<p>aggiengineer…aerospace engineering…can’t you tell…bringbackpluto…as in the planet which is no longer classified as a planet :(</p>
<p>Oh, lol. Cool. I hate how pluto isn’t a planet anymore.</p>
<p>Barfly&Pierre: Barfly sounds like we are on the same wavelength when it comes to the FAFSA! Pierre, some middle class families make sacrifices to save for college but may not have a huge income. We ran all the numbers and knew despite having only 1 average income, we would qualify for zip. Not all schools require it to get merit-based scholarships. A&M is one of those schools. Happily, they give lots of merit scholarships, so DS can use the college savings for grad school! :)</p>
<p>Yeah…what a rip-off. School children across the country will be forever confused! I say bring it back!</p>
<p>So, how does A&M honors work? Like if Im in engineering do they have a certain program you have to follow? I guess I need to start learning what this honors stuff is all about.</p>
<p>well actually alot of scholarships in general are Merit Based, so really your kid should be applying for scholarships and not just hoping to get one from A&M(not saying thats a bad thing) ive already gotten a $1000$ scholarship just for writing an essay. i am working on a few more, but i have applied for plenty of scholarships , that are not from schools.</p>
<p>and if you saved for college, are you saying you didnt save nearly as much as your child needs? but your kid should really apply for scholarships like the Gates Millennium or the Dell scholarship, their are plenty but im sure you have told your kid this a million times</p>
<p>Check out the honors dept. website. It is nothing complicated. A lot of engineering students are in the honors program. You have the option to take smaller classes which are taught by a full professor, etc. You need so many honors classes to graduate with honors (see website) It doesn’t really matter what your major is. Say, you need to take physics as an engineering student. You can choose to take it as an honors class or as a regular class. You can also live in the honors dorm.</p>
<p>Pierre:Yes, some scholarships are based on merit alone;however, not all merit scholarships are need blind. Your income level is considered, and in some cases you must be a minority. DS is not a minority and if we don’t qualify for anything on the FAFSA, we don’t qualify for anything that considers income. Paying for school is not the issue…it’s just that we don’t qualify for what you consider “free $”. DS knows that whatever he gets in merit scholarships means less that has to come out of his college fund. Those funds can be used for things like graduate school, etc. I agree there are many scholarships out there, and students should not limit themselves to those given by universities.</p>
<p>so basically you are just trying to not touch the “fund”? so basically if your kids gets a full ride you would just give him the “fund” lets say its 60k and let him do whatever he wants with it? personally i would save it for the next child in line if their are any</p>
<p>you guys are lucky your howdy portal is working. hopefully they will fix all of ours soon!</p>
<p>pierrechn, not sure who your post is directed towards. I was replying only to the comment about why anyone would not fill out a fafsa since it is free money. If the fafsa identified students who really needed money for college, it would be great. But, based on the way it is set up, parents who make good money and spend it all also qualify for FA. That is a problem. We have already saved enough for all of our children to attend college, so we don’t need and won’t get FA. We saved that money by living below our means for 18 years. So I just don’t want my precious tax dollars going to the kid who went to surfing camp in Costa Rica, drives a 2009 Camaro, but now “can’t afford” college. Merit scholarships are a different animal, though. Kids who have worked their tails off and are now being recruited by colleges have every right to take that money, no matter how much their parents have saved. So my S, and most everyone we know, is applying for non-need-based outside scholarships as well as scholarships from universities.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and all seniors as you try to get some of those merit dollars!</p>
<p>isnt Fafsa based on income? which is how they calculate the EFC? so how will a guy who made alot of money an blew it get aid?</p>
<p>pierrechn,the fafsa considers that part of income is available for college, because, of course, income is also needed for living expenses. But a higher percentage of savings is considered available for college. The fafsa does not ask the value of cars, big screen tvs, vacations, etc. The fafsa also does not consider the amount in retirement funds (SEP accounts, 401Ks, IRAs). So if you make good money, put the max in retirement funds, and spend the rest, you may qualify for more FA than someone who makes less and saves a lot. That is just the way it works. But kids like you who have worked hard and have earned some scholarship money are awesome! And for kids who really need FA, I hope they all get it. There would be more FA available for those who truly need it if we would stop giving it to people who truly don’t! So that’s my opinion. Good luck to you all!</p>
<p>well if you say so but they use tax returns which show your total income for that year, i guess if its retirement or something thats different </p>
<p>well atleast kids in foster care get the max, atleast they need it you know</p>
<p>Pierrechn: I strongly second Barfly’s post #51 and #53. In addition, you are making assumptions that aren’t true. I didn’t say that DS would be given his college fund to blow if he has merit scholarships nor did I say he had it all just sitting in the bank. You also assume he has younger siblings. I said that whatever he gets in merit $ reduces out of pocket; therefore,the remainder can be used for graduate school. Moreover,ultimately, it his not HIS $. It is in our name. Merit aid, just like financial aid, reduces the amount that a family has to pay for college. As Barfly said, the system is flawed. A family may have an adjusted gross income of 60K but because they are frugal
they may have a lot of equity in their house and have managed to save a lot for college. Those things will count against them. Yes, financial aid is great and necessary;however, there are some who are getting it because of loopholes or because they choose to spend instead of save. Therefore, kids who are in my son’s situation, rely on merit-based scholarships to lessen their parents’ financial burden.</p>
<p>well i will assume you make a good amount of money to be begin with, so if you started a college fund, you did that with the intentions of paying for his schooling at some point. so it isnt a big deal if he doesnt get a scholarship because in your case you have prepared for it</p>
<p>Pierrech: You should be careful about making assumptions. It depends on what you consider a good income. We don’t even come close to 6 figures, and that savings started at $25 a month 17 years ago;even people on a limited income can save something if they choose. It has grown over dribs and drabs whenever there has been a raise. Much has been sacrificed to contribute to that account. Thankfully, we are blessed to have a child who realizes what a struggle it has been to save that money;moreover, it would be great if Mom & Dad could actually use some of it in their golden years! After all, there is no financial aid for retirement.</p>
<p>My Howdy Portal “application is not complete”. Is anyone else still getting this message or do you think that means I won’t get a scholarship?</p>
<p>Do you mean under the financial aid portal? Are you takling about your application for admission?</p>
<p>Yes - under the financial aid portal. I have been admitted but need a scholarship for the in state tuition.</p>