Caltech is not offering scholarship to Freshman any more?

Colleges & Universities A-Z California Institute of Technology
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<p>I think its right not to change the rules in the middle of an application year. But I’m not clear how getting rid of the Axeline changed any rule. Axeline’s were chosen by some formula within Caltech that was known only to Caltech, unlike Mudd’s merit scholarships given to anyone with SAT scores above a certain number. No one applied to Caltech knowing they were going to get an Axeline or for that matter even knowing how much financial aid they would get. Sure there are all kinds of financial aid estimators out there and one can estimate and hope for the best. But until the financial aid offer is received, one doesn’t know what any school is going to give. From reading threads across collegeconfidential it seems to me at any school financial aid offers vary from person to person from school to school. I know for our family, financial aid offers varied a lot from school to school and we were all thankful Caltech finaid offer made it affordable for us. And families all make different choices, from #Theorymom’s choice that her son will attend a school that makes financial sense to crazymom who seems (at least from her posts) to be angry over the financial aid offer that her family accepted from Caltech. But it was a choice. </p>

<p>And with that, I’m leaving cc. Tired of listening to crazymom’s rants.</p>

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<p>oaklandmom:“But I’m not clear how getting rid of the Axeline changed any rule. Axeline’s were chosen by some formula within Caltech that was known only to Caltech, unlike Mudd’s merit scholarships given to anyone with SAT scores above a certain number. No one applied to Caltech knowing they were going to get an Axeline”</p>

<p>This. The idea that whether or not Caltech offers the Axline would affect someone’s decision to apply is absurd. The Axline was given to the top of the top of Caltech applicants (applicants who are already stellar), so even if you think you might be in that category, it still wasn’t a sure thing by any means. Even when the Axline was still a possibility, people should have been applying to Caltech knowing that they were unlikely to get any merit aid.</p>

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<p>If your son is so good that he has a decent chance of getting an Axline, then Caltech’s Upper Class Merit scholarships should be a breeze for him to get. They are certainly easier to get than Axlines.</p>

<p>Actually, tell you what–if this means such a big deal to you, if your son pulls his application within the next week I will personally pay the application fee. I think you’re making way too big of a deal of this. I am completely serious, by the way.</p>

<p>Edit: I apologize for being frustrated, but you’ve ignored all of my points on the previous page to simply repeat yours, over, and over… some students won’t be able to afford the education, you say. You ignore the fact that the net change in students who will be able to afford the education is positive. This is simple math: if all students deserve equally, and x students can no longer afford Caltech, and y students who couldn’t afford Caltech now can, as long as y>x we’re making a good choice. Of course there are many other positive benefits to getting rid of Axline besides this oversimplified point, as I mentioned on the previous pages. </p>

<p>Let’s just call it how it is. You don’t care about whether this change is good for the Institute or not. You don’t really have a grasp of what it means to us, either. The reason you are upset by the change is because you thought your son had a reasonable chance of getting the scholarship, which would have made Caltech more affordable to your family. To be honest, your son most likely would have not gotten an Axline. And, if he would have, I assure you that if he continues that same level of work he’ll find it very easy to finance his education through upperclass merit awards. I know people who were waitlisted at this school but had no problem doing that, so if they can, I’m sure he can too.</p>

<p>I realize the hope of Axline was a convenient one for you and your son, but the administration should be making choices that benefit the school as much as possible–if that’s at the expense of the five students or so a year who accept axlines, that’s unfortunate, but acceptable. There is no way to satisfy everyone all of the time.</p>

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<p>Lizzardfire
I repeat my point because it is the only one I am making. And you have it wrong about how I feel (I am not upset) or what I care about when you call it like it is.
My point is a simple one so should not be hard to grasp. And no it is not a big deal to me.
So here it comes, one more time, with no passion or inference from me that it is morally wrong or right, but is simply a truth.
The school, while trying to benefit the most number of students, will lose out on a segment (not saying only MY kid, I have no idea if he would have qualified for an Axline or not, but I know there are others in our boat) of well-qualified students whose parents cannot qualify for need-based aid and who will choose not to send their kids there because in the real world (not the paper one of EFC calculators) they cannot afford it without some assistance.
SOME kids who are qualified will be left out. It is a simple truth. I know, as a student who is already there, this is not as much of a concern for you as for those who are affected by this. It is far easier for you to “like” having the potential for more money to come “your” way (NOT implying you particularly) than to worry about a few who may be just as qualified but will be left out.
It is what it is, life, timing, reality. I would suspect that if my son was already a student I too would be applauding the extra chances for upper level merit aid. But I would still acknowledge that, in that extra chance, others would be left out, whether it is right or it is wrong. I would not try to justify my own windfall.
You are reading too much emotion into what I am saying and you are getting far too frustrated about it. Peace lizzardfire. You don’t always have to win an argument to be right, and there can be more than one truth in a situation.
And if you want to pay our application fee, that would be grand, but let’s see if he gets accepted. If he does and we don’t pay for him to go, you can pay it then out of the extra merit aid you pick up. I am just yanking your chain now. Smile – I’m just kidding!
Really, this is NOT a big deal to me, but I do feel the school should have made the decision before applications were due, just to be fair. They have every right to decide how they are going to apportion their money, and one would assume they do not make their choices lightly, but I think they should have figured that move out earlier. (not the point of my initial response to this - it was an aside)
Were you on the committee recommending this change? Is this why you are so frustrated with my dissent? I would not worry about it. I am entitiled to my viewpoint, which is necessarily different from yours. It doesn’t mean I cannot see all sides. In fact I do. In most life-situations there is no clear answer, in fact, most times you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. This is just one of those. Not everyone wins. There will be some collateral damage with this policy. I have never argued that it is the WRONG policy, just pointed out that there are some situations in which the college and some potential students will miss out - in fact my initial post was just to show a different point of view from yours - - I don’t believe there is a right or wrong here.
So let’s drop it. I have never said you were wrong, I just never said you were right. ;-)</p>

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<p>a PS to the above</p>

<p>the reason I am fairly dispassionate about it is because I actually doubt my son will be accepted to Caltech, let alone have been offered any merit aid. But I can imagine others in the situation I point out. Things are just never as simple as the EFC calculators or FinAid offices might observe. I can also imagine that those families might be the ones who would be in a situation down the road to offer Caltech some money and a return on their investment. Again, another example of some collateral damage. I know if our son did matriculate there, we would be making regular financial contributions after his graduation, just as we do with our own alma maters and would have included it in our wills (just as we have done with our own alma maters)
I know this is NOT a concern in the selection process, nor should it ever be, over merit, however, it is these families that are the ones who will be potentially left out and it just might make a difference down the road.
Again this is simply a different point of view, a point of discussion, not a challenge to argue.</p>

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<p>See what I got for trying to acknowledge you had a point, #theorymom? Actually, I thought people were getting way too worked up about their disagreement before, and I tried to mediate a little by saying that I agree to some extent with both viewpoints, which I do, but that was clearly offensive. It is good that lizzardfire loves his school and he did write blogs for admissions, so he may be sensitive about the decision. He wants what is best for his school, which is good. And you want what is best for your child, which is also good. If he is admitted, I would encourage him to visit the school if there are any ways you can swing it financially. Rant complete and good luck with whatever decision your family makes.</p>

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<p>I think everyone needs to take their happy pills.</p>

<p>I think it is very sad when students cannot pay for college because of costs. I am estranged from my parents for very personal reasons.</p>

<p>But when I was thinking about colleges and where I wanted to go. I had a teacher in high school tell me that while I should think about cost, I should also think about what I was turning down and whether or not I could live with that. </p>

<p>And I realized- that no matter how much it cost me- and I’m going to take a small digression here (And it was going to cost me a lot- my parents make quite a bit of money) especially since my parents and I hated each other- and I was not emancipated, I was effectively screwed. (btw, I did not win any merit awards. Haha. Not even close!)- that I was going to go to Tech. </p>

<p>How could I not?</p>

<p>Tech is one of a kind. Seriously, one of a kind. I realized that if I chose not to go to Tech because of money issues that I would be letting myself down more than anyone else. Even if my parents weren’t going to pay for it. I was going to make it happen. Because more than anything else- I wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to do chemistry for the rest of my life. And I wanted to effectively, “kick ass” at it. I wanted to go to a place where I could talk to anyone about chemistry and they would listen and understand. I wanted to go to a place where I could learn from the best, one on one. I wanted to go to a place where I could make anything I wanted out of it. And I knew that I wasn’t going to turn Tech down. They offered me $600 of aid. :)</p>

<p>Sometimes, that’s just how life rolls. And you got to go with the punches and make the choices that you think are right. For me, I am infinitely glad that I chose to come here. (More so after I got the Upper Class Merit Scholarship). But I can say, that Caltech has changed my life in so many ways. It’s given me confidence, it has honed by curiosity for chemistry into a lifelong passion. And I can honestly say that I believe that one day I’ll make it in academia- and that it’ll all be worth it. That one day I’ll have my own lab and able to explore whatever problems I think are interesting!</p>

<p>Has it been easy? Not particularly. And it wasn’t an easy decision. I had other schools offering me full rides- and I chose to come. And that’s really what it comes down to. I don’t want to imply that this is the right choice for everyone. But I do want to get the message across that in my opinion, there are some things more important than money. And maybe you guys will all laugh at me when I graduate in debt, or when I have tons of bills to pay, etc. But honestly- having this opportunity to learn from the most brilliant minds in the nation. Sitting down with professors and talking with them for 1-2 hours every week about the state of the field of Chemistry, seeing their insights have inspired me in a way that no other place could’ve. </p>

<p>Best of luck to everyone. And I hope that with whatever choice you guys make- whether to come or not come, regardless of the cost, you never regret it. :)</p>

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<p>MJB
Good to hear how your choice was the wisest you could make and that it has all been worth it to you.
Caltech IS a fabulous place and anyone who gets in and decides to go SHOULD be proud and passionate about it. I totally respect that, both from you and from Lizzardfire. It is your loyalties that help make it the special place it is.
Again, I was not upset nor am I particularly worried about Caltech’s future. It is a premier college with world class offereings.
If my son gets in (big if) we’ll have a heartfelt discussion about it. Maybe he’ll be willing to take on a part of the debt if it is THE place for him. There will be much to discuss.
Thanks for your opinion.</p>

<p>crazymom - I appreciate the effort</p>

<p>kinda cool how much these guys love their school though</p>

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<p>You have no idea… :slight_smile:
Granted, Caltech might not like us, but that’s totally different</p>