Any news yet?
@TTdd16 My D and I are both very anxious because her ACT scores still haven’t been released. They will release a batch at midnight, then every Wednesday and Friday through 2/2. We are hoping it’s at Midnight, but I logged into her ACT account this morning and it still says “registered” not “tested”.
She and called together, twice now. ACT confirms they have her test, nothing has been lost, they say they just score in random batches.
But I don’t know what to do next? We need more merit aid at the schools she’s been accepted to, and I believe each will adjust her aid if they get her score and 7th semester transcript in time, February might be too late?
We have a few more schools that meet full need we might add to the list, IF we get her scores before the 15th.
I believe her higher score will boost St. Olaf chances, although her AO said she is already competitive.
We have heard back from every school she applied to except Earlham (still my favorite) and St. Olaf.
Her only rejection was Grinnell.
I have some free time this morning, I think my plan of action is contacting each school to see if they have travel packages for Pell Students. I’m not quite sure how to approach this with the schools?
I know Earlham will send a plane ticket for a fly in if accepted, Coe offers $250 reimbursement, we haven’t heard anymore about a train ticket to Knox.
I am hearing everyone on how important it is to visit. I thought it was somewhat common for schools to assist lower income students with transportation but maybe not?
Deadlines are rapidly approaching, and we could use some positive thoughts about ACT scores being released at Midnight.
I thought I would add for anyone considering St. Olaf, per their website they DO weight AP and IB classes when calculating GPA. If you go to their website-admissions-what we look for…you’ll find the paragraph there.
I love St. Olaf, lets just hope their FA package matches their NPC.
I still don’t know what the final numbers will look like for Knox. I know how much federal grant money she is eligible for each year at any school. This helps me get a rough number with the merit aid she currently has been awarded. There is still a gap beyond the $5500 in federal student loans, federal grants, and scholarships awarded thus far.
Earlham has a program for families with an EFC of less than 12,000 that will make them a 100% demonstrated need met school. We should hear from them by the 15th.
@Grinnellhopeful keeping fingers crossed for you and your daughter. Last I read you were considering your options with ED2, did you end up pulling the trigger on ED2 without the updated grades? What is your game plan if the current batch of schools don’t meet full need? You mentioned a few additional colleges you might add to the list, care to share?
Seems like you have a 3 legged stool: find a good fit for your daughter, find a school where her application is very competitive, and a school that has the financial ability/history of meeting applicants needs. If one of those legs is short the stool can’t stand up. In your opinion where do the schools you have applied to or are planning to apply to stack up using this approach? Although I am not going to downplay the importance of a good fit, i would think the middle leg is the most critical. If your daughters is at the tops of their applicant pool a motivated school will make sure that money isn’t an issue (making the third leg less critical). Consider that as you continue to tweak your list.
Again, best of luck.
Your comments about Earlham are interesting. We looked at Earlham for D1 before choosing St. Olaf, but we are still interested in Earlham for D2. I have run the Earlham NPC several times over the last four months and it has returned drastically different numbers, differing by $20,000. What has your experience been?
Did you find the meeting 100% of demonstrated need for EFCs below $12,000 on their website or was it from direct communication with the school?
Thank you.
Positive thoughts headed your way from here. I can’t find the thread but I could swear I’ve read people say, somewhere here, not to stress it too hard if ACT scores come in a week or two late–the thought was, it’s not like the colleges read all applications the day they come in, they aren’t in the business of shutting the door on kids, if the app is in on time the file will be opened and a score is unlikely to be thrown out just because it arrived a little late.
If last year’s experience if any guide, Beloit should also pay for accepted students to visit (I think it was across the board without regard to income). Not sure where they stack up on your list.
The only advice I have, really, is to suggest, if you and your daughter are still thinking about adding a few more “meet full needs” schools to the list, going ahead and submitting those applications even if her scores don’t come in by the 15th. Seems like there is really nothing to lose by getting the app in by the deadline, if they’re strict about the date the scores come in at least you tried, and there’s all that possible upside of having more choices, maybe with better aid (or, if you stuck with ED at St. Olaf, having a potential backup if they don’t provide enough aid to make attendance possible).
Wishing you luck! I hope the scores come in very soon.
She applied ED2 and is very satisfied with her decision. Not just one but three AO have read her application and said she is competitive. Her new grades and GPA were uploaded into the common app today. Her new GPA is 4.05. She heard from Knox to confirm they have her new GPA and hopefully that will be taken into consideration for more merit. We still don’t have her new ACT scores, she and I are both really panicked about the situation. However, St. Olaf really doesn’t seem concerned about her current scores, they still say she is competitive. They told us they really love IB and she has always done exceptionally well in her IB classes.
The more I consider helping her tweak her list, the more discouraged we both become. She is genuinely happy with SO or Knox. I would also be thrilled with Earlham (we should hear from them soon).
I didn’t really answer your question, did I?
SO seems to be a fit with her stats, the AO say it is anyway. The NPC is right where she needs to be, borrowing 5500 a year, total.
Knox- She’s always felt like it was a fit. The FA fit isn’t horrible but not as great as SO (estimates at this point)
Earlham- I believe she’s a competitive fit and will be accepted but obviously we don’t know until we get official notification. They have a program for students with EFC of 12,000 or less that makes it 100% need met school.
Beloit- I’m not ready to rule them out. I think it’s a good fit, she’s in, with decent merit, hopefully it will go up if we ever get her ACT scores. If I can get her there, I think she’ll like it.
The problem is I don’t know the full FA picture at any school she’s been accepted to. We have been very upfront with admissions and FA about what she is willing to borrow, they know they deal.
We have eliminated Drake, Truman, KSU, probably Coe
In her mind she is going to SO or Knox.
I think we are getting too late in the game to really apply anywhere else without scores.
I did some research into Lawrence and Cornell, she would undoubtedly get in but I wonder if it is just redundant at this point?
We’ve established she can get into schools of that tier and I suspect the cost is going to be similar at all of them.
I believe the amount she will have to borrow anywhere except Earlham and SO is going to be approx 10-12 a year. Based on the average merit she has been awarded and her federal grants.
I’m certainly open to feedback.
Every time she and I interact with SO, I fall in love a little more. They have amazing support services for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. They even have a month long summer program that I LOVE. It allows her to earn a science credit, make sure her writing is up to par, gets her connected with her academic advisor and professors while allowing her to get the lay of the land socially as well. She would be assigned an upperclassman mentor, explore residence halls, etc.
I don’t think many schools offer that level of transitional support. SO takes their commitment to meet full demonstrated need very seriously also.
But again, that is not a guaranteed admission yet, it sure sounds like a yes, but everyone knows I don’t trust my instincts.
I’m floundering a bit today, we are not sure where to focus energy. If left to my D it is SO or Knox. I did ask her if she didn’t get into SO if she was comfortable borrowing 10-12,000 a year at Knox and she said yes. But I don’t think she gets how much debt that is…although that’s about what she would borrow if not more at KSU.
I FEEL like I should be looking at more schools for back up but like I said I think because we don’t have her scores yet, it might not be an efficient use of time and energy.
She has been lucky enough to have some really solid choices under her belt.
These schools are random thoughts I have, not from my D
Wooster
Centre
Lawrence
Oberlin
I have a list somewhere…
As I was creating this post an email just came in from Coe regarding a full tuition scholarship they want her to apply for. Maybe they don’t come off the list?
IF her scores are released tomorrow, these discombobulated thoughts could change. I’m just not optimistic they will.
Again, my D would be thrilled to be accepted at SO, as would I.
I personally have concerns about Knox being a fit for her, it seems like it on paper but I “think” it might be a bigger party school than she will feel comfortable with. She is not worried about it, or doesn’t agree, she believes I’m wrong.
So, you can see why I think Earlham and SO are probably top choices. Again, my thoughts not hers.
@Cornellian88 I might add that today is a day I feel certain my stool has a short leg and it might be flat out broken. I don’t know why I feel discouraged and lost today? I’m so tired and unsure of everything. Maybe this is just the next part of the waiting game, we have some solid acceptances but we don’t know the full FA picture.
Also, the delay in scores is really hijacking my peace.
I can’t stress enough how positive SO has been. But as discussed I don’t trust my read on those situations anymore. If accepted there, she and I are both feeling not just good but super excited. They seem to check off every single box and boxes we didn’t even think of.
@dadof2d PM me and I’ll tell you what I know. We heard about it directly from the school but I don’t think it’s a secret. As a parent I love Earlham. I think she would find acceptance there. I think she will be nurtured there. I think she will find her people there.
I think she will love it there. Sometimes as parents we just know. They told me they will fly her in if accepted. I will make sure she is on that plane. She started the process for the program (which I happen to love) that makes it a 100% demonstrated need school.
Since I’ve got some of my favorite people reading tonight, I would love an opinion about how you think she would fare at other full need schools if her score hit 30?
I know some have said her math class is an issue but honestly no school not even Grinnell said that was a problem. I don’t want to expend energy if it’s truly a long shot. When she has such great options for an education right now.
@93pilots Beloit hasn’t offered a fly in with her acceptance. I did email right away inquiring. But that was over break and I’m not sure if they’re back yet. I think Beloit is a great school but until I can have a conversation about the possibility of more merit, it’s a big unknown.
My only.comment is that you should not eliminate any school from.consideration until all of the acceptances and financial offers are finalized.
The student is ED at St. Olaf, so they may not have that opportunity.
@Grinnellhopeful don’t get discouraged. Really, go back to your original post and see how much has changed in that short period of time. I think u feel like u have one short leg because the ACT is a factor that will have a considerable impact on the $ part of this. And that’s understandable. I would agree with @happy1 not to eliminate anything yet. I recall someone even counseling you that you will reach a point, especially if you go ED2, when you and your daughter will be burnt out and less inclined to apply to more schools. My message to you is: short term pain, long term gain (can you tell i’m A parent of an athlete). Honestly though this is the grind part, but it will all be worth it when she goes to a school she loves compiling as little debt as possible.
BTW:
I visited lawrence and we really liked the area, campus, sciences building etc. they have a large part of the school focused on Music Which might appeal to your daughter. It’s also a 3 hour drive from the Chicago area.
We also looked into Lake Forest and they appear to be very generous with merit aid. It’s a great campus and in a very nice suburb of Chicago.
We did visit Wooster. My son did get in through a preferred application and the merit aid was very generous, campus is great. And their senior research project was intriguing.
Keep us posted.
@intparent Understood and I agree. But until an acceptance arrives AND the ED school is found to be affordable I would not eliminate any options.
Oh, I agree. Kid should continue applying. Even if ED acceptance is received, shouldn’t withdraw other applications until the FA package has been reviewed and confirmed to be workable.
There is a huge misconception about ED when it comes to high need. There is even a topic on the Ask The Dean section of this community. There is another poster on this thread that commented their actual price at SO matched the NPC. If that is the case with us, it’s like winning the lottery. Our NPC came back with 5500 in Federal Loans and $288 a year out of pocket.
There is not a better price tag available than that. I believe almost everywhere else we will be in the 10-12000 range for federal loans to my D.
Simply because they don’t have the endowments for those kind of institutional grants.
The NPC at SO is almost identical to the NPC at Grinnell.
If ED boosts her chances of admission and it checks all of her boxes plus, this was not a hard choice to make, at the end of the day.
I imagine this is what the NPC will look like at any school that meets 100% of demonstrated need.
I believe that as of right now this is the only 100% demonstrated need school she is competitive at with her current ACT scores. And it fits. The support services offered blow me away.
SHE is confident in her decision and I become more and more confident by the minute. Not just because of the cost.
Also, they can’t make her attend a school at which she doesn’t have access to the money to attend. IF the NPC is way off the mark, where would she get the additional funds? That is why ED isn’t a bad choice for her. If we don’t have 10-12,000 a year and have to borrow over federal limits, nobody can expect her to just magically come up with it.
SO has all of our financial documents, we’ve had this conversation several times.
The school has a reputation for taking their commitment to meet full demonstrated need very seriously.
They don’t want their grads leaving school with 60,000 in debt.
She just can’t then go pick some other school that didn’t give quite as much aid if you turn SO down(you can’t then decide to borrow, for example, when you didn’t want to for SO and send her to a different school).
Hang in there, lots of moving parts. The scores will come in, and she has a good, balanced list. The key is finances, and those will become clearer over the next few month.
Wooster deadline is not until Feb 15, so after St Olaf’s financial aid should come out. I would just bracket Wooster, maybe get on its mailing list, but other than that, put it to the side for now.
Oberlin, Centre and Lawrence are Jan 15 RD deadlines. Maybe run the NPC to see if they come out with a better picture than the current options. If any of them do, consider adding it. I’m guessing Centre and Lawrence would be more like Earlham and Knox in terms of financial aid – they may not officially meet full need so it really is a question of whether it works in your case. Oberlin may be better financial aid on paper (though maybe not, since it had a $5 million budget shortfall this year).
One final thought – granted, we only spent one weekend there, but I was impressed by how NOT a party school Knox was. I was meeting my kid on campus on a Sat night, around 10 pm, and the clusters of kids walking around campus were not drunk, not acting stupid. Greek life is non-traditional, seemingly more like geek clubs than traditional frat life. My kid visited twice for a couple days each, as an athletic recruit, including over a full weekend, and really did not get a party-hardy vibe, even among the athletes.
Best to you and your daughter, you have all the folks here on CC pulling for you!