I understand your concern, and I wouldn’t be too sure that he won’t get in where he wants to go. I wouldn’t settle for a school that he doesn’t really want to attend. Too much money at stake. I would consider the gap year, without attending classes which would make him a transfer student and not a new applicant. That will give him time to reassess, work on applications etc. Not ideal, but better than being someplace where you are not happy. Hopefully, there is good news ahead. (Also, for club hockey consider some of the schools in Ohio, including Miami)
I would try to get him into any decent school, and if possible not worry about the money. You can be successful from any school, and the goal is to get him started. One year gap year is okay, but you don’t want to allow your kid to slip through the cracks because it isn’t a top 10 on his list. There was a good student from our town, classmate of my daughter’s (male) who got into a top boarding school (top 2 on all the lists) who didn’t get into an “acceptable” college to him. His parents sent him abroad for a year to a special academy that helps get kids into Princeton etc. Now 2 years later going on 3, the kid still hasn’t matriculated to any college. Remember great is the enemy of good. You just need a good college and get him off and running. He can always transfer. The trick is to start somewhere and not hold out for long.
With those stats, in May you could drive to any top 10 SLAC or NYU with a checkbook in hand and you could talk your way in.
Nope…that would only be true if they underestimate their yield.
And if that is the case…the student would still have to sub,it an application for admission.
You can’t buy your way into these colleges without applying.
What is the preferred major?
This is true in many places but not everywhere. We are in TX and live in an ETJ (Extra Territorial Jurisdiction) that doesn’t pay taxes into our local CC so after the kids are out of high school and no longer qualify for dual enrollment, we pay the same as OOS! It’s much cheaper for our kids to take classes at UT Austin than to go to ACC.
Only colleges protecting their yield would reject a full-pay student like this. Show up, commit and write a check on the spot. Someone will let you in. For sure NYU and GWU and at least a handful of SLAC. Of course you can’t call or email and ask. Go knock on some doors. Of course this doesn’t work if it’s a tiger mum driving this and the boy couldn’t care less.
The student will need to APPLY. A check from the parent check book is NOT an application. The student will not be allowed to matriculate simply because his parents write a check…even for the full cost of attendance.
The student will need to APPLY to the college. Sure…he might get accepted…but he will need to complete the application.
You are not accurate…implying that parent checkbook can bypass an application.
@concerndad Have you actually gotten a kid into college this way? Because you sound totally nuts.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges
Here are the top 10 SLAC…not likely any of them would accept a student just on the basis of writing a check. Not going to happen.
If this kid is THAT strong an applicant, he will get accepted someplace he applies.
At the UCs…he WILL be full pay…no need based aid given to OOS students. So maybe that will help his less than lackluster application!
Re: NYU and GW- If by writing a check you mean endowing a chair in neuroscience- yes. If by writing a check you mean naming rights to the new sports/aquatic center- yes.
If you mean full paying tuition and $250 a year to the parents fund- Concerndad, you are delusional.
Adding to @blossom
You can include the top 10 SLAC as well.
There are lots of well qualified full pay kids who are rejected from these schools every year. If all it took was mom or dad waltzing into the admissions office willing to write a check for the full cost of attendance…well…I think that would be well documented by now.
Maybe back in the '70’s. . . .
Actually, back in the '70’s, writing a check indeed was all it took to get in to NYU.
I didn’t read all of the posts and apologies if I am repeating things others have suggested.
I actually think a gap year is unequivocally good for lots of kids. My S did not apply at all during his senior year but took a gap year and applied in December of his gap year. He got into a number of very good schools and attended one of the top LACs. He would say that the gap year was good for him – an additional year of maturity helped him be focused. He needed a gap year to have a challenging surgery but did some very interesting things during the gap year. And, he was a little burned out after HS and so he was able to recharge batteries. Some of his gap year activities may have been helpful in his admission. At an orientation for freshman, the Dean of Admission addressed the freshman class and described how interesting they were and described a few of the kids – including my son. So, the gap year, used well, could actually be improve your S’s upcoming application.
Incidentally, my S’s freshman year roommate was a Canadian hockey player who’d played in the juniors before applying to college. It seemed like the hockey team at his LAC did a lot of that.
Friends and relatives of mine send their kids on organized gap years – often in Israel but also to Asia (https://www.wheretherebedragons.com/). My son hates organized baby-sitting and wanted to craft his own year. That led to occasional down periods but in general it worked well.
I wanted my D to take a gap year but she chose not to. (Unrelated to the gap year, she transferred at the end of the first semester and things have worked very well.)
Also, if your S does take a gap year, heed the warnings folks in this thread have given about not taking any courses at local colleges or CCs as this may handicap admissions – he may be considered a transfer rather than a freshman.
Does the May NACAC list mean all full pay and no FA or Merit aid?
And if you do take a Gap Year, can you even take ONE class at a local college or CC?
@sunnyschool, my impression is that you can’t take any classes for credit, but maybe someone else can weigh in as I’ve been out of that game for a while.
@sunnyschool There is usually financial aid, but the table will specify whether housing and financial aid are still available.
If you take a gap year, it’s best not to take local college classes unless you know for sure that all the schools you are applying to will not hold it against you. Freshman admissions often offers better admissions rates and more financial aid opportunities so don’t make yourself a transfer student lightly. Some schools will still consider you a freshman if you keep under a certain number of credits, but that requires knowing your full college list in advance.
Freshmen admits definitely have more/better merit and maybe fin aid opportunities.
As for admit rates, it depends. Many with low transfer admit rates also have insanely low RD admit rates (their freshman admit rate being brought up by ED).
But there are a handful of schools in the top 30/40 with higher transfer admit rates.
A gap, in itself, isn’t an issue, if you use it wisely. A number of kids on CC talk about it to get their heads together, but the point is to use it to enhance your app, add to it. That can mean all sorts of growing experiences, responsibilities, etc.
And many colleges just limit you to not “matriculating” at any college. Not enrolling in a “degree granting program.” That’s different than a course or two. You need to read the fine print or ask the colleges.
Bottom line is you need to be informed and make the same sort of wise choices expected during high school.
@shawbridge For our kid, taking a gap year to improve another language through a fully funded study abroad scholarship program with other smart kids from across USA was one of 4 options — yes, we really thought through types of options — during the college admission process, no matter what college he got into. His improvement in this language has been great, given he never took this language in HS. In fact, this opportunity eliminated high ranked in-state public schools and OOS Honors College with merits as viable choices. I feel I already received some merit money I missed out on by not going to Honors College with merit scholarship because in my calculation, this scholarship was worth $60k at least. Am so glad that this scholarship was open to all students regardless of financial situation. He’s really thriving in this program which met all his expectations. However, it should be noted there is always one or two kids who don’t find the program rewarding enough to stay a full year. But the program has met all his expectations.