<p>That makes sense. They use to have a formula on their website and I notice that is gone.</p>
<p>Oops. D got a letter from Howard in September 07.</p>
<p>Don't let me start my rant again about HBCUs showing no interest (rather open hostility) to my S's inquiries (without knowing anything about him). For those of you lucky enough to miss my rant feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>As far as top LAC with no aid vs. 30-50 with aid--that is a tough call. I just don't know. I guess I would ask myself whether the top LAC is my child's dream or mine. I would also wonder whether my kid would likely end up in the middle of the pack in the lower school at which point top grad school is out of question. If however, it is likely the kid would be mid pack at top LAC and poised to take off academically I'd probably bite the bullet (or the cat food as it were).</p>
<p>Good answer!</p>
<p>As far as how low you have to go to get good merit aid... Some small universities may have good merit aid. Dd applied to Case and received $20K/ yr, renewable for all 4 years with no minimum gpa as long as the student maintains adequate progress. (I was quite impressed with her not having to maintain a high gpa to keep the $.) She probably won't end up there (she just got into Wesleyan today!) but I encouraged her to apply to Case 'cause I had read here that they're good about merit.</p>
<p>Congratulations 2collegwego on your D's Wesleyan acceptance.</p>
<p>N*M -</p>
<p>Scarcity of male applicants may also explain why your S was "coruted."</p>
<p>Thanks, Northstarmom. Dd was actually so convinced she didn't have a chance at Wes that she wouldn't visit and almost didn't finish the application. I insisted since I had already paid. We're really happy and I guess we have to visit now. :)</p>
<p>To attend elite or not elite, that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of paying an outrageous Fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of prestige mongers,
And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache of two hundred thousand shocks to our bank account
That retirement is heir to 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream....for a scholarship.</p>
<p>That was great! Gotta tell you though as a mother of a son that whole prince/revenge thing makes me kinda nervous. Thanks for the smile :)</p>
<p>Update. DS just returned from Vandy's Mosaic weekend. Had a really good time and was impressed with the campus and the schools, as was I. His host was candid about the social climate as they saw it, but said his experience there has been good. FA was awesome. Money wouldn't be the reason for not attending, that's for sure. FA is a huge consideration for this family and Vanderbilt's offer was exceptional, IMO. I was actually a bit overcome with a little emotion when the offer was conveyed. In that particular moment, the many years of hard work, prayers, sacrifices and planning were realized. That, against the backdrop of knowing that there are so very many deserving students and that my DS was one of the more fortunate. Very humbling indeed.</p>
<p>madville,</p>
<p>Wonderful news. It is great to find a school that your child will be happy to attend and is also a financially feasible option for your family. It seems as if Vandy is fitting the bill.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I was actually a bit overcome with a little emotion when the offer was conveyed.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I totally understand that feeling as I literally got weak in the knees and I had to sit down when my D received her FA packages from Bryn Mawr & Mt Holyoke, which is why until this day I tell young women not to sleep on the women's colleges who truly put their money where their mouth is when it comes to educating young women.</p>
<p>Congrats madville, glad to hear about Vandy.</p>
<p>That sounds wonderful Madville!!</p>
<p>Oh that is wonderful. I am so happy for you. For what it is worth Vandy is a "cool" school at DS high school. Heartfelt congrats. I assume drinks are on you this round :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Wonderful news. It is great to find a school that your child will be happy to attend and is also a financially feasible option for your family. It seems as if Vandy is fitting the bill.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No doubt about that, regardless of what finally transpires, I will always be grateful for the opportunity that Vanderbilt has presented to my S. As many of you had predicted, he will have several more options. When he got home today, he saw that he has been accepted to Denison with a very substantial merit scholarship. We are planning to visit Swarthmore this week and he is still waiting to hear from several other well regarded colleges and universities like many here in the CC community. Like several of you and his GC have stated, the hardest part will not getting in to some of the selective schools on his list, but choosing the ONE to attend. I like my DS being in the position of the latter as opposed to the former. With his safeties and one match letting us know where he stands, it's all gravy now. It has really been enjoyable researching and assisting my DS & DD in their college planning. I'm hoping to find some way of sharing my experiences with others in a constructive way in and outside of CC. There are so many people who aren't as savvy or persistant when it comes to college planning, yet you can discern they want better for their children too.
Once again thanks for all the support and encouragement.</p>
<p>Madville,
Congrats on Denison. That's wonderful!</p>
<p>Madville, </p>
<p>Congratulations. It is wonderful hearing about your DS's many options. My DS is still waiting to hear from a few other colleges, but hearing your DS' s news has been really encouraging.</p>
<p>Greetings from a seasoned lurker.</p>
<p>Middle-class black. yep. Nice to find some people to commiserate with.</p>
<p>My daughter will be attending Howard as a Laureate scholar. We live a large city with a black population greater than 70%. The public school system is abysmal. The average ACT score for those students is just under 17. Of course there are some flagship schools, but we opted out.</p>
<p>She has attended private schools since since pre-K. She attends an all-girls catholic high school in one of the most affluent suburbs ( read conservative)...with no bus transporation. In 9th grade there were 8 black girls in her class. By 10th grade, she was the only one and has remained the only 1.</p>
<p>There have been good times and some things she has struggled with that brought me to tears. However, she made it...She made it!!!!</p>
<p>She is National Achievement Finalist, NHS, 3.6 gpa, taken AP classes blah blah blah. Time to look for college. She demanded diversity. So how did we end up at Howard? She decided she had been around white peope long enough. She wants to learn Black history and culture. Howard is her Harvard.</p>
<p>She is the black table in her school lol. She has ended up being a mentor to the black freshmen and sophmores, letting them know the lack of racial diversity in the school should not deter them from the quality education. She is the one who stands up minorities in this 1-dimensional conservative environment...and I mean all minorities (racial, class, gender, religious..take your pick)---and no, I don't wonder why she is leaning toward being an ACLU layer lol.</p>
<p>It's been an interesting ride for all of us. Somedays when her father or I would go pick her up, we'd have 50-Cent or Public Enemy blasting from the radio for the heck of it. We'd go the school events and watch some parents who were..afraid of us, drawn to us, ignored us, or looked down on us. We didn't care.</p>
<p>Anyway, as I ramble on, the point I want to make is we made a conscious choice to make sure she got the best education and experiences that we could afford. She was not interested in being affirmative action for anyone anymore. And Finally i don't understand why we are knocking the abilities and capabilities of the HBCUs? See I am from Michigan and the voters decided AA was illegal. Thats fine...they don't want us, they don't need our best and brightest. The way i see it, my child is going where she know's she'll be accepted and doesn't have to prove a thing to anyone, or be resented because she is as just as good or even better than other 90%.</p>
<p>-cheers</p>
<p>Hi Silvermoonlock, congratulations to your daughter's acceptance to and award from Howard. She will love it. I definitely understand her decision to not constantly be the race representative. I am an academic and just sat on a national fellowship selection committee and one of the Black young women we interviewed was a national merit scholar semi-finalist from Howard who turned down full scholarships to Duke, Stanford, UVA among many other places. People asked her why would she choose Howard over these other more prestigious institutions and she said the same as you. She said once she visited Howard and got such a warm and wonderful reception, she didn't want to go anywhere else. So, bravo to your daughter. My daughter, who is a first year student at Amherst, almost went to Spelman College. But, after being flown to Amherst for Diversity Weekend and seeing so much diversity there, she changed her mind and decided to attend Amherst. It ended up being a good choice for her and it is extremely diverse in so many ways. College choice is extremely personal and it has to be the right fit. I applaud your daughter's choice.</p>