAFSA info.  This is a relief to me because I just wanted one school that wasn't a question financially.   :party:

[Ann.without.an.e]

OP - do you have a firm budget in mind? I am a big advocate of telling kids ahead of time, "We can afford to spend $XXX on your education. We are okay with your taking Stafford loans (if you are okay with that), but we won't co-sign anything (if you won't)." I call this the "pile" approach. This is your pile. Spend it as you see fit. Divvy it between undergrad and grad school. Use it all on undergrad, and you're on your own for grad school. Take merit for undergrad and it's there for grad or professional school. Don't spend it all because you earn merit awards? Then use the remainder for a down payment on a house, for a car, furniture, computer, work wardrobe upon launching career. Anything reasonable (I am the arbiter of reasonableness) that won't trigger a gift tax (if there's a bunch left in the pile).

 

I can't tell if your budget is fixed or a moving target depending on the school. I understand that you are in that spot where if your dd can gain admission to certain elite schools, it *may* be less expensive than some of your in-state schools. But I am unclear if you are willing to pay a premium/make sacrifices at elite schools if it is not. I may have missed something.

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2016 by Attolia

[Hoggirl]

Can she apply for the Morehead at UNC?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Can she apply for the Morehead at UNC?

 

 

She technically could but it seems like it always goes to the students who had money handed to them to start a foundation or charity.  She has decided that CH will be her financial safety but she isn't applying to Morehead.  She is using the time to focus on the Park Scholarship for NC State instead.

[Pawz4me]

DS did apply for the Morehead at the urging of his school (he was "nominated" by the school to apply, whatever that means). We knew it was a waste of time but had him go through with it anyway. Like Attolia says, you really do have to have developed a potential cure for cancer, worked at the research station in Antarctica or started a charity that has raised ridiculous amounts of money or something like that to win.

[Ann.without.an.e]

DS did apply for the Morehead at the urging of his school (he was "nominated" by the school to apply, whatever that means). We knew it was a waste of time but had him go through with it anyway. Like Attolia says, you really do have to have developed a potential cure for cancer, worked at the research station in Antarctica or started a charity that has raised ridiculous amounts of money or something like that to win.

 

 

The one person I know of who won it was from an incredibly wealthy family who literally did set up a charity for her in Mozambique and they sent her there several times a year to work for her charity. I think she wrote a children's book in the native language and her parents paid for it to be published and distributed.  Super cool stuff but kids from families of average income simply don't have these opportunities.  

Edited October 5, 2016 by Attolia

[RenaInTexas]

Would it make dd feel better if she knew that her safety option does not equal: Go to the safety school that I can afford for four years?

 

If forced (by not being admitted to her-choice schools that are affordable), dd can go to safety school for one year and apply as a transfer student to the

other schools. I know of several people who got into their selected school this way (we termed it backdoor entrance). Supposedly getting in as a transfer is easier; not sure if this is true.

 

Summary: Her safety school doesn't have to be a 4-year choice.

Edited October 5, 2016 by RenaInTexas

[mjbucks1]

I just wanted to second (or third) the University of Alabama.  Ds is a freshman this year.  He received their NMF scholarship and is part of the honors college.  They also have a STEM path to MBA which he is pursuing.  The nice thing about Alabama is they allow stacking of scholarships, so he was allowed to stack an engineering scholarship on top of the NMF scholarship.  He is actually getting paid to go to school this year! Even though it is a big university, it feels much smaller.  Ds is loving it!

 

Some others have mentioned University of South Carolina.  They give EXCELLENT aide as well, AND they have a fabulous honors college (I have a book that ranks honors colleges, and it was one of the top 5 in the country).  I think it would have cost ds no more than $10,000/year for tuition and room and board. I know the deadline for the honors college is approaching, so if that is a possibility you should check it out.

 

I know you said your dd is applying to UAH as a safety, but I just wanted to speak about those other two schools.  Ds was admitted to a private selective school, but even with a scholarship of $26,000/year it was going to cost $40,000/year!!  There was no way we could afford that.  I told ds that graduating college without debt is like winning the lottery.  When all of his friends are worrying about school loans, he will be ready to buy a house!!

 

 

 

  

[katilac]

OP, my dd just started at UAH this fall. She is currently a Foreign Language and International Trade major, but she lives in the honors dorm, which is chock full of science and engineering majors. One nice plus is that everyone on campus (not just honors dorm) has a private bedroom - suite mates but no roommate. 

 

If she considers it and has questions, we'll try to answer. 

 

We looked closely at UA also, and I will say that it is another terrific choice. 

[swimmermom3]

She just hates it so much.  She's been on campus a good bit for nights at a time because she is VP for a state-wide literary magazine board that meets there and she just really, really, really doesn't want to go.  She is a super strong/high stats student.  So I keep telling myself that this is going.to.be.ok.  While I like the idea of having one financial safety that she is 99% likely to get into because we are in state, this is going to be ok, right?  The other schools on her list that are great financially are schools like Emory, Rice, etc. where admittance is not a guarantee.  Surely she'll get into one of them though, right? :confused1:   I am just looking for someone to comfort me really.  Just foolishly tell me that this will not be a decision she regrets. :crying:

She is skipping it because she hates these particular essays and she wants to hone in and do better on the schools she cares about.  Just to answer that question.

 

One of our state universities is in our city. My son could have gone there and lived at home for about $8,000 a year. Academically it doesn't offer what he's interested in and it would be an extension of high school. My Alma Mater ( a flagship) would have been $28,000 a year (no aid or scholarships of any kind).  One of the private schools that he was accepted to was 30 minutes outside of Chicago, offered his major with a unique masters opportunity and had sailing. After scholarship, the cost to us was $18,000 a year. This is not where he ultimately decided to go, but I wanted to show you that state schools for many reasons may not be your "safety."

 

[AFwife Claire]

OP, my dd just started at UAH this fall. She is currently a Foreign Language and International Trade major, but she lives in the honors dorm, which is chock full of science and engineering majors. One nice plus is that everyone on campus (not just honors dorm) has a private bedroom - suite mates but no roommate. 

 

If she considers it and has questions, we'll try to answer. 

 

We looked closely at UA also, and I will say that it is another terrific choice. 

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who mentioned UAH on this thread.  We are deep in the throes of applications with my second son, and just tonight (because of this thread!) I mentioned that UAH sounded like a very good possibility, since he wants to major in engineering, and he would be guaranteed a 100% scholarship.  I have fond memories of Huntsville, and we almost were stationed there--we turned down an assignment there to come here to Chantilly--and I think he'd like it too.  He looked into it a bit more, and now it's on his list!  Yay--a safety!!

[Heather in VA]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who mentioned UAH on this thread.  We are deep in the throes of applications with my second son, and just tonight (because of this thread!) I mentioned that UAH sounded like a very good possibility, since he wants to major in engineering, and he would be guaranteed a 100% scholarship.  I have fond memories of Huntsville, and we almost were stationed there--we turned down an assignment there to come here to Chantilly--and I think he'd like it too.  He looked into it a bit more, and now it's on his list!  Yay--a safety!!

 

Hey! We live in Vienna! I don't know about UAH, but UA actively recruits in Fairfax County and has lots of open house nights etc. in the area so you might want to keep your eye out for that.