So, I have been reading a lot about this “average excellent white girl” and wondering if I am the parent if one and how that should direct our college search.
My girl is in an Engineer focus at her good public high school. She has always planned on majoring in engineering though many of her accolades come from her writing and she has a little of interest in politics and economics and will argue with you even when she agrees with you just to be contrary and play devil’s advocate.
She is currently ranked number one in her sophomore class but I am guessing she shares that spot with a good number of other students. She is on track for a shot at NMF with her 211 from this year which she did not prepare for…so she will prep this summer and go for that. She took the ACT in April and got a 33 which we thought was a great first score and place to improve from.
Her number one EC is swimming. She is the National training group of her club and switches places 1 and 2 with her good friend as the tip recruits in their class for the state if Kansas…but it is the state of Kansas which isn’t known for being super fast. She placed at state in all four events her freshman year and hopes to repeat that this year. She has not yet qualified for Junior Nationals and would not be looked at by many DI swim programs but is pretty focused on the idea of swimming in college as it is truly key to mental and physical health and happiness.
Her other ECs are Technology Student Association where she has qualified for Nationals both Freshman and Sophomore year and is the Treasurer her sophomore year. She was also selected to be a Link Leader (like ambassadors) and volunteers with VBS at church as well as with kids science camps at school. Community Service us a weak area mainly because she swims 25 hours a week year round ND takes a rigorous course load do not much time available.
Oh, financially. My husband is retired from his career if sir traffic a controller (as required at 56) andm at home mom.
Her first choice school is Rice, but their swim recruits this year were noticeably faster than previous years and their program was already a reach for her so she is feeling like swim won’t happen at Rice
As the parent, you need to check your financial plan to see how much you can realistically contribute for her college costs (and that of any other kids). Then run some net price calculators on various schools that may be of interest (including in-state public universities, out-of-state public universities of interest, highly selective private schools, less selective private schools, especially including any potential safety schools) to see how affordable they will be in need-based financial aid. If too few schools are affordable on need-based financial aid, then her college application list must be merit-scholarship-seeking (including athletic scholarships if she is recruited and willing to commit to that), and reach/match/safety must be on the basis of the scholarships, not admission.
Is it possible to edit a post? I was not done but clicked something on my phone by accident.
I was typing that we should be eligible for financial aid and would like to see FA/Athletic/Merit money bring our contribution to under $10k.
Other schools currently on her list are U of Chicago, MIT, Colorado School of Mines, Alabama (because of merit money but another fast swimming school), RPI (but this is a bit too slow of a swim school and she already breaks some of their school records), Georgia Tech (because her coach suggested it for her).
She wants a smallish school, prefers no Greek system or close to it, nerdy but social, not crazy liberal nor big party school, she is not into “rah rah” football/cheerleader culture, wants great engineering but also well rounded programming. Might have interest in law school for Patent Law. And a good swim program but one that would want her.
This swim thing feels like the variable that broke the camel’s back in the good fit puzzle.
I’d love suggestions because I’ve seen this community help a lot of people.
Is swimming on a college swim team a MUST for her? Have you talked to her coach about recruitment potential? I don’t think that can happen…yet…but her coaches should be able to give you an idea of,whether she would be a good swim recruit.
Would she consider a division 3 school as a swimmer? No scholarships for athletes there…but at some, possible need based aid. So would your family income put her in position to receive need based aid?
There are net price calculators on college websites to give you an idea of your net costs.
We know some retired air traffic controllers who got second career jobs after their 56 age retirement. Will your husband be doing so?
Your daughter has great stats…and potential as a swimmer.
There are lots of schools where she would be a welcome addition, I would think.
So…to help you…how much are you allocating for her each year?
Would she be willing to do club swimming if not onna swim team?
What geographic areas does she prefer?
Do you have a good public instate option? I’m not familiar with Kansas schools but the honors colleges at some flagships are quite good.
How far from home does she want to go?
You mention engineering…but is that a choice now for college…or not. She is only finishing her sophomore year!
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If your parental contribution limit is $10,000 per year, then she needs at least a full tuition scholarship or equivalent in financial aid grants. For the latter, check the net price calculators as noted above.
For merit scholarships, consider the following, but verify on college web sites that the scholarships are as listed (some have changed) and that the desired majors are available:
Her current coach is really pushing for her to go D1. He suggested Purdue and Georgia Tech. These were not the types of schools she was looking at. But her number 1 happens to be D1… Rice. I think they only took 5 girls this year and somehow they are all in the 10-15 range for Power Index which is pretty fast. I’m not sure how they have signed such a fast recruit class. My Daughter is currently a 37 though she does still have two years to improve. She thinks she loves Rice enough to consider not swimming if she got in but didn’t get a spot on the team.
My husband is working some now and I haven’t run the new numbers, but previously our EFC at Rice was $11K with just using retirement income. It would be more now. Princeton is so favorable they estimated our cost to be $1000 per year, providing she was accepted, of course.
I feel I’m looking for the chupacabra. Great engineering school with some level of wow (prestige) factor, that will give us plenty of merit/aid and where she can swim while contributing to the team and being challenged.
Only public in state with swimming is KU. They are pretty fast and 20 minutes from our house and half of her high school will go there. She has zero interest.
A lot of it will determine what type of school she wants to attend. Large? Small? Out in the country, in the middle of a large city, or somewhere in between? I would ask her coach what schools are realistic for her to have a hook as a swimmer and possible receive an athletic scholarship. I’m guessing that since your H is retired affordability is going to be a big factor.
With a 33 ACT, she will likely qualify for merit aid at most public flagship U’s. I’d definitely look at schools like Pitt, UT, Michigan, UF, various UCs, and GaTech as top public engineering schools. She can probably get significant scholarships at Alabama and UofSC (although their programs do not enjoy the "rankings’ that other schools enjoy.
For private universities, I’d look at schools that meet full need. She sounds like she will be competitive for Vanderbilt and Duke, so I would definitely look at those.
She thinks engineering is her choice. But her 33 ACT came with a 31 math!!! I know she needs to review earlier math courses and that will come up but it was an eye opener. She was one of 10 rising juniors selected in her Engineering program for a capstone for next year. I know she is viewed as strong in her program, but she gets more notice for her writing and awards from English and History teachers…so I just wonder if the direction we have always assumed we were heading is the right one. She doesn’t wonder though.
She is open geographically so far. We moved from Southern CA in 2015 to my hometown area. She loves winter and mountains but also sun and Beach and likes the idea of trying a new environment for four years.
Her biggest requests are that it is in the 3000-8000 range undergrad enrollment and that it be full of smart and interesting kids. Urban isn’t first choice…as in Downtown Atlanta type urban where Georgia Tech is. But small town or suburban are good.
Check out Dartmouth. It doesn’t give merit aid, but run the need based numbers.
It has a swim team which almost folded a few years back because New Hampshire doesn’t attract a lot of swimmers. It has a good engineering program. It is rural. It’s about the right size.
We currently spend close to $10,000 per year on her swimming costs (travel meets, tech suits, dues, etc) so I figure we can at least cover that much once those costs are off our hands. Probably more, but of course if full ride to a place she liked was an option, that would be a big draw.