parents of kids that are sooooo close to scholarships

Parents Forum
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<p>I just want to see if any other parents out there are frustrated with the whole college scholarship issue. My son is a smart kid... 3.96 and 31 ACT. He is one point shy of qualifying for full tuition scholarships and will probably get a very small scholarship, not enough to scratch the surface. He plays sports, volunteers, and has perfect attendance. His father and I are school teachers, so we are definitely not wealthy! Yet, we make too much to get anything need based. We are not a minority (although it sure feels like it) so there goes that angle. I am very frustrated to say the least. How does anyone else feel that feels like they too, are stuck in the middle?</p>

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<p>Have you or your son talked to the college admissions office? It’s possible they have some wiggle room…YMMV</p>

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<p>Welcome to the club.</p>

<p>To us it became a game. Apply to enough schools where your student is towards the top and hope for the best.</p>

<p>Son was actually awarded bigger sholarships as the schools USNWR ranking decreased. He made his choice from many financial packages. The top offered nothing. The best offer (lowest ranked) was a full ride. He was lucky. He gave up top ranked for more money. A compromise. </p>

<p>The competition is insane.</p>

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<p>i’ve thought instead of concrete numbers ie 31 or 33 etc, they should use percentages… ie anything from 33 to 36 is 99th percentile. my son i think lost money at a 33, that a 34might have given him. but agree with sax, alot of the award comes from careful selection of the colleges. son has full tuition and board and alot of perks from his “lower ranked” schools and diminishing amounts from higher ranked (although all very good and top for out of state student) but no luck with any of the more selective/competitive at the higher ranked schools. but chosen for selective programs at lower ranked.</p>

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<p>* I just want to see if any other parents out there are frustrated with the whole college scholarship issue. My son is a smart kid… 3.96 and 31 ACT. He is one point shy of qualifying for full tuition scholarships and will probably get a very small scholarship, not enough to scratch the surface. He plays sports, volunteers, and has perfect attendance.*</p>

<p>Is your son a junior or senior? There are schools that will give big merit to students with ACT 30+. If your son is a junior, then he still will have options. If he’s a senior, then it may be too late for some schools.</p>

<p>edited to add…</p>

<p>I see that your son is a senior. For others who are in a similar situation, but their kids are not seniors, there are schools that are generous to students with ACT 30+. </p>

<p>Here’s a link to schools that give ASSURED merit for stats…no competition! IF you have the stats, you get the scholarship.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I think each school has the ideal student for their needs in mind and if your son meets that criteria then he will be awarded with a lot of money. The catcher is finding the school that wants him. Maybe schools with bigger female populations? Unfortunately, if your son is a white male he isn’t going to be in as much demand as Hispanic or black males because they don’t currently make up a large percentage of many college populations. My understanding the population with the worst odds of getting big scholarships is white females.</p>

<p>Look at schools in LA and Miss. I think some of the public schools offer big scholarships with applicants with his scores. Now if he is a senior it might already be too late.</p>

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<p>That’s exactly how the game is played and has been our experience this year. My son has similar stats. There are plenty of schools out there that give substantial scholarships to someone with those stats. They key is to find schools that your child will be happy attending that are lower down the rankings list - they are trying to attract students like your son and are willing to give more money to do so.</p>

<p>Even the tippy-top kids have stiff competition for scholarships at the more highly ranked schools. In our community, two valedictorians from two different schools were competing for a scholarship at a highly rated public university (Top 25) and lost out to other students.</p>