Yes, some schools list it that way. It’s money coming from the admissions office, not the financial aid office. If you don’t qualify for need based aid you’re not getting need based aid.
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Does anyone else have a senior who still feels like they haven’t found the right school? (Understanding that many schools can be great). I have two graduating this year. Twin A is in a great spot - already in at 3 main targets, each is great for a different reason. (yay!)
But Twin B - sigh. Has an acceptance at a great school, but one they aren’t excited about for understandable reasons. Has submitted some EAs and prepping their RDs. But none of them feel “right”. I know there isn’t a perfect school! But with Twin A - even though all 3 top choices have their drawbacks, the positives for all three outweigh the negatives. For Twin B it doesn’t feel the same. (Not looking for school suggestions, just venting!)
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D24 has submitted five applications. She will be accepted at all five schools (I would be shocked if she weren’t). She already has three acceptances (and one of the remaining two is legally obligated to accept her). But…of the five schools, she has applied to four completely different majors (from oceanography to textile engineering). She really isn’t set on what she wants to do, though the schools she has applied to (with one exception) are generally tops in the field she has applied for.
It will work out. It is asking a lot of a high school senior to have their life planned out. Placing a lot on a college decision just amplifies the stress. Once you take the name off of the college they all have one thing in common – they are what you make of them. A student going to an Ivy can spend a lot of money, not get an education or have a positive experience. Conversely, a student going to Georgia State can get an incredible education and have an awesome experience. The angst of the application process exists because we allow it to exist. What is important is to remind our students that no matter the decision they make, there will be good days and there will be bad days. It is incumbent upon them, as an individual, to go out and make the most of it. Outside of that, the most important thing is to watch the finances (which of course varies from family to family).
For our D24, there is one school we know that fits her. But, she is destined for graduate work. Were she to go there, we can pay for it, but there is nothing to supplement a graduate student lifestyle. Is she willing to accept that? There are other schools she could go to where the vibe isn’t quite as right (but they are far closer), but the price is effectively free. What is the value of a free undergraduate degree (especially when the department you would be in has already told you they would give you paid research opportunities)? These are hard decisions for anyone. As for our daughter (like our S22), I have said that I will stand by their decision. I will give them the pros and cons. I certainly have my opinion, but its their decision since it is their life. As such, I am not as worried about the decision as I am about their happiness.
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This is the perfect place to vent about an issue like that! There are so many expectations and assumptions about what the ‘right’ college admission process will look like for every student and that just isn’t reality.
I am sure every school Twin B applies to (and is accepted to) will be great spots and have amazing opportunities. But they may or may not be super excited about any of their options at the end of the day. They may choose their final school based on their head, and not feel it in their heart. That’s ok. That’s more than ok.
They might get to campus in the fall and fall in love then. They may not. They might get excited about a class or a professor or an activity. Or they might not. They may very well get through their full 4 years of college and never be passionately excited or in love with the experience.
I think accepting the full range of possibilities (both positive and negative) can empower our children to put the college experience into adult perspective. Sometimes you’ll be very excited about a situation, sometimes no matter how good it is on paper - you’ll just feel ‘meh’ or even disappointed. Feelings aren’t right or wrong - they just are.
Knowing that these feelings are normal and common can help students learn they aren’t weird or strange or ‘missing something’ when they feel this way. It is also good to remind them that how they feel today may very well not be how they feel tomorrow, next month or next year.
It is a journey. All of it. And each kid’s journey is going to look different from every other kid’s.
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I’m a faculty member at a SLAC and I always tell my advisees to email the professor immediately to express interest in the class, follow up once (not more), and show up the first day of class. I have small classes but it’s rare that I actually have to turn someone away - there’s always attrition for some reason or another. CS classes are their own beast, tho!
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Is Twin B a more cautious type of person in general? It may take more time for them to warm up to their eventual college. Maybe it won’t happen until they know their acceptances. Maybe it won’t happen until after they go to admitted students’ days. Is it possible that they are unsure of their major choice and that ambivalence is passing through to the colleges in general?
Time is probably the answer here, and as a parent, venting here is great when there really is nothing more that can be done on our end!
Here’s hoping for a sudden dose of “this is it!” for Twin B in the next few months!
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I don’t think my kid has one school that’s definitely “the one” for them, either. But honestly, I’m glad about that right now. While I want them to find something they really like or are interested in at every school on their list, I also don’t want them falling in love with any one school before acceptances come in.
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D24 found out today that she received two direct admissions offers via the Common App. Neither is a school she was looking at, but she has the option to formally apply if she wishes. Neither one is somewhere she would likely consider, but it was still nice to get that notification while waiting to hear on REA.
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Speaking of venting, D24 has deadlines today for 3 colleges, and she is still in progress on all of them. Honors college application, long shot big $ scholarship application for one of her top choices (more essays), and maybe she has to redo her entire portfolio to meet some very specific formatting criteria for one school.
Also has physics due. But thank goodness this is the one night she does not have rehearsal/set this week (she jumped in a couple of weeks ago to fill a role for someone who had to drop, performances are this weekend).
Meanwhile, the things that she has texted me about in the past few hours…something related to graduation, and something related to regular decision applications. I am on repeat with…finish the stuff due today and put that on the list for tomorrow. SQUIRREL!
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So S24 has 5 admissions so far, with three schools offering good deal amount of aid (of course as parents that is never enough!) They all have some form of nonrefundable tuition deposit/admission deposit that are all due by May 1st, and a few have suggested us to put down refundable housing deposits now to secure the chance of early housing assignment.
A few of those schools are giving S24 the highest aid they offer, as stated on the list of aid available on their websites.
My question is if I want to go and ask the financial aid office for a tiny little bit more aid, would it hurts the chance of getting more if we don’t put down the housing deposit or maybe those nonrefundable admission deposits? Just afraid the schools will think that we are not committing to them and won’t offer more aid if we don’t do them.
Or am I over thinking this a bit? 
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Merit or need aid ?
U won’t get more merit.
You needn’t do either deposit.
Some like UF, UGA ask fir housing even b4 admission. So it’s a cheap way to keep your place in line.
You needn’t pay a non refundable admission deposit in hopes of getting more aid. In fact if you committed you’d lose leverage in theory.
U commit non refundable when u truly commit.
Good luck.
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If I remember correctly you are in California? If so for the FASA you have to go through some option to decline use of it. CA now makes it mandate that you either fill it or optout . I was told better to fill it.
California sees boost in student applications for college financial aid | EdSource.
Ah I see. That make sense, thanks tsbna44.
thanks for the info. Yes, I’m in CA. Looks like it’s mandatory in CA or we need to opt out by March.
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D24 learned today that she got accepted to 1 of the LACs she applied to! The last 2 should release their acceptance/denial letters in Jan & Feb (EA dates in early Dec).
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Wanted to share some thoughts & family musings that DH & I were talking about last night on the subject of “where is our kid going to go for college?” 
D24 has applied to 7 schools, has acceptances from 5 and waiting on the last 2. We will likely not qualify for much in the way of financial aid. So far, every time an acceptance comes in, my DH wants D24 to decide right then & there if she wants to attend. 
He’s having a hard time with the fact that D24 wants to take some time to think things through.
I keep reminding him that it’s not even December, so chill out.
I also keep reminding him that it’s our kid’s first big adult decision, so it’s kind of a good thing that she’s thinking things through. AND the college counselor at school has told all of us parents that many times, what will seem like the #1 pick at the start of senior year can end up to be NOT the #1 school for that kid later on in the school year.
So here’s where our kid’s head is right now:
- Univ of Arizona is sort of in the #1 spot, but that is starting to move a little bit. It’s been her #1 for awhile because: (1) it’s familiar (we used to live in Tucson); (2) it’s away from home but not too far away; (3) she likes the size of the campus; (4) not as massive of a student population compared to ASU; (5) at least 1 other classmate in her graduating class will be going to U of A, so she feels like she’ll have “at least ONE person to hang out with” (she’s really afraid of not being able to make friends).
- Some downsides of U of A: she’s a little afraid of being lost in the crowd in really large lecture classes. Not all classes are in person, many are online or hybrid model and some of the hybrid classes only attend in person once a week and that’s to take a quiz or test. She hates online learning, did horribly at it during the COVID shut down that everybody experienced when our seniors were all in 9th grade.
- Austin College, Southwestern, & Centre are all way smaller (in the ~1500 student range), but they all have really excellent pre-health programs. None of the classes are online. Smaller class sizes. All classes taught by professors, nothing taught by grad students. Lots of access to hands-on/interactive learning experiences, which D24 really likes.
- BUT all of the 3 LACs are a lot farther away from home. 2 are in TX, but that’s only a 2 hr plane ride and you don’t have to change planes between our home airport and either Austin or Dallas. Diversity is pretty good at these schools, which is a decision factor for D24 (“I don’t want to go to a school where literally everybody is white like me”).
- campus vibe is a factor and we’ve toured the 2 TX LACs…D24 liked how everybody was really friendly.
- D24 thinks the food at the 2 TX LACs is better than at U of A.
- housing during sophomore-senior year at U of A would be cheaper though because D24 would live for free at my sister’s house and commute daily to school. However, she’d miss out on the living on/near campus part for those 3 years. At the 3 LACs, everybody lives on campus either in dorms or on campus apartments all 4 years.
- the 3 LACs guarantee you’ll graduate in 4 yr or else they’ll pay for the tuition for year #5.
- 1 of the TX LACs has guaranteed PA grad school interviews at 3 different PA programs if you have a 3.5 undergrad GPA and start at their school as a freshman. A couple of those PA grad schools does not require a graduate school standardized test (like GRE), which is a big plus for my kid that isn’t that great at taking standardized tests.
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We’ve sort of experienced this. S24 committed to a school that we didn’t expect. He had gotten a very strong pre-read results from school A. We hadn’t visited this school, so we made a quick trip for him to tour and chat with the head coach. After that visit, it was a no. We asked him to keep an open mind during the official visit. He came back from that with a hard no. He liked everything about the visit but felt the student body wasn’t his crowd. He did other official visits. His last one he was sure that he was going to commit to that school. Well to our surprise, he realized that school A was the better fit for many reasons. It also helped that a friend who graduated the year before, told him he would find his tribe. Of course, we had been saying that all long. We are super proud of him in his decision because he looked at all angles and made a mature decision.
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I am sure you have seen the news, but does U of A’s finances concern you at all?
From how you have described your daughter it really sounds like she might fit in better with the smaller schools. Living on campus would be such a plus as well. Of course, it is her decision but the hybrid learning and large size sound like they don’t fit as much.
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It’s been all over the local news here in AZ and yeah, I am concerned about it. The current university president royally screwed up!
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@DadOfJerseyGirl
We are in the anything but deferred camp even though you are def “in the game” at Yale where they only defer 10%. Girl from D24s school got deferred/accepted at Yale with virtually identical stats and some similar ECs.
On a different note, I read that UMD has cut the class of CS students significantly because of resources. This may portend well for non CS, Engineering, STEM applicants there and other schools as many dont have the infrastructure in place to meet the needs of the applicants
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