@diy123, I forgot to answer the second part of your question. The 15 nutmeg finalists interview this Saturday and get the decision by the end of the month, I think. The others kids that applied and didn’t get interviewed typically get a letter in January telling them that they’re excellent candidates for UCONN’s other scholarships.
Pretty much everyone fInds out in February if they got in or not.
No, those who applied for the scholarship do not have to apply again.
@RightCoaster, I believe your S and my D have the same OOS state school acceptances: UVM and UNH–right? For UVM, the letter that came with the acceptance package in the mail said that merit would be communicated in mid-December. For UNH, the letter D received said she was a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship ($6,000/year for OOS).
@chillkitty thank you for the clarification.
@rightcoaster The majority of schools do not require FAFSA for scholarships. Some do. With this round of applications, we found one school specifically stated on their website that they require it. Another specifically stated that they don’t. Most don’t address it on their website at all. A call to admissions can clarify it simply, though.
@STEAM I have a soft spot for Princeton for personal reasons. Did take both kids around the campus (not on any official tour) when doing our east coast crawl for my older DD & was reminded how pretty the campuses looked. That said not a good fit for my ‘only the west coast kid’ who in addition doesn’t have the stats to even consider the Ivy’s.
I did once ask a neighborhood kid who went to Princeton (in CS) why she choose it. (Graduated a few years ago) And the answer was it was the most prestigious school who accepted her. From what I know she did well there and got a good job in the industry fall of senior year. But I was never that impressed by her logic.
What I do believe is that for many students smaller private schools, can be better at retaining students & keeping them on track so they can graduate in 4 years. And this might be worth the extra cost depending on who your kid’s personality. (It’s not a given & research needs to be done about the school.) The bureaucracy at many large state school, impersonality and lack of good counseling can be difficult for many students to navigate. This is less about presage and more about fit in a way. But I know of large state schools that are really inflexible, they don’t let you take a semesters off or go part-time if needed. And the level of counseling can be dismal.
We did make a decision to spend a bit extra $ send older D to a small LAC vs large impersonal state school and I think it made a difference in her case. But this wasn’t about prestige…her small LAC wasn’t that prestigious. And in fact her small private LAC was less expensive than many of the public state schools S17 is looking at. But it was a good fit for her.
@RightCoaster we have had some merit awards that came with the acceptance letter and some that were sent later. With one school I know others who got their notification right away but my son’s came separately about 2 weeks later. I don’t think it always makes sense but you could call the school and ask them when they notify accepted students about merit awards.
@CT1417 Chicago did the same to my son. Crazy amount of paper was sent to him over the past two years. Chances of getting in… I’d say less than 1%. I believe they had his SAT & Subject tests and like your kid, mine has very good test grades but not matching GPA.
@RightCoaster–as @Mom2aphysicsgeek said, FAFSA is not a requirement for merit at either UVM or UNH. We did file FAFSA, knowing we wouldn’t qualify for any need-based aid, but wanting the option for the student loan if necessary. UNH was a safety for my D–I think your S’s stats are a quite a bit higher than hers, so I would be really surprised if he didn’t get at least the same OOS scholarship as she did, if not more. The amount she got matched exactly what the NPC for UNH said she’d get.
@HappyGoLucky2017 & @curiositycat333
You both make great points about how spending more for a college may in-fact have a greater ROI because it creates a better fit. Perhaps that is the point the elderly gentleman was suggesting to my D since I doubt he is aware of the dramatic cost difference that exists between the two schools today. However, the "you are too good for that school"certainly sounded like he was referring to prestige.
@carachel2 I don’t know if you’ve checked back to the Purdue thread but it seems that the 3.8GPA, 35 ACT, quadruple legacy, LGBT guy who was rejected is a one-post phony. I guess some people get a rise by posting things like that to see the crowd reaction. Like CC exhibitionists!
@CT1417 You may be on to something. After we visited U of Chicago, the spam diminished dramatically! And, no, no demonstrated interest in Rice.
I thought I’d share the text of an email that all the seniors (and their parents) got at my son’s school today. I thought it was potentially really helpful for the kids to hear this before ED decisions start rolling in (and I also just found out that he’ll hear on his ED application on Friday evening!).
Dear Seniors and Parents:
Below is an excerpt of a chapel talk made by a student at Groton a few years ago. We urge you to read it and reflect on his comments as he describes a way to approach the next few days, whether you receive a rejection, a deferral, or an acceptance.
Sincerely,
The College Office
…Up until this point, my life has played itself out in a predictable fashion. […] I have never had to leap any hurdles or break down any walls standing in my way. While I’m thankful for this, I am also a little wary of what this lack of adversity may cause in my future experiences.
But please don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my childhood for anything. […] My predictable life has lead me here, and I’m extremely grateful for that. I have enjoyed my long walk on this straight road I’m on, but I feel as though I may be approaching a turn.
This past Saturday, I got rejected from the college that I had always dreamed of attending. I logged on to the admission office’s website, clicked on the link to show me their decision, and saw “we regret to inform you…” glaring at me from the top of the page. When I was little I used to go up to this college’s campus and visit my cousin. I saw how incredibly happy he was there, and I immediately decided that I needed to be a part of that school’s community. I looked at a place from the outside in and made my decision to apply based solely on my own small glimpses into life on that college’s campus. At the beginning of this past term I applied early decision, without ever really taking other possible choices into account. And in the end, things didn’t go the way I originally planned.
That admission office’s decision has created a fork in my road. I stand here giving this talk without knowing where I will turn next, and that feeling excites me. Never before have I stood before a slate this blank. Last Friday, I thought that I would awake the next morning and have my next move spelled out for me. But here I am, 48 hours later, telling you about my failure to achieve that next move. However, I don’t view this as a failure. And I want to stress that point. I don’t think of that rejection as a failure. While I am disappointed, I know I have many other options that will make me very happy.
In the coming weeks my fellow form mates will start to hear from their respective colleges, and I would like to take this chance to say to all of them to not let one rejection put you down. You are all talented and kind people that I feel blessed to go to school with. You have made these last five years the best years of my life and I’d like to thank you all for the memories you have given me. They are more valuable than any acceptance letter to a college. Please don’t forget that. I also want to remind you that while one outright rejection may feel like the failure of all your hard work at Groton, I urge you to look upon it as an exciting new beginning. This is your life we’re talking about. Take it into your control and see what happens. It’s exciting to stand here about to enter my next phase of life without really knowing what my move is going to be.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek I totally agree with your post re: competitive scholarships. Each school is looking for something different once the student surpasses the stats threshold, and then the best our kids can do is try to figure out what that is and whether they have those attributes, apply, and wait and see. It also changes each year. I did a lot of research for my D regarding competitive scholarships, and I made her aware, that based on my research, she had absolutely no shot at some of them even though she has the numerical stats. We’re hopeful about others. And I also let her know that for the ones that she is most competitive for, if she’s lucky enough to hit the lottery and win the scholarship, be prepared to be an ambassador for the school as they will be trying to use her as a recruitment tool for future classes. And that’s based on my own experience and research.
@payn4ward, the problem is that the jobs offering more money don’t let me research what I want to research. I absolutely love working on issues of language and aging, but there’s no private industry money in that—if I’d gone for where the money is for my skillset, I’d be doing automated computer speech production. That’s something I’ll say in all fake modesty I’d be good at, but it’s not something I’d really enjoy, you know?
Re: competitive scholarships
The resumes and profiles of the kids who win those crazy tippy top competitive scholarships make me feel like a middle aged schlump who has accomplished nothing despite three degrees, a professional publication and a new academic faculty position!! Those kids are CRAZY amazing!
@soxmom – guessing Middlebury as they are the only school I know of with that first Sat in Dec 8am notification!
Lovely chapel talk and thanks for sharing.
@itsgettingreal17 – I would go so far as to say that your line could apply to admissions at many schools.
“she had absolutely no shot at some of them even though she has the numerical stats. We’re hopeful about others.”
Or at least that is the way I feel on my son’s behalf. On paper, all is good; in reality, such a long shot!
@dfbdfb - Wouldn’t there be some grant money (maybe not private industry, but NIH-type grants) on language and aging looking at demential, post-stroke and/or TBI-related aphasia?
As the spouse of an professor-type, we have found quite a bit of flexibility in academia (then again, DH already had tenure when I met him, so piece of it was less of an issue). I think it becomes more difficult to juggle when trying to start a family early on in an academic career, especially for women, I’m afraid. And these days, with Adjunctification in academia with people having to take low-paying teaching jobs with no security and without benefits – often at more than one institution – it’s even more difficult for young academics starting out.
@soxmom Great post.
I wonder if our kids are awaiting results from the same school on Friday at 6?
@LoveTheBard, I should clarify that I look at linguistic behavior as it correlates with non-pathological aging (I’m the happy aging guy!
), and there’s not so much money in that. (Basic research and description that gets used by industry types, yes, but very little in the way of direct funding. So it goes.)