Student (S) will graduate in a month from a public magnet high school in a big city. S was not particularly motivated to apply to colleges although he seems to want to go. S applied to one safety (close to home), two or three reaches, and two matches. He got into the safety and the matches. He accepted a spot at one of the matches, an OOS public university, to which he applied only because his dad, no longer married to his mom, works for the school and tuition remission was a possibility
Family has just found out that father lost his job. Potential tuition remission no longer seems possible. FA for school otherwise was good but still left a big hole for family to fill.
S gets good grades, is active and has received national honors in a creative field, and is an ethnic minority. He can probably get into other colleges that are better fits financially and with his interests.
What say you, parents on College Confidential?
And to add to my possibly confusing use of the word “good” to describe the FA: more than expected for OOS public, but not wonderful.
IF S doesn’t really feel ready or committed to college yet, and especially IF there is a chance that father will get another job at a university (and thus have the possibility of tuition remission elsewhere) or alternately, if there is an increased chance of need-based financial aid because of the lost job, then I think a gap year might be a good choice for both personal and financial reasons. Getting into a safety and two matches is a perfectly good result. But if he doesn’t feel ready and if the financial situation is now untenable, then a gap year with a more strategic application plan focused on eligibility for either merit or need-based aid (or both), seems smart.
Thanks for the response. The safety and the other match made financial aid offers that were worse than that from the dad’s school.
Gap year. Some colleges will defer admissions so if he does do a gap year, he could still have one admission in-hand, reducing the stress of applying elsewhere. Look at the thread on high merit aid scholarships. What’s his scores? If he’s gotten national-level recognitions, then he should be able to get full tuition to full ride offers. That’s worth taking a year away. Not to mention, he’ll probably add work/volunteer experience that will also enhance his chances for more aid. Good luck!
Most students in this situation go to work or community college. But if he is a top end student, it may be worth ensuring that he retains eligibility to apply as a frosh (I.e. no college courses after high school graduation) to try for big merit scholarships and more selective schools with better financial aid in the next round of applications.
Have the student look at participating in a gap year program like Americorps. These programs offer alumni scholarships for college. Scholarship amounts are about $5K.
http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/segal-americorps-education-award
The offers were worse or the cost to pay would be worse? Offers don’t really mean much. The question is can you afford the safety.
Of course, if the “safety” was unaffordable, then it was not really a safety.
I brought all my College Confidential-provided knowledge to the table but my influence was not sufficient to persuade this then-diffident high school senior to construct a better college search. I’m not sure about the affordability of the “safety” (the school he was sure to be admitted to); it’s in-state private; he applied there only because his then girlfriend plans to enroll there.
What do the parents say? What’s their take on their finances, and on their son’s readiness for college? Seems they should be more involved; in theory they’re informed since the father worked at a college, right?
I’m asking for suggestions here and will then relay them to the mom, who is a relative of mine. The father is well-meaning but a terrible money manager. He was making a good salary but had NO extra money once the bills were paid and is still in debt for a house he bought recently, student loans, and a car; he was counting on the tuition remission to cover his share of college payments. The mom lives paycheck to paycheck. The notification of the job loss came yesterday and follows on a family member’s health crisis that is still not resolved.
Exchange student is a good gap-year use.
^^ Those “exchange student” experiences tend to be quite costly. I don’t think adding expenses to this family’s budget is a good way to go.
@katliamom, if you do the exchange through Rotary, it’s basically free.
It’s for high schoolers; child in question on this thread graduates in a month.
A gap year can be very valuable. Student can gain maturity and grow a renewed desire to study. There is a risk that some students never go back to school. It really depends on the student and his/ her background - family history, etc. Every student that I know who took a gap year benefited greatly. Best of luck!
Check out The Gap Year Advantage by Haigler and Nelson. Great advice to those considering a gap year.
@katliamom, I was a Rotary exchange student after graduating from high school; I did it as a gap year.
Interesting, @HappyAlumnus. I didn’t know that. In fact, you can even apply as a 19 year old. So I learned something new: thanks.