ShepCarlin Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I wasn't sure of how to title this post so I put down how this feels to me. My son has applied to 3 universities/colleges and has received acceptances so far from 2 of the 3. He is eligible for honors college and merit scholarships at both of the two we've heard from. One of them has already told him he's accepted into the honors college and has awarded a small scholarship with the invitation to apply for more merit scholarships. The other one has not yet informed him if he has been accepted into their honors college. Of course, this school is his first choice. So here are my questions: Is it appropriate for him to contact his first choice to let him know what he's received from this other school? How long does the honors college/merit aid approval process typically take? It isn't a super competitive school. Can he use it as a negotiation tool? I realize it is still early in the school year and I know they just might be waiting for more applications to come in before they decide. Am I just being impatient? He's our oldest so this is our first time dealing with all this. I don't know what a normal timeline for this kind of thing is nor is it appropriate for him to start what feels like business negotiations. He did email his admission counselor at first choice last week asking if he had to confirm his admission offer to be officially considered for honors college and merit aid. She has not responded....this counselor has been incredibly slow to respond to all his questions this fall. I don't want to him to appear as a "problem child" as an overdemanding potential student. For my personal sanity, I was really hoping we'd have it all figured out by Thanksgiving. First world problems, I know... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 It is very, very early in the process! Definitely too early to start negotiations or comparisons, imo. Go back and look at all of the scholarship and honors college information for each school. December and January are common deadlines for "priority consideration" for many scholarships, and it's more common than not for competitive scholarships to be awarded in March or April. The more competitive the scholarship, the later the date (usually). For honors college, some schools will give answers as they go along, others will not (so no one knows until after the deadline). The counselor is probably crazy busy. Keep in mind, they are the same people who travel all over to college fairs to represent their school, plus a million other duties. Adjust your mental timeline. It is quite unlikely that you will have all information by Thanksgiving. Use some of the time to dig deeper into each school, plus take a second look at other schools - students often change their minds once they get deeper in the process and have experience evaluating schools. If you didn't do a lot of visits last year, or they were limited in scope due to Covid, it's a great idea to do that now - schools that you haven't visited yet, plus a 2nd visit to top choices. Of course, this is not always possible, and some students don't need those in-person visits the way others do. It was important to both of my kids to see the campus and experience the culture a bit in person. Deep breaths. It is VERY early!! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShepCarlin Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 @katilacthank you! I needed to hear from someone who has been there, done that. I thought I was being a little antsy but DH keeps saying we should call up the school ( and I DO want to call but at the same time I DON'T) and see what is going on. Patience, patience, patience. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 It's way too early. Keep in mind that many schools don't even send their admissions decisions until March, let alone financial aid offers. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief3 Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 As others said, it is early. I will add that there isn't typically a lot of negotiating scholarship offers with less selective schools. You can always ask, of course, but keep expectations low. What your student should do though (and it sounds like he is) is apply for all the extra scholarships the school offers for which he is qualified. As far as timelines for additional merit offers, it varies quite a bit. But spring would not be unusual, even going into April. Hang in there! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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