<p>Daughter didn't know exactly where she wanted to go, a few coaches asked her to apply ED but they were schools she didn't really want to go to. She approached every coach at the schools she wanted to apply to and each of them said she was a good academic and athletic fit and they would be glad to have her on the team IF she got in on her own. So, she had to take her chances with regular decision, try to get in on her own academic merit and make her decision in May once she knows where she got in. Long shot I know, but she has never taken the easy road. </p>
<p>The wait until April 1st when regular decision letters arrive is just about to kill us. When out of the blue she gets a call this weekend from one of her favs offering assistance with admissions from the coach if she still wants to go there. I figure they didn't get a ED kid or two and are moving down their list. I think she still wants to see where else she gets in but that may be pushing her luck at this point.</p>
<p>She did apply to one safety school where she was offered athletic money and also just got a letter from them offering an academic total free ride this past week as well. She had just about convinced herself that college for free was the smart way to go, until this call came. </p>
<p>So proud that she is reaping the rewards for all of her hardwork but it is going to be very hard to decide between $50 grand+ per year vs nothing. OMG my stomach hurts now, lol. It is 2:00 am, no wonder I can't sleep.</p>
<p>Congrats, and best of luck with your upcoming decision. </p>
<p>I found a fantastic handbook on Financial Aid. It is titled:</p>
<p>“The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education you want for the price you can afford”.</p>
<p>I’m three quarters through it, and it is a quick and easy read. I really find the authors (Stock and Vedvik) perspective on the Higher Education industry interesting and refreshing. The authors hold no punches as former Directors of Admissions and Financial Aid. It is available on Kindle & paperback. The book provides a totally different viewpoint that we used with son #1, but based on their criteria we will come out of it in good shape. We will definitely follow some of their advice and tips with sons #2 and #3. We sat down with son #2 this weekend to talk about colleges, baseball and money.</p>
<p>The book may give you some ideas on the $50K school or the safety school. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Thanks Fenwaysouth. I just sent the first chapter to my Kindle. “My Life Without Toes” cracked me up. </p>
<p>Not sure if we will get a financial read at this point or what. Not comfortable taking the tip without knowing what it is going to cost. We wouldn’t have let her apply to these schools in the first place if we weren’t prepared to pay a lot of money. However facing the reality of going somewhere for “free” has now turned all of our heads. </p>
<p>That’s a great book that Fenway suggested. Very good perspective on the folly of graduating with a large amount of debt in the name of attending a prestigious school. </p>
<p>I’ll just throw a couple of things out there -at the school which is offering the academic free ride - what sort of GPA is required to maintain the award? S accepted a generous award contingent upon maintaining a 3.5 GPA. In an engineering curriculum, this proved to be more difficult than he thought. Maintaining the required academic standards while competing in a sport may also be challenging.</p>
<p>Also, consider that the cost of attendance at the school that offered the slot may not be written in stone. A respectful, well-crafted letter explaining your financial dilemma, directed to the right people in the FA office - could possibly yield a competitive FA offer.</p>
<p>Congrats - remember, these are good problems to have!</p>
<p>Varska: She will need to maintain a 3.25 GPA which she thinks sounds totally doable. Plus there is a 60 hour per semester service requirement. How athletes are supposed to do that on top of everything else is a question though.</p>
<p>After a death in the family last year we are now unexepctedly not asking can we afford college A but SHOULD we spend that much money on college A or save for Grad, Med, Vet school or whatever else she decides she wants to do. We won’t need loans but if paying out of pocket do not want to pay full frieght. Just finished reading the chapter in the book describing who does pay full price and who doesn’t. Interesting! Has more to do with how much they want you than anything else it seems.</p>
<p>^I would imagine the team organizes something to get those 60 hours done. I know at Swarthmore the soccer team does tons of service together, so I wouldn’t be surprised if other teams did the same.</p>
<p>Congrats! Lots of good news for your family. We are in a similar situation. Son made NMF so has nice scholarship packages from a couple of State Universities with solid Honors Colleges. He also just got a likely letter (not athletics related) from a very strong academic school. We are waiting to hear this week from a top LAC whether he will have a slot based on athletics. So many options and possibilities.</p>
<p>Fortunately, (?) son did an official visit to our State University and really liked the coach/staff/team and program. We had previously visited the Honors College at the school so knew of the academics. There he would have pretty much everything except meals covered. All AP’s would be credited and he would likely be able to begin work on masters degree during junior year. So, glad that it is an attractive option for him.</p>
<p>As parents we are struggling with him possibly ending up at State U as we always thought he would end up at one of the more “prestigous” colleges. But, ultimately its about what he wants and feels is the best fit. Not sure we could have made some of these other alternatives work from a $ standpoint. Now, he can use the money in the 529 for graduate school/Phd program without incurring a ton of debt. </p>
<p>I think so much of college is what you make of it wherever you are. A school can be as challenging as you are willing to make it for yourself. Ultimately, son wanted to be able to pursue a challenging academic path and continue to do his sport. Looks like Sate U. will fit the bill at th best price. I’m still surprised it has worked out that way.</p>
<p>What a nice problem to have. Only you can know fully the family’s financial situation and the differentiation between the various options. You have time to see what the college that just called will offer in FA. The points raised by the posters above are well worth considering. But also so is “fit.” Having a child in a college that she wishes to attend is worth a ton–again how much depends upon the family’s finances–it is a waste of a college experience to be somewhere just to save money, if that isn’t dispositive. If she is unhappy, she will not do well academically/athletically/psychologically/socially and will be looking to transfer. So it becomes a trade-off–and only you can know the trade-offs. But what a great problem to have.</p>
<p>Etondad: It is an uncomfortable position to be in as well. We would trade it all in to have Grandma back, it is so very bitter sweet. Grandma wanted to her to have the money. Trying to do what she would have wanted. She was a frugal lady, not sure she would have thought it was worth it. </p>
<p>But I have gotten off track from the point of my original post which is there is still hope after the first round of slots or tips are given out in the Fall!</p>
<p>Many programs, especially not the top ranked D1 programs, leave a slot or more open for the RD round. Students who may for whatever reason not have appeared on their radar screen previously (maybe the student had her heart set on Stanford but it didn’t come through–or not with the scholarship aid she was expecting) now are available and will “parachute” into a program. However, it may be that the program had a great recruiting season and every slot/tip is taken too…I would be very up front and ask those coaches-- they will be honest–or at least should be (if they use weasel words then be quite careful, and try your best to pin them down). </p>
<p>It is never easy to be sure of what someone would do-- frugality means not spending a lot, but it also means spending appropriately for good quality. Only you can know how your Grandmother would evaluate the situation you are now facing. My best wishes to you as you make this difficult decision.</p>
<p>My intent is not to be personal with this question, but how does one “have” enough to pay for school full freight, (Grandma’s inheritance or otherwise) yet still hope to be considered for financial aid?</p>
<p>Good for her, free tuition is tough to beat, or pass up. She should tell the coach who called that she is very interested, just don’t say “I will come there if I get in.” She needs to say that she really like the school but mention that it is very expensive. If it is private and if they want her you might be surprised with the package they come up with, so don’t write it off yet. Let the coach know you need to see numbers before she makes a decision. Don’t make the mistake of feeling bad about leading the coach on, they are used to it. She won’t be the first one who decides not to go there. It’s like buying a house, you get a mortgage contingency. Figure out a price you’re willing/able to pay and think of her going there as contigent on ability to pay.</p>
<p>Make sure the school is the best fit. The lure of being “wanted” is strong. Also, check out the team size and how many freshmen returned (check roster from 2010 and see how many of those fresh were sophs in 2011). If there are a lot that don’t return, or toooo many on the team it should prompt extra thought (if the sport is an important factor)</p>
<p>IMAFAN: Not looking for financial aid per se, the school does give merit money though so need to know about that. Will we be the bottom 20% of students who pay the catalog price or in the other 80% who get some kind of discount? That is the question of the day. Prior to this year, the college cost calcualtors at these types of schools showed we should expect to pay at least half. We were prepared with her 529 to do that. </p>
<p>It seems almost like buying a car, paying sticker price makes ya feel like a sucker, lol.</p>
<p>Congrats! Everyone should have such problems!</p>
<p>All excellent advice-people are going to fall on the different sides of cost versus prestige, but all great advice.</p>
<p>My two cents: If student is injured, and can’t play her sport, is it still a good fit school?</p>
<p>I go for prestige and academic rigor over cost-small classes, personal attention, and the alumni network are worth the cost of an SUV and eating a lot of lentil soup for a few years. Esp in this economy.</p>
<p>One of my friend’s Ds took the merit/honors path at one of the academic stars of the Great State of NY Colleges-top student in a top public school- now floundering and no one cares-foreign lab assistants, few office hours, over-worked advisor, got a D in chem partly because she was sick and missed too many classes, didn’t get good advise so didn’t drop the course, now has lost her merit scholarship. If she had been my H advisee at his private institution, he is reasonably certain more accessible teachers who do their own grading, an advisor who knows you, and a higher level of institutional accountability could have prevented this.</p>
<p>Sometimes you get what you pay for…Others will disagree, and while we get aid, with 2 kids at Midd, you can see what path we chose for our children. Cost-benefit analyses for the “average” student favor spending that extra money now is a good investment in terms of future earnings.</p>
<p>The path DD chose (with our approval) will lead us to paying very close to “sticker” while she plays and studies at her dream LAC instead of paying a fraction of that playing (and maybe studying a bit less) at a D1. And taymiss2, if it makes you feel any better, your car-buying analogy just nailed exactly how I’ve been feeling at times… although my wife assures me that I’ll get over it someday. (Reading OldbatesieDoc’s post is making me feel a little better, too).</p>
<p>After reading “The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education you want for the price you can afford” I’ve come to my own realization that some majors and schools are worthy of paying a higher price than others. The book lists some schools including the 8 Ivys and 5-6 schools with heavy engineering backgrounds of providing a very good return on investment and worthy of taking out large student loans. We don’t have a money tree in our back yard the last time I checked, and my wife and I are 20 years from retirement. Some tough decisions will be made with sons #2 and #3 but alot of it will depend on what career path they select, and how well that career pays. </p>
<p>Everybodys finanical threshold & timing is different. I’m looking at this puzzle alot different than I did 2-3 years ago when my oldest (Ivy engineering major) was being recruited. He is projected to be very employable when he graduates in 2014. But my attention has moved to his brothers from a financial discipline perspective and what career paths interest them. The money is not unlimited and we need to our college investment money where it can help the overall family the best.</p>
<p>I am a prof at a leading D1 university that has top athletic programs and is the state flagship school with the AAU research institution credential. This school offers full ride to students with top academic records. And I sent my D to an Ivy. Only if you knew what kind of financial struggles we are having and what we need to cut to get by. Many previous posters are correct. You get what you pay for. And what’s more important than your children’s education.</p>
<p>The book Fenway mentioned is great and makes some very valid points about the student taking on too much debt to attend a “reach” college that won’t necessarily translate into higher earning potential. That said, there are plenty of ‘prestigious’ school that are absolutely worth the cost.</p>
<p>But etondad makes an excellent point about the value of a student attending the school of their choice. College can be a difficult transition under the best of circumstances - if the kid feels like they’re someplace they don’t really want to be, they may want to transfer - or worse, drop out altogether. Now you’ve really made a bad investment.</p>
<p>^varska, I’ve always taken issue (mostly with my businessman father) with those studies that translate the earning potential of a college degree to its worth. Maybe it is the intellectual in me but a collegiate experience has many measures and financial is but one. The Greeks and classical scholars had learning as a the path to the life worth living, scholastics say study as a way toward virtue and many philosophers have seen it as a necessary prerequisite to being able to engage in the governance of the commonwealth. I like to think that learning, qua learning, is priceless…</p>
<p>^this is a great topic, etondad (apologies to the OP if we’ve taken your original post far afield). I understand the value of a broad based liberal arts curriculum, and respect the quest for knowledge without having to place a dollar amount on it (it bothers me when a relative asks my daughter her major and after she excitedly tells them about the fascinating research that’s being done in her field - they always follow up with, “so what are you gonna do with it?”)</p>
<p>But on the other hand - the cost of a college education is, well, considerable. If a student graduates with a large amount of debt and their major degree isn’t valued in the job market - they have set themselves up for many years of hardship and missed opportunities because of the sacrifices they’ll need to make to pay their loans.</p>
<p>On the bright side - if you look up the starting salaries for graduates of liberal arts colleges like Colgate, Bucknell, Amherst and Williams - you’ll see they do pretty well, so maybe it is possible to have your cake and eat it.</p>