I got obsessed with Net Price Calculators (NPCs) a little while back. The more specific info you put the better. All the schools that we have looked at have them. Just google the school name and NPC. Then scour school web sites for info about merit money. Also, check here on CC for the school’s page - some of the the pages are quite active and you can pick up good tips.
@intparent has great info above.
I like this government web site: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
Well you gave a very complimentary opening to us and I’m sorry it wasn’t returned. Some people just come on here to follow agendas other than college search sometimes to the detriment of the forum.
Are you sure it is 35k a year for her and you will still have funds for the others? You haven’t done anything wrong and she has good stats.
This is the time most student’s attention turns to college and she will likely need to keep an open mind for a bit. Not ruling anything too strictly in or out. I think the ‘everyone goes there’ argument is immaturity. That really isn’t a good reason to include or reject, imo. Also she is just a HS JR so try to get her thinking she has to plan for next 5 years so she will be 20 when away at school too.
There are colleges that offer automatic merit aid for specific stats. That can be a reassurance that your child can afford to attend college somewhere. And U of Alabama is one of those schools. Lots of great info on UofA on this site, with lots of OOS students attending to take advantage of their great merit aid.
Relax, you are not behind, and you are certainly ahead of most families in the savings department. Plus you have had the financial talk with your student before she has applied to any colleges. Those 2 things are HUGE, and they will save your family great heartache later on in this process.
Keep the field of potential colleges diverse until your D is able to make decisions about her likes/dislikes for location, size, etc. Get a rolling admissions college application turned in August of her senior year to a safety school. Getting an early acceptance can be a great comfort during the long waiting period for most college decisions.
@brownparent : yes she should have approximately $35k a year. Almost half of it is in savings from her 529 that we have been slowly adding to every year since she was little, and the rest is what my dh and I figure is the top end of what we can contribute from our income/savings each year . This will replace some/much of our retirement contributions but with the understanding that we are still funding the younger 2 at the same rate as before (one is still in elementary and her account is obviously not well funded yet). We live with little and save much of our $ - although we are driving older cars (12 yrs and 9 yrs) that will need replacing at some point. We do realize that we are fortunate to have the safety of savings and the monthly cushion in our salaries. We are facing a minimum of 13 years straight of college costs - then we will be close to retirement age if there is such a thing anymore. By the time #3 is in, we will likely need to take some loans on the home equity to make up the difference - especially if the costs keep risng at the current rates. Since we think we can get to one of our state flagship schools on that amount it is more than reasonable amount to provide. If she gets in to more expensive schools and they are within reasonable reach to that 35K we will have to have discussions about loans.
We agree about the open mind and have told her as much (PSU has a great reputation, plenty of programs, and an amazing alumni network). We also understand that she wants to spread her wings a bit beyond where 1/3 of her high school attends and we do get that it is in a rural area and has a huge student body. I feel that her reluctance might be that she has heard of plenty of strong students that have not been accepted to main and had to go to a satellite campus for years 1 and 2. Not sure how true this is as we have not really looked into it since she is not interested. As for the Philadelphia schools, there is definitely a local suburban bias to view Philadelphia as not as safe (although I am sure there are plenty of local kids who love Temple, Penn, etc…) and she did indicate that she wanted to be a bit farther from home. As she is so undecided, anything taken off of the table seems like a blessing in knowing where to start.
I will look at the NPC’s and stats of some of the schools and I love the advice of how to attempt to figure out what reasonable merit aid could be awarded. We did run some numbers on a calculator and found the our EFC was high - as we expected. This was not a surprise as we didn’t think we would get anything.
Other CTCL schools that could be a great fit with generous merit aid that haven’t yet been mentioned would be Allegheny in PA and some of the Ohio schools especially College of Wooster +/- possibly Denison. Non CTCLs south of you (though still close by) consider Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, Washington College in Chesterstown, MD, and University of Richmond.
Fiske has a guide called “Getting into the Right College”. It is excellent, gives the student lots to think about regarding what kind of college is “right” for them. From there it gives a snapshot of many different schools based on student’s interests. It goes well with the big version of the Fiske College Guide.
One other thing I’d add is, when you’re trying to both find a school that’s a great fit for your kid and maximize your merit aid, it really helps to be as wide open geographically as you and your child can stand. Midwestern schools, in particular, are often excellent good values. Schools in the northeast tend to be the very most expensive and the stingiest with merit (generally speaking – exceptions exist).
Nice to meet you! Glad you are here. Sounds like a nice family, and a daughter who is doing well. You have not blown it at all.
Possible to be admitted
The first thing I would do is see whether your school uses Naviance. If so, I would start looking at the scattergrams for your school to understand which schools are easy, about right, or basically impossible for her to be admitted to from a grades and test scores perspective. I would look at LACs, Private Universities, and Public Universities. I would begin with a longer list to understand where she could get in. It would write them down. Don’t eliminate any yet because of preference.
Programs
At this point your daughter does not need to know what she wants to study. However, to begin to trim the list, it will be helpful to know whether there are subjects that she definitely will not study. Is there a chance that she will be interested in business, engineering, education, or nursing? Many schools do not offer all of these programs. Since she is interested in science, I would probably want to keep the engineering door open for now. I would discuss what she is sure she is not interested in.
Keep in mind that college grads are having a lot of difficulty finding work in their field right now. Many of the jobs available to new grads are in healthcare, STEM related, or business-related majors.
Also, many LAC students have less marketable majors, but are planning to go directly for a Masters degree. Would direct to graduate school be a possibility? If not then choosing a major she likes that is also reasonably employable becomes more important, unless you are very rich.
Then I would cross off schools without programs that she is not ready to eliminate.
Pricing
Then I would price out the remaining schools using their net price calculators to see how they compare.
Grades and test scores
Now that a colleges list is taking shape you may be able to see whether improving her grades a bit, or enhancing her test scores will help with admission to any schools of interest. They may still help will FA but if she can’t get in, that will not matter.
@novicemom23kids, welcome! You’ve definitely found a great source of information. I don’t have much to offer that hasn’t been covered by many of those who have posted already, but I did want to reassure you that you are not behind and you and your husband and D sound like you are taking all the right steps and your timing is exactly right.
I also encourage you to look at threads in both the Financial Aid/Scholarship forum as well as in the Parent Cafe … in my experience the “nicest” posters seem to congregate and share their wisdom in both.
Best of luck as you enter this exciting process!
@novicemom23kids, I could have written your OP three years ago when I came across CC during my child’s HS sophomore year. I found out about the NPC, ran a few, fainted and then came back onto CC for advice and information. My child had a slightly higher test score but lower GPA in honors and AP classes. I think (because you did the same as me) you are going great - I always thought kids just followed their interests.
We used both CTCL and The Fiske books. The One Hour College Finder spurred my daughter on in her search. I agree with others, 1890 is a very good SAT score with no prep. (We also made that same “mistake” of letting our daughter take it cold) One of D’s older friends suggested the ACT and sure enough, D liked that format better and performed better on that exam. The key to merit is having a high enough test score but it doesn’t have to be perfect.
At first, we were focused on the NE (because that’s what we know) but as @rayrick points out, we found schools in the southeast and midwest and even in the PNW were less expensive and more generous with the merit aid. If you can broaden your search to include direct flights of 2 to 3 hours, that would open up more possibilities.
If CTCL college fair comes to the Philadelphia area, I highly recommend going if any of the schools interest you. Your daughter can spend a fair amount of time talking to each college rep about their school and programs.
Also, did she just get her PSAT scores? I’m pretty sure those were in the new SAT format. How she felt about that test (assuming she took it) relative to how she felt about the SAT she took in December would be a factor to consider when deciding whether to push for more SAT attempts prior to next March, when the new format kicks in.
I too came across CC in my child’s sophomore year. Although I rarely post, I do follow regularly. There is an abundance of great advice. I agree with broadening the geographical area as some schools will give more merit aid for out of state. We know a few who have similar stats and received great aid.
A few other thoughts: Taking the ACT may be beneficial. You could take a few practice tests from “The Real ACT Book” or some libraries offer free testing dates. Also, there are a few websites that offer a specific college search where you can then download a spreadsheet with results. It can be a great way to organize an initial list and then use CC to get more detailed information. NPC’s are a great way to get an idea of costs depending on circumstances (no personal business, etc.) Don’t shy away from investigating less selective schools. They may have some very strong programs and aid.
Good luck in your search and enjoy the journey!
I urge you to think about visitng colleges in the Feb, March and/or April braks. We finished all our college visits by April and it saved a lot of stress and hassle in her senior year. Start a list now, and have her thinko f,the environment she would like to be in. It seems like yiu ahvent done a lot of research into colleges, so I think while you could visit a couple of colleges “just to see”, at this point, you are better off focussing on the places she is really interested in.
Her stats and ECs are pretty good. I agree, have her do ACT practice and take the ACT. New SAT too much of an unknown quantity right now. If she can get up to 32, she will have a lot more choice.
I think once she narrows down big, medium or small, it makes life easier. She needs about two safeties, three matches, and three reaches. Of course, this is very General. Reach schools are easy, it’s the match and safeies that are hard. Tons of advice on how to figure out what schools could be those categories. Basically, if her stats (GPA and test scores) are higher, she has more choice. She should aim for 50- 75% and above for match schools, above 75% for safety. Good luck, it’s a lot of work, but get to work on a list of colleges you can afford to go visit and pretend it’s a sort of vacation.
I recommend the ACT as well. My son scored much higher on the ACT than he did on the SAT. It’s worth a try to see if your daughter is one of those children. We started looking at colleges in the Fall of my son’s senior year . That left him time to retake the SAT and ACT as needed. He applied early action to 5 schools and was accepted to all 5. He never did any summer programs, never created anything. Participated in ECs he enjoyed , not to package himself. He received substantial merit from every school. You are on the right track. You are not late to the game. And I also say don’t let CC stress you out. I also recommend joining the Parents of HS class 2017
Hi there - it sounds to me that you are right on target to begin thinking about college and that you have raised your kids to be happy, responsible and hardworking and not overly stressed about where they “might” fall short.
The CC world is NOT statistically representative of the nation as a whole! You will find incredible high achievers who have been strategizing about college since the 8th or 9th grade and have been carefully preparing for every course, standardized test, and EC to maximize their chances to get into Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Do not compare yourself to this standard. I applaud the students who work so hard to achieve those results but for there are many different routes to college and each one has its merits.
If your daughter has gotten her PSAT scores back, they may be a better indication of how she would do on the new SAT, to be introduced in March. The SAT that she took in December is the format that is being phased out and is quite different from the new version. As others have mentioned, if she doesn’t get the score she needs, the ACT might be a better option. If she can get her scores up a bit, she’d have a real chance at merit at schools like Dickinson (Carlisle, PA) or Muhlenberg. If you are willing to look at Ohio - College of Wooster, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan and perhaps Kenyon would look seriously at a student with the academic record that your daughter has.
You are not late to the party and you’ve done nothing wrong. Sounds like you are right on track!
p.s. Most schools are most concerned about Critical Reading and Math sections - what are her SAT scores in those areas? The writing tends to be taken less seriously as the essay evaluation is so subjective. Personally, I find the writing section (old format SAT) to be confusing by design!
I joined at about the same time in the process…just early enough to help, but not so early as to try to totally program my kid’s life!! (Though it doesnt appear many folks here do that:)
You are fine. Second the advice on a class or practice books for SAT. She may also do better w ACT if the next SAT isn’t significantly better:)
I haven’t read all of the posts (lots of wordiness), so forgive if said already.
But, No. 1:
FOCUS ON THE SAT/ACT.
As a junior, it’s not too late. Find some good tutoring in your area, quickly see if she has better aptitude for SAT or ACT, and get on it, now. The score can be raised/maximized, big time. But it takes time, a solid course of action and lots of practice tests, with analysis of what she’s getting wrong.
Don’t worry about finding college fits right now. They’re not going anywhere.
No. 2:
See No. 1.
I agree with a lot of the comments on here. Specifically: have her prep and take the ACT. Even an online course over the summer can be a huge boost. Also consider SAT2s depending on where she’ll apply.
I like the idea of a larger school if not sure of major/career goals. Too bad about Penn State; maybe visit again! Look at Delaware. Lots of other schools meet your criteria!
You have plenty of options and plenty of time. Get a plan together and you’ll be fine!
It’s particularly impt in her case, because she has excellent grades/course rigor, but her SAT does not match it.
And I believe with enough practice, she can get there.
She needs that piece. It will open up tremendous options, including significant scholarships.
I second @8bagels comments. There seems to be a bias against test prep on CC with many claiming it’s either worthless or only for the wealthy. Depending on the kid, it can make a real difference. And try the ACT too.
@rayrick after reading your response we went and logged in to see her PSAT scores. These were her first tests and she thought they were OK (ran out of time on the math section with 3 remaining and left them blank - now knows she should have put something in). She did not like the 2 part reading questions where she had to find evidence to support an earlier answer (?) and did not like that she had to keep referencing back to the text with some answers - as she explained it there were line references as answer choices but they did not reprint those lines. She felt that she spent too much time going back into the text for reference when it would have been plenty easy to reprint the lines in question in the answer – not having taken them I am not sure I am explaining them correctly. This is why she decided to sign up for the old SAT after taking since she seemed to think these were changes to the format from the old to the new. However, her scores for those sections were outstanding (99%)
Her math was a different story. She felt that the math was easy - easier than the SAT that she took later. Her scores were lower than she expected. When she went into the details and looked at her actual answers she thinks she made a mistake on filling in the answer sheet since she had a run of 9 questions wrong - each one matching the correct answer to the following problem (there was one correct in the middle of the run since the correct letter repeated itself for 2 problems). She missed a total of 15 problems on the math - 3 that she didn’t finish and 9 that seem to be mismarked. We are thinking this has to be a learning experience and she will have to be more careful on the real tests.
She took an official practice test today (SAT - old version) and she scored a 2010 (with me being ultra conservative and giving her essay a “3” - doubled to a 6 - even though I thought it was very good).
Thanks to CC, we have spent all day on “project college ready” and went ahead and made travel arrangements to see University of Alabama over our spring break. We have lined up someone to watch the younger siblings, booked flights, booked rental car, and dh is working on hotel reservations. DD went ahead and booked a tour at UA. It seems like a wonderful school and with her scores right now she can already get some merit aid with her first try scores making it within her price range (and hopefully more merit with some practice and better scores). We are also working on booking tours for Presidents Day or MLK day at Lafayette College closer to home.
Thanks to everyone. I am feeling more in control of this process and a little less of a slacker (of course I have just found out that with at least a practice test or two - she likely would not have messed up the answer sheet and may have qualified as a NMS - something I never thought about). She has done a pretty good job up to this point in managing her own school career so my dh reminded me that we need to increase our involvement but also realize that part of her growing up is that she should be driving these decisions and she should be aware of the steps she should be taking to further her education. For the time being, I have asked her to stay off of CC - she doesn’t need the pressure and she doesn’t need to worry about how everyone else is doing -just herself.