I didn’t let my son work his freshman year. Being in mechanical engineering as well as the huge time commitment of Spartan marching band (which is very tough to get into) was a LOT. He quit the band after 2 years, it was just too much. He works in football recruiting now which is also a lot but they work with him on his hours when he has exams or projects due so it works out. And he will graduate in 4 years which is unusual for an engineer of this caliber program. His grades are “decent” but not fabulous. He is worried how that might look for either a job or grad school but he’s not thinking about how it will look to an employer that he graduated in 4 versus 5 years in a difficult engineering curriculum with a 20 hour a week commitment to marching band and then a job that was demanding as well. I think it shows grit and determination and working through tough schedules and working it out.
I will say, the downside to all of this is he hasn’t had any fun in college. I’m reminded of @bridgenail’s comments about lies we tell out kids…“college will be the most fun 4 years of your life”. Not the case for my S currently but he leaves for Europe for a very cool summer engineering study abroad program so I hope that changes soon!
We did not request this additional merit but with applicant decisions looming Miami-Frost offered my S18 $15,000 in music merit this morning. Ironic though because the two schools where he does not really need additional merit awards (because there are other scholarships that will overlap and not stack) keep giving him more non-stackable money, while the schools which could have held S18’s interest with additional merit have not responded despite heavy hints. But I have no cause to complain.
D got email today that they increased her merit award by $2,000 per year. So appeal helped put a little more money in our pockets, enough to cover travel back and forth to Boulder each year.
DS was offered another $4K renewable ($16K max) just by explaining his alternatives and saying how much he wanted choice #1 to work. Just being open and honest with his admissions counselor was the path to take.
@2KansasKids was that after he was already offered more on appeal? D heads out to visit school A tomorrow and hopefully after her 3 days visiting she will be able to choose. It is still more from a COA perspective than school B which is also an exceptional school so if A becomes the choice I am hoping to still squeeze a bit more out of them. I don’t know if anyone has ever gotten more after a successful appeal but cost of living and not having housing guaranteed after the first year in NYC is a real concern. Along with the meal plan that I have to think is entirely inadequate given the price tag of it. Hubby and I plan to meet with the admissions counselor there next week if D makes her choice with school A over school B.
@SpartanDrew - this was the first and only appeal to his admissions counselor for more MERIT aid. But it is in addition to previously awarded MERIT scholarships. We had asked the financial aid office about potential NEED aid (not now, but in 2 years when we have 2 in college and deplete 100% of non-retirement $). They did a ‘what-if’ on our FAFSA taking out all cash/liquid investments and said no chance without loss of salary.
WooHoo!!! Our appeal was successful! We attended Admitted Students Day today and the admissions coordinator informed us that they were awarding another $8000. That was what we were hoping for! I’m so happy this phase is coming to a happy ending, I could cry!!
@apoole - Is that $8000/yr or total? Great news! I can’t wait until DS decides next week and I can mentally move on. I think I’m more stressed then he is.
That’s fantastic @apoole ! I’m hoping to appeal our appeal and squeeze more money out of school A if D decides that’s the one next week. They came short of what we asked for so maybe they’ll toss a couple more K our way!
@2KansasKids it was $8000 total, but was just enough to make things more comfortable for us. Their initial offer was really good, but it takes a lot to eat away at a $70K/ yr COA. Every little bit helps!
I hope you get that extra bit too @SpartanDrew!! It will feel so good to have this phase behind you! Sending best wishes, can’t wait to hear
@2KansasKids I feel you on the stress! I’ll be so happy to have a final decision from D and to pay that deposit and make the announcement! It is the very first thing anyone asks her or us, has she decided where she’s going to college yet??? NO! Ack! If she chooses school A, I dread the emails from both of us to the prof at school B. She and I have both forged a relationship there and it will feel like a breakup. :-(( We are about to head to the airport where I’m putting her on a flight and she will be visiting tomorrow through Tuesday and then hopefully we will have our answer one way or another. She is flying solo which is great. She needs to navigate this process (and city) on her own.
We are all in the homestretch! 10 more days and we can start thinking about housing and dorm room decor!
We got an extra $2,000 per year too. It was from the Director of Financial Aid himself. Merit increases had been denied at the admissions office. Every little bit helps. There’s nothing wrong with asking.
Thanks to all on this forum for the information and advice! This has been nothing like my experience 3+ decades ago. DS has chosen the more expensive private school, but all of the merit aid (original + additional after appeal) brings it down to an in-state public school price. Good luck to all on final decisions!
I would like to add to the conversation that a large university that initially offered us nothing offered $20000 a year after an appeal. This is merit only, and we had to “wait to see if another student declined their admission & scholarship”. They told us it might be as late as May 1 to find out but the news came in the last week of April. It can happen!
In my experience with Amherst College, they don’t care about middle class students. Welcome if your parents can pay, get out if you can’t make them pay. It doesn’t matter how bright a student is or how well he would fit at Amherst. They only go by the numbers not life circumstances, no compassion for the students who have no control over money and no way to borrow this much money.
On other side, if numbers support your case, they are very generous even if student isn’t even interested in coming or has other free rides to schools he prefers.
I don’t hold it against them, they are pretty much accountants doing math and following institutional policies not making case by case decisions for individual student’s circumstances. Imho its a computational process but take it with a grain of salt as my kid’s case is just an anecdote my opinion has limited value and you may see a favorable outcome for your case.
That’s how pretty much every college does financial aid, @CupCakeMuffins . Amherst is hardly unique in basing financial aid on parental income and assets.
However OP is asking about MERIT aid which can be negotiable in some cases. Many top schools don’t offer merit aid, though.
Every college doesn’t have such a big endowment and most don’t claim debt free education. As teens have no control over finances of their parents, what other options do they have but taking debt?
I am still in a little shock and disappointment. We declined all of our schools. He was accepted to all that he applied which is a great achievement. However, I could see the look of HOW AM I GOING TO PAY FOR THIS scared the heck out of him. Even with our 60 percent parent contribution, it would be a huge stretch for both sides. We did not have a backup plan- his backup plan would be a gap year. So that is what we are doing. We knew conservatories were expensive but some are more flexible than others. Understanding which look at only FAFSA and which look at CSS was a learning curve. I still have a huge lump in my chest and get teary-eyed because I would love for him to go to the school he WANTED to go to. Even with a merit scholarship, it was still a scary risk. I am not sure I want to do it again. But he wants to try again next year. I found this article and it really hit home. https://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/03/middle-class-squeeze-is-an-elite-education-worth-170000-in-debt.html.
@musicdm My D did not attend any of the 8 or 9 schools she was accepted at either. I just want to say, it will be alright. My D is a college sophomore now and doing great! She opted to attend a local school (not take a gap year) and has never looked back. She applied and auditioned after May 1.
It was tough on our whole family to accept at first and I think she wondered about her decision and possibly was embarrassed when she had to tell people- everyone knew of the traveling and auditioning and the outcomes.
There is no doubt in my mind that this was the right thing for her, we just didn’t know it! Please don’t despair. It may be what is meant for him!
I found this article and it really hit home.