I am such a bad parent for not researching enough on how much it will cost at a higher ranked public university. My daughter is crushed after I told her I don’t think it is such a good idea to spend all that money on college. We can do jr. college first, then transfer. But she is so upset after working so hard to get a 4.8 GPA and 28 on her ACT. I am concerned it will take the wind out of her sail??? Help any advice?? It’s too late to apply anywhere else for merit scholarship. Can you get merit scholarship when transferring in as a sophomore or junior? Do we have any other options? I suggested going to the cheaper state university for two years and transferring into her dream college.
The best merit awards are usually for incoming freshmen, not transfer students.
What amount of merit aid did she need? A 28 ACT score would be on the low side for most of the generous merit awards out there. Her grades are terrific.
Does she have other acceptances on the table?
Is that “higher ranked” public university in state for you?
Or, is it out-of-state?
Can she take a year off, re-work her college list, and try again with the ACT? If she can get that score above 30, she might have better options for merit-aid.
If she wants to consider transferring, her best option could be to start at your local CC. If the university she wants is in-state, chances are the local CC has an articulation agreement that can guarantee admission for her at that university.
It would be worth checking what the articulation agreements are between your local CC and the colleges where she might transfer as a junior. or at a minimum what the path is at the CC to a potential transfer college…only then can you weigh the pros and cons of whether your affordable options are a better or neutral option to CC and transfer.
You might also consider a branch campus of a flagship university, particularly if they have automatic rights to transfer to the main campus after a certain period of time. I’ve heard people say that some branch campuses are much better than the main campus for intro classes - you have the same curriculum, but your class sizes are a fraction of the size. That may be less a let down.
There are some less selective private colleges that will give a merit scholarship for an ACT of 28. York College of PA. is a private college that is an hour north of Baltimore that is still accepting applications for most majors. They offer a $8,500 a year (for each of 4 years) merit scholarship for a ACT of 28, and their list price of tuition is only $18,000. That brings the cost down below most public flagship universities. They also offer small class sizes.
http://www.ycp.edu/admissions/cost-and-financial-aid/scholarships-and-grants/
Why not simply graduate from cheaper state university?
If the family can’t afford the college this year, what makes anyone think they will be able to afford it during the student’s last two years.
I hope there are affordable acceptances in the mix for this student.
To parents of you get students…the cost of attendance is clearly posted on every college website. In addition, there is a net price calculator on every college website to assist you. The NPC will not be accurate if the parents are self employed, own a business, have real estate other than their primary residence, or are divorced. But otherwise, the net price calculator can give you a decent estimate of your net costs for a school. An estimate.
I was hoping to let her go to a cheaper in state school for the first year and then transfer to her dream school. She just ran out of time for testing again on the ACT, in which we know she could have done better, she scored a 32 in English and 30 in Math, her scores were weak in Science and Reading both time. Her super score was a 29 and we just didn’t know until it was too late to work on that some for more merit money. Oh well, just wondering about the transfer, if it’s a good idea. She has a nice scholarship to Purdue, but of course it’s out-of-state tuition, and has been invited to several honors colleges. I am unsure what to do at this point and would like any advice. Thanks for responding! Haven’t accepted any offers yet, but we need to soon. Private schools have offered upward of $19,000 but it just brings it in line with the state public schools.
If she’d like to preserve the option of going to an out-of-state public by getting a better test score, taking a gap year and reapplying next fall might be an option. If she goes to a CC and THEN applies to transfer to an out-of-state college, she is unlikely to get any significant merit aid. The best aid (by far) is for first-time freshmen.
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Can you get merit scholarship when transferring in as a sophomore or junior?
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Not usually. No.
What is her major?
It’s not too late to get merit at some schools.
What is your home state?
Not necessarily true. I have a friend whose daughter transferred to Santa Clara as a junior and got great merit money. She had a stellar CC record and wonderful recommendations.
Around what range of schools is she looking at?
I know for sure schools are still accepting and handing out merit awards.
I don’t get the arithmetic. How much are the parents willing and able to pay per year? Have they saved money for this purpose or does it come out of current income only? How large is the “missing” money needed to pay the costs of the preferred college? Is it impossible to qualify for any loans at this time?
I found that to be true when going through the process with all 3 of mine. It felt like every single college in the NE and Midwest knew exactly what it would cost us to send a kid to UofM or MSU which are similarly priced and privates priced accordingly. (No finaid possible, looking for merit) I don’t know where you are, but we had more "luck’ with tuition discounting for merit the farther west we looked.
@cardinal fang There are some exceptions but since they are so rare, it’s not something anyone should count on.
One had to check each school, but many have ‘transfer merit’ available listed on the web. I friend just said today her daughter is transferring next year and got $10,000 merit. It may not be enough, or it may be just as much as the student would have received as a freshmen.
I disagree the ‘normally’ transfers don’t get money. Some do, some don’t.
If you have the money at all, you could try to swing it financially, it is only for 4 years.
Did your daughter not know how much the colleges cost before she applied to them?
$19k per year for merit money is a large merit award. There is a section on cc that describes the colleges that might offer full tuition awards but she would need to take a gap yr and increase act scores. (Still need to pay for room and board which can run $20k per yr). Did u apply for fin aid?