@homerdog Case has a very strong liberal arts component! Look at their breakdown of students across the various schools - engineering, nursing, arts & sciences, etc. You may be surprised. They also have some interesting interdisciplinary first year writing seminars (SAGES). Case also has a very strong music program. I know somebody who teaches there in the history department and he speaks very highly of the students - they do the work and are eager to learn.
Have you looked at @spayurpets thread that collects data on the Class of 2020 acceptance rates, etc. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19868690/#Comment_19868690. @homerdog you have to do what you have to do. Your strategy is reasonable because there is clearly a trade off in going the ED route. We went the ED route and are happy but we basically gave up the opportunity to get merit aid by doing that.
Some thoughts in no particular order from a full-pay parent of 3 high stats kids who have all gone the top 20 college route:
-
Narrow your decision when you get more standardized testing data - SAT, ACT, APs and Subject tests. Some good students with high GPAs just don’t have the concrete numbers to be competitive in the ED round and/or eligibility for the better merit awards at other places. Start a low level of testing prep now if you haven’t already.
-
As tough as it is, parents sometime need to make a firm decision and let their student know - we will pay full COA at the " best " school you get in to - or - we can pay X amount of $$ and the rest must come from a merit award. Otherwise you are on the very slippery slope of deciding how far down the list your child must go to balance parental contribution with merit aid. Really puts your student in a bad position .
-
Try to get a better idea or what type of school your child is looking for - Brown and Northwestern almost don’t belong in the same discussion as Lafayette.
-
FYI - sadly Northwestern does reject double legacy children all the time.
-
Continue to use CC as the excellent resource it is.
@Corinthian thanks! I’ll check it out. Hoping our GC can also be some help with specifics too since some of these schools have a history with the students at our school and he may be able to tell us if ED vs. RD has made a difference with certain types of applicants.
Some schools require you to fill out FAFSA and/or CSS Profile to be considered for merit based aid. My oldest went to Case Western and they required the forms to be considered for merit scholarships. Once my son got the scholarship we did not need to fill them out again as long a he maintained eligibility. BTW-Case Western gives good merit scholarships and offers a full range of majors. My son was a math and economics major at Case.
My youngest went to Belmont and I can’t remember if they required it for his scholarship or not.
At any rate there are some schools where you need to submit the FA forms to be considered for merit scholarships so everyone might as well fill them out.
While I underhand the win for the colleges on ED, I find it truly unfortunate that it exists as it simply exaggerates an already not remotely level playing field. In principle I object to its existence. Unless we know without a shadow of a doubt that a school is affordable and truly the first choice, ED is not an option. Of our 4, one child did ED successfully however that school no longer offers it.
We will however persue EA at any and all schools that offer it, which seems to be increasing as an option. Of my S17’s 7 schools all offer EA but for 3 of them, it is their first year doing so. In his case these are mid or lower tier schools so it’s not an apples to apples comparison to your your question. However, in his case we are simply not applying to reaches as we know the merit offered will not be sufficient. We are also full pay and will file FAFSA as some of the merit options he is looking at requires it and with two children in school it will make a tiny bit of difference at the LAC’s. Interestingly enough 2 of his schools have dropped PROFILE for this app cycle, likely due to the earlier timeline and inability on their end to process any sooner. Just a guess though.
That said I absolutely agree that it’s too early to really say which schools are strong for merit or not. Stats can only be estimated at best and the tuition/scholarship prices and offers can change dramatically. I’ve seen it just in the past 6 months with S17’s schools. If you do run a NPC at a school, check to see what year tuition, fees, etc. it’s pulling in, they can lag 1-2 years behind current academic year so you need to assume inflation/check current posted rates.
At the end of the day I believe all students need a safety they could be happy at, both admissions and financial.
There are so many reasons that ED is a bummer. Our GC told me the other day that many kids have buyers remorse after applying and being accepted somewhere ED. Not because of the financial aid, just because they never knew what their other options would be and what they loved in October isn’t necessarily what they love in June when they graduate. Many kids change over that period of time and ED is risky in that sense too.
Yet it continues to be the easiest way to get in to certain schools! Crazy. Guess one just has to be comfortable with those types of schools falling off the list because of the game they play.
it’s such a tough decision. my son likes Rice the best but feels leery about ED, so he will probably opt for Notre Dame’s Restrictive Early Action. he mostly wants to get into at least one top school that meets full financial need, and figures his odds are better to get into ND thru REA.
What they love May 1st when they commit may not be what they love in Aug when they start…or what they love in Aug when they start may not be … (see where I’m going?..)
I agree that someone doing ED must be sure it’s what they want, but if they are sure I don’t have a problem with it. And yes, they take a risk they might change their mind but that could happen at any time during the process. But at some point a decision must be made.
That said, I would rather have EA (or even Restrictive) than ED so a student can have options and see how it all plays out while still having that first choice in their pocket.
EA is a terrific option but I don’t think it has the same “umph” as ED. Acceptance percentages don’t really increase in the EA versus RD rounds. It’s only ED with its binding feature that seems to get a bump in acceptance rates.
EA is helps with merit and FA at a lot of schools.
Correct, EA is a merit and FA strategy not an admissions one. For many schools the pool of funds is first come first served and competitive scholarships may require admission first before applying and sometimes only available suing the EA or ED rounds. There is also a lot to be said for having all apps in by December and all decisions as well as financial packages by mid Feb.
Two advantages to having a few EA schools in the mix (in addition to whatever it might do for your kid’s odds of merit, etc.)
- Incentive to have the bulk of the application done earlier, leaving more time and mental to hone any remaining RD supplements.
- Likelihood of having the relief of at least one option by the time the holidays roll around, so remaining RD apps aren’t completed in a state of raw panic.
Also, while it’s true that a kid may not love the school they chose in May by the time August rolls around, I think that phenomenon is much more acute between, say October and May (during the school year) than between May and August (summer doldrums). Just different stuff going on developmentally and socially.
This is what we’re doing with D1. She has one “lottery” school that we’re ok with full pay for because the ROI for her major from that school is really remarkable. She is ok with shouldering some loans for that school.
Then two reaches, one of which has an automatic 50% off if you get in. The other would have to come in with some good merit (unlikely, but possible). The rest are matches known for merit, and the one safety she has, she’s already accepted with a full tuition scholarship.
We think that this tangible acceptance+/scholarship should help to ground her solidly with figuring out value as the other stuff comes in good/bad/ugly. We really have no idea what the numbers are going to be-it seems like such a crap shoot, so we’re doing our best to cover the bases.
She is fully aware and in on this plan, and agrees with it. She is not doing any ED, but is doing as many EA as possible.
I agree with @porcupine98 that more second guessing occurs during the school year than during the summer. D1 got into her ED1 school and was happy from Dec-Feb, but during March she was second guessing as she watched classmates have acceptances (and rejections and WL’s) roll in. But that period passed. Then in the first month of school she had some thoughts like “did I make the right choice” but again that was a brief phase that passed. I think it’s human nature to wonder about the path not taken.
Miami of Ohio has some nice packages as well. Great school – with outstanding teaching. Nice college town.
This thread definitely hits home for me as I try to help my DD navigate applications. We can scrape together the money for full pay if need be but it would be great if she got merit aid at some of her choices like Denison and Dickinson. There is no way we will qualify for need-based aid but it’s still going to be challenging to afford. DD has a few schools that I think are strong possibilities if she goes ED - Grinnell and Oberlin - but less likely if she is RD. She is a URM but I don’t know how much that will help her if they have a lot of URM applicants in the ED round.
She is fairly sure she does not want to apply ED because she likes her “likely” schools but I am concerned that she will be disappointed when Grinnell and Oberlin wait list her. I wish Dickinson’s EA decision came earlier so we could know if she got merit aid before the ED2 deadlines came around! I guess they do it that way on purpose.
@LMC9902 Exactly. What year does your DD graduate?
@Parche I hear you about Miami. Way too many kids go there from our high school …and not the ones at the top of the class. No offense to the school itself as I’ve read good things, but I think the biggest major is business and our S19 won’t be an undergrad business major. Plus, it has a country club type reputation that I trust is correct knowing the families who send their kids there.