Is this a good strategy?

Paying for College
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<p>I really like this site and respect the experience of all of you who have recently been through the college selection and funding process. There is so much here, and I am trying to process it all. I hope it is not bad form just to jump in and ask for fact-based opinions about what we are planning to do.</p>

<p>Our oldest son will be going to college next year. He prefers to stay in the Mid-Atlantic region (particularly the Philly area) but would make an exception for a really sweet deal, which I am rather certain is not going to materialize.</p>

<p>My husband and I know we will be on the hook for the full amount of our children's college, even though our family income was only moderate for much of the past. We refuse to go into gigantic debt for college, and our son does not want to hobble himself for the future by taking on immense undergraduate loans. We both have degrees, and we believe that education is very important. However, we just don't see the value or wisdom in paying $50K+ per year. </p>

<p>Our son wants to major in Finance and has a clear career path and realistic goals. He's met with several of my husband's business contacts who are successfully doing what he hopes to do, and all have told him that a solid education in the practical basics (instead of all theory), meaningful internship experience, and relentless networking will go further than just a degree from an expensive glamour school.</p>

<p>Our son's a good student, but not stellar--SAT: 1430, 3.6 unweighted/4.1 weighted, in the top 20% of his class by just a hair, some ECs with moderate leadership roles but no amazing, breathtaking accomplishments. He attended Johns Hopkins CTY summer programs, so he enjoys an intellectual challenge; however, there's nothing that makes him stand out above the typical applicant at most schools. So, in other words, he's high-mediocre. No place is going to give him any merit aid, correct?</p>

<p>So...based on what we know, we are strongly suggesting to him that he applies only to schools we know we can pay for entirely without going into debt. He's applied to Temple and Drexel, the latter of which is really not on our affordable list. He's planning to apply to Penn State and Pitt as well. He is a good writer and is planning to look for scholarships that are awarded based upon the submission of an essay. It doesn't seem as if he should waste his time on scholarships that will likely go to people with perfect SATs, GPAs, and a carton of newspaper clipping about their EC accomplishments.</p>

<p>Are we being realistic? Is this a sound strategy? Any tweaks you can suggest from experience?</p>

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<p>If you have financial limitations you are wise to lay the out early in the college search. You might want to do a search for colleges where your son would get some merit aid…I believe with his SAT scores, there are at least a few that would offer him some. This would perhaps help soften the “full pay” costs you are anticipating. </p>

<p>It sounds like you are PA residents. Your son’s instate options are good ones!!</p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>Drexel is very generous with merit money…D got 17k, though didn’t choose Drexel…being in state is good for state schools, but Pitt and Temple are not truly state schools,…Pitt is a great value school,but not easy to get into, and will cost yo nearly 30k per…Psu is a good option,way too big for what we were looking for,and very remote…what about West Chester U?</p>

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<p>It’s certainly ok to apply to all (or mostly all) schools that will give large merit scholarships.</p>

<p>How much do you want to pay each year? Obviously, a $15k per year merit scholarship won’t do any good at a school that costs $55k, when you only want to pay up to $20k per year.</p>

<p>Our son’s a good student, but not stellar–SAT: 1430, 3.6 unweighted/4.1 weighted,</p>

<p>Is that SAT Math + CR? </p>

<p>If so, Alabama would give him free tuition (including out of state tuition)</p>

<p>The University of Alabama Presidential Scholarship</p>

<p>Out of state students who have a **32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT<a href=“critical%20reading%20and%20mathematics%20scores%20only”>/B</a> and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive out-of-state tuition for four years. </p>

<p>This is for FULL tuition…and the scholarship increases in value as tuition increases. this is an ASSURED scholarship for stats as long as you apply by Dec 1 and submit the scholarship app. Easy apps…no essays, no teacher recs. </p>

<p>Bama has a very good Business School.
[The</a> Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration](<a href=“Home - The Culverhouse College of Business”>http://www.cba.ua.edu/) </p>

<p>This scholarship means you’d only have to pay room, board, books, etc…so about $10-12k per year depending on dorm/meal plan choices.</p>

<p>Your son would also qualify for Bama’s awesome Honors College</p>

<p>UA HONORS COLLEGE [Honors</a> College - Home](<a href=“http://honors.ua.edu/]Honors”>http://honors.ua.edu/)</p>

<p><a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;
and tell me what you think…it’s of the College of Arts and Sciences, but gives you a feel for the school.</p>

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<p>*He’s planning to apply to Penn State and Pitt as well. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>PSU won’t give any merit unless the student is accepted to Shreyer (merit is around 4800 per year) Pitt gives merit to attract OOS students, don’t know how good it is with instate.</p>

<p>He is a good writer and is planning to look for scholarships that are awarded based upon the submission of an essay. It doesn’t seem as if he should waste his time on scholarships that will likely go to people with perfect SATs, GPAs, and a carton of newspaper clipping about their EC accomplishments.</p>

<p>Most private scholarship awards are for freshman year only, so not going to help pay for years 2, 3, and 4. They are also hard to get, for smallish amounts, and sometimes have a “need” component. </p>

<p>If you’re looking to reduce the annual cost for all 4 years, then the colleges that award merit scholarships that are for all 4 years are the answer.</p>

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<p>No reach schools will, but schools where his numbers are at least match, and more likely safety are worth looking at for merit possibilities.</p>

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Penn State and Pitt are great schools, but unfortunately they’re #1 and #2 nationwide in terms of in-state COA for public schools. </p>

<p>Tough situation for PA residents. There are quality flagships in other states where OOS COA is cheaper than in-state Penn St and Pitt! U Minn, for example.</p>

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<p>Your son might be able to get into The University of South Carolina’s Honors College, in which case he will get in-state tuition and a merit scholarship (likely $4K a year). Therefore, the total cost, including fees and books, will be about $16K a year. His SAT’s are almost identical to this year’s 1427 average for incoming freshman. His weighted GPA of 4.1 might be a problem because last year’s average was 4.51. (I do not know this year’s average; it probably went up a bit.) However, he definitely will get into the Capstone Program; and, likely, in-state tuition and a scholarship, for a total cost of about $17K a year. If he does well in his first semester, he can transfer into the Honors College. About 50% of Honors College students are out-of-state. I do not know the percentage for Capstone, although I suspect it is similar. Most candidates who check out the Honors College are blown away by what they find. However, I am not familiar with Capstone.</p>

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<p>He’d get completely free tuition from Alabama. He’d have ALL of his tuition paid for (not just the OOS portion mentioned in the above scholarship). </p>

<p>Presidential Scholarship</p>

<p>Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (critical reading and mathematics scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive out-of-state tuition scholarship for four years. (This is all of tuition. This is an assured scholarship for stats as long as you apply by Dec 1. And, this scholarship increases in value if tuition costs increase… :slight_smile: ).</p>

<p>His total cost would be about $10k per year, depending on dorm/meal selection.</p>

<p>Bama also has an amazing Honors College and the school is ranked #75 in the nation. And, he’d be assured of admissions to the Honors College. The Honors College offers LAC-like courses in small classes limited to 15 students per class. </p>

<p>Over 50% of the incoming frosh at Bama this fall were from OOS. The campus’ total OOS numbers are now around 45%.</p>

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<p>maybe…maybe not. DD got a McKissick Scholarship to U of South Carolina. She DEFINITELY would have chosen that university IF she had gotten chosen as a Capstone Scholar. She didn’t.</p>

<p>I agree the OP should apply for the U of South Carolina scholarships. Their scholarships (McKissick and Cooper) for OOS are actually decided based on the strength of your application. Acceptance to the Honors College requires a separate and VERY challenging application with is due early…you would need to check the dates. Also requires having your application sent early as well. USC (in South Carolina) offers some very good scholarships to high achieving OOS students. Good luck.</p>

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<p>The “Honors Q&A” page on the Alabama Website includes the following question: “What are the qualifications for being admitted to the Honors College?” The following is the answer that is provided:</p>

<p>“Students with a 28-ACT or 1250 SAT will be accepted to the UHP or IHP upon their successful submission of their application. Students applying for or after fall 2012 are required to also have a minimum high school GPA of 3.3.”</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Not sure what the above post is in response to, but I already posted that the the OP’s son is assured of admission to Bama’s Honors College because of his stats. There’s no worry about whether his app would be accepted or not. </p>

<p>he’d be assured of admissions to the [Alabama] Honors College.</p>

<p>If the post was in response to Thumper’s post, I understand. Admission to South Carolina’s Honors College is not assured. It has competitive admissions.</p>

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<p>It is nothing more than some “FYI” information on the Honors College.</p>

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<p>Ahh…thanks for the clarification. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I should add that within Bama’s Honors College there are 4 programs. 2 of the programs admit by stats as mentioned above. However, there are 2 other programs that do have competitive admissions. The son’s 1430 M+CR score would be competitive for admissions to those 2 programs if desired. A student can apply to 1 - 4 programs…some kids belong to 2-4 programs.</p>