Hello…New to the group here…My daughter has applied for 10th grade to a couple of school :
Andover (BS),
Nobles,
Milton (BS),
Deerfield (BS)
Middlesex (BS)
Groton (BS)
Concord Acad (BS),
St Marks,
NMH (BS)
Brooks School (BS),
Walnut Hill
Dana Hall…
Her SSAT is 91% overall. She got all As and a C in Geometry (she doubled up on Math taking Honors Geometry AND Honors Algebra.)…She was involved in student leadership and got awards for speech…She’s involved in a young entrepreneurs’ group…She completed middle school at Worcester Academy and made Headmaster’s List… My question is
Which of these schools does she have a chance at financial aid?
At which of these schools, would we be hurting her chances of acceptance if we were to apply for financial aid. And hence we should not apply for aid at all…
Thanks!
@panpacific …ugh…so she could actually NOT get accepted if we apply for financial aid to those schools (except for PA)? don’t think she stands a chance at PA anyway…she’s not a child prodigy…
I was under the impression that a school offers aid if they really really want the student and if they are just lukewarm they offer admission without aid…I didn’t think they would outright reject an application…Last year she applied to just Nobles (for 9th grade) and we also applied for financial aid. We got a rejection letter, but her SSAT was only 69% so I really doubt her rejection had anything to do with financial aid…
It varies by schools and by individuals. Schools may waitlist a student they cannot fund, or offer admission with a WL spot for FA, or accept with no FA or partial aid leaving a “gap”… If she’s highly qualified, chances are she may at least get a WL spot, leaving you a chance to clarify or negotiate. But, what can you do with this info? If you need FA, you need FA.
If they are just lukewarm, they don’t admit, FA or no FA. These schools are very competitive and have no shortage of applicants they are very excited about.
As @panpacific stated, “If you need FA, you need FA.” The student bodies at most of the schools talked about on this forum are, roughly, 70% FP/30% FA, so it’s tougher to be accepted with FA than without. It’s just a smaller pool.
If you need FA, don’t be swayed by “need blind” or the size of a school’s endowment. A huge endowment is meaningless if your student is not one the school is looking for that admission round. There are many stories here of smaller schools with smaller endowments that offered more FA than larger schools with larger endowments because the student was more attractive to the smaller school.
She plays soccer and lax…she was on the high school JV team in her 8th grade year…She got a reco from the soccer coach. She’s been involved in drama / musicals for the past 7 years…always getting the role of the villain She’s good at it and loves it…Her loves in order are math and science ; soccer/lax and drama (a close third)…
She sounds like a very well-rounded applicant to me. The question is do you believe her athletic abilities give her a hook – would she be invited to join varsity in her first year? My DD’s sport is timed so its easy to compare talent. Soccer and Lax not so easy. Did she play club soccer or Lax as that’s usually an indication of commitment to a sport?
Thanks @MAandMEmom! She did play club soccer…Yeah I think she would make varsity…or at least JV…My concern is would it hurt her chances at acceptance if we asked for aid, but then on the other hand, getting accepted is pointless if we can’t afford to pay…
Keep in mind that although most schools have a 70/30 ratio for full pay to FA students, most of the aid goes to students who are likely to add diversity to the school. Mostly to URMs and internationals with financial need. Domestic students with financial need need to bring something else to the table to get significant aid – like being a star athlete, etc.
Just apply to schools that would be good for your daughter, apply for financial aid, and hope for the best. You can’t not apply for FA if you actually need it. If you can afford the schools without FA (even if that means major changes in your lifestyle), it’s a different story. No reason to apply for it as 1) you won’t get it, and 2) you will hurt your daughter’s admission chances.
If you need FA, apply for it. Don’t spoil the overall, if you can’t afford it.
9th grade can be the largest pool of applicants at many, when families want the full 4 year experience. 10th, of course, has many seats already filled. That’s the nature of the beast.
If they really want a student (and it can be more than urm or intl,) asking for aid won’t change that. But that’s the “big if.” IF they really see how she adds.
Re post #12: Most schools do not offer FA to international students. The ones that do offer it to a rare few of the exceptional only. In terms of the diversity schools are seeking, don’t forget georgraphic diversity for boarding schools in particular. That means if you can, apply to schools that are far away from home and therefore your state/region is likely underrepresented.
@sgopal2 what school is it? The usual suspects of top schools don’t offer much FA to international students. You can read the policy on their websites. For example, Exeter says they usually do not offer aid to international students other than students from Cananda. (Unless they have changed that recently)
The school DS attended offers FA to international students. It is more limited than what is available to U.S. citizens, need-based, and grants cannot exceed half the cost of admission.
Someone at one school told me that international students can encounter a lot of problems getting back into their home systems and/or getting FA at the college level (don’t recall which) if they are too heavily subsidized at the HS level, but I don’t know the details. In other words, I think there is something baked into the system that can render a heavily aided student without options at graduation. I suspect exceptions are made when it’s clear that the student will have no options at home because of the culture, war, etc…
There are international students who receive financial aid for sure, but it’s far less common than domestic students. A rare few contributing to the geographic diversity of schools that really care about that may receive aid. Some students on certain exchange programs (usually a one year program) do too. In general, the international students in elite schools on average are ( much ) more wealthier than their domestic counterparts.
She’s good at it and loves it…Her loves in order are math and science ; soccer/lax and drama (a close third)…