<p>I work at a college that participates in Tuition Exchange (TE) a program that offers tuition grants for member institutions. Each college has its own policies about the number of grants awarded and the website lists many schools' % receiving grants. </p>
<p>As I learn more from colleagues who have applied for TE, I have come to learn that this benefit is FAR from a sure thing, even with a student with a strong profile. Recently a colleague whose daughter is a 1400's SAT and 3.7 GPA at a competitive suburban Boston H.S. was denied TE at all 10 colleges where she applied (including places like Emerson, Wheaton, Syracuse, Simmons, etc.). </p>
<p>Does anyone else have experience applying for and getting or not getting TE? What factors do you think influenced the decision? I was especially surprised that my colleague's daughter was turned down at Syracuse since not only is she a strong applicant given the average stats, but per the TE website and from what I've heard in the past, they have granted TE to a very large % of applicants. </p>
<p>MGMom, My D would be eligible for TE too. The way I understand your school has to earn enough credits (which they will by admitting students whose parents/ spouses work at other schools). It is possible that few students whose parents worked in other eligible schools wanted to come to your school. It is also possible that your school may prioritize TE eligibility - thus the child of a 20 year employee may get TE consideration before the child of a 10 year employee.</p>
<p>You may want to find from your school how many children of your school's employees got TE at other schools last year and the year before.</p>
<p>Thanks pnyer - There do seem to be two hurdles for eligibility 1) your employing institutions' prioritization based on number of years of employment etc.; this factors into the credit issue you mentioned and allows you to be eligible for TE in the first place and 2) being awarded TE by the receiving institution. The second part is where things are murky to me. Some schools give it to many, others to only a few. Any other academics out there with thoughts on how this second part has worked for their kids? Thanks!</p>
<p>If you look at the list of institutions on the TE website, you can see the range of TE grants that are awarded by the schools you're interested in. Some schools offer TE grants to more than 90% of those who apply for it, some offer the TE grants to fewer than 10% of the applicants who request it.</p>
<p>Simmons and Emerson are listed in the 41-60% range. I don't know about Wheaton or Syracuse. </p>
<p>My son applied to three TE schools. One school awarded him the TE grant very early in his application process. Another assured us that he'd likely get a TE award, once he was admitted to the university, and a third school told us that they always had far more requests for TE than they had grants available. They were listed as granting TE to <10% of applicants on the TE website. [They offered him a full tuition music scholarship instead.] </p>
<p>We found the process to be a bit confusing, because each school had slightly different procedures for acknowledging the TE certification and different rules for combining TE with other merit awards, but overall, we were pleased with the outcome. </p>
<p>Our D also attended college on TE, although she applied only to one school that was her first choice for her major.</p>
<p>Lhasa - My D was one of the Tuition Exchange "winners" this year. She applied at three institutions and got awards at two. Based on discussions with each of the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officers involved in my D's case, it appears that this was an exceptionally competitive year for Tuition Exchange awards. Less than 10% of Tuition Exchange applicants got an award from D's "sponsor" college. At the "target" college where she was turned down there was only one award for >100 applicants! I attribute D's success to her outstanding academic record and the fact that she applied to two schools who accept about a quarter of Tuition Exchange applicants.</p>
<p>In conclusion, I'd recommend treating Tuition Exchange as you would any significant scholarship. It doesn't cost anything to "apply" and should it come through, great. But IMO your chances will be greatly enhanced if (1) S/D is a top student; and (2) S/D applies to schools that accept a significant percentage of Tuition Exchange applicants.</p>
<p>I agree with all posters that there is some 'capriciousness' to the TE program. My older D received a 'partial' tuition exchange scholarship to Smith 8 years ago -- it was for 2 out of her four years there -- apparently having to do more with Smith than where my H works. My younger D is now at Lawrence under a full 4 year TE scholarship. In our case, the sponsoring instititution where my H works requires at least 10 years of service before an application for an individual student is even processed. Seniority (he has 23 years of service) is a very high priority as well as the 'slots' available at the college to which the student is applying. Wish I could give you more advice on the process -- we are very happy to have had two out of three children (middle son went to Williams which doesn't participate in the program) receive TE scholarships.</p>
<p>My daughter built her application strategy around TE and was successful. We relied heavily on the stats posted on the TE website for % of eligible, admitted students granted a scholarship. She applied to 7 schools. She received TE offers from two, was TE waitlisted at one, and at that point in January converted one app to Early Decision and pulled everything else. </p>
<p>A couple suggestions: pay attention to the stats the schools post on the TE web site and select some schools with a high percentage of scholarships awarded, for which your child is academically very competitive! Apply early in the year, even if it's not early decision. Use early action if it's available. Some schools seem to award TE on a rolling basis as eligible students are offered admittance, and others hold award decisions until they know what their pool of potential imports (and exports) looks like. Finally, reach out to the liaison officers at the schools your child is applying to. Some of them will barely acknowledge you but others will be incredibly helpful (as was our case) and can make all the difference.</p>
<p>Very good point, love2listen. I believe the TE website suggests lining up your certification of eligibility a year in advance and then having your liason officer notify all the schools where the student <em>might</em> apply very early in the season. </p>
<p>The schools my s applied to covered both ends of that spectrum, and it was great to know early on that one school had already awarded him TE.</p>
<p>I agree with Love2listen - pay attention to the details when it comes to the TE process! The liaison officer where my husband works was very unresponsive -- we had to really sit on her to process paperwork, communicate, etc. -- while the liaison officers at the colleges my D's received their TE scholarships from were wonderful. I would concur that MANY TE scholarships are awarded early and on a rolling basis so it pays to know as much ahead of time as you can.</p>
<p>Wonderful suggestions - this is really helpful. Thanks everyone! Anyone else? Beyond the % awarded on the TE website, are there individual schools you thought were especially easy or difficult to work with around the TE issue?</p>
<p>MGMom - I also think the suggestions provided above are very good. I would add that TE only makes sense if the student finds a school s/he likes BETTER than the school that employs the parent(s). As such there's a significant risk of disappointment if the award doesn't come through. TE is a bit of a lottery situation, and many kids have trouble with this. Plan accordingly.</p>