Liberal arts schools generally ARE looking for Asian kids for diversity"
“That’s great for OP then. My son’s best friend is Asian American so the info I’m getting is filtered through a nervous 17 year old.”
My son is Korean (adopted) and the small LACs fell all over him. I believe he got into his reach school because of it. It was also a need only FA school and they gave us much more then we expected. That being said his stats were considerably higher then OP’s D. His safeties were Alleghany and Juniata. Alleghany gave him $28k in merit aid and Juniata $22k iirc. They might be good schools for your D to look into.
I would have her apply to MCH or another school of that caliber which is test optional as her reach(es). You might get more FA then you think you will.
If she checked Asian on her SAT/ACT you might start receiving invitations to Diversity weekends a lot of the small LACs have.
I live in Ohio and drive to NYC regularly. 9 hours. NJ will be less. Therefore I’d say Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Allegheny and similar schools are drivable. And fit. And many do not require css or ncp info. Some are test optional.
Regarding the non custodial parent…it doesn’t matter if he filed taxes before as long as he does it this year, and every year she’s in school. If his income isn’t too high and he’s willing to do the paperwork it might work out ok.
OHMomof2, can I ask you to explain? If he files his 2015 taxes and fills out the FAFSA, wouldn’t he then be expected to pay more than he does now in child support? Can’t see that happening, since it’s the threat of an NJ bench warrant that makes any payments happen.
He wouldn’t be required to complete the FAFSA, which asks only for information about the custodial parent (and current spouse, if any). Many (though not all) of the schools which use Profile do require noncustodial parent financial information.
Mount Holyoke is test optional, so her ACT won’t matter. However, if she wants to qualify for merit aid, she should try to get her score up and submit it. I second the recommendation to read Colleges that Change Lives.
If he’s willing to file so he can do the non custodial form for her and send the college his tax forms, then that’s all that’s needed for the college. What happens legally with child support and the irs is a separate issue.
I am the single parent of a Chinese adoptee who is now a college sophomre. I don’t think it gave her an advantage in admissions. I thought her essay, which talked about her identity as adopted and Chinese-American, was really outstanding (but of course she’s my kid!) but her stats told the tale. She got need-based and merit aid at a private college (not a liberal-arts college and not small) where she added racial but not geographic diversity and where her stats (higher than your daughter’s) were in the top quarter of accepted students. It turned out to be an excellent choice for her.
Marist, Fairfield and Loyola MD, all give merit and accept kids with mid 20’s ACTs. Though not sure at what score the merit starts and if it would be enough for you. Mary Washington may be another.
Do’t count out the NJ state schools, beyond Rutgers and Montclair. TCNJ, Ramapo and Rowan, although they don’t get a lot of love from kids in the affluent suburbs, are good schools and TCNJ and Rowan are doing a lot of building to create more of a town center and are much less “suitcase schools” than they used to be. TCNJ may be tough for her to get into, especially in certain majors.
I thought in NJ that each parent was responsible for half the cost of Rutgers tuition? However, that may only be true if written into the divorce agreement.
Most community colleges in NJ are not great, but some kids do take that route. Some kids find the SUNY schools to be pretty reasonable.
Agree that for merit money, she may need to raise her ACT score. One of my kids had similar GPA, similar ECs, typical suburban white kid, but higher test scores and got some money.
Many times colleges compare Asians to asians. In other words, the expectations are much higher causing many asians to leave that info off of their applications. Their were many articles about this phenomenon back in 2012 and 2013. I asked several colleges directly if this were true and they confirmed that they do indeed compare Asians to Asians and not necessarily to the general applicant pool.
@Britsmum, if that happens, it is pretty much at the Ivies and a very small number of comparable colleges – and it is a constant topic of conversation revolving around that handful of selective colleges. Those are not the colleges the OP’s kid is looking at.
We are also in Nj about 25 mins from NYC. Take a closer look at be schools like Ramapo, Rowan, Stockton or TCNJ.
Others here are better able to advise on other schools that might work but I echo what others have said about stretching the distance a bit.
We too wanted our daughter to stay about 5 hours from our joke in NYC and while she liked a few school she was rejected from the two schools she did love. On a whim we said go ahead and expand your distance to include Chicago. Definitely helped and she found a school she loved and was accepted and we were given merit money which we would not have received at the schools who rejected her.
Additionally, while Juniata is a fine school it’s very small. My FIL taught there for decades. My husband grew up in the town. It’s a very small town (the local paper prints a whole page called the Daily News Opinion like where town members phone in comments, complaints etc. someone listens to each call, transcribes it and it’s printed). The school itself is smaller than my daughter’s northern be high school.
Not sure if that will matter to your daughter but wanted to mention it. Good luck!
I find it hard to believe they would make that admission. I also don’t think Haverford is flooded with Asian applicants – Tufts may get some attention as a safety/backup to Ivy candidates, though.
Mmm-hmm – and how exactly did you phrase the question? And what did they say in response? NO university admits to reducing the chances of a given group based on ethnic heritage. Not happening – not on the phone to a parent or student, in an email, or even privately to a GC.
By combining AP credits and community college courses taken the next 2 or 3 summers, you might be able to have daughter graduate in 3 years instead of 4…that can save thousands of dollars.
