Hello,
After researching and visiting many schools Vanderbilt is my daughter’s first choice. I believe that if she applies ED1 (or 2) she has the grades 4.8 (4.0 unweighted), the test scores ACT 33 and the extracurriculars needed to get accepted. However, I am worried about the financial commitment if we don’t get enough finacial aid. We make too much to qualify for a lot of aid and too little to afford the $65,000+ a year price tag. Likewise, I am worried that if she applies regular decision she won’t get in since the chances go from 20% to about 9%. She is applying for all three merit scholarships, but I know they are also highly competitive. Any advice? I want what is best for my daughter and I agree with her that Vandy is the best fit, but I am worried about finances.
My advice is to have a discussion with your daughter and tell her you can pay “x” each year for college. Then shape the list around that. Run the NPCs at the schools where she is interested to see if they are in the ballpark. Make sure she knows that an acceptance doesn’t mean she can go if the school is not affordable.
With regard to Vandy, have you run the NPC? If so, and it’s not affordable then I don’t think I’d have her apply ED unless she would know if she got a scholarship prior to the time that she needs to accept the ED admission.
Definitely take care with your ED one and two options. You have to be able to commit. You have to include your daughter in financial planning. We didn’t. We gave our first born child “a Pony” rather than putting parameters on his applications. I know it is hard, but I personally have some regrets about paying full price for Duke with the timing ended spectacularly in the shock of the recession, thus pinching all grads that year on entry job searches. (My son’s first job offer was rescinded in 2009’s reeling economy.) Do the math on your assets. Is your home really gaining in value? Are you ready to be fair to all siblings? Is your son or daughter entering a profession where jobs are plentiful? Do the math on graduate schools. We were blind/naive on this score, not realizing that certain professional schools in our state flagships are ginormous-ly expensive even with residency in-state. My son ended up doing his grad school (MBA) at night while working full time. He has no regrets --but would have preferred doing grad school full-time–the expensive way. Scholarships for graduate schools are sketchy and tuition reductions are not to be counted on. Use the calculators. Do your CSS Profile early. Each institution uses these figures in unique ways. Kudos for your student doing the merit applications. She should do this everywhere. I know it sometimes feels like you are punished for “being good” but Vandy’s financial aid is world class and a great blessing to the community as a whole. wishing you the best
“However, I am worried about the financial commitment if we don’t get enough financial aid.”
There is no financial commitment if you don’t get enough aid. You say “Thanks but no thanks” and apply elsewhere. It’s in the ED agreement.
OP, did you ask the question also on a Vandy parents FB? You don’t need to answer the question. Lol. I have found that EFC or NPC for colleges is amazingly accurate and you can gauge where you are financially. The last thing you want to do is for your D to get in, and you can’t afford to let her attend.
Also apply for safe schools. D’s good friend who has 1600 and 36 got rejected from Vandy. The girl has numerous National writing awards, etc. Nobody is a lock-in at Vandy any more!
Best of luck!
My daughter’s school’s valedictorian was wait listed last cycle with 1600/36. The year before the val got in but with no merit $. Personally I would not waste the ED on a school you know you can’t afford.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. If she got a half tuition scholarship then I think we could afford it, but according to the financial aid calculators we will get very little aid. I wish that her chances of being accepted regular decision were the same as ED or that ED didn’t lock us in to paying if she isn’t awarded enough.
I know that Duke gives even less aid. We went to a presentation from there and when they said that they didn’t have merit scholarships we decided not to apply. I guess like all parents I want what is best for my daughter. I don’t want her to be limited because we make both too much and too little. I have saved what I feel is a fair amount for her college, but it will only get her through almost 2 years at Vandy (not even). 
Thanks everyone for your helpful advice. I will check out the Vanderbilt parent Facebook page. I didn’t even know it existed!
“or that ED didn’t lock us in to paying if she isn’t awarded enough.”
It doesn’t. From the ED agreement: “Should a student who applies for financial aid not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, the student may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment.”
My second son, the one we were not going to be fair to --because of overspending on Duke son, miraculously received a Vandy Chancellor’s merit scholarship. His applications were mailed in October/November/December of 2008 (hello recession!) and yes, we reluctantly gave him different parameters that son number one. Flagship college or merit offer. No full price privates. (Vandy son had an expensive graduate school plan already somewhat firmly chosen, so we were later able to help him with room and board in graduate school). He was fully prepared and attached to his state flagships, and received a couple of merit offers in April. The point is-- he applied to all of his merit options diligently. At the same time, he spent energy visiting and attaching to his state colleges and he envisioned himself there.
Now that this is a decade behind us, I have to tell you that I think he would have been quite happy at Wm and Mary or UVA, but Vanderbilt and Nashville were wonderful teachers to him. If it is any comfort to anyone reading, …I see all of our state flagship honors kids doing extremely well in grad school and in the workplace as they approach age 30.
Vandy’s merit scholarships are worth applying for! They pay full tuition plus one stipend for research or study of 5 grand. We paid full room and board and costs. Families who qualify for need aid will often get reductions in room and board as justified by their EFC-- even if they receive free tuition. It is said that less than 1% will get these offers. I should also add that Duke has a well known merit aid program. Just research.
Now, I would like to be disloyal to the Vandy we love, and mention that Rice, a wonderful institution, used to hand out impressive numbers of merit-based (but modest) reduced tuition deals (not full tuition…but discounts) to their already wonderful, all merit-deserving, admittees. Duke son is dating a Rice grad and she tells me they have just overhauled their system of financial aid. Check it out. That said, our Vandy son also applied to Rice and was admitted…full price, no discount. Full price was the wrong choice for Vandy son with his expensive grad school plan.
Duke has merit scholarship, AB Duke and Robertson. Both are very hard to get though. D was a finalist for Robertson.
Wash U has full tuition and half tuition merit scholarships.
ND also has a lot scholarships. Emory is another one with a lot of scholarships.
“ND also has a lot scholarships.”
Many of those have a need component, and/or are for specific colleges (Engineering, for example), or are restricted to applicants in certain geographical areas (one is limited to students from certain counties in Ohio).
If you can’t pay for it, your kid isn’t going to that school (even if the kid gets admitted).
So have your kid apply ED if you are ready/willing/able to pay the price that the Vandy NPC shows you will have to pay. If you can only afford to send your kid if they get merit, then apply RD.
Only about 1% of applicants and about 10% of enrolled students at Vandy get those merit schollies. So getting a Vandy merit schollie is harder than just getting in. So it makes no sense to play the ED card (i.e. maxing the odds of admission) if you are shopping for Vandy merit (which is a higher bar). Sure you can always back out of the ED contract for money reasons, but what’s the point of doing that?
Vandy merit schollies are very hard to get, but no harm in taking a shot. Vandy does seem to have more merit schollie dollars than just about any other top 20 school. My 35 ACT, 4.0/4.7 kid luckily got a Chancellor schollie. Was admitted to a bunch of other top 20s that have merit. Got zero merit offers.
If you really need merit money, make sure to shop lower down the ladder. With a 33 ACT, a place like Tulane or Miami is probably more likely to work out.
Good luck.
another word to the wise. Some excellent college merit money requires early applications and early show of interest… even in the RD round. Your student really needs to make an excel chart with deadlines and nuances and stats of each college on his or her short list. It is hard to keep track. Things change year to year. Pay close attention to the college admissions web pages or blogs. Even with such a list, my son missed a deadline in one college he liked…and another son just was too worn out to meet another deadline for essays etc as I recall. It is challenging getting letters of references once the holiday season hits. Plan. Also, do your son or daughter a favor if they are RD and do not plan a lot of travel on winter break. Let them breath and tinker with their essays. 18 year olds change a lot in one year