Official RD Decisions

<p>Got my finaid today! I wasn't expecting any, but they gave me a little bit, so that's pretty nice. My favorite part was that they have it split into 'fall' and 'spring,' and I got one dollar more for fall. Awesome. ;) The letter also said that the amount given included any merit awards they've already decided on. Does anyone happen to know which merit awards they have yet to give out?</p>

<p>I know for a fact they haven't given out National Merit awards (I was told it would be May 1). I don't know of any others, but there's probably more.</p>

<p>my financial aid statement said i'm getting a national merit scholarship. I got a pretty good combination of merit and need-based aid.</p>

<p>warblers, you have the exact same sat score i do.</p>

<p>Hmm...my son's Wake Forest aid just came. I think they've been smokin' something. They are not even CLOSE to what he's been offered elsewhere. I'm glad it isn't his top choice, because I just laughed aloud when I saw the number of loans in the "award."</p>

<p>Well Taximom, if you've heard about any aid at all from Wake, you're one up on us. The D sent in the appropriate merit scholarship aps, and hasn't heard squat. Since her other choices sent scholarship info with the acceptance letter, it has put her off a bit. Since she went to the trouble of filling out the aps, they could at least have the courtesy to tell the kid they're not offering any aid.</p>

<p>texerstaximom, I don't know what to say about that really. Wake doesn't really throw money at kids so that they'll choose Wake over another school. They look at your finances and if you're A) loaded, they'll hook you up with loans B) middle class, a combo, c) strapped for dough, give you quite a bit of grants and some loans. I'm thinking you fall in A-B and you're son is an above-average student. But since Wake isn't his top choice, you can't really ask for the package to be reconsidered.</p>

<p>psst...oldhoo are you a Wahoo? I'm CLAS 85. </p>

<p>My son also wrote all the merit scholarship essays, and the only thing he received was a post card in late February that his merit application was complete. That was AFTER the big merit award interview weekends. They didn't even have the courtesy to say sorry, no dice. (Which we figured would happen, as we qualify for need based--although some schools do throw in some merit with the need based) This is the only school I've encountered that did not even send out any sort of notifications.</p>

<p>Furthermore we sent post cards (stamped self addressed) in all of the application materials and recommendations etc...and they couldn't even throw those in the mail. Then there was the snafu with them asking for fin aid forms that had already been uploaded a month prior. I have never seen such a mess.</p>

<p>His acceptance letter didn't come with aid either, and the fin aid "award" arrived today. It's the first good laugh I've had in weeks. My son's debt load alone would be about 44K over four years. Then there would be our expected contribution. We have one in college already, and two more after this one. According to brochure, they feel we can absorb this over time. I guess I'm supposed to live to be 120. :p </p>

<p>FWIW, of his schools, only three had the fin aid in the actual acceptance, one mailed it about two weeks later--but the acceptance came earlier, and we are waiting on two more. Of all the aid that has arrived, Wake is 43% discounted. His other schools 70%, 70%, 65% and 56%.</p>

<p>Hmmm... I don't think your situation happens a lot at Wake. Did you call them to find out what was up?</p>

<p>We are by no means loaded LOL, but it would be nice! We will have two in college, and the other schools chose to meet our need differently. We wouldn't ask for it to be reconsidered. It states that unless you have a change in income, debilitating illness, or death of a parent, it is not going to be reconsidered. It is, after all, their choice to give what they want. It's not really a matter of "throwing money" at kids to make them choose a school, but rather making it affordable and thus a top choice because of value. Some schools do a better job of making it affordable.</p>

<p>Haha, little known fact, they do reconsider. I didn't ask, but I've heard that people have gotten their award reconsidered, when they explain their finances and why the award is not sufficient. Maybe they didn't get the complete picture of your finances.</p>

<p>Actually I think they did, they just chose to meet it differently. Here is another comparison. I used the fin aid calculator ...I don't think you can post links here depending on what they are. Anyway, it's on the college board web site. </p>

<p>My son's awards shake out like this:
best offer 87% gift/7%loan/5% work study
second best 81% gift/11% loan/6% work study
WFU 60% gift/32% loan/7% work study</p>

<p>And when you are talking about thousands of dollars, each % means more!</p>

<p>I think they are using the same "need" number, they are just meeting it differently. Their call.</p>

<p>For whomever was wondering about national merit scholarships, I got the official letter saying i received one today.</p>

<p>TexasTaxiMom - </p>

<p>Yes, I am a UVA degree holder, class of 1972, hence the screen name. I live in Texas too, Plano to be specific. </p>

<p>We also have one other in college, at Randolph Macon. The younger D, who we're "guiding" through the selection process now, is more academically talented than the older sis, so she was looking at more challenging schools like Wake Forest. We fortunately/unfortunately don't qualify for need based aid, so she's looking for some merit assistance. </p>

<p>It's funny, it's like an ego thing for her that the school offer something. Anyway, Wake has been conspicuously silent on the aid, which peeves her a bit, so she's probably off to Rhodes or one of her safeties. </p>

<p>Your S must be doing very well to get such good offers, best of luck wherever he decides to go.</p>

<p>The (feeling rather) Old Hoo</p>

<p>Congrats, borntorun! They only award four of those! :)</p>

<p>Whahoowah oldhoo! My husband is CLAS 83. Texas seems to have many alums. check your pms. ;)</p>

<p>oldhoo, my daughter was accepted toRhodes too, with some nice merit. I think Rhodes seems like a great place. I get the feeling they concentrate more on improving quality of life and learning for the students than on marketing to increase their selectivity. Unfortunately d does not like the feel. We have not visited Wake yet, but I'm not keen on paying much more because of my daughter's first impressions. I feel she should go the accepted student day or do an overnight. I love the personal attention from Rhodes. I think it's indicative of the caring atmosphere overall. Her acceptance letter was clearly written to her, not a form letter. Her adcom sent her a postcard about her essay.
Even if she doesn't end up there (also likes u of miami) I will continue to watch Rhodes, and will be very happy to watch its star rise.. There's always d # 2!</p>

<p>They sent me a letter Thursday that I didn't get any of the scholarships. Bah.</p>

<p>The merit scholarship office emailed me (because I had emailed fin aid about the lack of communication) that she sent letters out at the beginning of the week. D'oh we already have the fin aid letter so we KNOW there are no scholarships listed. I think the letter should have come with the fin aid package, or prior.</p>

<p>This is the first school I've encountered that does not notify recipients and non-recipients as a courtesy for doing the extra work entailed to apply for merit aid. When we deconstruct this college application season, I am going to tell our guidance counselor to tell our students not to bother with Wake Forest.</p>

<p>Thanks for the diagnosis. Free speech is a wonderful thing, ain't it?</p>

<p>I'm really surprised you found Wake to have bad applicant relations. They were pretty good throughout the whole process for me.</p>