<p>Laserbrother:
Pssst. I know Ph.D.s from Ivies, MIT, etc,.. who are earning less than $100k, and with tech degrees to boot. But they are happy! They think that whatever they're doing is worthwhile.
if you don't want to change your self-image, that's up to you. But besides the happy Ph.D.s earning less than $100k, I also know of plenty of students at top schools who've cracked under the weight of parental expectations. Some have gone so far as attempting suicide. Keep that in mind as you think about your daughter's future.</p>
<p>DH with a Phd. from Caltech doesn't make much more than $100,000. Gotta love academia.</p>
<p>I'm leaning more and more to "troll." The writing style kind of looks like a young'un pretending to be a depressed adult. I've been wrong before, but "laserbrother" sure looks more and more like a fishing lure. Apologies if I missed on this.</p>
<p>On the Internet, no one knows you are 17...</p>
<p>mathmom, has your DH reached 30 in age yet?</p>
<p>WashDad. I had a much better life when I was 17. LOL</p>
<p>WashDad, I'm feeling the same. It's just not adding up. laserbrother told us that he's from a suburb of Cincinnati and makes around 120k on another post. Come on, 120k is above average and in the midwest I would assume that you are making more than 90%. Maybe you don't think so in your tony suburb but believe me, you are making more than most of the people even in your neighborhood.</p>
<p>laserbrother, mathmom has a S applying to colleges this year. My guess is that her DH hasn't seen 30 for a while now. Like most of the rest of us. :) </p>
<p>(OT: WashDad, believe it or not, I cut the original of the</a> cartoon that started it all out of the New Yorker years ago and have it posted on my filing cabinet at home. :) )</p>
<p>o.k. I came here to discuss and learn about application process for my DD. Stop talking about my problem now. </p>
<p>One more time, my DD 's stats are:</p>
<p>Currently a junior
SAT I 1370 (700M/670V) in 8th grade
PSAT 222
ACT 31 in 10th grade
all A in all honor and AP classes, will take a total 10 AP in HS.
2nd overall in Nation in National Spanish exam (will be in Spain for 4 weeks this summer)
Passionate volunteer
Cross country runner,
Exceptional Piano (Governor School of art); violin (just started)
Many state level sciences and math awards</p>
<p>Plan to take SAT I in March, SAT II in May (after AP), ACT in senior year. </p>
<p>What type of university could she get in with decent merit awards?</p>
<p>Come on, Make me Happy.</p>
<p>"What type of university could she get in with decent merit awards?"</p>
<p>Sorry, but no one knows. </p>
<p>The top echelon of colleges generally do not offer merit awards; they offer assistance only for financial need. As you must know, $100,000 - $120,000 does not qualify as low income - and is in the range where your daughter probably wouldn't be offered more than loans. Princeton and a few others might give grants, but not substantial ones given your income and probable savings.</p>
<p>For merit aid, she needs to consider schools at slightly lower "prestige" levels. If she will be applying to schools in the Northeast, I highly recommend that she take the SAT I this year; she scored higher than most college seniors as an 8th grader, so it stands to reason that her scores would be considerably higher now as indicated by her PSAT. Many Northeastern schools base merit awards on SATs and class rank. Some of the top all women LACs (Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Barnard, etc.) might offer merit aid, particularly since your daughter excels at science.</p>
<p>Notre Dame would indeed be a possibility, if that's the kind of school she wants. Depending on the quality/reputation of her high school, she seems like she might be competitive at the Ivies, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Rice, Berkeley, but again, none of us can possibly predict success, especially since we don't know your daughter. But will she get merit aid at those places? Probably not. You might want her to look into Lehigh, UNC, UMich, Boston University, and the like to improve her chances of merit aid. If you are <em>counting</em> on merit aid, she'll probably need to go even lower.</p>
<p>Please take the time to find out the type of college your daughter wants. Does she want a large school? A more nurturing liberal arts one? Does she want to stay in the Midwest, or does she want to go far from home? While it may be tempting as her parent to think you know best, you may not understand the best kind of learning environment for her. We have so many excellent colleges in this country that narrowing by type of campus does not mean sacrificing quality. </p>
<p>And here's the CC parent mantra: make sure she has safeties, make sure she has safeties.</p>
<p>Like others, I question the fluctuating income you talk about -- low income, $100,000, $120,000. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, with the hope that you genuinely want answers. If financial aid will determine your daughter's future college, I urge you to discuss this with her now so that she doesn't get her heart set on a college that you will have to deny her because of cost. Be realistic with her now to minimize disappointment later.</p>
<p>I recommend you do a search here for threads started by curmudgeon. He did an amazingly thorough search last year for his daughter, for schools with merit aid, and shared most of his results on CC. </p>
<p>One school you might want to look at is Brandeis. It offers some merit scholarships, and (according to what I've read here) has been using them to increase diversity on campus -- including Asians.</p>
<p>I will repeat one thing momwaitingfornew said, and that is: your daughter can use her top notch scores and profile either to get into a prestigious school (top ranked on USNews) OR to get merit aid from lower ranked schools. There are very few highly ranked schools that give merit aid, and those that do only give a few scholarships a year. A lot of this is covered in the sticky thread, "Schools known for good merit aid," which can be found at the top of the parents' forum. Look there, look in the financial aid forum as well.</p>
<p>Around here, kids like your daughter looking for lots of merit aid end up at Case, RPI; a few at Rochester. If it were my daughter I would encourage Rice (lower sticker price), Vanderbilt, Mt. Holyoke, agree w/the suggestion of Brandeis. Don't know if any of these have the kind of "feel" she'd be comfortable with.... but it's a start.</p>
<p>Make sure she puts her all into places like Case. They can be wonderfully generous if they think they're a contender and can pull her away from a place like Cornell; they're not so generous if they assume that they're the safety.</p>
<p>"they're not so generous if they assume that they're the safety."</p>
<p>Yes, yes, and another yes. I read on another thread that Brandeis is becoming the new "Tufts Syndrome" school in that they're gaining a reputation for not accepting highly qualified students using them as a safety. I can't say whether this is true or not. Still, if students act as though their likely-admit schools might reject them if they don't put enough into visits and essays, then they will have much better results come March and April.</p>
<p>We could put Case and OSU as the two schools for NMS. </p>
<p>I looked up Case and like two things - the PPSP program and their acceptance of AP credits. If all goes well, DD will have earned 42 credits walking into Case. How many semesters will that count? </p>
<p>We will look into OSU's honor program a little more. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Laser, Case has great programs in the sciences, technology and CS so there's a lot to like there. You should have your daughter email someone in admissions to ask the question about her AP credits..... as many of the old-timers here know, the "policy", i.e. we accept all scores above a 3-- and the actuality, i.e. how many count for placement only, how many allow her to skip a pre-req but don't actual count for a college credit, etc. has consumed many an hour here on CC. Best place to get actual information is the admissions office, who may refer your daughter to an academic office or dean who can give you the real answer.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter- she sounds great.</p>
<p>Number of AP credits don't necessarily equate to semesters.</p>
<p>You would have to check the individual major requirements. They have a certain number of credits they want, but most of those credits are upper-level courses. Also, most schools require certain intro courses that are not satisfied by AP credits. At most, you daughter will probably get a semester out of her AP credits at any school.</p>
<p>Examples:
<Does Case accept AP credits for premedical requirements?</p>
<p>Yes, AP credits are acceptable for mathematics, physics, and general chemistry. They are not accepted for organic chemistry or biology. If a student does have AP biology credits, they must complete two upper level biology courses to complete their premedical requirements. ></p>
<p><students with="" advanced="" placement="" (ap)="" scores="" of="" 4="" or="" better="" will="" receive="" three="" semester="" ours="" college="" credit,="" applicable="" to="" the="" total="" number="" credits="" required="" for="" graduation="" as="" well="" any="" major,="" minor,="" sequence="" in="" history.="" ap="" credit="" may="" not="" be="" applied="" hsty="" 112="" and="" 113="" core="" courses.="" by="" way="" examination="" u.s.="" history="" is="" given="" 256:="" american="" political="" history,="" european="" 212:="" modern=""></students></p>
<p>OSU seems a little more generous: <a href="http://admissions.osu.edu/telecounseling/cbe.htm#ap%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.osu.edu/telecounseling/cbe.htm#ap</a></p>
<p>But it still likely won't equate to more than 1 1/2 semesters, when all is said and done.</p>
<p>laserbrother, I'm a college grad in my middle 40's just up the road in Central Ohio. I am blessed to not work outside the home. Do you consider my BBA a total waste? If you truely are an adult seeking advice from other adults, many before me pointed out your short comings. You seem bothered by our perception of you. IMO, you measure your self-worth by what you THINK others consider successful. You are doing yourself and your children a disservice by placing greater importance on what others think.<br>
Have you had a heart to heart with your daughter? What does she see herself doing after college? Is she going to follow in your footsteps by selecting a career she hates? It is not too late to redeem yourself in her eyes. Sit her down and accept responsibility for contributing to her stress. Tell her that you love her and that you are proud of her. Don't you want her to be happy? We ALL have demonds from our past. You can choose to be a victim and stay unhappy OR you can choose to move on and not let your past hold you hostage. You can't live your life through her accomplishments forever. Didn't you say you have a PhD? How can you expect your daughter to be successful when you can't even see your own successes? </p>
<p>By the way, who told you that a 31 is not worthy of respect? Your daughter has done very well for herself dispite your implied unhealthy expectations of her.</p>
<p>laserbrother
What is her GPA? The grades a student gets are just as important as the level of classes she is taking. Getting A's in AP classes puts her in a different catagory of possible colleges to look at than if she is getting B's in those classes.</p>
<p>laserbrother- reread my post #27, bethievt #40 and others. Read "Guiding the Gifted Child" by James T Webb et al, a 250+ page paperback. You sound uneducated in gifted education and need to get up to speed, the issues will not go away if you ignore them. As a physician I have an old joke for you: What do you call the person who graduated last in his medical school class? Answer- Doctor. Even physicians can suffer from brain chemical imbalances that respond to medication, recent years have seen vast improvements in care. Never anything to feel shame about, since many gifted people are perfectionists they can suffer from feelings of low self esteem others would be amazed by. You have taken a first step in solving your daughter's problems (and yours) by starting this thread. Now, do your homework. Check websites dealing with gifted education and perfectionism- start with Northwestern U's Midwest Talent Search, WCATY (Wis center for academically talented youth), the Davidson Institute and Hoagies Gifted Education websites; they all have useful information and links.</p>
<p>Why don't you have your daughter retake the SATs and/or ACTs</p>
<p>Mathdad turns 50 in March. And lets not even talk about the cost of living in the NY suburbs!</p>
<p>Laserdad, do you really want her to finish in three years? The undergraduate years are formative ones, and many opportunities that turn up later in life can be traced back to connections made in the undergraduate years. Four years will give her ample time to establish relationships with professors and fellow students. Since grad school admission depends highly on recommendations, it will be essential that the professors know your DD well.</p>
<p>Of course, if you absolutely cannot afford four years, then you must have her apply to only those schools that award actual course credit for APs. Most top schools in the country only allow for advanced placement and not actual course credit. Some allow course credit for some APs but not others. </p>
<p>My daughter attends Smith, and not only did she have several great AP test scores, but she also had three college courses at a top 30 university. None of those credits transferred, although she can use the AP scores (and not the actual college courses) to lighten her course load later in her undergraduate career. If your DD is like my daughter, she won't want to lighten her load because there are too many fantastic courses she'll want to take.</p>
<p>The course load your daughter is taking will assist in her admissions, so it is not wasted if she cannot transfer the credits. She will be able to do what my daughter is doing: taking several sophomore and higher level courses as a first year student.</p>