@GraniteMom You need to meet with her specific department. Most (All?) NE kids feel exactly the same way and say the same thing. They could not possibly go to their state flagship. But they do because most kids in the US go to their instate options because that is what most people can afford. And they end up being just fine and happy. Maine won’t be better that UNH. Farmington will be smaller. Canada is probably your only maybe, maybe affordable option with you stretched to the max. @DadTwoGirls is an expert. Probably all other NE options are at least 25k. The stats are not high enough for great merit and admissions may be tricky. Other options far away need to include travel expenses in your budget. Christmas and maybe Thanksgiving for plane tickets.
Look at the National Student Exchange https://nse.org/exchange/find-campus/ Most of the New Hampshire schools are listed. She could be at a different school for a year. And inexpensive way to jazz up her education.
The guidance counselor should really back off. Many kids are applying to three and under schools because very little is affordable.
Can you spend an hour or so with your D on the UNH website looking at some of the study abroad options?
If they are affordable, that might a way to mitigate some of her concerns. And for a foreign language major- absolutely fantastic way to meet some of her educational goals.
So she does Freshman and Sophomore year at UNH, junior year abroad, senior year back at UNH and then she can go anywhere in the world! She can start applying for fellowships the summer between junior and senior year- some great opportunities overseas.
If you think that she’s starting to feel backed into a corner about her choices (or the lack of an array of choices) how about suggesting a gap year- find an inexpensive program through a religious organization, volunteer with one of the “teach English” programs, and go overseas for the year? Or a volunteer program in the US?
Too bad Keene is maybe off the list - Son #2 and I stopped there for a (night and) break between the Maine colleges and Dartmouth and UVM trip. We decided it was an interesting town and campus and so did a tour before heading off. Didn’t make the cut for a safety for S2, but both S2 and I liked the facilities, campus and the students and people we encountered. Keene probably suffers from that backyard syndrome and the abundance of the private institutions in the region. For the B student it is a good match and there might be a scholarship for a higher 3.5 and up type unweighted GPA which is why we stayed and toured. It’s not metro, but the town seemed quite vibrant on that Fall day we were there and the campus kids were actually moving around on an early Saturday morning when we got breakfast in the caf before the tour which was a change. If the OPs D thought it was too small, too rural then that pretty much characterizes most of Vermont. I didn’t think Burlington was that much more urban than Keene…more kids maybe. I’ve always been a tad “high” on Keene after the tour.
@momofthreeboys DD is definitely going to apply to Keene. We are from a very small, even more rural part of the state, so Keene looks urban by comparison! The issue is that we (and especially her guidance counselor) would like her to apply to more than one school, but she really didn’t like the other 2 in-state options, so we’re seeing what else might be possible. DD thought Keene was a fun town and liked that the students actually went there instead of the campus being totally separate.
@GraniteMom They need to work summers and try to save 2K per summer starting with this summer. Your 10 k, dies that include Stafford loans? With 10 k from parents, 2.5 k summer and Stafford ($5500 Freshman, $6500 Sophomore, $7500 Junior and Senior years, Your more comfortable budget is getting closer to 20 k. There are scholarship possibilities for study abroad.
@gearmom No, the $10K is what we can contribute from our savings for each child annually, so it does not include Stafford or the kids’ individual savings, or their income from 2 seasonal jobs (winter is actually the more profitable season here because we’re in a ski area, but they are able to work more hours in the summer). The grandparents have 8K saved per child but prefer to use that money spread out as opposed to lump sum, so we’re looking at it as an extra 2K per year assuming the twins attend bachelor’s granting institutions.
The gap year suggestion is worth pursuing. With her language skills, she can check out NSLI-Y or Critical Language Scholarship program (the former, for high school age, the latter is for college age). Fully paid programs. Great experience.
Did you even look into private colleges ? If as you say you can afford little, why not see if you can get financial aid ? While SUNY is a great deal for OOS, still over $30k/year and I doubt much aid, but privates can do what they want for the right kid. Just have to find a place that really wants them, does not have to be an Ivy.
The gap yr recommendation is not quite so clear cut. NSLIY is restricted by age. Students must not be over 18 by the start date. For summer that means the eligibility range is Birthdate: July 10, 1999 - June 10, 2003 and for full yr Birthdate: September 20, 1999 - June 30, 2003. It all depends on where the birthdays fall. If eligible, it would be a great opportunity
The critical language scholarships are restricted to UG students: “Be enrolled in an accredited U.S. degree-granting program at the undergraduate (associate’s, bachelor’s) or graduate (master’s, doctoral, professional degree) level at the time of your application.
Your program must result in a degree. Applicants who are taking stand-alone or continuing education classes are not eligible.”
@blevine We’re in that process now. The main issue is that the twins don’t want to be extremely far apart, and DS is very likely to attend Plymouth. His stats are lower, he needs a smaller school environment and he wants to be fairly close to home. We really like Plymouth for him. DD is a little bit more flexible and has some traits that might get her some money. We expect her stats to improve next year, but probably not enough so that she is very competitive for merit in New England/NYS. When we ran NPC for local privates like Colby-Sawyer it looked pretty bleak. Like many families there is a gap between what we can actually afford and what we might be expected to pay.
@GraniteMom So what is your actual budget. 10k parents, 2 k Grandparents, $5500 Stafford, 2. 5 k kids work and savings? You’re at 20 k the first year and 22k the last years. Going to a CC for two years and then transferring, especially for DS, might be best and could open up the possibility of a fifth year if he needs to slow down the pace. Many kids end up with more than 4 years.
Also have her try the SAT to see if she scores higher than the ACT.
You said your daughter is an athlete. Look into athletic scholarships. It might only be a little extra money, but every little bit helps. My daughter has 9 (yes NINE) types of funding, and that doesn’t include the small scholarship she got her first year. We take them no matter how small and stack them up. Sometimes the athletic scholarships are just for books, but that can help a lot.
I agree to check out the private schools, but with such a specific major the offerings at smaller schools might not match. Of course that’s one of the compromises that might be necessary, perhaps a poli sci major instead of international relations.
@GraniteMom What is her unweighted GPA? Her weighted is a 3.0 you said. I don’t understand what is wrong with UNH. I really don’t. Except backyard syndrome. It has her major. It has Arabic. Can you visit with her alone without input from the brother. Really explore her department, IR and Arabic. Sit in on classes. Go to Portsmouth after and have a nice dinner. UNH is a high ranking flagship. It’s the school that wealthy parents send their kids to if they can’t afford the privates in NE. I don’t understand passing it over. It’s ranked around #100 out of the thousands of universities in America. I don’t think she is going to get into a better college with her stats. What is wrong with it exactly?
If I were in your shoes I’d insist that DD apply to UNH, just to have that option if she changes her mind – not to force her to attend if she doesn’t. But a lot can change over time – and if she does change her mind, then she will be glad you made her apply. Just make it clear that you will definitely let her attend wherever she decides --you just want her to keep that option open for now.
It’s almost impossible to get around this, but kids change a lot between ages 16 and 18. They have to pick as school when they are 16 or 17, but by the time they get to school they are 18 or almost 19 and ‘big’ doesn’t seem so big, and small can get really small fast. The visits to campus can be overwhelming. Cut it into pieces.
Once she starts courses in her major, her circle of students will be smaller. Even at small LAC schools, some of the general education courses are larger in number.
UNH is a great school…it has everything your DD wants except its size? I agree…visit again, but set up something with the department she is interested in studying.