<p>It depends on the school. At our house some schools sent the financial aid package with the bigf envelope. Others sent the package in a separate envelope.</p>
<p>* neither of them a place that causes oohs and aahs on CC - two came with merit aid awards far higher than I would have predicted. Obviously, YMMV.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Good! But, your D was willing to apply to some of the schools that don’t get the “oohs and ahs”. Too many kids won’t even fill out the apps. </p>
<p>I’m guessing that the mom that Kelsmom talked to is assuming that her little genius is going to get a full merit ride to Yale. :/</p>
<p>Also…it’s really hard for many parents to understand that their “honor roll kid” may not score that well on ACT/SAT tests. There is a lot of grade inflation going on…and there are many high GPA students with modest test scores out there.</p>
<p>"No, they aren’t just going to give you money for being smart.
and on and on and on… "</p>
<p>I don’t think this is an entirely true statement. State flagship schools give 50% of their scholarship money to non-need students. This does have something to do with enticing families that will be able to more - even with some aid - but also to entice students who can fulfill their admissions needs and maybe even raise their profile. Merit certainly plays the biggest part in this.</p>
<p>It depends on the they thtre12. The very top schools give no merit money and plenty of people misunderstand that.</p>
<p>*"No, they aren’t just going to give you money for being smart.</p>
<h1>and on and on and on… "</h1>
<p>I don’t think this is an entirely true statement. State flagship schools give 50% of their scholarship money to non-need students. *</p>
<p>First of all, many state flagships do NOT give that much in merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Secondly, there’s a big difference between getting a $10k scholarship and getting a free ride (which many of these families think their “smart” kid is going to get). There are very few “free rides” anymore from Flagships based on merit…especially without being a NMF. We often see posts from kids who aren’t NMFs, who have strong stats, and want a free ride from a known school…those can be very hard to find.</p>
<p>Thirdly, just being “smart” is not the criteria. There’s a whole bunch of “smart” kids who have high GPAs, but don’t have the test scores to get that merit. Many publics only give merit to those who are beyond just being “smart”. You can have a 4.0 GPA and a 28 ACT and get little or nothing.</p>
<p>moms2college is completely correct, there is a lot less merit aid out there than you think. CA is a fine example, NMSF or NMF get almost nothing in this state. I see come state universities giving $1000-$5000, Long Beach gives full tuition I think. But even attending a State university in CA full COA is between $20k-$24k. Pricey to many people. But definitely a bargain compared to ivy league and quite a few private schools. I noticed that Berkeley has very few merit aid opportunities even for in state children. But then again room and board in CA is absurd price wise.</p>
<p>In Maryland NMSF get to apply for free. Wooooohoooo.</p>
<p>My S had a 33 ACT and just under a 3.9 gpa. He got $7500 from a third-tier state school; nothing from the flagship. He transferred this year and got $1000 a year for two years (not a lot but more than 0). He got merit at some OOS and private schools … but $10,000 or $15,000 does not go a long way at a $40k school.</p>
<p>My D, on the other hand, got great need based aid that increased even as we earned more. Part of that was due to her grades and activities at the school, I am sure (she got endowed scholarships). It is very hard to get into this school, so she was lucky. It’s just not all that easy even for smart kids to get enough money for schools they want … but it is worth trying, for sure.</p>
<p>RE: FA info with acceptance envelope</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>My feeling is that a full ride to a school your child wants to attend is like winning the lottery. Rare.</p>
<p>… but from what I hear, it happens from time to time.</p>
<p>Unless your child plays sports (and is good at them), gets good grades, and has good SAT/ACT scores, and possibly does a lot of community service/outside school projects, full rides are very hard. </p>
<p>But of course, there are some kids that do all those things and excel at everything, so they have a higher chance at getting full rides.</p>
<p>Given that a current college student has been asked to write a blog about her experience, I consider this more of an editorial then a factual news article. Mostly, she seems to ramble on about how difficult it is to fill over various financial aid forms.</p>
<p>Applying to college should take into account your family’s financial situation sooner rather then later. Your list of ‘dream’ schools should also take that into acount since rarely will you have a family where money is no object. How much debt the student and the parents want to take on needs to be part of the equation. Money that needs to be paid back is different from receiving a scholarship that doesn’t.</p>
<p>My son applied to 10 schools, our state school, other public institutions in the south and some private schools. He has rec’d 9 acceptances, still waiting on #10. We wanted 3 to work with. What is interesting is that he has rec’d merit aid and most bring his tuition/room/board below our state (safety) school, which is one of the highest in the country. As they were trickling in, the pattern was evident. I wonder if this is the case, how this might impact other students whose in state tuition/room/board is much lower than ours. While Mass. has great schools, very expensive room/board (15K+) providing less options for us.</p>
<p>We knew going in the FAFSA would probably not yield us anything and my son will have skin in the game with the stafford loans, but it will be way less than what he expects to earn when he graduates.</p>
<p>This Bloomberg article by Janet Lorin provides yet another helpful reminder that college loans can dog parents until retirement … and may postpone that retirement for eons, too.</p>
<p>[Parents</a> Snared in $100 Billion College Debt Trap Risk Retirement - Bloomberg](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?) </p>
<p>The article talks about some of the “sacrifices” that parents make in order for a child to attend a private college … or any school that is viewed as the best “fit” but may be pricier than other options.</p>
<p>Sometimes I fantasize that parents (and their progeny) should make a different type of sacrifice: If today’s middle-class families refused to borrow large sums to pay for college, then many colleges will end up with a skewed student body consisting largely of the well-heeled who can pay their way without loans and the very disadvantaged, who qualify for full-freight need-based awards. (Some folks insist we’re already there but we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.)</p>
<p>So perhaps by the time the next generation of kids is ready for college, there will be, by necessity, a better system in place that doesn’t force families to choose between staggering loans and attending top-choice schools.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s easy to say, “Don’t buy the snazzy model if you can’t afford it,” when you’re talking about cars or kitchen countertops. But when a hard-working, successful senior is admitted to a dream school, it’s a lot tougher to say, “You’ll have to enroll in Local State College or Obscure Private University instead.” But, if more and more folks make that choice, two things will happen:</p>
<ol>
<li>The less-celebrated schools will gain ground by enrolling stronger students</li>
<li>The more renowned institutions will be forced to find affordable solutions to attract students from all backgrounds.</li>
</ol>
<p>An oversimplification? Probably. But I do worry about the massive debt that some students and parents take on, and I struggle for solutions to guard against it.</p>
<p>Very well said. I absolutely agree with you.</p>
<p>Thanks, kelsmom. I just hope that I can hold my ground and put my money where my mouth is when my own son is ready for college in three years. My husband and I are in an atypical position because we’re already old. So three decades of forced employment to pay off PLUS loans won’t work for us, unless we’re both able to run the bingo games at the assisted-living facility when we’re 95. ;)</p>
<p>^^Aren’t the PLUS loans discharged upon death? :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>One can only hope. ;)</p>
<p>Seriously, this is true. If the parent dies or even if the student for whom the loan was taken out should die (an awful thought) then the loan is discharged.</p>
<p>Can’t American parents say “NO”?
You have teach your children to make good decisions by leading by example -
You cannot encourage them to get both you and them into debt that cannot be discharged without winning the lottery.
Don’t get me wrong - education is the no 1 priority for me with respect to my kids and I was ambitious for them - but they always understood that there were limits to what we could pay and the loans we would allow them to take… and they have both thanked me.</p>
<p>The story of the woman who took out $400,000 in loans to send her 3 children to BC is very sad. Her husband is disabled by dementia, and they have had to sell their home to pay back those loans. BC could have offered some financial assistance to this family who paid to send 3(!) kids to their school. I have heard that BC gives terrible FA, but this really disgraceful.</p>