HS Class of 2013 - Feeling a bit overwhelmed

Parents Forum
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<p>Hi - my first post here. To be honest, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by college planning, so I'm here looking for some advice.</p>

<p>My wife and I have 4 kids, and our oldest just started here senior year in high school. She's a great student, with only 1 B. She's taken honors courses and is in 2 AP courses this year. She's most interested in studying Japanese in college (in her 4th year of studying Japanese in high school), and unfortunately, none of our in-state options offers Japanese. Her top choice is the University of Utah. She's done a campus visit, and really likes the school.
So, now we have to figure out how to pay for it. We have a bit set aside (a 529 account with about $12,000). We make pretty good money, but with 4 kids, I don't see us being able/willing to contribute that much. My wife and I would rather contribute to our retirement. At this point, I'm struggling to find out where to even start. I imagine that my daughter's college will eventually be funded through a combination of the 529, loans, scholarships, etc... Where would be a good place to start? There is a wealth of information on this site, but there is so much info, I'm having a tough time sorting through it all. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

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<p>Hi Grizfan! Welcome :slight_smile: There is a thread for parents of the Class of 2013 at: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/754591-parents-hs-class-2013-college-class-2017-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/754591-parents-hs-class-2013-college-class-2017-a.html&lt;/a&gt; It’s been going since freshman year, so just jump in where you are and join in. It’s a great group who are happy to help one and all. </p>

<p>The Japanese focus is going to help you narrow your choices. Questions before giving advice will include: what are her test scores, what’s her GPA, what’s her class rank, etc.</p>

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<p>Other questions/suggestions:
Figure out how much you can contribute yearly.
One way to see what the COLLEGES will expect you to pay for is to do one of the net price calculators on the college web sites. They are not perfect, but, if you get last year’s taxes out and fill them in accurately, it will give you a sense of what to expect. You’ll also need to know your child’s gpa, and her test scores.</p>

<p>Most out-of-state schools will not offer much in terms of need-based financial aid. If your daughter has test scores as high as her GPA, she may qualify for merit aid at an OOS university.</p>

<p>One thing to note–not to stress you out, but you need to MOVE on this–if you are looking for merit at a state school, most have early deadlines for scholarship consideration. As early as Oct in some cases (but Nov/Dec 1 is more usual).</p>

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<p>thanks for the information. I’ve started reading through the class of 2013 thread. Its huge! But, I’m starting to get a bit oriented.</p>

<p>We definitely feel a sense of urgency. I think the critical date for the University of Utah is December 1st, but our plan is to learn as much and do as much as we can in September. </p>

<p>Out of curiosity, what is considered a “good” score for the SAT? She took the SAT last spring, but didn’t do all that great (1650, if I remember correctly). She’s retaking the test this fall. Is there a target score to shoot for?</p>

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<p>Good varies considerably and the thing to keep in mind–what matters is if it’s good enough to get her in to the school she wants to go to. Don’t get freaked out reading some of the test scores on here (I did). Many kids/parents of kids who post here will be mentioning Ivy-League scores (ie, 2350+).</p>

<p>If you have a target of University of Utah, look them up on college board . org
It looks like their middle 50% range for the SAT is 1490-1890. So your daughter is not doing badly.</p>

<p>Are you in a state that would qualify you for Western U exchange? </p>

<p>“This award represents a tuition discount for nonresident high school seniors who will be first-time entering freshmen only. Transfer applicants and continuing non-WUE University of Utah students are not eligible for consideration. A limited number of awards will be made, based on academic merit. Applicants must be permanent residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming.”</p>

<p>If you are in one of the above states, first thing I’d do is call the UofU and try to find out what kind of stats they require for your kid to have a good shot at getting WUE award, which makes the tution 150% of instate cost, a BIG savings. Then see if she can get a score in that range. I have no idea what kind of score they’d need, but I’d guess they’d want it in the top 25% of the applicant pool, so, above 1890 probably.</p>

<p>You might have your daughter try the ACT instead, and practice a bit for it. Some do better on it, but there are different things about it from the SAT that she will need to know (I always forget, but one test heavily penalizes for skipped answers and one doesn’t)</p>

<p>Her interest in Japanese may help make her interesting to them.</p>

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<p>And just keep repeating–it will all work out!</p>

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<p>Depending on what area of the country you are from, you might also want to check out the Academic Common Market type programs since Japanese isn’t available as a major in your state schools. If your state participates in one of these programs, your daughter might be able to pay instate tuition at an out of state college in the same region. </p>

<p>Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia participate in the Academic Common Market. If your state is Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington or Wyoming, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) provides similar benefits. If your state is Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio or Wisconsin, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) might help. If your state is Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont, try the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE).</p>

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<p>thanks for all the helpful information so far. Since we live in Idaho, we are at least eligible for the Western University Exchange program. I’ve sent an email to the UofU financial aid office asking for additional information on how they consider candidates for WUE, fingers crossed ;)</p>

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<p>Have you looked at Western Washington U?
They also have Japanese major, and offer discounts for Western Exchange, so that might be another one to explore…if you haven’t already.</p>

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<p>And one other idea–Eastern Washington U could be a great safety school–they offer a Japanese minor, a study abroad program through the school in Japan, and guaranteed Western exchange–not based on stats. </p>

<p>I’m very big on having a safety/likely school on the list.</p>

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<p>If she’s interested in Japanese and you want a smaller LAC option, consider Earlham in Indiana. Really great small school with a strong (and well regarded) program in Japanese. Your D would likely qualify for some merit aid there as well (they don’t look at scores for merit aid.)</p>

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<p>We actually visited Western Washington this summer. Its #2 on her list. Beautiful campus, too.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tip on Earlham. That’s one that hasn’t popped up in her searches. We’ll look at EWU. My wife and I both went to the University of Montana, so we’re we’re pretty familiar with that school :wink: I didn’t know about their WUE program, though. She also has in-state University of Idaho on the list.</p>

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<p>I was just going to post “look at Earlham”, I see I was beaten to that punch :slight_smile: We have a class of "12/college '16 parent whose D is there. They give great merit and financial aid, too.</p>

<p>Also, a Quaker school, as a grad of a Quaker HS I’m a fan, and many of my friends and friends kids went to Earlham and loved it.</p>

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<p>Regarding paying for college, we figured out how much it would cost us each month to pay our daughter’s yearly in-state college costs (she is a junior at Eastern Washington University) and put it in a savings account each month. It means we get no vacations nor do we spend money on anything new or extra but it also means our kids won’t have a huge burden of debt hanging over their heads when they graduate from college.</p>

<p>My youngest daughter is a senior in high school and she really likes the University of Idaho which is extremely affordable–especially to an in-state student. It’s actually more affordable with the WUE than the UW or WSU for a Washington resident. </p>

<p>Good luck with the college applications!</p>

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<p>If cost is an issue. Community colleges are often a great option, as the 1st two years of college are often basic introductory classes anyways (with the more major specific classes occuring in the 2nd two). Especially with 4 kids, you can save a lot of money this way if you don’t receive much need-based aid. </p>

<p>Also, going to cc out of state may be a way to get in-state tuition at an out-of-state univeristy. But you’d have to look into residency requirements - some schools can be quite strict.</p>

<p>“We make pretty good money, but with 4 kids, I don’t see us being able/willing to contribute that much. My wife and I would rather contribute to our retirement.”</p>

<p>Definitely let your kids know this. That way they’ll have thier future loan payments in their minds when they make their school decisions. I generally see your strategy as a wise one. You may end up with a kid or two who struggles making payments after (s)he graduates, but then you can help them then if need be (and it’ll be alot less expensive than paying for everything for 4 kids).</p>

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<p>Take a look at Arizona State - GO DEVILS!</p>

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<p>I would not look at another school until you know what you will pay. Once you know what you are willing to pay then look at schools with merit aid because need based aid does not sound likely. The 529 can go towards your contribution but honestly 12k is not a lot. Don’t let your daughter fall in love with a school that is financially out of reach.</p>

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<p>I would run the net price calculators and do the estimated FAFSA so you really know what you qualify for vs assuming. The numbers are often surprising (both good and bad). If she has a high GPA and great test scores, she will qualify for substantial merit aid at 100’s of schools.</p>

<p>What does she want to do with her degree in Japanese? If she wants to work for the state department, for example, going to school in the Washington DC area is a good idea.</p>