Since the merit is not the deciding factor, I would be focused on fit. Have him choose 2-3 admitted students days and see what fits best. I would not accept the spring admit since he would not get to be part of all the fall excitement —at home and there—around heading off to school. Being a small fish means it is not an ideal fit either. YMMV
@CTCape If you think he’d do well at UConn, that would be my first choice. Neither of my kids wanted a school that big (or close) but it’s a great school, and the business program is solid. I wouldn’t spend that much more for Rutgers (unless he gets good merit). If he really wants out of state, I’d probably investigate the honors program at URI. You have a younger, don’t you?
All good questions and points.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek and @Cheeringsection --RE: the UMD spring admit, he didn’t seem thrilled, that’s for sure. I fully realize that or someone whose hardcore 1st choice was UMD, and admit is an admit and a degree is a degree, but it still feels like he has other wonderful options. It’s the most expensive as well. And while it’s probably the most competitive school he got into, I don’t think it’s so far above some of his other options that it’s worth the extra $. I think he will get there on his own, and that he will find a good fit among his other choices.
@taverngirl UConn is the last place he will hear from, so we have another month to wait on that one. He applied for the B school 1st choice, Econ 2nd, and only put Storrs for campus choice. I have no idea what to expect. For in-state kids, I’ve heard of many with stronger stats than his being rejected in past years, or only getting in to Hartford or Stamford campus and having to xfer later, so we’re braced for less than ideal news. Cost-wise it’s the cheapest, so if he gets in, we hope he will consider deeply. At URI, he did get honors and B school and merit, but he seems averse to the social scene there (go Greek or move off campus seems to be the norm). That said, he hasn’t crossed it off the list and wants to go to the admitted students day. I loved it, and have been desperately trying to counter a lower prestige idea that my mother (?!) put in his head based on old reputation from when I was applying to schools. She’s a CPA, worked at a big 4, so he respects her opinion–not that he shouldn’t, but ugh…thanks, mom!
Salve Regina is mostly still in the running due to being offered a place on the XC team, excellent merit, and an intangible feeling that he just loved it and could see himself there. Its a total outlier, but not off the list.
Thank you all so much. Ultimately I agree–fit is the biggest thing. A lot to think about. Once he goes to the admitted students days I think he will be best able to decide.
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I would since student income is hit the hardest for financial aid, but if your EFC is already too high to qualify for anything, then it probably doesn’t matter. However the school requesting the W2 isn’t going to be happy if they don’t match up.
@cshell2 Thank you so much for your response! It was just so much paperwork at the time, and I thought she likely didn’t make that much but that is was better to over-estimate than under. Not a great call on my part. 
@CTCape An abundance of options! It’s nice to have a sense of ease around finances (we have the same situation) but still, focusing on merit is smart. Of his major choices, I like Econ and school choices, UMass Amherst.
@mom2jgd Agree that merit still comes into play for us. Just because we can rely on some very generous family members doesn’t mean that we want to take advantage. We have another DS22, and potentially grad school for 1 or both of them, so we want to be respectful and economize.
We like UMass for a lot of reasons as well, and with 12K merit, it’s a strong contender. It’s out of state but convenient, has a solid academic reputation, he loves Amherst and the surrounding area, and if he really applies himself and wants it, he could potentially xfer to the business school. I grew up in Boston and it was still Zoo Mass when I was in school, but I realize that has changed significantly. What do you like about it in particular?
My daughter is also one of the OOS kids that was accepted to FSU on Jan. 30. She visited last July and was very impressed with the campus. She told her dad “I can definitely see myself here”. She’s got several very good options so the decision isn’t made yet.
Question for boy moms. When we did the FAFSA it asked about whether DS20 had registered for selective service. He was still 17 so he hadn’t and I vaguely remember it asking if we wanted help to do it when he turned 18. Well he turns 18 in a couple of weeks and now I am wondering if I am misremembering this. And if we need to do something to register him? Does this ring a bell for anyone?
@mtemmd FAFSA asks if you had registered and if not, it asks if you want FAFSA to register for you. We said yes to that and I’m told they do it when they turn 18. I’m probably going to have DS double check selective service website after he turns in July to make sure they actually did it.
For Undergraduate Econ i think most schools on your radar will offer a solid education. If your son wants to pursue an MBA, i would opt for UCONN at the in state rate or UMASS with the merit. Both will offer the option of being close to home and easy travel during school breaks. Save the resources for an MBA degree where he can utilize his Econ background to expand Business/Finance education. Not sure if its an option at the schools you mention, but Undergraduate students can earn MBA credits at some schools reducing their time to earn an MBA.
Thanks so much. I agree that saving resources for grad school is important, and ease of travel would make me happy, too. I’m hoping we can get him a little more excited about UConn if he gets in.
Thanks @cshell2. I was second guessing my memory. We checked yes but will have him double check. I think I was worried he would somehow register twice. Lol
@mtemmd You can find out here https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Check-a-Registration/Verification-Form
Checking the box on the FAFSA appears to have worked for my S20; the registration date listed is one month prior to his 18th birthday.
Thanks!
Do RD schools look at mid year grades? DS20 has done really well and his GPA has increased nicely and hoping it might help with some of the schools he has left to hear from.
@mtemmd
Happy for your DS!
FWIW, all but one of DS’ RD schools ask for mid year report! And I think 2/1 was the deadline for most of them. Send it in ASAP!
Good luck!
DS has a really good mid year too, and I can’t believe that I said this to him, “now you can relax.” ?
All of my D’s RD schools are asking for mid year reports but none has a 2/1 deadline. For her schools the deadlines are all mid to end of Feb. Our high school automatically sends mid year reports when they are finalized. Students don’t put requests.
Our school does the same @am9799 I think this just makes it easier on everyone
DS20’s school also sends mid-year reports in the second week of feb - they send automatically (for common app colleges - not sure for others). I think our school sends an updated official transcript with grades for all completed courses (with any single semester courses in the fall); for in-progress full year courses, they add one page summary of current grade. school does not provide semester breakup for full-year courses on the official transcript.
DS20’s classes are all full-year - so not sure how much college weigh the partial grades. He did fine though (much better than junior year and increased his average a bit).