It will be interesting to see whether automatic scholarship SAT levels, such as those at UAH, change after the College Board and ACT publish the new concordance table expected this summer.
Is it too late for the questbrigge application? It says it’s closed. Deadline for juniors was in March. Can we apply as a senior?
National College Match program for Questbridge is at the end of September. (Note: it’s a very extensive application with many essays–it should be worked on early.) https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/how-to-apply (I’m not sure why it hasn’t been updated for 2018 yet.)
Even running NPC I thinking is still most important for you to come with a drop dead amount that you can spend. Then if you want to add the subsidized loan amount that your child’s can take ($5500 max freshman year) and that should be your target. I would dig deeper into each possible school about merit awards. Are they for all four years, what do you have to do to keep them, if merit went a away in year 3 (for ex) could you afford to stay there. You are smart to start looking at this early
Can someone explain how Questbridge helps?
Perfect! Thank you
@scmom12 I wish I could rely on the NPC but everyone is telling me they won’t be accurate because we are business owners.
I have an S-Corp. I plugged in the S-Corp income and the business assets as if they were my own personal income & assets in the NPC to get an idea. The actual aid turned out slightly better than that scenario, but only a bit.
@intparent I don’t know which line the S corp income is on on the 1120? Do you?
You should get a K-1 from the S-Corp each year that shows the pass through amount beyond the salary. But you may need to add some non-salary S-Corp expenses back into that as well.
How many people in your family? With $65,000 income plus your assets…you might NOT be Pell eligible.
At the beginning of April you mentioned there was a college within commuting distance of your home. What college is that?
I’m going to repeat the same advice I gave you on that thread…which has also been given to you by many others.
And build your list from the BOTTOM up. In other words, nail down the sure things for admission that will be affordable FIRST. That will likely be more challenging than picking the the other schools. BUT also make absolutely sure your son knows the financial limits your family has.
On Quest Bridge, some colleges like MIT will note those candidates and give them some preference for interviews. All 40 schools on the Quest Bridge plan are looking for first generation college students, and cannot find enough. Quest Bridge is a way for them to find good candidates. Its also a vetting process, so I think it may be very helpful, if your son is interested in any of those 40 schools. (and he wants to fill out all their paperwork, and get recommended by them )
As far as affordability, always apply in state, first to affordable schools. If Amherst does not look affordable for any reason, then add Dartmouth, or Lowell or Boston, just do it for a safety, or ask your son to agree to community college and living at home and transferring. Then look out of state for the best deals. . Small states like Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Alabama have great financial deals and lower ranks . Its a wild card though for some of the very top awards at say Tulsa, or U of Oklahoma, and i believe your son is not a National Merit Finalist, which opens doors
at the mid ranked small state school like Oklahoma and Tulsa.
The 40 Quest Bridge/high stats schools are not safeties for anyone, so do not dwell on it, but just figure out if
any might be matches. (Tufts seemed to be as I remember)
Do not get worked up over any particular school as the “perfect match/dream” there is no such thing. . And its OK in my opinion to go for a financial REACH like Boston U, with an application to the full ride Trustee, if he wants. Why not dream, but just do not hyper focus on low probability options like Boston U. Sometimes students get lucky and get the full ride at Boston U. If he loves it TRY FOR IT. Again its going to be up to your son, though to pick and choose through thousands of good options. And writing many many essays for these full ride Trustee awards at BU etc.
Those essay are tough!
He will go to college, and if its U Mass Lowell, he will be fine. Tell yourself that every day, it will be fine. If U Mass Lowell, is not fine he can transfer to another college in one to two years as well. And you just saved a fair amount of money.
Pick a financial SAFETY school and ask him to apply there as a safety. If thats Lowell, so be it. Bite the bullet
and just do what will make the most sense for your financial situation.
Op owns a business and the building that the business is house in
Highly unlikely that they will be financially eligible for Questbridge.
If op’s son has leadership and lives in a city that recruits for Posse, that would be a better bet. For students who are accepted to Posse, they offers full tuition scholarships regardless of family income.
https://www.possefoundation.org/our-university-partners/participating-schools/
@sybbie719 …we do not live in Boston.
Then you are not eligible for Posse
This means that it is more important to help your son craft a list of schools that are financially feasible options for the family and he will be happy to attend
@sybbie719 …yes thank you
But Skippy says they are eligible for the Pell, so the business assets might not be that large. Worth considering.
How much Pell would a $65000 income net?