Your child can submit apps RD or EA and just change their status to ED2 if the ED1 option doesn’t work out. A lot of colleges will actually send your child messages encouraging this.
My DS22 applied in late Oct 2021 to his first choice school ED1. At the same time, he submitted 5 other apps to schools that either offered EA or an opportunity for scholarships if he applied before Dec 1.
His plan was to switch one of the EA apps to ED2 if he didn’t get into his ED1 choice. Fortunately, he did get into his ED1 choice, so he just simply withdrew all of the other apps.
My son has been working so hard all year, taking the equivalent of 5 APs (rigorous private school dropped APs a couple of years ago and replaced with CL (college level) courses), prepping for the SAT, self-studying for AP exams (so he can take the tests so he can apply for colleges in the UK), and kicking butt on his XCs.
I worry about burnout. Mental health issues among youth are at an all-time high, and I don’t want him to crack. Really hoping the SAT score from the March exam will be to his satisfaction and he can be done with that.
This summer, he is doing a monthlong international program and then will probably prep as much of his apps as he can. He may go back to his part-time job from last summer, but we are not requiring that. He needs to recharge this summer.
I have a question about Finances. When college figure out the cost based on financial need do they reduce the amount of financial aid given if they provide merit aid?
It depends on the school. At some schools they decrease need-based financial aid when they give you merit, so that need based financial aid plus merit will not reduce your expected family contribution.
So, if cost of attendance is $70,000, and they calculate that your family can afford $25,000, need based aid plus merit based aid will not be more than $45,000, leaving you to pay $25,000. The only way to reduce your family contribution at those schools is to get merit aid that would exceed the $45,000.
But not all schools do that. Some schools allow merit to come out of your family contribution. So you have to read carefully what the school says they do, and ask if you’re not sure.
However they manage they try to limit the max. amount. My D21 was a NMF and we were also qualified for need based after the NPC for BU on their website. We thought we would get both 25K for NMF and another 25K for need based but they only gave NMF.
But my daughter actually chose a couple of “gigs”, because as long as she was differently busy than writing essays, prepping for tests, burning midnight oil worrying about classes, it was more like getting a pay-cheque to go to camp.
Of course, it still left enough time to hang out with friends - at least those few, who actually stayed in town.
This was us as well. There was a budget for D19 and a very similar budget for D23. D19 went to a school that was going to be a little over budget and she was going to have to take a loan senior year. She ended up getting additional scholarships while in school to make up the difference. D23 on the other hand just said screw it and went out and won a full ride scholarship. Not an elite school, but one that will suit her needs based on her major. She gets to use some of the budget for graduate school.
We were never going to take out a parent plus loan. Sure I felt a little bad the kids couldn’t pick their school without looking at cost, but they won’t have debt when they graduate so they are good.
Informal poll for parents- if you were a political science major in undergrad, what did you end up doing for work/career? S24 has been talking about business for a while but it didn’t feel 100% right to him. He also mentioned law potentially. It suddenly became clear that political science is likely the way to go based on his future goals and current interests. He has been researching that as a major the past few days and seems excited. I read that poly sci is the most popular major for people who go on to law school. I had no idea.
Plenty of other majors for law school too! Anything with a lot of reading, writing, and critical analysis works - philosophy, psychology, english are also great choices. Science, computer science, and engineering are helpful undergrad degrees and great for intellectual property law. Whatever excites him!
I was a PoliSci and History double major. I have a MLitt in International Security Studies. I went to law school and own my own small firm. Mainly, I do commercial real estate and corporate law. I went to law school after talking to some friends in the history department at SMU. When I learned how difficult the academic life was I decided I should pursue a different career. For me, I wanted to have a family and provide for them. Based on my discussions with young professors, this could be difficult as an academic. So…law it was. Not my favorite, but I am good at it. Since I don’t work on the coast and own my own business, I control my own hours and destiny. Work/life is better. I have been a soccer coach for eight seasons. A Scout leader. A robotics coach. Additionally, I have pitched in since my wife is a medical professional. I’m not saying it’s perfect. Clients are…interesting, especially in the niche practice I have created.
My sister is a lawyer. She has said that what you major in as an undergrad doesn’t matter for law school…what matters the most is really high GPA and high LSAT score. So major in whatever you want.
A lot of people assume that you have to major in poli sci to go to law school. That is not the case.
Another lawyer here, I was pre-med in undergrad but had picked up a lot of poli sci related classes for fun along the way. Was able to switch majors to international affairs halfway through my junior year when I hit the organic chemistry wall, and still graduate early due to the concentration in elective classes. I think the heavy science and math background served me well as it trains for logic. I ended up at a DC law firm, but after 3 years went to the Hill for the first time and never looked back. Probably would have had a lot more fun (and free time) doing a poli sci major, but everything they would have taught is easily picked up on the job if your DC wants to go that route.
My DD24 is also looking at a poli sci major, this is where her strengths and interests lie. I’m strongly encouraging her to consider at least a business minor if not major. I think those classes would impart a practical, real world perspective, and some quantitative chops, that would be very helpful either in a public policy career or in law school, and would help her stand out from the pack a little.
The latest “Your College Bound Kid” podcast has a couple of nuggets of useful info:
there’s a looming college enrollment cliff that’s coming soon, due to much lower birth rates due to the Great Recession (lower birth rates which began right around the time that all of our kids were born).
because of that enrollment cliff, expect colleges to get hungry for students. This could translate to “not tippy top schools” offering a lot more merit scholarship money.
the enrollment cliff might also result in a gradual shift towards more career-focused majors, and perhaps phasing out of some traditional humanities majors.
(different topic) Even if your kid gets a 35-36 ACT or 1500+ SAT, it’s no guarantee that they’ll get into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, etc.
don’t just rely on loving your reach and target schools. Learn to love your safety schools, too.
We have decided not to use the term “safety” since we know way too many people who ended up not getting into their safeties Our rules are he must love them all and be excited to attend any of them because he may only get into one (hopefully choosing wisely prevents this outcome). It will be really interesting to see when this crazy application/admission bubble pops over the next decade due to lower birth rates, etc.
On score release day, about half the students will be able to see their scores online by 8 a.m. ET; the other half will typically see them no later than 8 p.m. ET. We’ll email you when your scores are ready so you won’t need to check throughout the day.
I believe this cliff begins after high school Class of 2025. It is for kids that were born during or after 2008 + 17-18 years old = 2025 or 2026 and is regional. This cliff also doesn’t help those of us in California with kids after Class of 2025, unfortunately. See article and map here: The Looming Higher Ed Enrollment Cliff | CUPA-HR
Our rules are he must love them all and be excited to attend any of them because he may only get into one (hopefully choosing wisely prevents this outcome). It will be really interesting to see when this crazy application/admission bubble pops over the next decade due to lower birth rates, etc.
