@DMVmom I feel your pain about the late bloomer athlete. Son could still hang with sophomore or possibly freshman too. Even though he could have probably had a higher GPA he has options. Hang on for the ride!
@eandesmom I don’t think I ever updated the Hope College merit $. Son ended up received $5500 which was about half of what the NPC predicted.
@eandesmom Happy to share. I tried to follow your formatting as best I could. Here are his results:
Arizona State University
Accepted University; Denied Major
DMVmom’s S Major: Journalism | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
COA: $44,588 OOS | Merit: $7,000| FA: $5,500| Outside Grant $13,235
Michigan State University
EA Deferred, Accepted after 7th semester grades
DMVmom’s S Major: Journalism | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
COA: $54,274 OOS | Merit: $4,000| FA: $5,500| Outside Grant $20,040
Penn State University Park
EA Deferred to Branch Campuses
DMVmom’s S Major: Journalism | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
Altoona Merit: $7000 (did not pursue admissions)
TCU (Texas Christian)
EA Denied
DMVmom’s S Major: Journalism | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
Note: Attends small high school where another student with slightly high GPA but lower SAT applied and was
accepted.
University of Delaware
Waitlisted
DMVmom’s S Major: Undecided | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
NOTE: Late March application at invitation of coach
University of Maryland, College Park
EA Denied
DMVmom’s S Major: Journalism | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 new (CR 610; M 620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football.
Possible Hook: Both parents alumni and former faculty
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Accepted
DMVmom’s S Major: Broadcasting | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 (CR 610; M620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football
COA: $39,496 | Merit $0 | FA: $5500 +19000 loan| Outside Grant $11,628
West Virginia University
Accepted
DMVmom’s S Major: Broadcasting | GPA: 2.77, SAT: 1230 (CR 610; M620)
Other factors: Played Developmental Academy soccer then Varsity football
COA: $38,454 | Merit $4000 | FA: $5500 | Outside Grant $12,235
@eandesmom - holy cow! You are definitely the parent’s hero of this list - I am in awe of the research you have put into E1’s search, not to mention the Herculean effort you have put in for all of us and future CCers to create and maintain the list for all the kids who are NOT shopping for Ivies. O ^:)^
I feel seriously unworthy to make this comment - but I will anyway! Perhaps, as your son, E1 can handle trying to rate 44 variables - but oh my gosh, CoyoteSon would just shut down. If CoyoteSon finishes his visits without a clear winner, then I will ask him to brainstorm what he thinks the key variables might be (I will indeed have your list of 44 items in hand to prompt him!), but I would be surprised if my son comes up with more than 10 variables that matter to him.
For example, I would get rid of freshman retention and graduation rates - I have them in my spreadsheet, and have decided that all the schools on CoyoteSon's list meet my minimum threshold. Maybe combine internship into one category, not splitting into fresh/sophomore vs jr/senior year as different variables -I'm sure you are correct that there are distinctions that can be made between his schools, but E1 may not be in a position to judge the difference?
Anyway, your son may certainly be able to handle this list - but I thought I'd mention that it might be easier for him to rate if he came up with the variables, and that it would be OK if he has a smaller list!
@DMVmom , welcome and thanks for sharing your son’s story! Which school is he learning toward?
@eandesmom , first – your list of points to consider is a very good one. I’m impressed at the level of detail you and E1 have shown throughout this process. Re: honor cord – I hear you! TacoSon is in NHS only because I made him fill out the application. He grumbles about getting the CS hours in and related nonsense. But my eyes are on the prize of the honors stole at graduation. Yes, I’m petty! His GPA is within a comfortable enough margin that even if he slips in a few classes he should be OK.
My big update landed between @eandesmom 's updated list. The abridged version is that TacoSon needs to choose between the 3 affordable schools he likes, and he’s too burned out to care at the moment. I have no energy to research retention rates so I know he isn’t – I think for him it may come down to music department mojo. We are reaching out to the orchestras now. The local favorite happens to have 3 faculty members who specialize in his instrument, which made him perk up quite a bit and could have that school rising in the rankings even more. We received a lovely email from the F&M music guy encouraging TacoSon to enroll and promising lots of musical camaraderie, but the money isn’t there (or the love for the school for that matter).
In Enabling Parents of Struggling Sons news, I took him out of school early today for more catchup. I was much mollified seeing a parade of kids leaving at about the same time and climbing into parent cars, and I’m sure not all of them were legitimately going to appointments either.
@tacocat333 glad you pointed out your big update was buried, I definitely missed it and apologize! Narrowing it down is definitely progress. 2 top affordable choices is a lovely place to be!
I overthink, it’s what I do. My kids know this about me at least. LOL!
I admit, I want him to get that cord. For 2 reasons. Okay maybe 3. One, yeah it’s pretty to wear at graduation and I think he’d be secretly thrilled and amazed to have it on. Even if he says he thinks it’s stupid. Second, if he does pull it off, it means his chances for better
@MSU88CHEng he’s got 2 great choices with definite (small) pro’s and cons.
@smakl70 thanks for the merit update, I will add!
@DMVmom thank you SO much for sharing! Does he have a top choice? What lovely results.
@CoyoteMom 44 probably will make him shut down. On the flip side of things what his top 10 is might be could look like this
Program
City
Music
Food
Debt
Given that one option involves debt…grad rates are pretty important as are the other financial things. Were all financially equal that would be one thing but…they are not. You are right, he may not care or think these things apply but…I’ll see what I can cut or combine.
Which is why I was thinking to simply choose which one he thinks “wins” and if they equal, skip ahead. What I don’t want him to do at this point is simply focus on program versus program as one will win. There are many other aspects about the other school that “win” in my mind and he needs to really really evaluate the big picture. At the end of the day, I’ll support either choice.
Problem is, I think his heart is one place and the head another and both have merits
Update…we have a “date” for a pro/con meeting. He’d like to do it soon but he works W/Th and Fridays are bad in general. So…Saturday it is.
At his request he has the one pager for reference. Whether he looks at it or not…we shall see.
ok so I clearly didn’t finish a sentence up there. If he pulls of the 3.5 (and if he ends up at UVM) that ups his chance for a merit review. Which would really help if that’s where he ends up.
Of course if that’s what he decides he may actually be motivated on his own to get that 3.5. He is SUPER conflicted.
I need to update a bit as well. Techson17 has been offered two additional small scholarships at Fredonia, one for $700 and the other for $300. That brings the merit total to $4,500 for the first year. Techson17 applied for housing in the honors dorm, which is a 4 year dorm. I think it will work for him since he is the youngest of 5 and is well used to being around older kids. It’s a suite set up and he went onto the FB group to look for potential roommates.
It is so exciting to see everyone’s children making their final choices.
@snoozn - I hope your D likes RIT. As I have said before, all of the kids I know who have attended have loved it.
@eandesmom your list is stunning! I am glad you put it out there and maybe at some point will try a modified version of that strategy. Also…which one is head, and which one is heart?
@tacocat333 did you visit F&M? Curious about your impressions if you have the time/inclination to share.
@DMVmom congrats on results! And good luck with the choosing!
Hey everyone! Congratulations on all the wonderful news, and hugs to those with some disappointments, as well. It is so fun to hear the news of decisions being made. So happy for you and your kids, @snoozn, @sdl0625, @techmom99, @smakl70 and @lakeviking (another MN parent perhaps, based on your name??) =D> It is so helpful, and comforting to know that we are all experiencing a lot of the same things with our seniors. Thank you for sharing your stories! And welcome to our new friends, @DMVmom and @rbc1999! :-h
Thank you again, @eandesmom, for all your work on THE LIST and for all your insightful comments and advice. I feel the same about so many of the parents on this thread. I have a pretty solid group of Grinnell parents-friends, whom I met on CC, last year. I tell everyone who is on this college search journey to take advantage of all the great communities on the various CC threads!
I was lucky enough to be in my sunny home state of Calif for spring break last week, and S17 was in Singapore, on an amazing concert band trip, so we took about 10 days off of the college decision train. He’s about 90% decided on St. Olaf, but we want him to attend the accepted students event, including an overnight and class visits, before he makes his final decision.
S was accepted at Lawrence University, last week, but he won’t receive the award letter until the end of this week. The profile of their freshman classes, found on their Common Data Set, is above S’s stats. so it felt good that he was admitted. S was still out of school, due to his car accident, when the Admin Rep came to town, but she offered to meet him outside of her scheduled school visit, and they sat and talked at a local Starbucks for over an hour. I finally went in, to make sure he was not taking too much of her time, and the rep invited me to sit down and join the conversation. Total time she spent with us was nearly 1.5 hours. Very kind of her, and definitely made a good impression on us. S17 did not have a chance to visit Lawrence before applying, but S16 had visited fall of his Sr year, including an overnight, and it was a top pick for him, last year. It was a bit of reach school for S17, so we were very proud that he applied and was admitted. We’ll see what the fin aid package holds, but I think this weekend will most likely seal the deal for St. Olaf. But I wanted to share our positive experience with their admissions rep, along with the fun emails and mailers they send out at regular intervals. Lawrence sponsors a 48 hour Trivia challenge weekend, each year, which was a draw for my Quiz Bowl/Knowledge Bowl S16 son! We also like their motto they sign off with all the time: “Be well and do well.”
Some other updates - Willamette added a $4,000 named scholarship to S fin aid package, good for 4 years, which was very nice, but at $33K full out of pocket* it was still too much for our family, with S16 in school at the same time, for 3 yrs. (* For our personal COA spreadsheet we included $2K for books & personal expenses, and $250 - $1K for travel, depending on location.) Also, S was wait-listed at Loyola Marymount University, my alma mater, probably partly because he did not answer the recently added religious-based essay questions. (He mostly applied because he knows what wonderful friends I made there - who are always part of our annual trip back to So Calif each spring break, and you can’t beat the location, 2.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and gorgeous views from the hillside campus!) S is still waiting to hear from the U of MN, but I suspect the late response probably means a wait-list from them as well.
Oh well, considering his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT, we are very happy that he was accepted nearly everywhere else - 9 schools total. I think the rest of his application was pretty strong, and the admission interviews DEFINITELY helped him. And they really helped S get a better sense of the schools, especially since most of our visits were in the summer, without the student body there, just the tour guides, etc.
Sorry for the long post! Goodnight! (
@techmom99 yay for extra $$! So are the new small ones renewables or year one? Either way an extra 1k goes a long way in my book.
@morningside95 wonderful updates, congrats on Lawrence! It’s a finalist for one of S’s good friends who will visit for the first time over spring break and is on my early list for S19, it sounds lovely all around. I could not convince S to look at it. Bummer that Willamette didn’t come up with quite enough $ but the extra is still nice to see.
Funny on St. Olaf, S19 got a card from them yesterday and he’d never heard of it. Turns out it looks like a top choice for our drum major so even though I couldn’t convince S17 to look at it, he recommended it highly to his little brother. It was cute. I’ve heard nothing but good things and congrats to being close to the finish line and I hope the accepted students visit, class and overnight seals the deal!.
@93pilots if I had to guess (and read the mind of flip flop boy) I would say UVM has his heart…and the part of his head that really wants the smaller program from day 1 for academic success and WWU has his head for both the cost and the local job network options. He’s tremendously concerned about getting lost the 1st 2 years at Western, especially that first year or quarter, just kind of tossed into bigger classes. He’d likely have some of that at UVM but he’d have an anchor in the program and that anchor is super attractive to all of us.
Not that the classes are huge at WWU. If you look at the datasets the numbers are almost identical, but between 4k more students at WWU and the direct entry program guaranteeing some small classes on day 1 and the dedicated program advisor day 1, plus a “general environmental” advisor sophomore year…that is really one of the largest factors for him right now. He will have big classes at either place the first year, it will just be more balanced at UVM and far far more focused on his major area of interest from day 1. But the cost difference is substantial.
@morningside95 , congrats on Lawrence and the extra merit!
@eandesmom , we’re in a similar quandary about TacoSon’s choices, minus the distance issue (well, 10 miles vs. 100 miles, so SOME distance I guess!). So many benefits to both.
@93pilots , yes, we visited F&M. It is very lovely. We visited F&M and Dickinson back to back, and TacoSon has a hard time keeping them straight. I think he had a slight preference for Dickinson and I had a slight preference for F&M. F&M has that Philadelphia Colonial feel of red brick and cupolas, with nice facilities and a “house” system for freshman dorms. We weren’t able to explore much of Lancaster. He got into both but merit wasn’t enough for them to stay on the list of finalists.
Fun story about St. Olaf, @eandesmom! As you have probably read, they are very big on personal contact. If the Colleges that Change Lives College Tour comes to your area, in Aug or Sept, be sure to go and you’ll meet one of their wonderful reps, along with a bunch of other great schools!
If your S19 is a drum major (Wow! You generally have to be a Sr to be a D.M. in our HS marching band.) I presume he loves music. I think at least 1/3 of the 3,000 students at St Olaf are involved in one of the choirs, ensembles, orchestras and/or theater programs!! S16 is a singing trombone-playing thespian, so he should fit right in! They have a fun Norwegian themed team fight song - Um-Ya-Ya. Here it is, sung by the entire graduating class in 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYsko2uqVew
Good luck on Saturday, with E son!
@morningside95 no, S19 is not drum major although he does plan to try out this year. We have a junior drum major who then becomes the senior one. So, same thing, senior year.
Unless of course the drum major drops out of HS, as happened last year. It was nuts! S17’s good friend was junior drum major and she had to step up FAST and in time for their huge trip to Ireland and competition. It is she who is likely attending St. Olaf.
@tacocat333 LOL! We are 79 miles versus 2,970! Your choices are much more aligned financially than ours though.
@morningside95 lol I remember that LMU essay. I think it was the last thing my son did out of all the applications. He had submitted the app and thought he was done and didn’t realize about the essay till later. It was a bear, and a very unwelcome surprise! Congrats to your S on getting to the waitlist without even tackling it (and on his other successes and on being near a decision).
@tacocat333 thanks, S is going back in a couple of weeks. He picked this one based on word of mouth and hasn’t visited yet so appreciate the extra info. Agree, no merit makes it a tougher sell (I think F&M doesn’t “do” merit any more) but if he fell in love we would do it. I like the idea of the house system.
@eandesmom good luck with the flip flopping. That will be a hard choice but the upside is both options sound pretty great and I’m impressed that he is thinking so clear-headed about them.
@93pilots , TacoSon got about $20 in grants, which puts it pretty much in line with what FAFSA says we can afford. (We don’t agree with FAFSA!)
We visited over the summer so not a lot of students around – but I’m told it has a preppy vibe and there’s lots of money around.
Thanks for the clarification, @eandesmom! So your S17’s drum major friend may also be part of St Olaf class of 2021? Cool! Ireland sounds like an amazing band trip!
Best of luck sorting out all those wonderful acceptances, @93pilots! I was a little surprised he even got wait-listed, without completing the LMU essay questions. Maybe because I’m a loyal alum? Who knows? I still love the school, and would advise any future applicant to NOT skip those essay questions. However, I’m a little disappointed that the questions might well lead to fewer non-Catholic/Christian applicants. LMU was very welcoming to those of all faith, or non-faith, backgrounds, when I went there in the early 80s.
@rbc1999 Welcome! I found your post about your D wanting to attend a big school because you live 20 min from UW Madison interesting, because for my D living 45 min from UW Madison had the opposite effect. I think I took her to too many chemistry/physics presentations and enrolled her in too many Saturday enrichment programs at UW. By the time she needed to start applying, UW had lost its appeal. She had the “been there, done that” attitude about it.
I enjoyed reading about the choices for the newest members @DMVmom and @rbc1999 - welcome, and thanks for adding your threads to the wonderful tapestry we’ve all been weaving with @eandesmom at the loom :)>-
@morningside95 - cool that your Son is leaning toward St. Olaf’s - sounds like a really good fit. Hope the visit provides a clear confirmation!
For others reading this list in the future, another big thumbs up vote for Lawrence - the “Be well and do well” closing hits just the right note for me too, and I found their recruiting emails to be fun, creative, and memorable - they created just the right favorable impression, though CoyoteSon decided it was just too remote to keep on the list coming from the East Coast.
@93pilots - do share your Son’s impressions of F&M after his visit! I also visited both Dickinson and F&M, but both in same day - so F&M got only a quick, self-guided tour - the Admissions receptionist was kind and immediately helped me with a campus map, even though the office hadn’t opened yet. I didn’t get much “vibe” though, as I watched kids going to class, but didn’t talk with any (it was early!). Had a great meal at the brewpub across the street the night before! At Dickinson, I took the tour - definitely saw a mix of fashion-conscious and PHF/alternative (purple hair factor) kids – warm and friendly - campus blends right into Carlisle with a cute downtown set of shops and restaurants - had a spontaneous, positively welcoming chat with a professor at the local crepe shop. I didn’t like that one had to cross some busy streets every day to get around campus, but I did like the walkable downtown aspect. Anyway, I am very interested in hearing about your Son’s continued search to narrow his list from some very good choices!
@eandesmom - Whew - I don’t envy the head (WWU) v heart (UVM) decision that E1, aka flip flop boy, has to make; especially because the cost/debt is such a huge factor for a 17/18 year old to weigh. (And I get the grad rate/retention rate as key factors; I just figured that often the lower grad rate is driven by kids who drop out for monetary reasons or kids who are academically unprepared; so I was discounting the general school-wide numbers because you will still be around in an advisory capacity for E1 next year!)
You know, if it really is the concern about the academic advising advantage – I know it isn’t the same thing as having an actual University professor – but is there a way to privately hire an academic coach/tutor for E1 who could serve as his advisor from day 1 for WWU? I know that the COA difference between these two schools would justify the much smaller out-of-pocket expense of a private advisor/tutor. It would take some digging to see if you could find a person with the right sort of background, but maybe could help reduce or eliminate the fear of getting lost? Maybe a retired WWU professor? Or a current grad student? I would start with the disabilities/accesability office and see if they recommend organizational coaches if you think this off-the-wall idea is worth pursuing.
I only suggested because I really am thinking of hiring an organizational coach for CoyoteSon no matter where he winds up, and had a great chat with some good leads provided by the accessibility dean at Beloit. I plan to have a similar conversation at each of the remaining 3 schools.
I am expecting that here in the CoyoteDen, we also will soon be weighing the very most expensive (no merit for anyone) Carleton against any of his other great, and definitely less expensive (yay for merit!!) options. Fingers and toes crossed that the drama will be ended in late April with the clear, cold logic of comparison between all (44) key factors #-o 
@tacocat333 - forgot to mention the creative swag CoyoteSon got today – Wheaton College sent an individual-serving-size box of “Wheaton” : serving size 1,650 students. Yes - looks like a bag of “Wheaties” cereal inside a cardboard cereal box with Admission Marketing Facts (career placement, study abroad, etc) designed to look like the nutritional label on the back and a picture of the Wheaton College Mascot on the front. 8-}
CoyoteSon has gotten some string bags and one water bottle by visiting campuses in person, but this clever package sent to him in the mail tickled his funny bone, and was so worthy that CoyoteSon remembered to share with CoyoteDad at dinner!