<p>Where else are you all looking? We, like the other posters, share the status of a hard working middle class family that will make too much money for fin aid but with three children not enough for 50,000 per year. We have told our son we could do 10 (local school board plus hope scholarship GA gives out) or 10-18 somewhere else, but that is our max. Without merit aid our choices are limited, but thankfully good. Guess we will al have to wait and see. We have noticed that alot of the scholar weekends have the same date, but we are hoping our son will get the option to make those hard choices. Keeping fingers crossed for us all to get invitations!!!</p>
<p>Several people have mentioned conflicting Scholarship Days. My son was invited to UNC’s last year. It conflicted with another. We notified UNC and they allowed him (and several others) to come to a make-up day. If the school wants your child enough to invite him or her to interview for a scholarship, they will most likely be flexible. (He did receive a scholarship offer from UNC, despite attending the make-up day.)</p>
<p>Thanks, JDavisKing, for your contribution! There is so much about the admissions and scholarship process that parents can worry about; it is great to know this information!</p>
<p>GAsenioryear - We’re in the same financial situation that you are, and we’re also in GA (and also have 3 kids), though our son is an 11th-grader. I’ve looked into all kinds of merit scholarships - some of the more promising have been Southern Cal, Pitt, Clemson, Tulane, Miami, Furman, and Tulsa, but I honestly can’t see how any of them would be worth the extent of extra cost compared to Ga Tech or UGA. The one exception would be Alabama, which would be the cheapest of all since they guarantee four years of free tuition with a 1400 SAT and Georgia’s HOPE Grant is due to be cut back soon. It’s difficult for us since our son’s two sisters had similar stats and both got to go to an Ivy (awesome aid there, plus we had yet to inherit some assets that have since inflated our EFC), but fortunately, his passion is marching band and he’d like to be at a college that has a serious marching band program (that would NOT be an Ivy or the equivalent).</p>
<p>gadad – If you son scores well on the PSAT and becomes a National Merit Finalist, Alabama provides full tuition PLUS room and boad PLUS a laptop PLUS stipend. In short: full ride. We are seriously considering this. </p>
<p>We are also considering Western Carolina, which is very reasonably priced, has a great Honors College, and has a fabulous marching band. 
(The latter is not one of DS’s interests, but I thought it was pretty cool!)</p>
<p>P.S. Assets are what’s killing us, too. HHI is actually not so hot, but we’ve been saving since forever. The system really penalizes savers. But don’t get me started…I’ll never get off of my soapbox, LOL!</p>