<p>Obviously being full pay is a positive but do the kids who need fa heavily stand a chance at top schools?</p>
<p>Definitely! I have friends at Exeter and Andover who are on close to full FA… all have what they call a hook here on CC.</p>
<p>At every school but Andover and Roxbury Latin you need to show that you are better than the same FP applicant.</p>
<p>To qualify that, you need to be better in one thing at least but not in everything…</p>
<p>Yes… Schools like Exeter will be more “quality” hunting than, say, Peddie… Exeter will not, however, have that “skill will be the only factor” mentality that Need Blind schools harbor.</p>
<p>My brother is applying next year as a freshman…he will need >75% of the tution. A lot of people on CC say that you need to be FP to have a decent chance of getting admitted, and if you need FA you have a very very slim chance. But yet CC is sometimes unrealistic and is just kids opinions.</p>
<p>hey, i got admitted nearly full fa to Middlesex, and I’m nothing special. </p>
<p>Sometimes i think this is all a dream and I’ll wake up back in NOLA, or I’ll be doomed to go to school here next year.</p>
<p>I have 10 friends going to BS next year. All are on FA but at varying amounts, 40-80% plus one full ride. There is FA do not worry, it is just that the competition is greater now. Your chances are not very very slim unless they were slim even at FP</p>
<p>Principalviola is simply incorrect. Schools will judge you in context of your background. They are not looking for aid kids to be ‘better’. Financial aid is mostly used to bring diversity and different perspectives to schools. They can get all the full pay academic drones they want. They are looking for unique skills, backgrounds and thoughts to add to their communities.</p>
<p>That is true… If you read some of my posts I stated that I applied to schools that have large pockets so that my experience would be enhanced. The fact remains, however, that in the main realm of prep schools RL and Andover have been the only schools to maintain such a status.</p>
<p>If two students had the SAME resume, but one cost the school 40k more, it would be tough for the FA applicant to get in as opposed to the FP applicant. Such scenarios of equality are tough to come by, because of the holistic application process, but it does not detract from the meaning of the message. </p>
<p>Exeter clearly stated that they will consider financial status hence on forth. I will link you the article as soon as I can find it.</p>
<p>At Andover, the best school in the country, we are completely need blind.</p>
<p>-Just another reason that A is better than E</p>
<p>A>E</p>
<p>Yes they do, I got into Exeter on full pay and some change (computers,book fees). I don’t think of myself as an extraordinary candidate so it shouldn’t be impossible difficult for a well qualified candidate to get in on FA</p>
<p>Benevolent,
Do you honestly think Andover is completely need blind? Exeter has more money than andover yet they have printed that article saying they are not need blind, how is it that a school with roughly 200million less (something around there) is buying a new fancy cafeteria and not announcing an end to being need blind? Either Andover is being a little fiscally irresponsible or, more likely, they are only need blind in that, IF, they accept you, they will offer you enough aid. Just like exeter. That doesn’t mean they don’t consider money at all when reviewing your application. If they really didn’t care about financial aid at all, they wouldn’t have a FA BUDGET. Since there is a budget they obviously have to limit there spending atleast to some degree. Which means that if you are FA applicant they DO take that into account atleast on some level. </p>
<p>In summation, I think it’s a little dishonest of Andover to say that they are still need-blind when there is no way they could be.</p>
<p>(I’m trying to start fights today, I’m just obnoxious like that)</p>
<p>I thought that for a long time, and I still have an inkling of doubt. They would not lie, however. I think Exeter is just taking extra precaution if someone sues them or something (but how would that even happen?)…</p>
<p>No grounds for suing. Period.</p>
<p>Back to the original topic – I do believe that a kid needing significant FA has to be a good fit for the school and offer the school something it isn’t getting with the FP kids. My son needed 100% FA and applied to 9 schools. The FA awards varied by $15,000 – the closer to home, the less the FA offer. He didn’t bring the same diversity and difference to schools close to home. The better the fit – the better the offer. He is not an URM, recruited athlete, star academic – but his interests and personality fit the schools he applied to (with one exception – SPS, where he was appropriately waitlisted). Coming from Colorado, he brought something different to the East Coast schools, which I think helped his acceptance and FA there.</p>
<p>If you need significant FA, apply to a large number of schools – and not just the top or need blind schools. Include schools that you feel you are a good fit for and you would enjoy attending. Spend time on your application. If you are strong candidate, you will have some choices to make in March/April.</p>
<p>I am with you hsmomstef. In this environment, an applicant must BE REALLY SPECIAL IN ORDER TO GET AID FROM ANY SCHOOL. Even Andover. The bar is set higher for FA applicants at all schools. I have the utmost admiration for aid applicants and their parents. They are struggling against a really strong headwind.</p>
<p>hsmomstef</p>
<p>I think the biggest issue for my family was determining “good fit”</p>
<p>We too need a great amount of FA, not an URM nor a recruited athlete.
We entered the search process late by CC standards (Mid October). I’m sure there are good fit schools out there, but locating them takes a great deal of time. There are so little third party resources as compared to the college process.</p>
<p>What advice could you offer? How did your family research and determine fit?</p>
<p>How did your son manage the application process (essays/interviews) without taking too much time from current schooling? (Our public district restircts # of days missed, no matter the reason, due to NoChildLeftBehind & funding).</p>
<p>For the large number of NE & Mid-Atlantic families, sounds like you would recommend including schools on the West Coast in search - Correct?</p>
<p>hsmomstef: What school does your son currently attend?</p>
<p>I started early (my son decided to apply to BS while in 7th grade) and this board was extremely helpful. </p>
<p>We started by looking at all boarding schools in the US – not just ones close by. At least he could contribute some geographic diversity (and yes, that can be a tip)! He had a list of at least 35 schools (we looked at boarding review for school names, then went to the websites, then ordered view books). </p>
<p>Then we started eliminating schools. The first way to eliminate a school was to compare it to his safety (a public school IB program with decent ivy placement). We visited the safety school and made note of everything we could think of: class size, class offerings, sports and ec opportunities, kids attitudes, etc. </p>
<p>Next, we compared all schools to his safety and some dropped off the list. We continued to work down the list according to what he felt was a good fit for him – for my son, he wanted a large campus located rurally (coming from Colorado, where open space is everywhere, this was important to him). He didn’t want a dress code (he is a casual kid and felt that a dress code might mean a more casual environment), he wanted a school where everyone had to do a job, he wanted a school where they had quite a few kids on FA, he wanted one that was diverse (URM and International), he wanted one where he could play sports even if he was new to the game, he wanted a school where they offered an outdoor/hiking/camping type thing. He wanted a school where he was in the top 25% academically and one that didn’t have a cutthroat environment – but was warm and friendly. He wanted a school that offered a structured freshman program, but had opportunities as he got older. Finally, he wanted a school that placed kids in tops schools, including IVY --but he wasn’t concerned about how many they placed; as long as a few kids had gone to ivies in the past couple years, he was fine with that (he does not have his heart set on an ivy, but wanted the options open to him) There were a few more things, but I forget right now.</p>
<p>We whittled the list down to 11 schools and visited a few (not all) of the schools. After the visit, we had the list down to 10. At the end, although the application was complete, he decided against applying to Andover – it was his last choice (not that Andover isn’t a great school, but it was all about fit to him – Andover doesn’t mean anything here in Colorado!).</p>
<p>A few suggestions if you need significant FA: apply to lots of schools, don’t worry if you can visit – call and see if they will be in your area talking about the school and ask for an interview then. However, if you can visit – do so. He was waitlisted at two of the schools where he just did a phone interview, and I think that played a part in the WL. </p>
<p>Target schools that do give good FA – but don’t limit yourself to just schools with a large endowment. He was offered full FA and nearly full FA by two schools with very small endowments (one has an endowment of only about 4 million). It is more about fit and what you contribute.</p>
<p>When you look at a school, try and decide what your student will bring to the school. What can they add. While you and your student are trying to decide which is the best school for you (what does the school offer) the school is trying to decide which are the best students for them (what does the student offer). Once you know what you can offer them, make sure you emphasize that in your application.</p>
<p>Do not think that top SSAT scores will get you in – they won’t. Personality, activities, athletics, URM status, FP will get you in – SSAT scores will not. Tons of FP 99% SSAT score students out there now on a waitlist or scrambling to reapply to rolling admission schools because they only have rejections.</p>
<p>Finally – you can get waivers for the application fee, financial aid application and SSAT testing. Ask for them.</p>
<p>My son is currently a freshman at NMH – and absolutely loves the school. It really is the perfect fit for him. His SSAT scores were not tops (composite was something around 74%, I think) and his GPA from an IB magnet inner city school was 3.75. Minimal athletics – but a VERY strong resume of ECs, including community, state and national awards in numerous areas with a strong emphasis on community involvement and service.</p>