@ChangeTheGame: The tuition at Yale was approx. $4,000 (+/-)more. In addition, there was an expected student contribution of an additional $4,450.
@trippfolsom: D attended boarding school with a extremely demanding schedule & had so many essays to do for her applications that we put scholarships on the back burner. We could have invested more time in attempting to get more scholarships and D did apply for a few but one of the things that I discovered when DS was going to college was that all schools do not stack scholarships (that go directly to the school) and certain schools will lower their FA in the amount of the scholarship so in essence S did not benefit from one of his scholarships (very disappointing). The scholarships that go directly to the student worked out well (lesson learned). My other thought is that we did not want to be dependent on scholarships in future years in order to pay tuition but could definitely apply for extra cashâŠ
@ChangeTheGame my daughter looked at schools with strong international relations and economics programs. My daughterâs scholarship to American is 100% merit and does not require you to fill out the fasfa to qualify. We unfortunately do not qualify for financial aid so she spent a lot of time applying to school with merit options. I highly recommend all of you with class of 2021 or younger to apply for the Frederick Douglas Distinguish Scholars scholarship at American. They only offer 5 per year but I say you canât win if you do not apply. She also had some dream school options like Brown and Barnard which she was admitted to that were need based so she knew winning a significant amount of outside scholarship would be the only way she could make it work. What has been wonderful about the local scholarships she has won is they have allowed her to keep the money and she has a separate bank account set up to receive the money. Also some of the local ones are renewable every year for all of undergraduate and the national ones we are still in negotiating with to see if she can use the money for graduate school since she no longer needs it for undergraduate schooling. With her focus senior year on scholarship writing and dropping one AP course in her very rigorous course load was a huge return on her investment. She really did have choice when looking at all of her options and because she won so many scholarships and because of the outside scholarship, finances never were an obstacle in her decision making process. I hope that is helpful.
Ahh, I forgot all about that student contribution at Princeton. I saw that when we did the NPC for the school. Thanks for the explanation. Do you have a favorite school out of the remaining options and which school do you think she is going to choose?
It doesnât get much better than your daughter being in Washington DC for international relations. The full scholarship offer to American University is an unbelievable honor, especially going through such a competitive selection process. The fact that your daughter will pretty much be financially independent so young is just amazing.
@ChangeTheGame - She eliminated the one that I felt was the best one and I guess I had my own selfish reasons for it. The tuition was low, it was close to home which would cut down on expenses and I felt that it was a place where she would get a great education yet also have a life. Yet, I understand her point. It had everything but the off campus community that she was seeking. Also, she was awarded full tuition for all 4 years and room and board would amounted to not much less than a much more competitive schools about the same distance from home that have the vibrant communities that she seeks right outside. Her favorite would have been Barnard, which she was waitlisted and later decided to remove herself from the list due to other acceptances. Next in line is Brown however, the COA is above the budget that we set so they are reviewing the FA offer. My prediction is that she will choose (if not Brown), Princeton or NYU (Deans Scholarship/Presidential Scholars Program & travel abroad funded by NYU) but I wouldnât wager on it as teens can be unpredictable. We shall seeâŠ
@trippfolsom congratulations to your daughter on the FDDS and in making a decision. Mine applied for that too. Unfortunately she didnât get it. She got a smaller merit scholarship that makes American unaffordable so that is off the list.
Would you mind sharing the names of the outside scholarships she was successful in getting. I am trying to compile a list for my younger child. I found a lot of outside scholarships were need based and we didnât qualify. She did apply for some other scholarships but didnât hear back yet so I am guessing itâs a no. She did apply to a few sorority scholarships, still waiting and some local ones stated they are limiting to students affected by the coronovirus. She still has a few to apply to but itâs hard getting her motivated to write the essays.
It was really hard getting her to write outside scholarship essays when she has so much school work and essays for scholarships at each school. We definitely missed some deadlines for a few scholarships but I want to be better prepared with the younger one.
@Sarrip . I was glad to see your update. Your daughter has a lot of great options, I am glad to see she narrowed it down. We are still waiting to see if she gets more money at one school (canât say for privacy reasons). She has it narrowed down to three schools. We have a very high EFC and while she did get some generous merit scholarships we are going to end up paying a significant sum at any one of her top choices.
I just want to get the decision made so we can move on, buy the gear, celebrate and find a roommate.
[quote=âholychild;c-22718971â I just want to get the decision made so we can move on, buy the gear, celebrate and find a roommate.
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@ holychild - I agree. I went to some of the Collegeâs online store websites yesterday and they were closed. Though I understand, I was sad that I couldnât do a little retail therapy.
@holychild I will send you a message with the ones she won so far and more are still coming in. Most of them are local to our area. For all Black parents on this chain, I highly recommend your teenager partner with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). In our area in the NW they have scholarship services available to help high school students. They were extremely helpful for my daughter and helped us apply for scholarships through UNCF as well. Did you know UNCF manages several national scholarships including the Gates?
@Sarrip Great choices! Iâm a bit partial to Brown because DH and I met there while both in grad school. He was in the CS department and loved it.
That said, I think for undergrad CS, Princeton wins hands down. My S23 is already eyeing it for Computer Engineering. Of course, there are a lot of different aspects that go in to students choosing particular colleges. Iâm just thinking about the best choice for her major.
Of course, I also believe kids will bloom where planted. She really canât go wrong.
Happy Good Friday everyone. Wanted to share some final good news with everyone. DD was selected as a member of the 4th cohort of Howard Universityâs Karsh Stem Scholar Program. I believe @ChangeTheGame has mentioned this program as his DD is in Cohort 2. The Karsh STEM Scholars Programâs mission is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who earn a PhD or combined MD/PhD in a STEM discipline. Benefits include full tuition, room and board, book stipend, and a Summer Bridge program that ends with a two week trip to Germany. We are still in disbelief, but are extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Congratulations to you all and the next steps in your childrenâs future. We finally received an email that prom is canceled and graduation will be virtual with a possible traditional graduation in July.
I have really enjoyed visiting this thread, sharing and learning from you all. And prayers for all of you making a final push to make a college decision?
@MomOfThree80 - Fantastic!!! I am so excited for you guys!!! My daughterâs best friend committed to Howard this past week also. Iâm not knowledgable of any of the details though. Sheâs finding her own path as her father and brother are Princeton graduates. Many Blessings to your daughter. Please come back and update us on how itâs going. Our supportive village does not have to end.
@MomOfThree80 Congratulations!! That is an incredible accomplishment and a wonderful blessing!! So proud!! I so hope all of you continue to update us on how your childrenâs journey is going. I feel like Iâm part of this 2020 family and very much looking forward to continuing to cheer on all their success. Happy Good Friday all!!
@Sarrip Iâll still be hanging around to see the wonderful choices that everyone makes. Especially your baby. Have you started dorm shopping yet? Thatâs the fun part!!!
I would say unbelievable @MomOfThree80, but you know that I have always believed that your DD was going to make that happen. Congratulations to your DD and your family as I remember very well how that full ride scholarship offer changed and continues to bless my daughterâs life in so many ways, but what has surprised me most is how much freedom it has given my wife and I from a financial perspective. I am so excited for what comes next for you family.
My son has also been selected as a member of the 4th Cohort of the Karsh STEM Scholars, so I continue to be thankful and count my familyâs many blessings. My son still has to decide on Howard (pretty likely), and now would have to chose between the Presidential Scholarship and Karsh STEM Scholars full ride offers.
One thing that I am very thankful for is how the members of this thread have supported my family and each other during each of our kidâs college admissions journey. It has been a privilege to follow your kids and a blessing to receive such kindness and support from this group.
@MomOfThree80 - DD is pretty simple. Since she attended prep school as a boarder she told me that she still has sheets that she wants to use as she has not opened and wants to keep her same color scheme so she only wants a comforter. We did order some towels from Macyâs during a sale. I think dorm shopping is going to be pretty minimal for her. She is her motherâs child when it comes to saving a dollar plus her efforts to be sustainable in every area doesnât hurt.
When I think of the champions of this thread, I immediately think of @Sarrip and @EconPop. Those 2 stick out for me because they give off an âintellectual warmthâ and are willing to share their kids with us. But there are so many parent posters here that are willing to share their kids with us. This feels like a âsafe placeâ where we are sharing information and rooting for one another in a world that can be cutthroat and cruel. This thread is amazing!
Iâm honored but it looks like we are just going to have to agree that in this thread, everyone is a champion. I have been able to discuss, share, and get advice and wisdom with full confidence that you guys are genuinely happy for us and have our best interest at heart. I truly feel and wish that this virtual village could be replicated in the outside world as a model.