Parents of the HS Class of 2017 - 3.0 to 3.4 GPA

Parents Forum
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@eandesmom - S17 tried a small group prep and then individual tutoring, esp on math and science. The individual prep worked better, ($75/hr, here in MN.) S’s main issue was feeling confident during actual tests. He always did well in at home practice tests and the pre-ACTs our district did in 8th & 9th grade (Explorer & Plan). S did well on both old & new PSAT, earning N.M. Commended status. Plan/Pre-ACT projected S would get a 30 on the full ACT, but he scored 25, 26 & 27, by the final test - Oct of Sr year. (His summertime car accident delayed his final test.) S was very busy Jr year and we made the error of letting him delay his first real test until April, the HS administered test. Also, with his strong PSAT scores, we should have considered having him give the SAT a try, just to see what happened, but all the talk about the problems with the new test scared us off.

S16, stronger, academically, did small group tutor in summer before Jr year, and he took ACT twice in the fall. His final test was the school-given one, April of Jr yr. Scored 31, 32 & 34 (super score 35). S16 did well on the PSAT, (NMF), and asked to take the SAT. He took it 2x, winter and spring of Jr yr and super scored a 2310 (old test) by really prepping for math, his weak spot, in the final test.

It comes down to a few things: 1 - Our kids were smart, but lazy about studying, so they would not have prepped well, on their own. Self-starters may not need tutoring, but with the extra merit aid good scores can get, we felt it was worth the $. 2 - Both sons felt more comfortable with the English/Reading sections than w/ the Math/Science sections. If your S19 is strong in Math/Science, he would probably prefer the ACT, since the SAT is 2/3 English & Reading.
(Like I said, wish S16 would have given the full SAT a shot. Oh, well.) 3 - Our guys said that some tests felt easier and some more difficult, depending on the set of questions. Although their composite scores went up, the subscores were all over the place, in each test. Taking either test 3 times seemed to work well, and really helped the super scores of S16. Good luck to S19. We’ll be peeking at the Parents of HS Class of 2019 thread, so read how things are going for him, and you!

(I forget if we addressed this, but will having S19 in college, during S17s Jr & Sr year, help your projected costs at UVM?)

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So how many trombone players do we actually have here? Seems like 3-4?

@morningside95 We actually have 2 in school next year with SD14. It helps only in the sense of the offer of a partial subsidized loan (which is lower than the full that could be offered but “meets” the need of our EFC.). So…if he is able to get the merit upped there (long shot) or any of the outside scholarships come through, that part will convert back to unsub. I’d expect years 3/4 to map out about the same and it will be zero sub next year assuming SD graduates on time.

Long answer is…no, not really. Our EFC is too high.

However, SD being done WILL help overall finances for sure as H can divert some of that to S19 by the time he starts.

Theoretically…

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Hooray @tacocat333 !! Hope TacoSon is super happy at U Mary Washington! What a journey your family has been on! Is he planning on playing with a band or ensemble at UMW?

(I realized that it was your son who plays trombone, in addition to my S and @eandesmom’s son. Does your S also play a low brass instrument, @curiositycat333?) I just thought it was amusing there are several trombone players among the boys in this group!

Also, really like the new logo - Never realized that “tacocat” was a palindrome until I read it right on your avatar! Fun! I’ll switch mine back, after a little while. Never thought to change it for S16, but S17 is my last one off to college, and very excited he will be at St Olaf, so keeping this one for a bit longer!

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@CoyoteMom - Hope CoyoteSon has a great visit here in MN, at Carleton’s Accepted Students weekend. S’s gal pal is too busy with track and band to make it, but has been on campus several times, with her future X-country teammates, and already knows she loves it. Beloit is an awesome school too, and I sent your excellent tour review to a close friend with a D19, as I think it would be a great fit for her.

Will you be traveling w/ CoyoteSon? Fri & Sat look to be lovely in Northfield. Hope you have a wonderful visit, and PM me if I can be of any help!

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Sorry to take up about 1/2 of this page!!

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My D17 ‘studied’ on her own for the ACT and we got what we paid for. 3 attempts, all of them fairly low. In retrospect, I would have been happy to pay for tutoring because her low ACT cost her thousands of dollars in merit aid.

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TacoSon did a 2-day “boot camp” before PSATs in junior year. I think it was $200. Other than that, he occasionally did some Khan Academy drills for reading but no other prep. He did well on the first ACT attempt so we didn’t need to look into – or pay for! – prep programs.

If it helps anyone – I don’t think TacoSon’s high ACT had a huge impact on his offers. He seemed to get the same $20Kish merit everywhere, which mostly brought COA in line with our EFC (which was about double what we are truly comfortable paying). With a 33 ACT and 3.6 GPA he got offered honors at only two of his schools because the rest also required that 3.8 GPA.

It probably did help with acceptances from the more competitive schools (Case, F&M), but we couldn’t afford them in the end. Pitt, for example, would have been affordable for us with even a modest merit award, but they too needed the high GPA. All this to say that reaching for a high score may not be as important as other factors for many, many applicants. For TacoSon, it was great to be done, but I don’t think we would have seen a cost benefit to prep knowing what I now know.

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Congrats on the recent commitments! Hang in there those of who who are still in decision-making mode!

I need some financial aid advice. D17 has enough savings to not need a direct student loan her 1st and 2nd years, but will then need them in years 3 & 4 (unless she’s able to save enough from her jobs, but I’m not counting on this). I’m trying to decide whether to advise her to take them in years 1 & 2 “just in case”. If she takes them, about 1/3 would be subsidized and 2/3 unsubsidized. Two questions I have: If she doesn’t take the $5,500 freshman year, can she take more than the $7,500 junior and senior years (does the $5,500 get added on to the maximum she can borrow)? And if she takes the $5,500 her freshman year, can we start paying the interest right away on the unsubsidized part so that it doesn’t compound?

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@NolaCAR - Our plan is to have our sons ONLY take the subsidized loan amount. No need to be paying interest on a the unsubsidized loan for $2000, when they can cover that with a summer job and some work during the school year.
Both my husband I had to work in college, and found it forced us to be organized w/ our time.

Max subsidized loan amount will increase from $3500, to $4500, in 2nd year, and $5,500, in years 3 & 4. We are hoping our guys will only need to use the subsidized loan total, $19,000 over 4 yrs. Max UNsubsidized loan amount is $2,000 per year, for a dependent student, no matter which year.

I double checked, and you/she CAN pay interest only payments while your D is in college; and it’s the recommended way to go, so you’re not paying interest on the interest.

Although your D does not need seem to need any loans in her 1st and 2nd year, it might be good to go ahead and accept the subsidized loan amount, and put that extra $ away for future needs, in her 3rd and 4th year. It’s a nearly free 3-4 year loan, (there is an origination fee of 1.069%, or $59+/yr). I know some parents are hoping to pay off the subsidized loan, in part or in total, as a graduation gift. That is a good time for grandparents to help out, if they are able.

Did your D qualify for work study? The easiest way to work a few hours a week, but with Willamette right there, in the middle of Salem (we enjoyed our campus visit last June!), there is surely a Starbucks or other such place where she can pick up a few shifts, just off campus.

Hope your D has a wonderful time at Willamette! We loved the mill creek that runs through campus, with Adirondack chairs scattered along it, and the circle of 5 giant Sequoias, on the edge of campus. I think there are some traditions related to both the creek and the “Star Trees.” Cheers! :-bd

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I don’t think that you can get more in later years if you take less in earlier years. Can you manage by taking just the subsidized portion the first year and using her savings to manage the rest? If you don’t have to pay interest while she’s in school, it will be easier. You can also look at things like becoming an RA and applying for scholarships for returning students that aren’t available to freshmen. Maybe you can take some of her savings and put it in a CD - the rates aren’t that high but they are better than savings accounts. If you don’t need the money for a year, you can put it in a longer term account.

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Point of clarification. Depending on your EFC you may or may not qualify for the max subsidized amount. The total is $5500 year one but how you get to the $5500 varies.

I agree with taking the subsidized now and putting the savings into something that will earn interest and be available for the extra needed in years 3 and 4.

It does depend on how short those years will be though.

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Good points, @eandesmom and @techmom99.

Can only speak from our own experience, and even S16 qualified for full $3,500 subsidized loan his 1st year, when we just had one in college. At least at private schools where he was accepted. At the U of MN, he only got UNsubsidized loan in his “Aid” package.

And being an resident advisor is an excellent suggestion: http://willamette.edu/offices/campuslife/leadership/apply/job_descriptions/resident_advisor.html
The page says the job, which can be demanding at 20 hrs per week, covers Room and a pretty decent dining hall package. That is over $11,000 at Willamette! Was an RA in my Jr year, and it provided great work/leadership experience, as well.

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We’re getting closer…I think D17 is getting ready to hit the accept button! Will post once the deed is done and the swag is ordered!

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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I think I will follow your advice and have D take the subsidized Direct Loans all 4 years and only take the unsubsidized portion if actually needed. Maybe by taking the subsidized portions years 1 and 2 and saving it, she won’t have to take any unsubsidized portion years 3 and 4. I will also look into the suggestion to move some of her savings into a CD to get a little more interest.

She did not qualify for work study, to my knowledge (it wasn’t included in her award letter and when we committed her online and she had to choose what financial aid she was accepting/declining it wasn’t listed there), but she does plan to find a part-time job during the school year and to find a job all 4 summers.

She’s already said she wants to be an RA, but I don’t want to count on that, as there’s no guarantee that she will be chosen if she applies. I was an RA for 2 1/2 years and it was a wonderful experience - in addition to getting in-state tuition at an OOS school, I got free room and board, a small monthly stipend, and I made a group of lifelong friends (my fellow RA’s). So D has grown up hearing me talk about what a wonderful experience being an RA was.

@morningside95 Thanks for your kind words about D and Willamette. I drove through the St. Olaf campus once while visiting family in Northfield and it is beautiful. I like the white buildings and the way it sits atop a hill. I have a good friend who graduated from there and went on to get a master’s in math at UW. I hope your son will be very happy there. If you haven’t been there, the Ole Store Restaurant serves great homemade cinnamon rolls. Another place we like in Northfield is the Tavern. It has a very warm ambiance.

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You can pay interest or principal at any time. There is no prepayment penalty but it doesn’t make sense to repay borrowed principal and then borrow more as there is an origination fee and you don’t want to pay that twice.

The direct student knows are not compounded so you do not pay interest on interest. At the time the loans are converted to payment status, the interest accrued is combined with the principal and then interest will continue on the balance, so then it is compounded once, but you could pay it at that time and then you’d never have compounded interest.

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@klinksa

You’re killing me! LOL.

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S17 says he should have a decision by this weekend, so I’m calling a hiatus on all college discussion around the house until then. He did say that he feels that I want him to go to MSU and DH wants him to go to Albany. So, while we’ve both tried to be unbiased, our inner biases are showing. :wink: The poor kid is also down with a pretty nasty cold/respiratory crud, so he’s been huddled under a blanket for most of his break–I guess that means he has plenty of time to think…

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Thanks for the tip, @NolaCAR. We just heard about “Ole Rolls” at the parent’s reception! We drove by, to verify where the little place is located, as it’s in a totally residential area, just east of the St Olaf campus. No time to stop, this time, but will definitely get there, next time we are in Northfield!

Good luck, @klinska! Fingers crossed!

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@MSU88CHEng aw, poor kid. Time to tell him it’s his time to be selfish.

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Sounds like a good plan, to take a break, so S17 comes to his own decision, @MSU88CHEng. It is so hard to not telegraph our feelings and opinions, as parents. (DH and I were not good at it!)