@carlson2 – Agree. He’d need about $15k/year to put it in range for us.
S21 goes to a large HS and he really only knows the same kids that are always in his classes and the kids on his XC and TF team. He really would prefer to attend a smaller university or LAC, but it will all come down to where he gets in and finances. His two safeties TAMU and UT are very large, but I think students can find a small community there to make it seem smaller.
@AlmostThere2018 Anecdotally, applying EA at Case seemed to offer best chances for admission and unlocking scholarships, at least a few years ago. I think they might have added ED in the interim. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, demonstrated interest is important. My older non-STEM kid was mostly interested in LACs but applied to Case and really liked it. I’d describe the vibe as hard-working, serious students who have fun in slightly nerdy ways. STEM does dominate among the students even though Humanities and Social Sciences departments are strong academically. I agree with your assessment of the campus and @Momminit 's excellent description. We also checked out Wooster and had similar impressions. I think it’s one of those hidden gem LACs that punches above its ranking. Nice campus and down to earth students.
@JanieWalker Thanks for the links. Having read all of them, my take away is still the same. There is an Additional Information section to showcase all the stuff that can’t fit elsewhere. “Do I have something additional I want them to know about my last six months in particular that I’ve not been able to express elsewhere?” The crux is they don’t want people to use the white space for Covid impacted ECs. Our school college guidance counsellor (top independent high school in state) was very adamant that after talking with college AOs across the board, the consensus was that unless you have a real COVID related hardship that MOST OTHER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS did not face then you need to leave this blank. Missing out on great opportunities to shine that you had qualified for or had opted in or were hand plucked by the President for are not reasons that your COVID was hard. This should all find a place elsewhere in the application. Using the white space because you want to “shoehorn” in extra accolades was not the intended purpose. Whether it will ding your application or not is another one of those “who knows” depends on the application reader and when / order your application was read. If I had just read a real tear jerker of an application of real hardship where someone used this space to answer then read an application that used this space as an extra back patting opportunity I am going to react to the second application with an eye roll. Perhaps it is just me, but why take the risk? It won’t KILL anyone’s application but these applications are about putting your best foot forward and leaving the reader with the correct impression of the applicant. To me answering in that space without a real hardship has “downside risk” written all over it. Reiterating my previous viewpoint (and of course it is personal) that the less risky approach is to leave it blank and find another space to showcase wonderful accomplishments.
@mamaedefamilia – Tks for the input! S is applying EA to Case. He did an official visit last year (remember those?) and he recently did an admissions interview. He did one virtual session this summer – it was rather awful, tbh. It’s possible that he’s emailed a prof there, but I’m not sure. Hopefully that ticks enough interest boxes! What do you think?
I like the fact that Case is strong in a lot of areas so if he switches gears (ha!) from engineering, he’s still got great options.
I’ve heard Case is making fewer merit offers (or maybe it’s just less $$) the last few years b/c they are trying to increase need-based aid. I support that move.
If he’d had chance to test more and get a great score, I’d feel better about Case being a feasible option for S. As it is, we’re not even sure he should submit his score (ACT 31), esp. b/c they went TO early in the pandemic which makes me think they are serious about it. Right now he’s leaning against submitting his score, but I need to do a little more sleuthing.
My biggest question on Case admissions is whether they’ll use test scores this year to make merit offers. WPI, which has been TO for years, does NOT use test scores when making merit offers so that feels like a better shot for merit.
We are on fin aid bubble so most places he only qualifies for loans and work/study. Interestingly, a woman I know who works with a lot of college applicants, says this will be the year to negotiate with privates. So if he gets in somewhere with no $$, I plan to ask and see what they say. Worse that can happen is they say no. . .
We’re firm about not paying more than $50k/yr out of pocket. We recently decided that since he’s engineering and should make good income, we’re okay letting him take the federal loans. But that’s it – no other loans. So that means total cost can’t be more than about $56k for him.
@AlmostThere2018 It might be worth putting in a call to Case about test scores/merit scholarships. FWIW, my impression was that kids with solid but not extremely high test scores tended to do a bit better with admissions because there was less suspicion that the school was a safety option. However, I also got the impression that the amount of merit was tied to GPA/test scores. You could look at the threads from the last couple of years of kids who applied to get a sense of how those number match up. My admittedly fuzzy memory is that the 30K+ awards seemed to correlate with 1500+ SAT scores or ACT equivalent with 20K awards corresponding to ACTs in the low 30s.
I do think that if the test scores fall solidly within the 50% or above that they are worth sending this year.
@mamaedefamilia – very helpful – thank you!
One ACT in the bag. S21 said it was “okay” - he was only calling to ask if he could use the credit card to go to Five Guys as a reward? Hoping “okay” means as good as his practice tests (a 34 and a 35) so he is done.
D is taking a timed practice ACT test today. I feel pretty confidant the ACT will not be cancelled next week. The one given in our town today went off with out a hitch Hoping for those lucky enough to get to take it, the ACT Gods smiled at you.
Edit: our schools are fully in person
@GlobalFencingMom Thanks for sharing your opinion. It seems to go against what the admissions experts say in the links I posted, though. The Georgia Tech fellow in particular seems to not share your sentiments at all - but that’s okay - I shared those links not to debate with you (or anyone else), but to provide folks with information. If you don’t want your teen to put anything in the COVID section, then obviously no one is going to force your kid to do so.
S21 was finally able to take the ACT today. He didn’t think it would actually happen so he didn’t study for it. His prep consisted of taking one practice test in math two months ago (35), a practice English test last night (29), and then looking over a few questions in the other sections, plus reading over some test taking strategies, also all last night. I kind of don’t care, and also kind of want to strangle him for not putting in more effort since he was able to take it. He felt like he aced the English section but said the math was challenging, which is opposite of the practice tests he tried. Now he’s fired up and wants to study and try again; I’m hoping he miraculously scores well and can just be done!
My daughter also took the ACT today after having 3 canceled on her. Last week we found out she could not take the exam at the HS she was restistered at because she was not a student in the school, and ended up taking it at a hotel about 45 minutes away. I hope the scoring process goes smoother than the registration process!
D21 also took the ACT today after 4 cancellations. We drive 2.5 hours to a neighboring state and I sat in the car until 8:15 fully expecting her to come out and say there weren’t enough proctors or test materials or some other ACT calamity. She has one previous score and hoped to gain a point or two. I hope she did, but after six months off and prep only here and there leading up to cancelled exams, it is a tall order.
Still, extremely grateful she got the opportunity to try.
Great dialogue on the Covid question. D21 will be leaving it blank.
Common app essay is done. One short answer Q is done. Next weekend she’ll submit the apps that don’t require additional SA questions and start apply Texas. Phew. I feel like we are finally making progress.
@mm5678 That “phew” is wonderful, isn’t it?
My D21 just showed me yesterday that one of her recommenders submitted her recommendation and it was showed checked off in common app. I felt the “phew” and felt proud of the recommender like he was my kid. 
@sushiritto our SAT cancelation was away too. @AlmostThere2018 S has had nothing but ACT cancelations since he was scheduled in April. I’m hopeful October happens but more than likely it will not. Our numbers in the County are improving, so there is a chance.
Had a nice weekend off not watching the news or thinking about college stuff. Whew. This week will push S to finish his main essay.
@NateandAllisMom – Tks for the commiseration, but my S actually did get one test in over summer after cancellations in April and June. He just didn’t quite hit his target score so he’s going to go TO to his reaches (though he doesn’t have a lot of reaches; his list is pretty match oriented.)
@mamaedefamilia – took your advice and reached out to Case re: scholarships and test optional. They said if a student applies test optional they are considered across the board for everything, including scholarships. So that’s good to know!
Btw, did you guys see the news that GW in DC is down in student count by something like 24%?!? They had a lot of international and upperclassmen who have not returned. Anyway, their new strategy is to get smaller and more focused – or something like that. I didn’t read the whole article. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/gwu-aims-to-get-smaller-and-better-will-that-mean-cuts-to-faculty-and-financial-aid/2019/09/12/897ac914-cffe-11e9-b29b-a528dc82154a_story.html
Makes me wonder if other privates have a lost a lot of students but haven’t announced it yet. I’m thinking of NYU in particular.
Also, fairtest.org is compiling a list of test blind colleges. https://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Test-Blind-Admissions-List.pdf
@AlmostThere2018 Our S is also applying EA to Case. Just from descriptions, confirmed on this thread, I think S would really like it there. And, unlike so many other schools, you don’t have to apply to a major. He still needs to do an interview though. He hasn’t done any, and I know he’s nervous. Speaking to adults isn’t his strong suit (I urged him to do speech and debate to no avail). But I think Case is big on demonstrated interest, so I better start practicing with him!
@AlmostThere2018 oh sorry I thought you asked me last week if S had taken ACT.
Regarding the class of 2020, what I’ve heard so far is reassurance that the 2021s won’t get squeezed because the 2020 class is smaller and the colleges will look at the overall number. I’m not sure that I’m buying that and it probably is only true for certain colleges. If the AOs are nervous though about numbers that might help 2021s at some schools, especially early applicants.