<p>Thanks to all for your advice. Here's what we did this morning. D2 accepted admission (online) to PSU-University Park, and made the deposit for housing, etc. $300. She even signed up for one of the SLOs (special living options), PSU's equivalent of theme housing. She requested Discovery House, an SLO for freshman who applied for DUS - essentially the college department for kids who indicated "undecided" about a major on their apps. DUS "majors" don't all stay in Discovery House--it's elective and cost a bit more than a standard freshman dorm. It's on a first requested basis and is limited to less than a 100 first year students. I just hope she gets it.</p>
<p>We talked and she agreed to postpone a road trip to New England until we find out what's going to happen on April 1. I guess we'll just sit back and wait.</p>
<p>Consolation: What oldfort said is true. This is an alumni interview, someone who lives within a certain easily driveable distance, I would asssume. She already applied to Brown. She did not request an interview, so getting a phone call one evening was a surprise. I assume Brown does this with every student that submits an application? I don't really know. I have no idea how these fancy schools really operate.</p>
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<p>I assume Brown does this with every student that submits an application? I don't really know. I have no idea how these fancy schools really operate.<<</p>
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<p>Yes, this is how they operate. It doesn't necessarily mean that she has an inside track to an acceptance.</p>
<p>I still have not seen OP reply on the contradictory statements. I know all about FAFSA,and EFC calculator. The FAFSA is not designed to extract high family contribution if the parent's situation won't allow it. If it is then FAFSA is fraud and should not be used which clearly isn't the case. But OP has stated not afford other than state U while the EFC is not favorable (meaning high EFC$). Just wonder what the actual situation is. My point is OP maybe is oversterring D's choice toward first acceptance.</p>
<p>Your EFC will be split in two with two in college; most of the selective colleges will take up the slack with grants, but the public U may just give more loans. Some of the selective colleges may end up being cheaper - really. The issue of your wife needing to stay home with special needs child definitely could be brought up with financial aid office of selective college, if and when your DD gets accepted. They might be willing to sweeten the offer enough to make it equivalent to the public U fees, or who knows. Just make sure your DD knows that the decision will be made by evaluating the financial ramifications of any FA package. :)</p>
<p>This is OP's second daughter, I believe his D1 is also at a branch of PSU. He appears to be a well educated lawyer. It is surprising to me he is so clueless (sounds harsh, but couldn't find a better word) with FAFSA, EFC, or how much he could afford. I would expect first time parent unknowingly allow his kid to apply to those schools he couldn't afford, but second time around most of us become fairly savvy.</p>
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Consolation: What oldfort said is true. This is an alumni interview, someone who lives within a certain easily driveable distance, I would asssume. She already applied to Brown. She did not request an interview, so getting a phone call one evening was a surprise. I assume Brown does this with every student that submits an application? I don't really know. I have no idea how these fancy schools really operate.
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<p>Okay, <em>I</em> was totally confused. Sorry! I was under the impression that you had 2 Ds, and that D1 was the senior who had gotten into Penn State, and D2 was a junior or something who hadn't applied yet, but was bizarrely being offered an interview.</p>
<p>Now that I have this straight, yes, it is completely normal for Ivies and other schools of that type as well as elite LACs to offer alumni interviews to applicants, and yes they sometimes come to your house. And no, it doesn't meant that she is favored in any way.</p>
<p>But she should definitely do the interview. If the interviewer asks if she has been to the campus, she can simply say that she is looking forward to visiting in April if she is accepted. (My S is currently attending an Ivy that he did not visit until after he was accepted, and it is only a 3-hour drive away!)</p>
<p>Sounds like you've made a good decision re the trip. I also agree strongly with what anxiousmom says in post #45.</p>
<p>OP, if you have unusually high medical bills/expenses with your special needs child (or supporting elderly parents, etc.), be sure you document that on the PROFILE/FAFSA. The colleges may ask for more specifics -- I wrote a brief letter detailing the nature of my medical condition and current/ongoing expenses. Only one of S's schools asked for additional info beyond that.</p>
<p>In addition, contacting a FA person in April at D's top choice when you have all the FA offers in front of you may bring some results.</p>
<p>CountingDown - obviously you have figured out what it would take for both of your sons to go to their respective schools, even if it means sacrifices from everyone. Would you encourage your S2 to apply to those more expensive schools if you knew there was no way you could afford it?</p>
<p>oldfort: you CAN'T know how much it is going to cost to go to those schools until you have a financial aid package or merit scholarship in front of you! So the question above is moot. (Edit: I guess if your EFC even with two in school is well over the cost of attendance and there are no merit scholarships at all, and no local scholarships being applied for etc. maybe you could "know" that there is no way you could afford it - but then there would be still the option to meet with the FA office and ask for a reeval due to circumstances with the special needs kid... so... )</p>
<p>I am no FA guru, but you must be at least willing to pay your EFC at those schools without merit aid, then the FA package mix (grant, loan, work study) would make one more attractive than another, right? Now, Stanford is a lot more generous than Cornell, but you could get all that information on their website? I could be totally wrong, but you could have a pretty good idea how much you will need to pay with most of those need based aid schools.</p>
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I assume Brown does this with every student that submits an application? I don't really know. I have no idea how these fancy schools really operate.
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<p>Yes, unless there is a shortage of alumni interviewers in a particular geographic area, in which case some students will not receive an invitation (and this does not count against them in any way), every applicant gets an invitation to an alumni interview.</p>
<p>Alumni interviews don't count heavily in the admissions process, but they can provide a good opportunity to exchange information.</p>
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I could be totally wrong, but you could have a pretty good idea how much you will need to pay with most of those need based aid schools.
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Actually, this assumption is wrong. Our financial aid offers varied by over 10k/year. Like the OP, we let our child apply to any college with the understanding that final decisions would depend on cost. We also did not visit most schools until acceptances came in -- didn't want child to "fall in love." This made for a busy April and meant visiting east and west coasts, but it worked out.</p>
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I could be totally wrong, but you could have a pretty good idea how much you will need to pay with most of those need based aid schools.
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Maybe yes, maybe no! Sometimes even schools with NO merit-scholarships have some obscure scholarships that are offered by alumni associations or affiliated organizations (so not "officially" offered by the college).. and there is big gap between HYPS financial aid and almost any other university. You might end up paying $15,000 a year at H, while expected to pay full-fare at other selective schools. I'm not sure that I would have a pretty good idea of how much I would be expected to pay at most schools! Best advice is always to pick a financial safety, apply for all scholarships, talk dollars and sense/cents with darling prospective student, then cross fingers and wait to see what April brings! :)</p>
<p>I guess the best thing to do is to tell your kid you are willing to pay X, if it's over X then he couldn't go. I think that's better than not to say anything.</p>
<p>Oldfort -- yes, I'd have S2 apply, because you never know what will happen with FA. When DH was applying to colleges, the best FA package came from an Ivy -- it was cheaper to go there than to his in-state safety, Albany. Considering his father had been unemployed for a year at that point, DH knew that any EFC was on his shoulders, so the FA offers were paramount.</p>
<p>I applied to Duke and my flagship -- did not get enough $$ from Duke to attend. Didn't work out so well for me, and I was bitter for years. After being on CC, though, this happens more than I ever realized, so while I felt terribly alone at the time, there were likely others at my flagship who faced the same calculations and I should have made more of an effort to find them instead of having a pity party. </p>
<p>What I ultimately realized was that what really angered me was that my parents were never truthful about what they could/could not afford so that I could make intelligent decisions based on reality instead of pipe dreams. I have taken a different tack with my kids as a result. </p>
<p>So, while DH and I will tighten our belts and eat mac and cheese, the even higher priority is to be honest with our kids about what we can and cannot pay. If college decisions are ultimately determined by FA, they will know that in advance. They know that we will move heaven and earth for their education, and if we say there's a limit, they know it is real. They know we cannot fund a car, auto insurance, winter/spring break vacations, dorm TVs, designer clothes, summer rent away from home, and spending money. They have known this since 6th grade and have seen it in the financial decisions we make every day. They know it's going to be harder for us to do this because I was out of work for five years on medical leave and still am unable to work FT. We pray for the continued health of our 125k and 156k mileage cars every day so that they last another five years. Financial safeties that S2 likes will be on the list. Schools that he likes and where he has a decent shot at merit money are on the list.</p>
<p>Sorry if I sound preachy on this subject -- DH and I came from families with nothing and education and hard work was was got us out of that spiral. How we'd pay for college for our kids was one of the first things we discussed when we started dating. (!) I have four siblings who are being utterly rocked by the economy. One works in accounting for a major home appliance contractor, one runs a business, one is a welder for a railroad car manufacturer and one is married to someone who works for an auto parts manufacturer. Three of them have children in high school. I count our blessings every day that we can even <em>think</em> of a four-year college for our kids.</p>
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<p>The first thing you do on campus is to make an appointment with FA office. Let them know your situation and see if they give you additional 6 ~10K a year aid. >></p>
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<p>You can certainly try this. BUT remember that if you have special circumstances (high medical bills or the like), it is the SCHOOL's discretion as to considering these or not. </p>
<p>If you are looking for a $6,000 to $10,000 increase in need based aid, you will likely be out of luck. From what I understand, the schools the OP listed do not "negotiate" need based financial aid awards.</p>
<p>The OPs first child is at a PSU branch and it's working out fine. This daughter seems happy with putting the deposits in at PSU. </p>
<p>I agree with others...have a frank discussion about how much you ARE willing to pay for her schooling each year. At least it will be out in the open. To be honest, I feel these discussions should take place BEFORE applications are sent, but better late than never.</p>
<p>In the meantime, run your numbers through a finaid calculator using the institutional methodology. If you are going to have two students in college at the same time, make sure you enter THAT data correctly as well. This will give you a guestimate of the amount the schools will be expecting you to contribute.</p>
<p>^^^^and even then, you still may not know until the actual data come in.</p>
<p>I understand that we are in the minority in having been pleasantly surprised. Other awards we received were quite different, and lower.</p>
<p>My point here is that it is wise to inform the prospective student of all financial limitations, but it is also wise to then wait to see what materializes.</p>