<p>My child will be applying to Ivy League schools next year. He has the grades, the scores, and the “other” credentials (Chamber Orchestra, years of Community service, Math and National Honor societies, etc.) that these schools seek. He is African American is ranked #1 in the world for his sport and has set numerous state and school records.</p>
<p>My wife and I currently make around above $200,000, but such income level was only attained 5 months ago. For the prior 7 years, there were bouts of unemployment and salary reductions where we had to empty all our savings accounts, deplete our retirement accounts and even declare bankruptcy. </p>
<p>We still have tremendous debt, no savings or retirement and only one year to save. What is the likelihood of merit based grants or other financial assistance from the Ivies?</p>
<p>Hammerman, you can check the financial aid forum - - but most of the Ivys offer little or no merit scholarships (same is true for many of the top LACs). As for need-based aid, yours is a unique situation best posed to the finaid offices at the schools to which your son will apply. Fortunately, HYP are EA, not ED, so you can apply for aid and compare offers. You may, however, wish to apply “a step down” to schools that offer more and larger merit awards (a friend’s son, who rec’d neither need-based aid nor merit money from Amherst rec’d a full-tuition - - ie: does not include room/board - - merit award from Colgate).</p>
<p>“ranked #1 in the world for his sport and has set numerous state and school records.”</p>
<p>Your best bet would be to apply to schools with a history of recruiting for your son’s sport. They will be more likely to go the extra mile and recruit him and offer merit scholarships. Ivies do not offer merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Thanks for you very quick response. He’s applying to other top level schools who have him as their top recruit for their programs. The Ivies have also sent letters saying he’s their top recruit for 2012. We have already reached out to the financial aid offices to begin the conversation of contribution. We joined the forum to see if anyone had gone through a similar situation. We got a great response from a woman whose son had experienced the same thing in the 90s. However, the process may have changed since then. We have also posted to the Financial Aif forum as well as individual school’s forums.</p>
<p>Sounds like you are off to a very good start - - but check out the “good new, bad news” thread and “daughter got accepted, not sure I can afford it” threads. Both are here in the Parents Forum and the latter was started by a family with recent hgh income after many lean years - - they are over-income for need-based aid, but have no savings/reserves.</p>
<p>@hammerman123 - congrats on your son’s achievements! Enjoy the ride. It’s fun being courted. :-). You’ve gotten some great advice. Based on your description however, I’d be surprised if your son wasn’t successful in obtaining a full/free ride (tuition + room & board) at any of several fine institutions. You didn’t say if S is a National Merit or National Achievement Scholar, but if so, you should def check out the threads here about free-rides. I share your financial pain, but where there’s a will there’s a way. Are u limiting your sights to the Ivys? If so, Cornell isn’t as highly ranked, but I hear they’ve got ways of finagling merit due to their unique set-up . . .</p>
<p>@ shrinkrap – NO WAY!!! Are you serious!!! How cool is THAT?! My youngest is in L-O-V-E w/that movie’s main character (I’m ashamed, I don’t even know his name) – AND the twin bros! I was CRACKING UP through the opening Harvard scene, thinking: “Wow. I have HAD this convo.” Gotta say, from a purely psychological perspective, I was riveted. Genius. Man. <shaking head=“”></shaking></p>
<p>To all who reported progress on CollegeWatch 2011: Congrats on the successes!! Commiseration on the catastrophes. We’ve had both. Keep the news a-comin!</p>
<p>hey ive been skimming this thread a bit because im a ‘black poster’ lol. I’m attending u of m right now and i dont like it… my parents more so than i decided i should go here because it’s a great education for in school tuition but now im thinking about transferring to spelman. i’m pretty sure i’d get in & id be admitted to the honors college.</p>
<p>I KNOW THIS IS SOOO OFF TOPIC BUT THERE’S NOT MUCH SPELMAN TRAFFIC ON HERE & U GUYS SEEM 2 KNOW A BIT & I THOUGHT ID GIVE IT A TRY.</p>
<p>sorry if i interrupted the flow of the convo & u dont have to reply if you dont want to :D</p>
<p>Hammerman, the year that will count on financial aid will be this year. There are a few other sites that deal with fafsa/college profile in more detail to understand what they measure. Primarily it is income for this year, money in bank on day you file and your assets (profile). Your family should spend time devising best options for family. An example is that this year you should avoid selling stock or defer bonuses so that you do not inflate income. </p>
<p>If you are only interested in Ivies, go on each of their sites and do the financial estimate. Yale and Harvard are extremely generous IMHO. If you make less than 200k, you pay around 10% instead instead of normal EFC. You should include a few schools on your final list that are most generous and your son likes. </p>
<p>There are also several sites on full rides. Several schools provide excellent merit opportunities and should also be on your list. Many schools publish their formula for awards so there is little doubt on criteria. You should make sure the final list integrates several merit options. I think the HBCUs are actually the most generous with merit if you meet their cutoffs.</p>
<p>All families derive their list differently. We do not qualify for any aid at the bulk of the schools due to our EFC. What we have done is made sure that our son’s college list had a wide variety of options so we can evaluate options in April. Right now he has seven acceptances with many merit opportunities. We are hoping he gets into his top choices in April and they offer some merit.</p>
<p>We applied to way too many schools (14), however we want to be able to comparison shop to find the best school for him that we can actually afford without going broke.</p>
<p>Whew - Shrink, Kickin’ it old school! <grin> thanx for posting the old link. 'twas nice taking a walk down memory lane. </grin></p>
<p>@jj43912 - while I’m not well-versed on HBCU’s, I’ve seen some well-informed discussion in this thread and the other posted by Shrinkrap. I’m curious about a few things though. “u of m” – is this univ of MD? MD schools typically have sizeable minority enrollments. I’d be interested to hear why you’re considering Spelman. In addition, (and this question’s for the group) – isn’t it difficult for transfer students to get merit $$? If cost was a major factor in your current choice, would Spelman be within budget?</p>
<p>sorry im from michigan so we always call the univeristy of michigan u of m. ive actually read most of shrinkrap’s posts about spelman which is why i decided to but in on this thread. </p>
<p>@Supermom i’d definitely like to apply for merit money, but I’m not sure how difficult it is for transfer students… i’d be much more swayed to go if i did receive money, but i wouldn’t be completely turned off of the school if i received no funds. </p>
<p>I guess my main concern is that UMichigan is a ‘better ranked’ school w/ name recognition and what not… & I don’t want to loose connections that i would have from going there.
At the same time, Spelman has it’s own connections & is well-known… I feel like it would be a better fit for me… being surrounded by girls like me for once in my life! Michigan was never my first choice and i only chose it because i was rejectedd from my top choice and it’s a good school w/ instate tuition… but school shouldn’t just be based on that! You should pick a place you love and fit in!</p>
<p>so, I’m filling out the transfer application… & i feel like i’ll have a good chance of getting in.</p>
<p>The problem is that i know almost no one that goes there & I’d like to be more informed about the school if i’m really gonna transfer… anything else you guys know?</p>
<p>sort of. ive seen the campus & been on campus but i havent gone on a official tour of the school or stayed overnight. I have a family member who lives in the area and during christmas break we stopped by. Of course there were no students there so I guess it doesn’t count and i would like to make a visit during the school year and get an official tour</p>
<p>@hammerman123,
If your son is ranked #1 in the world in his sport and has the academic strength to go with it, he’ll most likely get the best financial offers from Stanford and Harvard.</p>
<p>Got a question for d’peeps: Any suggestions for an “average” teen in terms of summer-b4-college activities? Foreign language study for a couple of weeks in Mexico? Part-time job @ the local coffeehouse? What kinds of interesting programs exist (if any) for the “I’ll-do-just-enough-to-get-by” kid to rev 'em up for college?</p>
<p>& another thing, y’all - I’m seriously considering NDSU (yes, NORTH DAKOTA) for D2. While their stats leave a l’il sum’pn-sum’pn to be desired, they do offer the basics, and may end up being the least risky financially (if things work out, she can cover her costs herself). Here’s my rationale: the kid’s no dummy. She’s got a healthy sense of self-preservation & a solid educational foundation. She can handle anything (xcept math) academically . . . but she can’t handle being a social outsider, and she will NOT seek out the black student union. The school reassured me of its support systems; even sent me a link to an onsite hair salon ($100 for a full head sew-in weave, & even less for braids, yo! I was, like, “daaaang! Dey got all THAT in up in th’boonies?!” ). But a google search reveals recent issues w/a blackface incident on campus. What say you? Is sending a kid to North Dakota an assignment to purgatory? Or a character-building experience?</p>
<p>Seems risky to me without completely knowing the school. You should look to see how black students have done at that school in terms of graduation rates.</p>
my parents more so than i decided i should go here because it’s a great education for in school tuition but now im thinking about transferring to spelman. i’m pretty sure i’d get in & id be admitted to the honors college.</p>