Hi all. Wanted to update. Great news all around. Hope you all are hanging in there.
Tulane: accepted w/ $30,000 merit so COA is about $33,000 waiting to hear about scholarships but not holding breath b/c her gpa is 3.75 UW and this is a bit low, I understand.
Emory accepted w/ $20,000 merit so COA is about $35,000 - Wasn’t sure she’d get in and the merit was an unexpected, lovely surprise
Rhodes: accepted with 23,000 merit COA is about $25,000
UMD: accepted into scholars (not honors) COA @$20,000
Waiting to hear from Rice RD and Wash U RD - both reachy so not holding breath on acceptance or merit.
Our EFC is $40,000. So, merit isn’t taken off the $40,000, right? It’s taken off the sticker price, right? One can dream, right?
Thanks again for your help and support along the way.
It looks like you’re already under your EFC in all the cases so far so I wouldn’t expect anything more. Need is assessed after merit is taken off. Congrats on the nice acceptances.
If your dau gets the DHS it will replace the $30K merit with a full tuition waiver. But as Erinsdad says, the merit scholarships count as available “income” so won’t change the EFC, or your “need”. And congrats!!
That’s what I thought about scholarship and EFC stacking up. Moving on. There is a lot to love about each school. We’ve visited each and now she’s organizing with friends who attend each for a weekend to do a little more in-depth research. She’s also going to contact the Gender Studies dept to talk to students in that dept. Please don’t flame me on Gender Studies.
If the merit reduces net price to below your EFC (as calculated by the college; it has already “consumed” any unmet need and/or student contribution), then it is unlikely that she will get additional need-based aid.
Congratulations to your D and to you. You picked yours schools well. The Emory is a pleasant surprise, so maybe there’s something to interest WashU or Rice in her app, like her leadership in drama and dance. However, it seems unlikely that either school is going to come back at you with under 30K net. In-state, I wanted to make you aware of the scholarships made available by the Maryland Dept of Higher Education and distributed by your state legislators to students who attend MD colleges. Look in particular at the Legislative Scholarships.
Thanks @jkeil911! You’ve been such a great resource and source of positive thought and action throughout this. I’ll check it out. Yes, not expecting big money (or even acceptances) from Rice and WashU.
I’ll post final results and decisions when this is alllllllllll over.
Forgot to list that she’s waiting to hear from American Univ. RD. She had an alumni interview a few weeks ago and he really sold the advantages of being in DC - internships, political/activist groups for women and children, etc. The merit aid would have to be very good and I’m not sure what they generally offer.
Also to clarify, the 20,000 from Emory was a Liberal Arts scholarship so I’m thinking her ballet, acting, and being director of her art school’s theater co got her that, so I guess it was not merit based or strictly academic.
well, OP, the scholarship was based on the merits of her application, and schools are free to distribute merit on any number of criteria, including extracurriculars (I’m not speaking of athletic scholarships as merit, of course). Exciting times.
Hi all. I said I’d carry this through to the end so here’s the latest.
Recap: We didn’t want to pay 60,000 a yr and looked for a balance of good merit with great education in a warm(er) climate.
In summary:
Tulane: accepted EA with 30,000 merit aid/honors program
Emory: accepted w/ 20,000 merit
Rhodes: accepted w/ 20,000 merit
New info:
WashU: deferred
American U: accepted w/ 20,000 merit/honors program
UMD: accepted w/ 5,000 merit (In state) and scholars program
Waiting on:
Rice
DD and hubby are heading back to Tulane this weekend for Honor’s weekend and back to Emory in a few weeks. She wants one last look at both as I’m thinking they are her top schools at this point. Feeling good that she’ll be happy at any of the above schools and we can foot the bill (with merit aid) w/o taking loans, but definitely with some belt tightening.
Hope you all can hang in there in these last few stressful weeks.
Congratulations to your daughter, she has some great choices. Thank you so much for updating us. My son is a junior so this information is so very helpful.
yes, congratulations, OP, to you and your daughter and husband. Good job working your way thru the puzzle and coming up with such good options for her and you. I think that such results as you received from the process ring true to me based on my experience with D’s applications to most of these schools and the applications of other CCers.
Light snow here today and 80 this weekend in NOLA. Daughter is ecstatic, she doesn’t even like AC in summer, and hubby, who loves cold weather, is grumbling that the mold probably has mold in NOLA. LOL! Have fun this weekend, you two.
OP: I have almost chimed in several times to this thread over the last few months but chose against it, as I’m only a sporadic poster. Our Ds have similar numbers and interests, we are in a similar financial position, and our Ds applied to many of the same schools. WUSTL was one of D’s dream schools and she was recently accepted but at this point it appears that attending would require taking on extensive shared debt. Like your D, our D applied to Tulane and last month she was fortunate enough to be selected as a DHS award winner. Anyway, D and her mother will be flying down to NOLA tomorrow morning so I would imagine our Ds will cross paths this weekend during their Top Scholars Weekend. She visited NOLA and Tulane two years ago and loved it but she was only a sophomore at the time and obviously things are a lot “more real” now. Hopefully Tulane makes a good impression on our Ds and your H/my W. Good luck and we can compare notes after the weekend.
Hi @Ljtrose. Congrats on your DD’s accomplishments! By your DD’s acceptances and awards I think her stats and my DD’s stats are not quite the same…
Well, I have my fingers crossed that your family likes Tulane this weekend. Full ride vs. full pay…I know what I’d be pushing for.
I’ll check in later and post about their trip. We visited already as a family and that visit moved Tulane to the top of her list. She loved the relaxed vibe of the students, the city is funky, like her, and she loves hot climates. She’s going back to Emory and will make another trip to Rice if she gets in w/ some merit (which doesn’t seem likely).
Wanted to update. Great news all around. Hope you all are hanging in there.
There is a lot to love about each school. We’ve visited each and now she’s organizing with friends who attend each for a weekend to do a little more in-depth research. 
She’s also going to contact the Gender Studies dept to talk to students in that dept. Please don’t flame me on Gender Studies.