@rosered55 thanks that is what I am hoping as she needs only one college admission. No interest in gaining trophy hunting.
You wrote this:
You also mention that you make more money now…and your net price calculators indicate your net costs in the $15,000 a year range.
Since this is your THIRD time around with kids getting admitted to these elite schools…it is very likely that you have sufficient information already. Either that…or you know that your prep school folks will be of some help.
It would be one thing if this was your first time around dealing with this…but it’s NOT.
And if the school is need blind for,admissions…your ability to pay won’t be considered when admission is evaluated.
And again…there are smart kids at every college.
What is your real question here? Do you have reason to believe that the college counselors at this particular prep school are no longer able to advise their students? Are you afraid that this child won’t be admitted to Harvard or Yale, and will forever suffer emotionally because the older siblings did study there?
Help your kid find the guaranteed safety.
Help your kid find a couple decent not-Harvard-not-Yale options where admissions is pretty likely.
Let the school’s college counselors do the rest of the work.
And don’t rush…because she is currently a HS junior. Take a breath!
In a prior thread, we responded to similar questions.
She won’t be applying to another elite prep. Now you’d help her by learning what top colleges want go see. Now, the apllicant will have had 3.5 years of high school.
We mentioned that many, many kids are driven and accomplished.
Don’t be so quick to assume only a few colleges are right.
If you’re talking about your kid’s HYPSM chances, money won’t be an issue unless you have a spare 100 million to donate to assure they get in. If you’re talking about other top colleges, I think they aren’t as need blind as they claim, but some of them are more credible than others when they talk about the need.
But honestly, most even mildly selective colleges will have a core of students who are smart and push one another who your daughter ought to feel comfortable in. And most colleges, even the top ones, will have at least some slackers who got in on their parents’ money and are annoying to be around.
The process for admission to prep schools is completely different. Only one prep school is need blind (Andover) and the rest are need aware. Getting into a top prep school with need based aid is very difficult. So I understand your concern when you say that you’re worried.
Fortunately there are lots and lots of colleges that are need blind. This means that when your daughter applies, she can do so without worrying about financial aid being an issue for admissions. The colleges themselves each have different definitions of what is a reasonable offer. So go to each college’s website and run the net price calculator to see for yourself.
But the good news is that the process for college should be much less stressful than when she applied to prep school. Looks like she has excellent grades and scores, so I’m sure she will be an attractive candidate to many colleges. Sit back and relax for now, and heed the advice of your college counsellor.
Good luck
I don’t think this parent told us her stats or scores. Did I miss it? Some other info was hypothetical.
@lookingforward I think all that’s been said is:
@OHMomof2 Agree, I don’t see stats on any thread. And top 10% may or may not cut it from an elite prep. They likely won’t even report rank. Course load comparison only matters insofar as the GC rates it “most demanding,” which every applicant the GC thinks is worthy to apply to a tippy top is likely to get.
On top of that, the parent thinks she has some extraordinary activities and accomplishments. But often the elite prep is facilitating some of this, for many kids. He previously said she did her special things on her own. Nonetheless, the best kids from these schools can be tough competition.
This student is a HS junior right now. It is very possible she has not yet taken the ACT or SAT as those are usually taken the second half of junior year.
Hopefully, she is taking the PSAT in October for NM status purposes.
GPA would only be for 9th and 10th grade at this point.
@lookingforward, @OHMomof2 - OP’s kid’s stats: current not weighted 3.98 1600, 800 800 800
@nynycasino1234 - Your D certainly is in the running for top schools with her stats and ECs. The fact that she has gotten outside scholarships for summer programs leads me to believe that she has a lot going for her and that she will be an attractive candidate.
You know the drill by now – have her apply to need-blind schools that meet 100% need. Make sure she has at least one safety. By all means, have her put some reachy-reach schools on her list, but include a good mix of high and low match schools. If there are schools that offer merit scholarships that require additional essays, should apply for them. While FA might might make merit aid a non-issue (it will lower the COA thereby lowering financial need), the applications themselves will give her a chance to show demonstrated interest and let her voice be heard. No “optional” supplemental essays are optional.
What will make or break her application are her essays and her teacher recs – she needs to spend a lot of time crafting truly stellar essays that will set her apart from every other high achieving kid. She also needs to work on nurturing her relationships with her teachers and showing initiative and leadership in her ECs. Authenticity and humor will go a long way in the essays.
Post # 8, OP indicated stats were 3.98 UW 1600 SAT 800 800 800
Since this student will likely have multiple offers at excellent schools, but will also be in the competitive mix for the elites so she may apply at many where nobody’s odds are great. These schools love to talk about the kids with perfect scores that they rejected - My pups did not get in everywhere they applied despite having perfect scores. But they got in great places that gave great aid.
If you have high need, such that you need to compare offers, and have elite scores, I suggest applying to a wide range of the schools that meet full need - and of course most of these are need blind in admissions. The ORM status may work against her, but IMHO it is still worth pursuing. I suggest looking into application fee waivers if your need is substantial.
Do the homework - figure out the NPC’s for several of the potential schools. Determine if the automatic merit-full tuition schools are a better option.
OP- your D’s college counselors will not let her fall through the cracks.
This is what YOU need to do-
1- have a sit down with your past few year’s tax returns, credit card statements, bank statements, etc. and get a true financial picture of what you can spend for four years. Not “if she gets into Yale we can come up with 20K but if she ends up at Stonehill we’ll only pay 10K per year”. You need a true, granular analysis of where the money is coming from- X% from your savings, Y% out of current income, how much you really can pay.
2- Spend some time on a wide variety of college websites- Bryn Mawr? Wesleyan? U Michigan? Rice? Pomona? Reed? University of Virginia? Get a good feel for the reality that in America the talent pool runs wide and deep. There are smart kids in Illinois and California and Texas and Oklahoma and they don’t all aspire to Harvard or Yale. You will feel MUCH better once you see that there are astonishing opportunities for smart and hard working students all over the country.
3- Continue to support your D as she figures out who she is and what she wants.
The college counselor at her school will do the mechanics; your D will do the work; you just need to reassure yourself that there are dozens of colleges which will meet her intellectual and social needs.
Oops…right…those are her scores. Were they from real tests…or practice ones?
Anyway. The issue I see here is that the older siblings went to Harvard and Yale. They work on Wall Street. From other threads…there seems to be some expectation that this third sister will follow suit. Family finances have improved since the siblings were in college.
My take away…this kid needs to be invested in her college search. If there is a net cost that can’t be exceeded…make sure she knows that. Her stats would set her up nicely for merit aid at many places…but not HYPSM…and the like where merit isn’t given at all.
But back to my point…her prep school counselors will certainly be able to give her a broad range of college options.
And as I said earlier…this is your third rodeo…so you already know a lot about admissions at these elite schools. Your first two kids applied to them.
@thumper1 does sibling’s earning affect EFC? Why will it be an issue?
The siblings work in finance. The OP says her family contribution is now $15000 or so.
The two,things are not related. BUT OP no longer has a $0 EFC.
@blossom gave the very solid steps to take, but @thumper1 pointed out a large potential pitfall that’s likely to affect this student: letting the paths of the older siblings affect this person’s experience. Anyone with this level of ability and effort is going to find a great place to continue her education. Kids like this succeed, but they aren’t always happy. Find out what she wants to study, let her see a broader variety of schools than the famous ones at the top of every list. Let her experience the different feels of campuses and students at more types of places. The risk of not getting into HYPSM might not be a risk at all if she falls in love with Bard or Claremont Mudd Scripps or Cal Tech or any other outstanding and unique school. In short, don’t settle for the famous name brands. As has been pointed out, it’s shocking how rarely any kid will be the smartest or dumbest person in the room. There’s a huge population of interesting, smart and energetic students attending most schools. Don’t let her be afraid to join them.
I told my kid after he got into Stanford REA that if he goes to Stanford over a state school where he got near full scholarship, he may not even be in top 50% of his class in GPA or even be in bottom 10% – I said this to help him choose among the accepted colleges – and he said “Dad, I rather get worse grades and learn more from my peers than get good grades and think I am a top dog.” While admiring his bravado, I do worry somewhat. I am one parent who is happy that Stanford like Harvard has a reputation of grades inflation, so that he will not flunk out. lol
If you happen to still be reading.
Your first two kids had $0 EFCs when they applied to colleges. This kid has a $15,000 EFC.
At need aware schools…this third kid has $15,000 LESS need than your first two kids…so she actually shoildmbe in a better position at need aware schools than your first two were.
And the first two got accepted to colleges of their choice.
Not sure what your concern is.