Lessons Learned 2011

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
1

<p>Now that it's May Day and most students have decided on where they will be studying next year, I thought we could share our experiences for those applying next year. I'll start with here's what I learned:</p>

<p>1) Be ready for surprises. Some things may turn out as expected but don't count on any one application or university being a sure thing. Even so-called safeties can throw a curve ball.
2) Big merit aid is not forthcoming for most students at large private universities. Perhaps one or two will put together a decent package.
3) Higher EFCs on the FAFSA (e.g. above 30K) will still lead to packages with loans, in which case the actual amount a university expects you to pay can be $5-8K more than the EFC.
4) Decisions at most places do not come out until the very end of March.
5) Think carefully about the places where you apply -- use the reach/match/safety format. And also include some local schools in the mix. Some kids who are excited about going away for college may have second thoughts once they are really facing the long flight. </p>

<p>And for National Hispanic Scholars: You will get a lot of mail and a lot of universities that say they are committed to recruiting Hispanic students. But very few offer guaranteed scholarships for NHS. Some say you are eligible for an NHS scholarship, but there is no guarantee that you will get one and it's unclear how many they give out. A few of them do have tuition scholarships and even tuition plus more for all NHS. </p>

<p>Please share your experiences.</p>

2

<p>Copterguy, my son is 2012 so I do not have a story to share, but I do want to thank you and the many others who have shared their journeys this year. I feel much better prepared to approach the coming year.</p>

3

<p>^ Ditto. We are benefiting from those who have gone before us and shared their experiences. Both excited and nervous for the coming year!</p>

4

<p>This is a great idea CG. </p>

<p>I especially agree with your #1 & #5. By far the biggest surprise was that my son was denied from two of his target/match schools and accepted by all his super reach schools (including two Ivys). This made little sense to us but it was a very pleasant surprise. He was accepted to the School of Foreign Service and will be attending Georgetown University in the Fall. </p>

<p>Being a National Hispanic Scholar is a wonderful acknowledgement which can come with significant FA from some schools. However, if you are applying to a top 5 or even a top 20 school (according to U.S. News and World Report) all your academic credentials and extra curriculars need to be competitive, within each institution’s averages, to truly have a shot at admission. Recruited athletes are a different story… Do your research! </p>

<p>My S counselors told us that quite a few universities are meeting their diversity goals through Questbridge. Universities are able to get a early look at very high achieving Hispanic students, who are also at a rather significant economic disadvantage, through this program. Questbridge students apply by March and find out in the early Fall (well before regular admission decisions). Of course, not all colleges and universities participate with Questbridge. Do your research! </p>

<p>My last nugget of wisdom is let your child run the show with their college admission process. It is their first venture into big decision making and letting them work their way through the process is a tremendous life lesson.</p>

5

<p>Repeating the mantra, do your homework! Here are some basic resources:</p>

<p>Admissions:</p>

<p>CC (of course) - Start by reading the sticky threads they give great direction for learning about all aspects of the process. Then read current threads and use the Search function to find out answers to your questions, most likely they are FAQs. Go to the Results threads for schools of interest to get some idea of the range of stats as well as EC/volunteering/etc. and ethnic/race factors. Then ask any specific questions you have. Caveat: Not all members are created equal, check the posting history of members to determine their experience, knowledge and credibility.</p>

<p>College Board website - A great resource for admissions data (25:75 SAT/ACT range, acceptance rate, etc.).</p>

<p>Individual college websites - The ONLY place to get current recommendations and requirements for applying.</p>

<p>Admission Matters by Sally Springer - A realistic, up-to-date, comprehensive description of how college admissions work.</p>

<p>Financial Aid & Merit Scholarships:</p>

<p>CC Financial Aid & Scholarship forum, Hispanic Students forum (Resources sticky thread).</p>

<p>General (need based) FA resources - finaid.org; How to Pay for College without going Broke; FAFSA EFC calculators; Profile calculators (especially for individual schools, as how need is determined varies by college, and yes, there can be a wide range in FA packages between schools).</p>

<p>Merit scholarships (Institutional) - Start with schools you’re interested in and the ones listed on merit aid threads, then go to the individual college websites to get the details about the scholarships.</p>

<p>Testing:</p>

<p>xiggi’s and silver turtle’s threads on the SAT Prep forum for strategies.</p>

<p>CB Official SAT Study guide (book or online) - for practice tests and solutions to questions.</p>

<p>I’m sure I’ve forgotten important resources, but this is a start for building a realistic list of admissions and financial safety/match/reach schools. There’s no quick fix, you need to spend time on research in order to develop strategies for both applying and paying for college. Finally, you need to be practical in evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as an applicant and in understanding the highly competitive nature of the current college admissions process.</p>

6

<p>Everything is so well summarized by all of the posters. The only thing I have to add is to not expect “the admissions process” to be the same year to year, or child to child. I think those of us who had children applying this year found it to be a crazy year. The economy has affected the availability of merit aid and the cost of attendance is unbelievable. My D was a stronger candidate than my son on many measures and she didn’t receive similar merit scholarships to our suprise. I appreciate all of you on this forum and best to your children at their colleges next year. How exciting.</p>