Yes the scholarship is from a completely different entity and not from UVA. good luck!
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That is interesting background - thank you for sharing.
+1 for Ohio schools - my D19 did not have superstar stats and just about every Ohio college was on her list. Youngstown State, Kent State, Bowling Green - all cheaper than PA state schools after scholarships. PA directionals have almost zero merit scholarships and all are over $20k for tuition+R&B.
And then you have Pitt, PSU and Temple, the âstate-relatedâ schools, which are even more expensive, about $10k more.
(ETA - my D19 ended up at WVU with a full-tuition scholarship, so weâve cash-flowed a really cheap education for her.)
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We really like WVU, but DS scholarship isnât where we need it. I think that is a great choice. My family is from PA, no one keeps their kids in state for college. They are more expensive than VA, and most state schools (except the big ones) are financially struggling. I went to Penn State in the 80s and it was super expensive then.
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Many schools start the selection process for the Jefferson Nominee(s) from the school very early, as in the spring of Junior year. It is highly competitive BUT (potential) nominees are made aware that if nominated, one may not ED anywhere else, so that makes it somewhat less desirable because UVA really needs to be one of your top choices to give up the ED card elsewhere. The other scholarships that have school-selected nominees do not have this requirement, nor do any of the âbigâ ones that one can apply for without a school nomination.
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Sigh.
S23 has been hearing about classmatesâ ED and EA acceptances, and feeling a bit deflated that he doesnât have equally exciting-sounding private schools on his list to talk about with them. I also suspect he feels (but wonât admit to feeling) disappointed that many of these are schools that we did not even consider because of budget. (Does it mean we donât care about him as much as his friendsâ families care about them? etc.)
Rationally, he is in agreement that his list is a better fit for him (the schools on his list are stronger for his interests than many of the schools classmates got intoâŠ) and also a better fit for our family (since the costs will be within our budget without a need for loansâŠ). Some of his friends have already told him how their schools will be a financial stretch and the families are a bit stressed about that. He doesnât want to be in that situation either. But I can see that itâs still hard for him to have these conversations with classmates.
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But if you didnât he was on the hook.
Sorry just saw @DadBodThor alreafy expressed the point.
I hear ya. When we applied last cycle, S22 was really excited about applying ED to Mudd for a variety of reasons. But, we had a heart to heart about finances, and although we could have afforded Mudd he eventually decided not to do ED there. I also have a suspicion that he didnât put in his best effort on the RD Mudd app since that cost discussion was always in the background. Ultimately, he didnât apply to any of the Ivies where some of his friends applied and stuck to UCs and CSUs for the most part. He did apply to a couple of expensive OOS publics - UIUC and UMich but the process of comparing ROI and loan costs made the decision a no-brainer for my analytical kid.
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Yes, I know this feeling. S23 applied to one mid-tier private that is the real wildcard for merit aid, and it is currently tied for his first choice. It would be a great fit for him I think. He is accepted and is up for some merit aid, so we are going this week for the competition, but I think it will not really be enough even if he wins, and I donât think he will based on the few partial scholarships given how the winners are chosen. (Largely by an essay. Heâs better with interviews.) I know he will feel sad if he decides he would like to attend and canât go, especially if the other student from his very small school decides to attend because his family has tuition waiver.
It is tough. Iâm there with you both. He didnât apply EA anywhere else because he did a reach SCEA. (Rejection.) There is another reach with decision still unknown, but unless the reachy-reach scholarship there comes through (highly unlikely) he would have to turn that one down also, should he be accepted, which is very iffy. He has two merit interviews this week, and one or two more in February. I am hoping he falls in love with one of those schools where his merit is almost certain to be higher, one of which is my top choice for him. Heâll be fine in the end (I hope).
And I hope your children will be fine in the end, too. Itâs the now that is getting long!
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Good luck with the scholarship competition! Hope it works out for your S 
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Also I heard that some semi finalists for Jefferson were actually rejected from UVA EA
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My S23 is also feeling a bit of a letdown. He came home today and mentioned that the girl he sits next to in AP Lit mentioned offhand today that she will be going to Columbia next year and is already exploring the curriculum. He would have loved to apply EDI or EDII to one of the handful of SLAC he fell in love with but we felt like we needed to compare financial packages (husband is self-employed too, which makes those net price calculators useless). Now heâs stuck waiting until March to hear back and RD is rough. On the other hand, heâs in at 3 safeties and has a financially viable option, so we canât complain. Good luck to all trying to put the acceptances and finances together!
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Itâs tough now but in 8 months heâll have new friends and a new circle - and theyâll all be at the same school together - so no one will be better or worse.
I understand the kids wanting to show off - Columbia is a nice medalâŠbut he should be proud of his choices too!!
And in the end, you have to pay the bills - and given your situation, even if itâs tough for your son to understand, youâve 100% made the right call.
Personally, my daughter was stoked everyday a decision came - we did 21 so she had 21 instances of Yes, WL, or No.
If you ED _ sure, youâre done - but then whatâs the fun in that? You lost that daily or weekly anticipation, that high that comes with awaiting and then finally getting the answer.
Your son is in a better spot in that sense!!! Her life is BORING 
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Comparison is the thief of joy, isnât it?
Hard stuff for seniors, with everyone having lists, and ins and outs and destinations (or not).
Itâs hard to imagine right now, while feeling these feelings, that when they actually are at their new college that none of this will matter at all, once they start the next chapter with a new community.
High school and their classmates are their world right now, and it can be nearly impossible to imagine that it wonât be the case as itâs all theyâve ever known.
The next few months are going to be a roller coaster of emotions. Hang in there (and congrats on all those great options your kiddo has!)
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Great points! My son considered ED for Northeastern-and they did give us a financial pre-read that was better than expected-but we wanted to be able to bargain shop in the end and I was secretly happy we didnât ED anywhere because I also enjoy watching his excitement with acceptances (which are so far all positive but a few more-including Northeastern-left to go!)
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Itâs funny how different each child/family is - D20 and D23 both wanted to be done with their college applications and acceptance asap. They chose to only apply early as they didnât want their entire senior year of high school to be about college apps and decisions.
S24 already saying he also wants to apply early having seen how his sistersâ process went. Some of the schools on his current list only do ED or RD; he is not going to apply ED so heâll have to wait until March for one or two of his decisions if he ends up applying everywhere currently on the list (and he is already second guessing those schools as he doesnât like to wait and wait and wait).
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Just got off of FaceTime with D23. (She is at BS). She admitted to not doing the only âoptionalâ Hamilton essay (250 words why Hamilton).
I am so annoyed. Why would they admit a kid who couldnât be bothered to write one essay?! I am sure that was a waste of money.
This is a safe place to brag, right?? My DS23 got admitted to the engineering program at Purdue as well their Honors College, and he was awarded a Trustee Scholarship (the highest level for OOS merit). Heâs a high stat kid, NMSF, good ECs, and I assume he wrote a very good essayâhe did his applications all on his own, wouldnât share anything with us so I can only assume! Got an email today inviting him to apply for the Stamp Scholars and the Beering Scholarship. The Beering Scholarship is a full ride for undergrad, and Masters, and PhD, plus a study abroad opportunity. Like I said, his ECs are good, not great so Iâd be shocked if he was awarded this (or the Stamp Scholar), but as they say in hollywoodâŠ.itâs an honor to be nominated! I think Georgia Tech is his top choice, but Purdue isnât too far behind and heâs all about the scholarship money. (Which means other schools are still in the running if they offer more scholarships. Heâs been working hard on his Iowa State scholarship applications. Go Cyclones!)
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Thatâs great! Just the other day I posted on here that the Beering doesnât get enough mention on CC, and viola! Here is a mention. It is a great opportunity, and they award like 4-5. Best of luck to him!
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Ugh I am sorry. I hear you.
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