<p>So I'm not a parent, but, someone suggested I post this here so I can receive some adult responses. Decided to take them up on the suggestion. I'm in a huge dilemma and need some advice on what to do.</p>
<p>I was accepted and chose to enroll at my dream school--Vassar College. The original FinAid package required that my parents pay 40K/yr but we got that reduced to 30K/yr which my parents thought would be completely manageable. However, my parents planned on using my father's G.I. Bill to pay some of that. We then found out that the Bill counts as outside scholarship and would go to reduce the school's financial package. Unfortunately, we found this out waaaaaaaaay too late. </p>
<p>I was granted admission to Denison University with an 18K scholarship and they're allowing me to decide after the May 1st deadline but as soon as possible. Because of the 18K scholarship, my parents have to pay 32K/year. And because I only received merit based aid from here, any outside scholarships I win will go to reducing my family contribution unlike at Vassar.</p>
<p>Sadly, Denison is really, really not where I want to go and I can't see myself being happy there (26mi away from Columbus, really?) so I'm at a stand still with regards to what to do. </p>
<p>I can turn down Denison with the hopes that I make about 28-30K in scholarship money (won't know until end of May/ early June) which will cover all of my Vassar FinAid and my parents can cover the rest without the G.I. Bill going to waste. Or I can even ask (see: Beg) back for my spot at other schools I was accepted to that gave me no FinAid like Pomona, Bowdoin or UChicago. This is a huge risk. I know.</p>
<p>But, if I don't make <em>enough</em> money, I have two options: 1) Ask (See: BEG) for a spot at Denison or George Washington Univ. which offered me 15K/yr in merit or 2) Restart the admissions process again and apply to places with more merit aid like Emory and WUSTL. The problem with the latter option is that there is no guarantee that I will be as fortunate in the next cycle as I was in this one with regards to acceptances. Also, I don't know if I'll be able to defer any scholarships I win to a following year or re-apply for the next year. Additionally, a gap year is never something I wanted for myself and never imagined myself taking that route seeing as I have waited so long to finally graduate and begin my college career. Waiting another year would kill me.</p>
<p>Sorry this is so long but I really need help. Thanks for everything and feel free to ask me any questions.</p>
<p>Thing is, that even if you were to score some BIG scholarship money to fill the gap at Vassar, unless those scholarships were renewable (most outside scholarships are not) you’d have the same problem affording Vassar for your sophomore year.</p>
<p>Plus, getting that much in outside scholarship is very, very hard to do.</p>
<p>I think you have two choices; Denison or a gap-year. You could accept Denison’s offer, but ask them if you could defer matriculating for a year. (See if your scholarship from them would still be available to you if you deferred for a year.) Then you could try again next year for other schools with more merit aid, but you’d still have Denison as a fall-back.</p>
<p>Vassar —> favorite, 30K
Denison —> best scholarship, 32K offset by GI bill
GWU —> 15K merit scholarship
Pomona, Bowdoin, UChicago —> accepted, no FA
gap year —> not realistic choice</p>
<p>I vote for Denison. It’s actually a really nice school. I know two people who went there, both very strong students.</p>
<p>Try to remember why it was that you applied to Denison in the first place. Agree with 'rentof2 that getting $30k in renewable outside scholarships is very unlikely. If you do decide to reapply, be sure to put a financial safety school on the list–one you can afford AND you wouldn’t mind going to.</p>
<p>It looks like you can afford Denison and that is a very nice merit offer. I would suggest attending Denison and give it a year and see if you like it. If you don’t you can always transfer out. So, I would definitely cross off Vassar due to the cost and tell Denison you will be attending. If there is another school you can get a merit offer from like Denison that you’d rather attend, then do that. I would think it is too late in the game to call back some other schools but you can try. However you need to figure it out fast. Denison is a great school! It was my son’s 2nd choice only because they do not offer engineering. Also, that is a super nice scholarship! Free money! :)</p>
<p>Also, outside scholarships are impossible to get.</p>
<p>A few years ago my D was accepted to some higher ranking schools, but picked an LAC with a ranking similar to Denison’s because of merit aid offered. She has been extremely happy AND very successful there. On track to graduate Phi Beta Kappa, and has had wonderful study abroad and internship experiences. Her dream internship employer this past semester has told her they hope to hire her after graduation next year, and she has another amazing internship lined up for this summer. There is a lot to be said for going to Denison and taking full advantage of the opportunities. She would not trade now for the higher ranked schools.</p>
<p>You can set yourself up really well with good grades and less debt by going with Denison. I say set aside the schools you can’t afford and turn your considerable talents to being successful at Denison.</p>
<p>I don’t know your stats or anything else, but if you get no merit scholarship from Pomona, Bowdoin, and UChicago, it’s more likely that you wouldn’t get one from WashU either. Same with Emory. Don’t plan on it. But if you’re are willing to look at schools a notch below those, gap year might worth something. However, I understand that if you defer (from Denison in this case), you have to generally agree that you won’t seek admissions elsewhere during the next cycle. You should give Denison some serious thoughts. Picture yourself in ten different ways at Denison. Visualise it some more until you like it ;)</p>
<p>UChicago did offer me 10K per year. But, considering the school costs $60K per year, It doesn’t work unless I get some serious outside scholarship cash.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help everyone!!</p>
<p>As much as I hate to admit it, one of the major reasons I would consider a gap year is so that I have a chance to apply to schools with more prestige that do offer merit aid (i.e. Vanderbilt, Tufts). But I’m scared that I won’t have the same amount of good fortune next cycle as I did this cycle. And I also don’t think that the whole stress of the application process coupled with the uncertainty of it all multiplied by having to wait another year to start my college experience is worth the possibility. Especially considering I don’t know if I can defer any outside scholarships I may win to a following year or re-apply for these same scholarships.</p>
<p>30K is a lot of outside scholarship money to expect. And, have you considered that Vassar’s tuition will probably go up at a rate higher than inflation? Bowdoin, Pomona and Chicago have filled their slots and won’t have a space for you now. They have plenty of folks on their waiting lists. Go to Denison. Get a campus job and a summer job. Then, when you have some money, consider tranferring if you must. But, by then you may be much happier at Denison than you currently imagine.</p>
<p>I guess a lot of my indecision has to do with my jealousy that I’ve made acquaintances from college programs who will be attending places like Brown and Swarthmore. And then I’ve made a lot of acquaintances in the Vassar FB group while I was under the impression that I would be attending and it will kill me inside to tell them I’m not going.</p>
<p>But…those are things I have to sort out on my own… Thanks everyone. :-)</p>
<p>I would not put much stock in the transfer-later option. The vast majority of merit-based aid is for incoming freshmen only. Transfer merit aid does exist, but is far more limited.</p>
<p>Denison may well be your best option, but go and find a way to make it work, rather than thinking of going for a year and then landing a better option. I mean, that may happen, but the likelihood is slim.</p>
<p>Once you are there, thoughts of all those other schools will disappear, and you will realize how lucky you are to be attending such a good school. It’s not chop liver, and thousands of college-age students would be giving their eye-teeth to go there at such a low cost. And you’ll come out with little or no debt, and you have no idea how valuable that is these days.</p>
<p>PrinceMuzik–I’ve read this thread and your other one, wondering what in the world I could say. It seems there’s a part of you that wants to think maybe you could swing Vassar. But there’s a bigger part, it seems, that knows that’s not really possible. I feel for you. People who have gotten to be parents can go all perspective-y on you and tell you everything will be different when school starts and you’ve settled into the life of a campus … They’re probably right. They usually are. But you’re sitting here now with the challenge of giving up the Vassar dream, retreating from the Facebook page, etc. Must be tough. But please know that you’re not any different or any less worthy whether you go to a school that’s 26 miles from Columbus (gasp–the horror!) or 80 miles from NYC. If you go to Denison, you’ll probably realize soon enough that precisely where you are matters little if you are open to growth and new possibilities. You talk about friends going to Swarthmore, Brown, Vassar … Seriously, I’m a little jealous, too. But, really, you must know that there’s really not that much of substance that separates one liberal arts college from another. Maybe people will argue with me on that. But here’s something that’s inarguable: You’re going to get a good education, if you want a good education, wherever you go.</p>
<p>And folks post every week about helicopter parents that are too involved in this process. Jeez. I can’t imagine why we would get involved in such a simple, easy to understand process. What could possibly go wrong if we just went fishing instead?</p>
<p>I’m sorry, OP. You didn’t know the rules. Your folks didn’t know the rules. Now, here you sit. </p>
<p>One thing is fact, the best merit scholarships go to freshman. So take a doable deal on the table or take a gap year. That’s really all you can do. </p>
<p>And you weren’t “lucky” with acceptances. You had something they wanted…and somebody will want it next year, too. Do something meaningful , write even better essays, and for Heaven’s Sake… y’all spend hours and hours on the nuances of merit and financial aid and GI benefits. </p>
<p>Let this be a cautionary tale for all upcoming students and parents. This happens every year just about now. OP, again, I’m sorry it is happening to you.</p>
<p>But it has happened, in some form or fashion every April and May since I started coming to this bar.</p>
<p>@absweetmarie: Thanks so much. I guess it all does come down to being open and receptive to the possibilities and opportunities Denison will offer especially considering how gracious they have been with me through this.</p>
<p>@curmudgeon: The first part of your post made me chuckle. I suppose I was the test child. My parents now have five years to perfect their college admissions skills.</p>
I suppose I was the test child. My parents now have five years to perfect their college admissions skills.</p>