<p>Gearmom, thank you for your encouraging comment. You are very thoughtful and I wish the best for your son!</p>
<p>Lvvcsf, I did consider Miami of Ohio for a bit because it is academically strong. However, the dance minor is brand-new this year, and I simply don’t know enough about it. The page for the dance minor was under construction until this semester, so I did not look at it for a while. Although I know there are a few dance groups on campus, I have found no information on the faculty, the student body, and any courses beyond the ones required for the minor. However, since I recently found out that I qualify for a large scholarship with my SAT superscore (which Alabama does not consider), I will talk to the arts department at Miami for more information.</p>
<p>It varies by campus. Berkeley effectively replaces loans and work earning expectations in the financial aid package with additional grant / scholarship (worth about $8,500 for the needier in-state students), or gives $2,500 for non-need students. It is not clear that it can also cover the out-of-state additional tuition, although some have reported that it does. Other campuses have different amounts of Regents’ scholarships.</p>
<p>“I did consider Miami of Ohio for a bit because it is academically strong. However, the dance minor is brand-new this year, and I simply don’t know enough about it. The page for the dance minor was under construction until this semester, so I did not look at it for a while. Although I know there are a few dance groups on campus, I have found no information on the faculty, the student body, and any courses beyond the ones required for the minor. However, since I recently found out that I qualify for a large scholarship with my SAT superscore (which Alabama does not consider), I will talk to the arts department at Miami for more information.”</p>
<p>That is interesting to know. I have a junior D that has danced since she was 4. Like you she wants to continue dancing, however, she is not interested in majoring in dance. She’ll probably consider the biological sciences perhaps with an emphasis in Physical Therapy or Genetic Counseling. Both will require post undergraduate work. She is interested in Miami, however, when we first looked at it they mentioned nothing of a dance program. Only recently did I see where they had a dance minor. You have explained that. I wonder if since it is a new program they’ll be looking for students to fill the program. If so it may help with additional scholarship money. Probably not. I’m just thinking out loud. Again good luck.</p>
<p>Regarding UC scholarships,UCSD is my DD’s top choice of the UCs (assuming she gets in). I just looked through all of their scholarships, and most have a need-based component that we won’t meet. She should be eligible for Regents ($2K/yr) or Chancellor’s ($5K), but I am not sure how many of those they award. In any case, our cost would still be far higher than with the Presidential Scholarship at UA. There are lots of pros and cons for each school, but at this point it looks likely that she’ll end up at Bama, assuming she likes when we visit in January. </p>
<p>@SFBayMama, I just learned how to do the "quote thingy! You precede what you want to quote with [word] and end it with [/word], where “word” is a placeholder for the word “quote”. (Had I used “quote” instead of a placeholder, it would have done the command, and not passed on the information to you).</p>
<p>@SFBayMama, I believe that UCI has (or at least had) big merit scholarships.</p>
<p>BTW, this is just my opinion, but if I plan to live and work in CA after graduation, I would prefer commuting to Cal over living on campus at 'Bama. Kids will get plenty of opportunity to live away from home later one. </p>
<p>Thanks @purpletitan. Other than the amazing reputation, she doesn’t really care for Cal that much. I think she would prefer UCLA over Cal, but she really liked UCSD the best. She had UCI on the list but took it off. I’ll take another look at their scholarships. She has applied to Davis also, and I just saw here on CC that someone with a 34 ACT got $8K for Regents from Davis - so that might be a possibility for her.</p>
<p>Oh, I am so sorry @BrownParent and also to the OP @indecisiveinfp7. I didn’t mean to step on anyone’s toes. I am new at posting here and clearly need to get up to speed on posting etiquette! Maybe I should go back to lurking for a while… ;-)</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan - sorry for taking so long to reply! It is just hard sometimes to know that I could have done just a little better or been able to afford a more expensive school, but instead I will probably end up going to IU, which is essentially the automatic or “easy” choice for many students at my school. I know people who have already been accepted to Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Bryn Mawr among others, and sometimes a state school that is not super selective seems like the lesser choice. Even so, I’ve decided not to apply anywhere else and stop stressing myself out over that!</p>
<p>Colleges update (least-most expensive)
IU: I received the highest automatic merit scholarship and am waiting to hear about the Selective Scholarship Application. I was also accepted into the honors college.</p>
<p>Ball State: Half-tuition & honors college. I am also signed up to audition for the Dance BFA program in February; I don’t have the best chance of pursuing dance at that level, but I need a day to learn more about their dance and education programs Slightly more expensive than IU right now, but I can apply for the full tuition scholarship by January 15. Not sure if it’s worth it… Help!</p>
<p>Ohio State: $15k. Not sure if I will get much else. My parents can pay for $15k more and I will work through school, but I don’t want to graduate in debt. Still need to visit.</p>
<p>Kentucky: I really want to hear back about an interview for the honors college and Singletary scholarship, but I don’t think I will be getting the call since it’s nearly January. If I don’t receive any other information, I will not be attending.</p>
<p>Anderson: $15k and a February interview for full (tuition? ride?). Again, not sure if I should visit again since I wasn’t a big fan of the limited size.</p>
<p>Loyola: Half tuition. If our EFC is too high, I will not be visiting or attending.</p>
<p>Should I fill out the Ball State scholarship and continue with the audition, even though I have a better deal from IU? Or should I just cancel?</p>
<p>I can’t really think of a better option than IU that is also affordable.</p>
<p>Fit may matter (in terms of whether to pursue the Ball St. scholarship or not), but I rather doubt that anyone would be more impressed by a degree from Ball St. than one from IU.</p>
Update on Ball State:
I filled out the scholarship application. It turns out that the scholarship is not for full tuition, it’s a full ride! Even if I got it though, and knowing quite a few people who went to and loved the university, I don’t feel excited about it or like it would be my top choice even then. I will be visiting IU, Ball State, and Anderson within the next month for sure. Not sure about the others.
Update: Kentucky rejected me from the Honors College. My mom still wants me to hold out for the Honors College. I will most likely be attending Ball State or IU.
I did not receive the Whitinger Scholarshop, but I was offered $22k more for a total of $40k at Ball State for four years. Even though the offered me more than IU at $32k for four years, I feel that I will have more opportunities at IU, especially because I am an exploratory student and want to take classes in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs among others. Prestige, rank, aesthetics, and dance considerations aside, making sure that my major will be available is a must. I have friends who I know will be happy at both schools, and I just hope I am making the right decision for me.
That being said, of you are looking into education (which I am still on the fence about for me), communications, and MT/dance, Ball State is a great school. A very talented friend of mine who was desperate to get out of the Midwest in college is now seriously considering Ball State’s MT program and excited about it. I know I will miss out on some wonderful opportunities I could have had as a dance minor there, especially since I was more exposed to it than IU’s program. I also know students who went there/are going there for music studies, math, and psychology… I know they will be fine
Why didn’t I think of that?</p>