If you completed a FAFSA, you should have received a SAR (Student Aid Report). The EFC is clearly noted on that.
But more important…so the net price calculators for ALL of his colleges. The FAFSA EFC will be the MINIMUM you will be expected to pay each year. None of these colleges meet full need for all.
You mention some health issues. He will need health insurance in another state if yours doesn’t cover him in other states. Please check that because this could add a couple thousand dollars a year to your costs…and travel too.
Has he applied to any MA public universities? You are instate for those now…right. maybe UMass Dartmouth?
Please accept the kid on your couch as he is. Life happens. Many families relocate for jobs, for many reasons. States need to set residency requirements and you now can claim it for Mass.
Reread post #16. Definitely have son discuss options for schools with his HS guidance counselor. The reality is that you are living in Massachusetts now and Texas is past history. It may be that community college will be the path your son needs to take before a four year one. It is important that he shore up his knowledge and skills base so he can be successful. The journey to long term success often has blips and path detours. Your son needs to show he can do the work he did years ago with future grades.
I never heard of any HS combining another school’s with its own gpa, regardless of the state. Too many variables that it would not be right to do so.
Thanks again y’all. We of course accept our kiddo for the wonderful human he is! He really is an awesome kid and it has been nothing short of amazing watching him grow up to the person and young man he is today. Yes, he knows he lives up in Mass but our roots/family are all in Atlanta, GA and that is why he’d like to be back in the south. He’s a bit a fish out of water up here, we are not a generational family dating back to the Mayflower like most are. So, we choose to support his goals of getting back down south. We understand (now) that the GPA’s cannot merge and all is well with that…
S19 Unweighted GPA are 3.1 and 2.89 and midterms are next week for him and end of 1st semester. He had one class with a C and the others are A’s and B’s…he is going to try to get that C to a B, fingers crossed.
We are going to have him apply to Mass schools this weekend. All we can do is work with what we have and go from there.
I guess the BIG question is…how much can you pay? The public universities in the south are likely to be unaffordable…except maybe Mississippi. Not sure what’s the deal now at the Louisiana publics, but some of them used to have decent merit aid as well.
@ga19tex I have family members who attended Framingham State U and Westfield State U, within the last few years. They both had great experiences and both Unis have a lot to offer.
What town do you live in in MA where the families are multi-generational? I grew up in MA in a large town with a HUGE immigrant population; I don’t think I knew a single kid growing up who had roots in MA let alone in the US. And the state has become MORE diverse since I left, not less.]
I think kicking the tires on a couple of the Mass state schools will be a good exercise to get your son to realize that the state IS extremely diverse, no, it’s not the South but there are kids from ALL OVER. He will find his peeps in college. I hated HS but loved college, and I know dozens of adults who had the same experience. A big college is going to have lots and lots of different kinds of people and he will be less of a fish out of water than he’s been in HS, especially if you’re in a small, clubby town.
Are you sure that even with merit aid the schools on his list are affordable? In addition to tuition, room, board, and health insurance, you’re going to need to fly him home from those distances and that starts to add up… do you have an affordable option besides U Maine? (assuming that comes in under budget?)
Affordability is a HUGE factor in where most attend college. He may need to wait until after college to go southwards. With grades/gpa in the neighborhood of a 3.0 I would not count on any merit aid and would be careful about the price paid/value received for OOS options he would be accepted at. Definitely look at the instate publics- you are Mass residents now and that’s most likely your best bet for a B student.
btw- having a job, especially one in one’s field is a major reason people live where they do. Hopefully your son understands that life with an income is much better than downgrading the family lifestyle significantly just to stay in an area. Kudos to you for being willing to move. A history lesson in there for your son- how economic forces influenced populations.
I’m confused. If his unweighted grades are 3.1 and 2.89, how did he end up with a 2.55 GPA?
Our district used to not combine grades, but people started transferring from other schools and would take their harder courses there and their easier courses at D20’s school for a GPA bump. District caught on, and now they do combine.