I want to sincerely thank everyone for their help and advice. A lot of great, insightful posts here and I appreciate the wisdom that you are willing to share with first time parents!
My free advice to the OP. When the time comes, cast a broad net in terms of applications. Your daughter is completing her freshman year in HS, right? At this point, it’s a little early to project how high her stats will be for college applications…but if she continues on the same track, she will have the potential to be a contender for good merit aid which won’t be income dependent.
@mom2collegekids We are fortunate that our daughter has always had very high test scores on all standardized testing. She was in the 99% in each category of the PSAT at the beginning of this year and performed similarly on the Duke Tip ACT test in the 7th grade. She also plays a varsity sport and has other strong ECs. We think that she has the potential to get into really good schools but we know that there are lots and lots of smart, well qualified kids out there. She is actually interested in medical research but doesn’t want to go to med school so she has been looking at biomedical engineering. I know it seems very early to be thinking of these things as she is a freshman but she is in Sophomore levels honors classes at her school and some of her teachers have been giving a lot of college planning advice already which she has been taking to heart and coming home and sharing with us.
[QUOTE=""]
Ivies and some other top schools give aid for income above $150k if that is relevant. <<<
[/QUOTE]
Not if assets are substantial and not in protected retirement accts.
Is the $300,000 you have set aside for college in a 529 account? Or what?
Like I said…when the time comes…cast a broad net. It sounds like your daughter would want the opportunity to do research on the undergrad level…assuming she doesn’t change her mind. If that is the case…your search needs to include colleges where that IS possible.
Another factor in choosing which colleges to apply to, is that many schools don’t directly admit students to the engineering majors. As first and second year students, pre-engineering majors will be required to complete a certain sequence of courses, and then apply to the engineering major they desire. Some students don’t want to deal with the extra level of stress created by the possibility of being shut out of their desired major in the third year, and instead they only apply to schools with direct admit policies.
Also note that engineering is complicated even for very good HS students. Some schools are known for grade deflation and even those not known, taking the toughest major in a competitive school can still lead to mediocre grades. Check if any merit awards are tied to grades, at most but not all schools they are. One of my sons goes to an engineering school where they admit they grade tough, and only require you to be in “good academic standing” to keep the merit award. Encourages kids to pursue their dream even if challenging, IMO.
Also note, for engineering the name of the school is less important. If they do well in a lesser known but economical choice, that is fine. IMO.
Your daughter sounds like a very strong student but be careful… once you get outside of the HS bubble you will find that there is a world full of these same students… all taking very advanced classes, high scores, amazing accomplishments ( research, publishing, crazy awards, I know a student who wrote a math textbook etc). You will also find that your daughter will change a lot over the next few years. Her interests may change etc.
Cast a wide net and enjoy the process… it’s a very exciting time!
Teachers are “giving a lot of college planning advice” or it’s more offering names and possible programs, based in her brightness? There’s a difference. Real planning needs savvy strategy- not just what the applicant wants, but what really makes a match, to those adcoms.
If she’s going to aim high, eg, it’s not just “strong” ECs (or what seem to be, in that hs,) but relevant ones. In 9th, she’s only beginning to dip her toe in. And then, interesting breadth.
This isn’t what you asked. But if you’re at a point of naming colleges, it’s important to delve deeper than what they offer you.
Your daughter might be one of the strong contenders at tippy top schools. She might be a contender for a scholarship at Vandy.
A few things to remember.
- Don't just go by the brand name or ranking of the college. Your kid might actually HATE a top ranked school. And she might love one ranked lower than the top 50. She has to like where she goes to college too...but as a 9th grader...way to early to decide.
- Your kiddo might be a contender for merit aid from Vandy,,,but remember, all of the contenders for those scholarships are top students. They only have so many awards.
- Your DD sounds like a great kid with a lot of wonderful HS potential. She could be the top student, with excellent stats and ECs, and apply to top 20 schools. But remember, there will be TONS of others just like her applying to those same schools, many of which accept 10% or less of applicants. In other words...don't count onnadmission because LOTS of extremely well qualified applicants do not get accepted.
Start thinking about the characteristics she likes in colleges…and start looking at schools that meet her criteria. Our kids made a list of they top three things they wanted in a college. Anything without those things was taken off the list.
Cast a broad net when the time comes…because you can’t really count on admission to top 20 schools…even as a tippy top student. Your daughter is fortunate that you can pay for her to attend regardless of the cost. But do cast a wide net. You may find that there are other schools that MORE meet her criteria than you think.
And lastly, she is how old? 15? Lots can change in terms of her preferences between now and her senior year when she applies to colleges so everyone needs to keep an open mind. One of my kids found THE college when she was in 8th grade. When it came time to apply, it wasn’t even ON her list…at all.
My college list changed from summer before senior year to fall of senior year. I think I only applied to one college from my original list
Both of my kids’ number one choices changed between applications being sent…and May 1.