Admissions should show love to EVERY kid - because that’s their job - get any accepted student to campus. But all departments are funded and run differently.
It’s hard not to - but I wouldn’t make an attendance decision based on the admissions team. Like any company, some are better at marketing than others.
Of course, once you get in the day to day life on campus, it will have zero to do with the admissions team.
Funny little quip from last night. D23 won a full ride from a state directional. Overall it is best situation for her when considering all factors. Mom and D23 are on the couch and they are on the school website picking meal plans and doing dorm stuff. They are also on the school matching site for roommates. D23 probably said something sarcastic or threaten to put something crazy on the matching site. Mom I think says something to her. D23 then says ‘well what are you going to do not pay for my college?’ Touche kid. We have lost a little leverage in the parent/child relationship. As mom put it we still have plenty.
She is carbon copy of myself. I was full of independence at her age. I am also very sarcastic.
I have a Hamilton Financial Aid appeal update. They have come back with an Excellent offer, I am so impressed and surprised! DD was getting used to the thought that it would be Colgate for her but now, she has two options. It seems I will be doing the long drive to BS to get her and tour two weekends in a row since their admitted student tours are at the same time.
It increased the grant, as well as put in language that carries that throughout the 4 years.
If you have a comparable offer, whether meets need FA or merit, it can NEVER hurt to reach out!
Oy.
THAT is my only leverage.
Free ride is so great!
Creighton has excellent pre-health programs. It is a great option for those going on to nursing, MD/DO, Dentistry, or PA programs. They are just completing a brand new medical school facility. My future DIL is in her first year of PA school there and it is excellent.
Hamilton could make a great choice for the study of mathematics, statistics, or data science.
My daughter knew me too well as well, to call my bluff:
She could rely that her tax-conscious Dad would never really pay a 529 penalty for NOT completely disbursing all funds for higher education expenses 
Well there’s grad school and grad kids and now a Roth IRA.
I purposely didn’t withdraw last year so the money stays. Markets down too much.
It’ll get used somehow.
Indeed - we were fortunate to have enough to have enough for the first years of grad school, and yes, during college I had switched future funding to Roth IRAs for all three of us to avoid creating any implied obligation early on that she had to commit to grad school.
I’ll be just as happy to retire to Tuscany instead
Of course - also managing our timing very consciously.
When D23 was making her decision her two financial parents had to give her crash course in Roth IRAs and what that could mean for her with her 529. D23 will eventually go to grad school because she is going to be a HS teacher, but she very well could have leftover funds.
I am kicking myself because we upped her 529 so we wouldn’t have to cashflow as much of her schooling and ends up she didn’t need it.
Well I plan to take advantage of this …to eliminate some.
In the end, I know I’m fortunate that both kids chose relatively inexpensive options and financially I could avoid drawing from the 529 if I decided to.
Not everyone can but I am lucky. I’ll pull some this year. But I’m hopeful markets go up a bit more from here.
The year is long. Last year I gambled and lost.
Hoping I do better this year.
Our D21 will have leftover 529 funds too. She will likely take advantage of the Roth rollover option, but that will be limited to the Roth max each year.
When you look at the account details though, even if she did withdraw some or all of the 529 for non-QEE, the 10% penalty is actually fairly small (penalty is only on the gains, not the principal). To have the money grow for years tax-free and then potentially pay 10% penalty only on the gains, it was not a terrible way to save a good chunk of $. Of course, the 529 non-QEE withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income too.
Well, if your 529 account is at least 5 years old, then you can gradually roll-over 35K of that into your child’s Roth IRA. In the meantime, if you have a good 529 plan, you’ll hopefully find investment options as good as for an IRA.
Hey again, have you checked out this site for LoyNo music info?
https://collegetables.info/159656.html
It was recently discovered by a CCer and it’s awesome - a deep data dive into all the facts out there on almost all the schools in the US. Nothing ‘hidden’ – it’s just all in one place for once.
You can drill down on graduate numbers by major, so while it doesn’t show the entire cohort in the major, it at least gives you a sense.
But wait! There’s more! So much data. Nerd out - it’s amazing.
@DigitalDad I saw your reply about the 529 and rolling over up to 35K if the 529 is at least 15 years old.
Does this mean $35K can be rolled over all at once or does it have to be done in smaller chunks of $3k? I thought I had read only $3K at a time could be rolled over, but maybe that restriction is for accounts less than 15 year old.
I looked this up and couldn’t find the answer to this so wonder if you happen to know.
We attended one of the BU admitted students days yesterday. It was fun and informative. S23 was admitted to the Jan start CGS program, so there was a lot for us to learn about. I really liked a couple aspects of the program: CGS has “professional” advisors whose only job is to advise a relatively small group of CGS students. Of course they do things like help them choose classes and figure out what sequence to take them in, but are also very involved in helping decide major or think through changing major since more than 50% change after they start. They also help the students identify how to get the most out of their classes and to find internships after sophomore year. Another aspect I like is that each group of 80 students has 3-4 teachers for their 3 first year classes, and those teachers are with them both semesters (spring & summer in London or New England). Less change, more personal attention, more communication between teachers. It is probably more “hand holding” than many college freshmen need, but they did a good job selecting my son for this program because it is a big draw for us.
S23 loved the city campus, which surprised me. Also lunch in the dining hall was a highlight.
Then, on the way home he said he’d been thinking he’d change his major from Data Science to Music Production. 
But after looking at the course catalogs everywhere he was admitted, he said he thought he’d stick with Data Science. It reminded me, though, that I have no idea what is going to happen with this person in the next four years.
You can roll over to the beneficiary up to their then-current annual contribution limit (currently $6,500, assuming the child will have that much earned income by then), so it’ll take you 5 years. By that time your last contribution will be 5 years old, which is another restriction.
Wow, thank you for the detail on your admitted day. Sounds wonderful.
My D18 got a full ride to law school so last year I gave her 19k to match the amount of her first semester tuition scholarship. No penalty but she had to pay tax at my tax rate. I didn’t do anything with money this year hoping the market will pick back and there will be more funds. But will give her the rest over the next two years.
Besides tuition and text books, you can also reimburse her some amounts for “room and board”, once the market is favorable. (I look up and print the university’s housing and meal plans to establish the upper limit, and keep that as backup with her tax return).