<p>URM is NOT the only thing that counts. As you pointed out, other things such as geographical diversity are important to boarding schools too. It’s just one example I gave to make my point. The point is schools - ones with limited funding in particular - really want their FA money to count for something, be it to improve the image of the school, carry out its long term mission, or improve the quality of its student body.</p>
<p>I’d like to return to the theme some parents are advancing, that only very large, well-known, well-endowed schools can offer candidates sufficient financial aid. That is not true, as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>Friends are applying to day schools for their child. The last time we spoke, they have received acceptances from 3 schools. All offers included some form of financial aid. The more generous offers came from schools which won’t appear on any list of the fanciest schools in our friends’ region. The schools can make it very hard to turn them down, if they want your child. If a candidate is attractive to schools, there is aid. To be attractive, it helps to be unusual in the pool (that’s my opinion.) This kid does stand out, but is neither an athlete, nor an URM. The problem, so far, is that some day schools require an answer before March 10th. </p>
<p>If schools publish generous average financial aid grants, I see no reason to doubt that some students may receive generous FA. It doesn’t make any sense for most candidates who need FA to attend boarding school to apply only to Andover and Exeter. They are not the only schools which award financial aid.</p>
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If I misspoke or implied that one should apply only to A & E, then I stand corrected. Please don’t take the “only” approach.</p>
<p>It is absolutely not true that only hugely endowed schools will offer full aid.</p>
<p>@DAndrew,</p>
<p>but it’s always ALWAYS the first thing someone mentions. And I can’t tell you the damage it causes for kids who don’t fit that description who would like to spend their time acclimating to the new school, not educating some nitwit who assumed their color got them special consideration or got money.</p>
<p>SO pick a different euphemism, especially since there are many many hooks having nothing to do with color that count for FA distribution. And frankly, given the low percentage of URM’s on campus - some of which are full pays - URM’s are still in the minority as regards to scholarship distribution.</p>
<p>The whole URM+Athlete post is tiring and it’s grown very, very OLD - especially since people are just regurgitating what they hear in the wind and don’t really have real statistics to back it up.</p>
<p>123 Mama: So where within the wide spectrum between slouch and perfecto must a student be to get FA? Could you give us a sense of where within that range your kids were when they applied? </p>
<p>I’d agree that many day schools are a different ball of wax. The good (but not super-competitive) day school my friend sends her kids to gives aid to a wide range of kids. I’d speculate that those schools, drawing from a narrower pool, are trying to make their school available to as many area kids as possible.</p>
<p>@classicalmama–S2 has yet to apply, we’re first beginning to look, aps will be after the summer, but I can tell you a bit more about S1. He was a strong student, mostly A’s, I think there were a couple of Bs btw 7th and 8th grade. He was strong on service, because that was and continues to be his passion–but he certainly never began his own charity. He served meals to the homeless on a regular basis for two years, and volunteered in a home for the aged. He was and is a hard worker, dedicated and focused. I’m embarrassed to say I can’t remember his SSAT scores, but they were unremarkable, not stellar, but not horrendous. He was not and is not a good standardized test taker. I accept it, he accepts it, and I see no point to stressing him out over being human enough to have a weak area. 
We focused on smaller schools that had a good track record for FA, different levels of academic abilities, and focused on community, because that is his strength. I know, all the schools’ websites advertise their sense of community, but when you walk onto the campus, you get a much clearer sense of how each school defines community, kwim? We also applied to quite a few schools, casting our net wide, because we needed such a large FA package (fee waivers are available if the app fees are a hardship). </p>
<p>I’ve heard it’s more difficult to get the full % of FA needed from private day schools, because of significantly smaller endowments–even comparing schools of similar size and populations. Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you want to ask about specific schools. :)</p>
<p>123: That’s very helpful, thanks. And yes, I think you’re right about day schools–they offer FA to more, but full FA to fewer. Not an option for us, anyway as the nearest day school is over 100 miles away…but it sounds from your description that bs wouldn’t be a completely hopeless prospect if he decides he wants to go that route.</p>