<p>I am feeling overwhelmed. DD is finishing her junior year this week. As much as I would have loved to save for her college it just didn't happen. She is bright and we are going to need to depend on scholarships. We will apply for all the little ones we can find but I need help with the college Merit ones. I don't quite understand the whole process. It seems applying ED can be helpful for admission but maybe not for scholarships?? How can we say yes if we have no idea if we can afford it? Also when do you get the scholarship offers? Some students seem to find out some at graduation which would be long after acceptance dates, right? I am fearing you have to commit to a college before getting good offers but frankly the offers will play a MAJOR roll in her decision. Can someone offer me some advice PLEASE? Anything would be helpfula t this point.</p>
<p>Here are her STATS
Female from small town in MD
class rank 1/223 now but will most likely finish 2nd or 3rd
GPA 4.37
will finish with 8-9 AP's. Other classes honors unless not available.
SAT M 780 CR 670 CW 680- will take again Oct 1.
SAT subject tests scheduled for June 1 ( MAth 2 and Physics)
average EC's- minimal leadership
minimal (200 hrs) volunteer time
PSAT was a 209 ( we had NO clue it was more than a practice test or she might have studied and gotten better)
Active church member
only job is babysitting
Hook-?- neither parent is college graduate
Major- undecided but leaning towards engineering</p>
<p>Will have ok letters of rec. Counselor can't remember her name after 3 yrs so not expecting anything more than a form letter from her.</p>
<p>She is a great kid but shy so not sure how interviews will go.</p>
<p>We don't have the money to be flying all over for interviews and scholarship events unless this is 100% necessary, is it?<br>
Any colleges you can recommend? Prefer east coast but beggers can't be choosers can they? Should we apply to as many as we can afford to increase our odds? How should we spread out our applications as far as high reach to low reach? Should we even bother to apply to any Ivies with our fingers crossed since their endowments seem to be so high?</p>
<p>You need to have a handle on what, if anything, you can contribute to each year. And sit down sooner rather than later to let your daughter know the bare facts.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>schools which offer GUARANTEED scholarships based on stats (such as Univ of Alabama, University of Indiana)</p></li>
<li><p>schools where big scholarships are possible, but not guaranteed (such as Univ of Miami)</p></li>
<li><p>sure your D can throw in an Ivy or two; not all of them have big endowments</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You didn’t mention anything about need-based aid… so no comments there.</p>
<p>ED is only advantageous if you do not have financial concerns.</p>
<p>Schools tell your daughter her financial aid package shortly after her acceptance (altho if she’s in the running for a big scholarship, such as a Stamps or Singer at USC, she’ll likely have advance notification for interviews etc)</p>
<p>I am not sure I am one to give advice because I feel I am still stumbling through the process…but</p>
<p>Both me & My hubby lost our jobs last year and what we have saved we had to use to keep a roof over our heads - So I know the OMG feeling…</p>
<p>I think the most important thing I can say try to find a college by where she feels she needs to be and a backup choice or 2 in case…</p>
<p>It drove me nuts that my DD picked a State School that was going to cost 5500 in loans & 4,000 cash after all their financial package when should could go to some very nice private schools a whole lot cheaper ($1,000-2,500) as well as full-rides at Coker & Presbyterrian Colleges.</p>
<p>However, when we toured their Science Buildings it was a no brainer that she picked the right school and I figured I would have to start selling organs or something but this is a choice that affects the rest of their lives & I believe they will do better at a college they want to be at vs. where they had to go.</p>
<p>My DD stuck to her guns about where she was going and completed a scholarship application every week & 5 during school break weeks (for a total of 60 applications) …She now has $30,500 in outside scholarship Aid! That doesn’t count college merit, state lottery merit & Pell Grant…She wanted it & she did it! I committed to keeping her on track, finding them & organizing by date & such…</p>
<p>However, all along the process I was in constant touch (at least weekly) with her Admissions Counselor who kept saying don’t worry we will make it happen for her because we want her as much as she wants to come here…So I definately suggest first trying to find where she feels the fit and go from there…</p>
<p>I didn’t notice where you were from but I do know that Clemson is known for their engineering degrees & I also know the back door into their program is Anderson University with an almost 100% certain transfer program. Anderson University offered my DD a very very nice FA package… So you may want to keep those kind of options in mind because the Private Colleges have much much nicer FA packages vs the state and come out cheaper in the long run when you have a large need base…</p>
<p>Hope this helps somewhat…
Deep Breath and concentrate on what fits Once you have a goal it makes it easier knowing what to do!</p>
<p>Also, look into the Scholars Program… some Like Capitol College is pretty generous:</p>
<p>Capitol College Scholars receive a full scholarship and the opportunity to participate in a prestigious four-year program that is challenging, integrated, and hands-on. Apply with a 3.0 & 1100 on SAT which you have both!</p>
<p>Also, Most of the scholarships asked for future plans so your DD really needs to think about where she wants to be in 5 & 10 years…</p>
<p>All of the Maryland community colleges have articulation agreements set up with at least one of the public universities in Maryland. Your daughter should pay a visit to your county’s community college and learn more about this. She also should specifically ask about merit-based scholarships, and honors programs at the community college. </p>
<p>Since your daughter has good stats if she is willing to do alot of scholarship applications like Swick’s daughter it did pay off for them. She said her daughter applied for 60 and they did get her covered for school. My son applied for 45 and he has gotten a few (around $10,000) and still waiting to hear back on others so it also worked out for him. He also received a full tuition scholarship -so we are just working on room and board right now - so $10,000 is a good amount for him and very helpful. Yes, many are for one year only, but we are still pretty excited to have these. I have not posted his stats under the scholarship winnings since it is his info and he hasn’t given me his permission. But his stats were similar to your daughter’s. He is also an Eagle Scout and was more active in EC’s. I would suggest that you have your daughter “beef up” her application over the summer and all next year. You could read Ben Kaplan’s scholarship book which I believe is titled “How to go to Colege for Almost Free”. He gives great ideas on how to improve your chances even coming into it after the Junior year. It sounds like your counselor was not that helpful (as in not letting you know how important the PSAT was). So you will need to take matters into your own hands - and do alot of research on CC! I would say to not let her waste this summer. She should do a serious community service project or try to volunteer/intern in the field she is interested in. (This is all in the scholarship book). Does your local university have a summer engineering program for incoming HS seniors - ours does. There are also quite a few scholarships aimed at women entering engineering. She should also continue with the babysitting - outside scholarships often want to see that the applicant has worked and knows the value of a dollar. </p>
<p>At the beginning of next year she should join a club or two, or better yet found a new club. Try to get some kind of leadership on her app. Also time to work on lining up excellent letters of recommendation (the book also explains how to do this). Even if this all doesn’t help with outside scholarships it will definitely help with college admissions and merit scholarships. Just look up the stats on the previous winners of the various college’s high merit scholarships and you will be able to see what the schools are looking for and what some of these kids have done. At least you have the whole summer and next fall to work on this - so your daughter is lucky to be getting started now. Good lucK!</p>
<p>Read the thread by momfromtexas about full ride scholarships. While the info is older the strategies are the same. She found full rides for both of her kiddos and their stats were not quite as good as your daughter’s.</p>
<p>Look at Pitt, they offer full-tuition merit scholarships to students from out-of-state. By word-of-mouth, the cutoff has been 1450 SAT and your daughter is right there. Things could change due to state budget issues and more people applying to lower-cost schools, but it’s worth a look. Pitt has engineering and many other fields.</p>
<p>Make sure you apply to the most affordable in-state schools as financial safeties.</p>
<p>Also, don’t worry too much about the guidance counselor. It sounds like your daughter hasn’t been in there twice a week looking for help, which is a good thing. Actually it’s more of a reflection on the counselor, given that your daughter is currently ranked #1.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much!
I will start working on all the suggestions. She is enrolled at UMD this summer for a “Women in Engineering” program so hoping that not only helps her decide if engineering is right for her but it might help on her applications.
I think we will qualify for some financial aid but on paper we don’t look too bad so don’t think it will be a lot. Off paper I don’t see us managing more than 6K a year out of pocket. If she has to she will just have to get student loans but hate to have her graduate in so much debt.
I was thinking UMD would end of least expensive but from what I am reading on her now maybe a private college will be the way to go.
Thanks again for all the suggestions. Keep them coming!</p>
<p>Student loans in her name only will be limited to the Stafford loan amounts…$5500 for freshman year, $6500 for soph year, and $7500 a year each for jr, and senior years. Just an FYI.</p>
<p>Echoing happymom’s suggestion to run the financial aid calculators. This is tremendously important. If you say you can afford $6k a year and the calculators tell you that your Expected Family Contribution (per year) is $6k, then you know that schools that meet full financial need should be on your daughter’s list. However, if the calculators say that your EFC is higher, you’ll want to look for schools that offer merit aid. This information will help the posters here make suggestions for your D.</p>
<p>Have your daughter start working on her application essays NOW, if she hasn’t started already. Though schools may ask slightly different questions, students can tweak essays as appropriate to fit other schools. For rolling admissions schools such as Pitt, she’ll want to get her application in as soon as the application window opens, which may be in late August. This can help with merit aid. </p>
<p>You don’t want to apply ED, but do be aware that some schools offer EA admission. Unlike ED, EA acceptances are nonbinding, so you don’t have to worry that there will be better financial aid somewhere else.</p>
<p>While your daughter is at UMD for the summer, she can ask about articulation agreements for her major. Chances are that your county community college has one. $6,000 each year should cover all of her expenses there, and $6,000 plus the stafford loan plus summer jobs will come pretty close to covering all of her expenses at UMD after she transfers in. Any difference could be covered by a small parent PLUS loan for you that you could pay off pretty quickly if you can keep throwing $6,000 at it each year. This plan can serve as your rock-bottom safety school strategy. It is what we are doing with Happykid who is currently at Montgomery College in Rockville. If Happykid is admitted anywhere other than a MD public U when she transfers, and is offered aid that puts that place in the same range as the MD universities, fine. But if not, she will have somewhere to go.</p>
<p>Agree with ST, you really don’t want to be looking at applying ED for the very reason you mentioned in your initial post. You need a range of schools to pick from once you see the scholarship and FA offers that are on the table for each.</p>
<p>If she has to she will just have to get student loans but hate to have her graduate in so much debt.</p>
<p>She will already have the max student loans in her FA package. Most schools are going to try to meet need by putting loans in the FA package. She won’t be allowed to borrow more without YOU co-signing. That said, she should not graduate with more than $20-25k in debt TOTAL for 4 years. </p>
<p>This can be upsetting for families who think that they have - say $20k in need - and say $15k in EFC…they think that their child can take out a $5500 loan to help reduce the EFC…but then they find out that their child already has been given a loan to help cover that $20k in need.</p>
<p>And…most schools don’t meet need. Also, most out of state publics do not give much need-based aid to OOS students. However, some will give large merit scholarships to OOS students with high stats. </p>
<p>So, your D really needs to protect herself by applying to a couple of schools that she knows FOR SURE will give her ASSURED big scholarships as “back ups” in case other schools don’t work out.</p>
<p>One small suggestion since your daughter tests well and likes science (SAT physics) maybe she could also try the ACT - she might do really well (it has a science section). Some kids do even better on that test. Some schools offer guaranteed scholarships for certain scores (Ohio State for example). And I also strongly support you “running the numbers” so you have an idea of your EFC.</p>
<p>*It seems applying ED can be helpful for admission but maybe not for scholarships?? *</p>
<p>Applying ED is NOT a good idea unless you’re certain that you’ll get the aid that you need.</p>
<p>Also when do you get the scholarship offers? Some students seem to find out some at graduation which would be long after acceptance dates, right?</p>
<p>If you’re talking about scholarships from colleges themselves, you generally get those at the time that your child has been accepted. The scholarships at graduation are the “private” ones…often from local sources…those are usually small and for one year only…not enough to fund 4 years of college. Obviously, no one can commit to a school on May 1st with the hope of being awarded a private scholarship at graduation.</p>
<p>That said…at many high school graduations (including my kids’), the college scholarships get announced as well…but that doesn’t mean that the kids are just learning about those scholarships. Those scholarships were awarded awhile earlier…the announcement is just an announcement for the audience.</p>
<p>I can see finding out at graduation about a private scholarship, but it would be unusual to find out about a university scholarship at graduation.</p>
<p>sorry, Missed read
The College Scholarships in general came with acceptance letters or shortly afterward
At Graduation it was Local Scholarships that we had no clue about, Alot of people at graduation asked had we already known so i guess that led to my mis-reading the post :)</p>
<p>I would suggest contacting admissions offices to inquire whether they offer application fee waivers for first generation college students with financial need - their response will let you know how eager they are to roll out the red carpet for first generation students as well as potentially reducing your costs for “casting a wide net”.</p>
<p>If your daughter decides engineering is for her, look at the male to female ratios at the schools she is considering. If an engineering school is more lopsided they are more likely to be generous with female applicants.</p>
<p>There are a lot of first generation college students - there are very few first generation college students with your daughters stats. This makes her a desireable recruit, the choice of engineering for a woman is icing on the cake.</p>
Once you have a goal it makes it easier knowing what to do!</p>