We have a grade level counselor and a college counselor. I have been in contact with the college counselor.
2 Likes
One of my siblings is going into senior year of undergrad and will apply to med school along with me. The other sibling is also a rising senior just like me and is in the same process as me.
Let me ask this - to look at all scenarios.
Say the med school applicant doesnât get in. Iâm not hoping that but thatâs the reality. Does that free up money?
Letâs say the other student (your same grade sibling) - do they have a budget too? Is it $30K too? What if they went to Bama and spend $15K. Does that leave $15K more for you?
There are many scenarios that could happen in your family.
Does med school happen?
Does either you or your sibling spend to the budget and if not, can that budget go to the next kid?
3 Likes
My sibling was applying through questbridge so I think it was a bit different for them. Regardless to this, I will still ask them.
Questbridge is for very low income.
Do they have a different set of parents?
Otherwise, if one is applying through Questbridge (meaning income is likely $65K or lower and not a lot of assets), why wouldnât you be as well?
Thanks
2 Likes
Maybe their income has climbed a lot since that sibling applied?
OP can clarify.
2 Likes
Yes this is a possibility. It is 30k per sibling. I think med school sibling whats to do loans for everything. Same grade sibling has identical stats to me.
Same parents, we are just up now. Thank god.
2 Likes
I can see why your parents have a limited budget.
If you were QB even four years ago, I hope you are up âsignificantlyâ but being up for a year or two doesnât mean someoneâs asset base or day to day is now safe.
They may have hiccups and want to be conservative or it may be truly all they can afford.
But youâll ultimately know what the schools thinks.
But itâs unlikely, but not impossible, that in four years someone went from not being able to afford college at all and applying through QB to very financially stable and two more kids going into college.
This might bode well for your aid profile but unfortunately thereâs only one way to find out and that will be based on what the schoolâs determine.
1 Like
Good point. Thanks for catching that!
1 Like
@An_D what is your same age sibling doing? Are they applying to colleges with a lesser cost/guaranteed merit aidâŠor what?
And again I askâŠdid your soon to be college senior sibling ever complete any of the financial aid applications.
Are you talking about the sibling who will now be a college senior? Is that the one who applied via Questbridge? IIRC Questbridge applicants do need to complete the FAFSA.
@Mwfan1921 do you know what forms Questbridge applicants need to complete?
1 Like
I respectfully disagree with the recommendation that OP get off CC and hit the books. I think this 1st generation student of a busy HS GC can use all the help he can get. IMO the fact that he has an older sibling that went through this process is not relevant because that sibling went the no-brainer route ⊠full ride to the state flagship.
As an aside because itâs about OPâs sibling, wouldnât the favorable change in family income disqualify the sibling from Questbridge? If so, Iâd think it would be good for OP to share that information with his sibling and parents because that might change the situation for him (as well as saving his sibling from potentially wasting a year!). Anyone know the answer to whether there is an ongoing financial certification process for Questbridge?
OP, I hope this isnât too basic, but I think you should look at the following criteria to determine what schools to apply to, in order of priority:
1- what can you afford.
It seems to me that most (but not all) of the top tier schools only give need-based aid and not merit aid, but that there can be a pretty wide divergence between what each school determines a family âneedsâ. For instance, Brown might say your familyâs income is sufficient for your family to get no financial aid whereas Harvard might say itâs insufficient and give you a half-ride (just a random example, not an educated guess). Thatâs why people have been saying to run each collegeâs EFC, but those programs can be notoriously unreliable when dealing with family businesses. Thatâs why some folks have recommended getting a pre-read for those schools you are very serious about.
For merit aid, some schools like AL have automatic aid so youâll know in advance what youâll get. Whereas most schools you wonât know until you apply. Some schools are known to be more generous than others and this is where I think this group might be helpful. Also, you have to think about, why would this school want you so much that they are willing to give you merit money? Is it that they donât have any kids from AL and would love to have you, or that you have higher stats than their average and theyâd love to have your higher stats, or that their kids are a sea of white and theyâd love to have some diversity (Iâm thinking about some rural LACs). Are any of the schools that would desire you so much as to give you money be desirable to you?
You can google the name of a school and common data set, eg âCarnegie Mellon common data setâ and there will be a section of the common data set that will tell you about that schoolâs financial aid situation.
I think this is a particular area where CCers can be helpful about their knowledge of what schools have been generous in the past.
2- what schools have the kinds of programs youâd be interested in, and how are those programs. From what youâve said so far, it sounds like you are interested in several programs, CS/engineering/business, and that you would be best served by a college that would enable you to take classes in each and decide later what you want to major in after youâve had more exposure to these subjects. Please know that there can be some hurdles, depending on the school such as (a) some schools donât let you be a CS major unless you are accepted into the CS program when you are admitted to the university, (b)some other schools will let you take CS classes freshman year but after that you have to be accepted into the CS program, (c) some universities have CS or engineering in different undergraduate schools than business, and you might have difficulties taking classes in the other topic, also if you get into the engineering school and later decide you want to switch to the business school, some universities make you apply to the university all over again, (d) and some schools might have none of these issues. Note, though that CS & engineering programs typically allow for few electives so you should look at the requirements for each school, along with how many credits per semester you can take, and whether you can (or should) apply your AP credits to satisfy any core requirements. One last thought about this is some CS/engineering kids get business knowledge through clubs such as an entrepreneur club. You should look at what kinds of ECs each of the schools have.
Again, I think there are a lot of CCers that know individual programs that might fit you.
3- lifestyle issues. Such as geographic preference, rural vs urban, size of school, weather concerns, liberal vs conservative, etc. You havenât mentioned visiting any of the schools in person, although I assume you visited your sibling at AL and youâve driven through UAB. You should walk around Samford and maybe Birmingham Southern to see if size and urban/suburban makes any difference to you. If any of the lifestyle issues matter to you, let us know.
I hope this wasnât too basic. Some of your comments led me to believe that you might not have a framework for your search.
Also, I want to point out that you are in a really good spot with the ability to go to AL
for free tuition for 4 years. And I believe you will get some AP credit that will free you up to take some business classes. Even though you want to try another part of the country, you can do that over the summers or maybe a semester abroad. So, donât lose sight of these facts as you go through this crazy process. It will all be fine!
4 Likes
Are there 3 children in this family? Am I understanding correctly?
Older sibling is a senior in college and is applying to medical school.
Two siblings (the OP plus a brother or sister) are seniors in HS and are applying to college.
Did the college senior apply through Questbridge?
1 Like
Yes OPâs statements seem to match everything you said.
2 Likes
I donât believe there isâŠbut someone will correct me if Iâm wrong.
This isnât at all what I said. I said to take a pause from CC and educate themselves on the college process and his financial situation. Might only take a day or two to figure it out. And then come back. By his own admission, he doesnât know what FAFSA is or if he is first gen or not. Doesnât know what major heâd like to study(which is ok). Doesnât know how much his family can or is willing to pay for. Etc.
CC is great for a lot of people to get information and/or opinions. But right now, itâs just a lot of noise. Garbage in, garbage out.
2 Likes
A small correction about this pointâŠ
2 Likes
I believe that Questbridge Match scholars still have to apply for financial aid every year if they attend a school which requires a yearly FAFSA (and CSS profile if applicable). Thus the sibling might have experience filling out the FAFSA and might be able to help the OP. But if the older sibling attends an in-state college and ended up getting a merit award from there (despite using Questbridge to apply), maybe the annual renewal doesnât apply. From the QB website .
All students must reapply for financial aid every year, as changes to household income, assets, or other circumstances can affect financial aid packages. Even if you become a Match Scholarship Recipient, you must still renew your financial aid every year. Although the full four-year scholarship is guaranteed, the amount of financial aid that comes from different sources may differ each year. Having a good understanding of the types of aid listed below is important."
Thank you. I think the key take away isâŠthe scholarship is guaranteed, but applications still need to be completed.
I thought Questbridge was limited to mostly private colleges and universities? A quick review seems to indicate all private colleges except for UVA.
SoâŠwondering how Questbridge and the OPâs siblingâs state college intersected.
1 Like