A small (college application related) sad tale of woe -

[Liza Q]

College A - my oldest applied for the Honors Program, which includes a full scholarship. They will let us know by March 15.

 

College B has offered her a partial scholarship and they need to know whether she wants it and is definitely coming - by March 15.

 

We are so frustrated!

 

I am planning to appeal to College B to give us a few extra days...I hope they go for it!!

[Anna]

I'd suggest putting a light under College A while you're appealing to College B for more time. Let College A know that another college is waiting for an answer and let them know, not in a threatening way, that scholarship money will make a difference in your dc's decision. Then I'd also suggest that you encourage your dc to lean towards the college which is the best fit. Don't let cost be your primary criteria. Four years is a good chunk of their life to spend at a college that they dislike.

 

We had a similar situation. College A, Hillsdale, only offered full scholarship for tuition, not room and board, and it was out of town so we had to cross it off our list of possibilities. College B was a pricey private liberal arts college, similar to Hillsdage, which offered 3/4 scholarship. College C was a state univ which offered full scholarship. College B was the best fit between B and C so we encouraged dd to go to College B, which she did. No regrets!

[Gwen in VA]

One note of encouragement -- the 'notify by" date is the "drop-dead" date for the college, so they will probably let you know several days beforehand.

 

(Most colleges for RD say they will let you know of the decision by April 1, but many actually notify in the March 15 - 25th range.)

 

We had a similar situation last year, and our "college A" let ds know about two weeks before the date specified that ds did receive the scholarship.

 

But you might let college B know that you would literally just 24 additional hours to make the decision -- you could definitely give them your decision on March 16. You may not need the extra 24 hours, but if you ask now you are more likely to receive clemency than if you ask on March 14.

 

Best wishes -- the college process is STRESSFUL, isn't it? :banghead:

[shiloh]

I have found through personal experience that most colleges are relatively flexible when you relate a concern or need to them.

 

I'm pretty sure the relevant administrators will not be offended if you call and explain your daughter's situation. Especially because lots of money could be at stake.

 

A key negotiating point is to politely ask for their help.

 

Colleges have recently become more sensitive to the financial constraints and subsequent stress many families are facing.

[Brigid in NC]

First - Congrats on your student's success! What an accomplishment to be awarded a partial scholarship and in the running for a full ride scholarship!!

 

If I were you, I would not worry. You will probably hear early, but I seriously doubt that College A will notify you after the date they have given you for decisions. They know how much students are on pins and needles.

 

But! That might happen. In anticipation of that scenario, this is what I would do. It wouldn't hurt to contact College B to ask for more time, but I definitely would not contact College A. Chances are there are lots of other smart kids in the same scholarship/decision boat as your student -- with multiple offers and options.

 

If you hear late (which I really highly doubt will happen) just accept College B's offer on March 15th, and then immediately call them and tell them the circumstances for your need to withdraw if your student gets the full ride. It won't be irresponsible of you, and the school will certainly understand (if you explain that you did not hear by the agreed-upon March 15th date -- so it was out of your control).

 

Others might disagree with this, but that is what I would do. The partial scholarship you decline will not evaporate. It will go to another deserving student who will be thrilled.

 

Good luck. I hope you get good news -- and early news!

~Brigid

[Kareni]

Here's a link to a brochure from NACAC

 

http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/Documents/StudentsRtsNEW.pdf

 

which is the National Association for College Admission Counseling. If the college belongs to this organization, they are required to adhere to these standards and allow the student until May 1 to reply to such an offer.

 

I learned this from AdmissionsAdvice.com a blog (with associated discussion board) that is hosted by Carolyn Z. Lawrence who posts on college admission issues. I recommend both of these highly.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Gwen in VA]

Wow -- knowing this is huge!

 

My son "had" to respond to one scholarship offer he received last year by January 31!!!!! Guess what -- he didn't go to that college!

 

And he had to respond to another scholarship offer by April 11 -- and dd2 was diagnosed with diabetes on April 4 -- so we didn't even seriously discuss this option! We had too much going on. He ended up refusing it due to lack of serious consideration. If he had had until April 30 we would at least have spent more time talking with him about his decision!

 

(Though God is good -- and ds is happy where he is.)

 

Thanks so much for posting this!

[Brenda in MA]

which is the National Association for College Admission Counseling. If the college belongs to this organization, they are required to adhere to these standards and allow the student until May 1 to reply to such an offer.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Karen,

 

Thanks for the link to that pamphlet from NACAC, but I'm not sure I'm reading it the way you suggest. The pamphlet says that a student will have until May 1 to reply to an offer of admission/financial aid. The pamphlet does not specifically mention offers of scholarships. Perhaps they are not bound to allow you to decide about scholarships until May 1 but can impose their own earlier deadlines?

 

While it's harder for the student to make up his/her own mind on a scholarship before May 1, I can see that the school would want an earlier deadline so they can offer that scholarship to another student before May if the first student declines. Being able to re-offer the scholarship would yield that school the best students possible.

 

Brenda

[Kareni]

The pamphlet says that a student will have until May 1 to reply to an offer of admission/financial aid. The pamphlet does not specifically mention offers of scholarships. Perhaps they are not bound to allow you to decide about scholarships until May 1 but can impose their own earlier deadlines?

 

 

 

Hello Brenda,

 

Your post started me wondering about the definition of financial aid and whether a scholarship would fall into that category, so I took another closer look at the NACAC pamphlet.

 

At the top right, the pamphlet states,

 

Financial Aid:

• The types of financial aid, including federal, state

and local government, need-based and non-need

based, and private scholarships and awards

 

I'd be happy to post a query to Carolyn Lawrence to see if she can confirm that if you'd like. I've found her generally to be very responsive.

 

Of course, it is possible that College B that Liza Q referred to is not a member of NACAC in which case the discussion is moot! I hope not though.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Edited February 12, 2009 by Kareni

[Brenda in MA]

I'd be happy to post a query to Carolyn Lawrence to see if she can confirm that if you'd like. I've found her generally to be very responsive.

Regards,

Kareni

 

Karen,

 

Yes, I'd be interested in hearing what Carolyn Lawrence has to say about this.

 

Brenda

[Kareni]

Brenda,

 

I've posted the question. I'll let you know when I learn something new.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Carolyn Lawrence, the host of AdmissionsAdvice.com and an independent college counselor, did reply to my question. Here's a link to the discussion on that board.

 

She states:

 

"The student should write a letter (not an email) to the admissions office requesting the extension. She should cite NACAC in the letter, and say that she trusts that the school abides by NACAC's Standards of Good Practice in their admissions practices. (Be polite of course) that allow students to request an extension in writing for scholarship offers. That's the key - in writing. The letter should be polite, and indicate that, although the college is high on her list, due to her family's financial circumstances, she can not commit to them until she has had the opportunity to review offers from all of the colleges where she's applied. After the letter is sent, she should follow up with the admissions office by phone to make sure that the letter's been received and the extension granted.

 

In 99.9% of cases, the colleges will not balk and will grant the extension without any hassle, even if they are one of the very rare colleges that aren't NACAC members.

 

However, there are *sometimes* issues regarding the way a scholarship offer is phrased or attached to a specific program (such as an honors college) that a few colleges use to sort of wiggle around the NACAC SPG. I haven't seen the actual scholarship offer, so I can't advise about whether this might be the case for her, but, as I said, *most* colleges will grant the extension if it is requested in writing, and the NACAC SPG is referenced."

 

 

I wonder if College B that Liza Q mentioned in her original post falls into one of those "sometimes" categories or not.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Brenda in MA]

Karen,

 

Thanks so much for following up on this and posting Carolyn's response.

 

This board is just such a wealth of information on all things related to high school and college for homeschoolers. I'm just grateful to be able to be a part of it!

 

Thanks again,

Brenda

[Liza Q]

Thanks so much! Real life has kept me from the board this year but I know I can always find cheerful help here!!!

 

College B is The Kings College (her first choice but a long commute) - and the scholarship is not tied to any honors program.

 

College A is Brooklyn College (pretty good school, great commute), part of the City University here.

 

At this point, we are quite sure that we will not be able to afford Kings without taking out loans (my husband and I avoid debt like the plague and my daughter would rather go to a different school than get herself in to debt) so it is unlikely that she will take the scholarship. We feel guilty about requesting an extension....

 

We are praying about it and I have a mental deadline of March 1 if we want to request that extension - in writing!

 

She also has a partial scholarship to St. Johns University (great school, dreadful commute) and we are waiting to hear from St. Francis College (ok school, good commute), that also has an honors program (which would move it from ok to pretty good!) with a full scholarship.

 

This has been so much more complicated that I thought it would be and she only applied to four schools! I am glad that my next child is only a sophomore as I will have next year *off* from all this college hoop-la!