If it appears that people are tending to stick closer to home or take a gap year (though not too many did that last year), I’d think this would have more success and closer to May 1st.
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Yeah, he kept bringing up how merit aid benefits people who could pay while FA is better because it benefits people who need aid. As the one who has to write that check I feel like we need merit aid! lol.
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I liked Selingo’s book for the inside scoop at Emory, Davidson and UDub plus following a handful of others in NC, PA and CA. I’m guessing that the other book on merit aid doesn’t give such vivid examples. It would’ve been interesting to have tossed in a regional public or private (strong buyer) but doubt they would want to share much.
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So they automatically billed me and then after two calls over a couple of days, the case escalated to Amazon management. The charge was finally reimbursed. I also buy a ton on Amazon, so I think my purchasing history helped with that decision. Based on the time & headache, we will never be complacent again - even if it means not having a book for awhile!
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I haven’t heard about success or failure on that, but it certainly makes sense. I can see a couple schools where D may have been borderline for the honors program, but a non-admission would have been a deal breaker. If they don’t have hard caps and your kid is borderline, there’s probably a good shot.
From their point of view, as long as it doesn’t create a logistical problem that’s cheaper than you asking for $$. Plus, what do you have to lose? I’m guessing if you are asking for honors program or a specific major and the answer is no, it’s probably a dealbreaker anyway. So you don’t lose anything if they say no.
@NateandAllisMom Dean J over on the UVA forum had an interesting post and link about tuition discounting versus merit awards. I like that Dean J person.
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Agreed on the state comment…
@sushiritto my kid didn’t apply to UVA but I loved how Dean J responded to their forum. Mad kudos to him. Imagine being bombarded by all of us all hungry for insight!
Argh on the Brown tuition increase!! I listened to the radio show from Boston about a month ago and the Dean of admissions of Boston College and Harvard (title may be off) were on. Pretty interesting listen. The Harvard Dean said it’s should not come as a surprise that in the next few years, all in cost would be $100k/yr. At first I was super excited that my kid was punching up but then paying $400k for an undergrad (we wouldn’t qualify for need based scholarship but I’m still budgeting for vacations since we are just in that limbo upper middle class range but living in CA so is it really upper mid class??) doesn’t even make sense. This and coupled with Ivies being a reach, I’ve practically forgotten that Ivy Day is 4/6. The price tag has dampened the excitement for me as a parent.
The good news is CA public colleges tuition in the fall won’t increase because our governor allocated an additional 3% to the colleges. He’s actually increased the budget to CSUs, which makes me happy because it would’ve given someone like my younger self a huge opportunity. My friend who is a professor at CSU Sac has seen a difference the past two years with the committment, too.
And why can’t my kids be business and lib arts majors? I’d send them to CC (it’s free for us the first two years) and then have them transfer to a UC. So much savings in $$.
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@mommalue it must be such a rewarding experience helping these talented kids find their way and get accepted at their dream schools. This has to translate into good juju for S21, no? Fingers crossed!
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@rarz69 Glad you made your way here. Your daughter is very impressive with great choices already!
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Lowell HS, a San Francisco HS, which has forever been the best public school in SF and one of the best in the country, has now eliminated their merit-based admissions system.
I’m thinking this is the wave of the future in college admissions. Drop GPA’s and test scores and just make everything a lottery. 
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-school-board-strips-Lowell-High-of-its-15938565.php
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I don’t like the lottery system, I am a big fan of the TX auto admit rule because it gives kids from every school a chance. I know a lot of people dislike it, specially if they attend a super competitive school, but I find it works better than a lottery.
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Makes sense for a public school. It should be open for everyone, with all kids given an equal chance.
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Wow! Lowell is my sisters alma mater. I was accepted but she was there so I went to Bal 
I’ll have to share this with her.
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Since I am new to this process, can someone help me out here? I am not familiar with this concept of negotiating merit aid. We do not qualify for need based aid, but I have a high performing daughter who has been accepted to several state schools with merit aid awards. Does this mean I should be comparing the amounts offered and asking if the place she chooses will match the highest award? If so, should we be asking for a match of merit dollars offered or remaining cost? And who do we contact to do this if so? I never even thought about this. Is it really done? I don’t want to be asking for something ridiculous, but I also don’t want to be stupid and leave money on the table (especially since we are starting the process of putting twins through school - ouch!) Thank you all.
@Momoftxtwins I’ve not read the book but I listened to Get Wise: College Admissions podcast and episode S106- Sticker Price is not the price was actually insightful. There were two admissions peeps on the podcast and they said if you have several offers, you could present to them the offers and say, “If you could meet this offer above yours, it would make our decision easier to go to your school, etc.”
In regards to Lowell, DH went there, as well as a bunch of his friends. I have some outsider opinions. I think it’s a great school with pedigree. USN&R ranked it top 8 or something like that. Supreme Court Justices, etc. came from there. I think in SF, the way they have things set up is odd. You can live by the school (in normal cities, that would be your home school) but they could bus you across the city, depending on how you’re assigned. I’m really taken aback by this base on how our school is set up in NorCal and how I grew up in Seattle, but I get how this could spread diversity and inclusion. Lowell seems to be a great school, but if you’re at a decent school in the area, does it really, truly provide significant incremental value? Many friends in SF are up in arms over this but I think it’s not that big of a deal. That school’s yearbook year after year is like 80% Asians. I don’t see true diversity there at all. DH’s niece went to Lowell. Meh. She got into UC Riverside. Masters degree. I feel like she’s making below min wage as an educator in SF. Her cousin goes there now and is S21’s age. I love her, but I’m not sure if she and her friends are as capable as S21 and his friends if you do a like for like class comparison and we are USN&R #800 school in the state or the country. Can’t recall. And TBH, DH’s friends and he aren’t that impressive. At any school, there will be the top 3% who are amazing, but I imagine they’d be amazing elsewhere. The average kids, TBH, unless they were struggling in an inner city school where they’re dealing with gun violence everywhere, I’m not even sure if Lowell would make that big of a difference to them.
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Dean J is a she! 
She has been fantastic and I have to say a breath of fresh air and someone that many college admissions officers can learn from. UVA as a whole has been nothing but transparent and honest with their decision dates, etc, even if a lot of people didn’t get the decision they had hoped or expected. They didn’t pull the BS that Texas did or that Wisconsin did in having strange waves or sending out letters that were dated from months before, etc. I feel bad for students that applied to schools like that as if our kids aren’t already anxious and going through a rough year of apps, etc and then schools just are not transparent in their notification dates, etc.
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@MommaLue because my sister graduated from Lowell and I graduated from Balboa I will have to agree with you! I am waaaay more successful than she is as are many of my Balboa friends compared to her friends from Lowell or are doing equally as well.
At the end of the day, this shows me it’s the ambition of the person and not the institution they attended. That be HS or College! I remind my daughter of that all the time. And it helps that I have direct evidence 
I really appreciate Dean J’s candor along with David Graves from UGA as well. It is refreshing, truly, to see such open and honest communication.
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I got my appointment for the Covid Vaccine! This Friday at 2:30pm! 
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