Imagine thinking that your child deserves nothing less than a T20 for basically free. Mine has exceptional stats, yet I would not assume anything close to that.
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I have not seen all your threads about your process or âmust havesâ for your kids, but looking at cost alone, I think you would hit your EFC target at Washington State University. Every out-of-state applicant with a GPA over 3.6 gets $11,000 per year automatically, bringing the cost down to $29,000 before loans or any other aid.
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This hits me as a snide comment. I donât see anyone on this thread saying anything about their child âdeserving nothing less than a T20 for basically free.â
Some of our kids are at low-performing schools with limited opportunities where most students donât go to college. As @homerdog has hinted, there may be no way for our kids to be seen as âexceptionalâ by any AO because of limited opportunities for ECs/rigorous courses/counselor recommendations, etc. There is no historical data on how kids at our high school do in admissions at out-of-state schools because not enough kids apply.
And some of us donât have a lot of money. We are here to try to figure out whether it is possible for our kid to get merit at any school because we donât have people in our local community who have done this and can answer our questions.
I guess Iâd say to you: imagine being from an under-resourced school with little family savings and very little information about how to navigate the college admissions process. Please extend some grace to us.
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No doubt thatâs a hard place to be. If looking for advice here, though, one has to listen to those who have good advice. There are a lot of people here on CC who can help but they need a clear starting point - exact budget, college preferences, info on the high school, etc. - and they need it in time to give advice on applications. If any student is applying to 35+ schools, I hope itâs because itâs somewhat realistic that they will get the money they need so that research needs to be done ahead of application season. Iâm sure there are options for students who excel in a low performing school but they might not be the ones dreamed of. Those types of students will likely do well wherever they go to college and being realistic helps them create a college list with options so they can choose come April.
Applying to tippy tops in hopes that essays will put them over the top is almost certainly unrealistic especially without a high SAT or ACT even in these test optional times.
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Congratulations to your son! I wish I could re-enroll with him, the Ford is better than ever.
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I listened in on some of their virtual programming this fall and I was so impressed by the students, the tone, the focus, everything. Their focus on the inherent value of the student and how that shows up is amazing.
And the way they directly discussed the strike and how the administration owned their part, wow. I would like to go there now!
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Exactly. Iâm frankly baffled by the approach that is being taken. Months ago it became clear that the son was ill-prepared and ill-suited for LACs because he would not read. Even so, the choice was to largely apply to LACs because of finances. It was said that the hope was the son would mature sufficiently at the LACs to do the level of work he was unwilling to do in high school. Now there is concern because the offers, while in the range of the NPC, arenât as low as desired. There will be doubling down with even more selective LACs that meet full need. The latest strategy includes a huge number of essays to top schools and negotiating price. There have been vague references to conversations with coaches. There has been a lot of grace and good advice, but much of it is dismissed.
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Super cool!! Congratulations!!
Did you get that there are twins and thatâs why itâs so important to find affordable options? They know about community college or commuting to the closest UC, but theyâre hoping for a 4 year residential experience for both kids.
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Yes but they are clearly applying to schools that are not going to work financially.
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@homerdog I know you are aware. I think when youâre in this situation, and you have your backup plans set, itâs okay to try and see what you get.
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I know this thread is getting off track but I honestly do not think itâs ok to get excited about schools that require (1) a hefty application fee, (2) financial aid that is not going to work out and (3) multiple essays to write. Itâs not the same as applying to reaches that a student is able to afford and fit the profile of accepted students.
Not good for the studentâs psyche to get 30+ decisions back that are either a ânoâ or a âyesâ without enough aid
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Iâm not sure if all this talk of going to a top20 for free is about me (not that you made that comment). Itâs hard to follow the reply structure here.
But let me be clear: I have no âexpectations.â I have a hope, that my kids can go away to a college, not a top college and not for free, but for something around their EFC.
(and yes they can commute to cc, Davis, or sac state, for which there is no need to consult anyone on CC)
We avoided competitive colleges and had no desire to go to one and still have little desire for that. We still have some slim hopes of going to a mid tier LAC, but I admit that the majority opinion on CC, that this was not going to happen for us, is probably correct (itâs early though).
Now we are looking into 30% acceptance rates and lower because the chances for need based aid are greater. Not because of top this or that.
I still think the chances are good that at least my daughter will get EFC need met and will get into one of these colleges. I will certainly come back here and admit âI was wrong and others were right.â
I canât see obvious any reason my daughter would be automatically denied at a 25% acceptance college, although obviously she might be and she might be denied at all of them and I would be wrong and others right.
In any case, this discussion is a good record for others to come later and Iâm hoping that others in our position can look at what happens.
So far, for those others, maybe donât put so much effort into mid-tier LACs, give it a very selective try. Some of these free applications were not worth the fraction of calorie spent clicking the mouse. This was my mistake, for sure.
So far, for those others, take advantage of the few OOS states like those suggested on this thread, and look upwards on the food chain. Check out future posts to see what happened with that. Your situation may be different and no one here knows exactly what your chances are, especially if youâve never gotten an A- in your life, are a fantastic writer, and you are valedictorian.
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@UCDProf I think everyone on this board wants your children to get into schools they want to attend and you can afford to send them. One of the things I really appreciate about CC is how much celebration there is around studentsâ accomplishments and achievements. If your son and/or daughter get accepted to a sub-30% acceptance rate school and it is affordable - I think it is guaranteed that everyone who has commented on your posts will be cheering you and them.
It also sounds like your daughter is an âaverage excellentâ student (ht @Lindagaf) and would do very well in many of the schools she has already been accepted to and applicant schools she has not yet heard from.
Unfortunately for many of us with âaverage excellentâ students, there are tons and tons of them - many all gunning for the same small number of schools. With >37,000 high schools in the US, being Valedictorian probably wonât move the needle or stand out at those highly selective/rejective schools. Doing a year round sport (awesome!) isnât unusual - Suni Lee (and every other gymnast in the entire JO system) does a year round sport, as do thousands of other student athletes (in many different sports) looking to go to amazing schools. Being a great writer is going to serve your daughter well forever - it might not get her into a sub-30% acceptance rate school. And having all those three amazing qualities (and I am sure more than you have shared) doesnât necessarily means she will stand out in the admission process of highly selective schools. It really is that competitive.
I think what many of us who have watched (and gone through) the college admission process over the last 10 years or so are concerned about is that we donât want students (or parents) to be overly optimistic and then be disappointed when/if expected results come in. Lots of students who would do very well at highly selective schools donât get accepted - and it has nothing to do with the students, there just arenât enough spots for them all. The application process does get more competitive every year, just based on the numbers, let alone the every increasing accomplishments of upcoming students.
I know you live in an expensive area, I know your $140k income doesnât go as far as you wish it would, I know you have two students to put through college at the same time. College admissions is stressful and figuring out how to pay for college is even more stressful.
I also think one of the reasons I (and others) have brought up the UC schools, Sac state and CC is not because you arenât aware of those options, but rather because we see those options as excellent choices for a great education at a reasonable price. And while you might not have come onto CC to hear people cheerlead those (obvious to you) options - most of us are posting not just in response to you but also for others coming on these thread to learn and get information.
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what is your advice then, exactly? Donât apply to need-met colleges?
I donât get the rationale for avoiding this latest strategy: is it that a 4.0uw GPA, great writing ability, great recs, active ECs, Student Body President and #1 rank is a sure sign of barking up the wrong tree at 30% and lower acceptance rate colleges?
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Ole Miss is a good choice but their merit awards are not test optional. I may be wrong but believe his twins are test optional.
Iâm following this thread as my D is from CA and also test optional - most of the well known solid out of state merit plays are not really applicable without a good test score. Admissions maybe test optional but merit is rarely.
One of the few test optional schools with test optional merit awards is the University of Arkansas. They are generous without test scores and even allow for instate residency in as little as 6 months, and potential for in state lottery scholarships 12 months after residency granted.
My D is considering Arkansas, some CA schools, and Bama. Visited Ark a month ago and charming town and campus. Arkansas would come in far less expensive than our in state CA options.
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The latter is a good point. This is a record for others in a similar situation. My response to that kind of suggestion (cc, commuting etc) is short sighted.
I do think my daughter has a shot at a sub 30 % college. At least, I donât see why she can be assumed to be denied. I donât think itâs a good record to leave for others if the message is donât even try even if youâve done everything right.
Most of your post is trying to tamp down on the idea of where my daughter stands in relation to others. Iâm actually not and never did say that she her stats, etc. make her an outstanding candidate.
I just donât think there is any obvious reason why she shouldnât try and that a record should be left for others of: donât even try.
If she never gets a denial anywhere, which is sure to be the case if we donât fire out a new round of apps at the 30%, then that does not strike me as very smart.
At least, she should get denied at one college just to prove that she tested the waters.
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Meet need colleges will only work if the EFC (as they calculate it) is affordable. Meet need schools wonât (generally) go below that.
Definitely can make sense to give it a try.
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yes weâre just trying to get to EFC.
Iâm pretty sure that if we went ED at just the right place I would change my prediction from 50/50 to 80% sure we will prove people wrong here. Iâm all for that, and think Iâve spotted the right place, but my daughter canât commit and I donât blame her.
My worry stems from what youâve offered up in the thread about your son saying the high school is a poor one with few resources and that, even without his trying, heâs pulled out a 3.7. That doesnât bode well for your D as valedictorian if the school is not rigorous at all and also sounds like thereâs some grade inflation. Youâve also said she got an A in Calc but flunked the AP test. That doesnât bode well for her doing well at a top school.
Add no track record of college acceptances, no ACT or SAT and possibly recs that are good but not necessarily polished to say exactly what AOs want to hear (unlike recs from teachers at high achieving high schools that are written by teachers who are hopefully honest but also know exactly what to say) and Iâm just afraid your D will struggle to get into schools with 20ish % acceptance rates. Our S was not valedictorian but his GPA was within a small fraction of the val from our high school, one that sends kids to highly ranked colleges. 1540 SAT year round athlete running 50 miles a week in high school. Award winning painter. State level award for essay writing. Leadership in local non-profit and more. Not only didnât get merit at schools like Vandy but just got waitlisted. Rejected at Dartmouth. It sounds like your D might be applying to some schools like that and I just donât want her to get too excited. When people say itâs really hard to get into these schools, they mean it. And chances of getting merit at the few top schools that offer it are almost zero.
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