<p>As somewhat of a side issue, they also know if you have more than one child in college at the same time. Chocolate will have 3 children in college as full time students next year. Unless one is wealthy, one could assume that there might be some financial need. If someone had 3 full time students in college at the same time, even with an EFC as much as 30k, the efc for each child would be about 10k. Perhaps a school might prefer that their midrange student is a full paying student, or student with an EFC of 25-35k for the one child (no other college bound children). This is just my opinion.</p>
<p>Chocolate - I hope you will be able to find out, via your D's GC, why she was rejected, and let us know. I feel badly for your D; it just doesn't make any sense at all. Hopefully it was an error that can be remedied.</p>
<p>Still have no word -but I will definitely post when I do. Again, I am not expecting a reversal, but an explanation.<br>
On another note, dd received a generous scholarship offer yesterday from one of the competitor schools. She now has 3 very nice scholarships :) She was very surprised and it gave her a much needed boost.</p>
<p>I am touched by the responses I have received. May 1st is several months away and we are now focusing on the schools that have expressed a strong desire to welcome her this fall. These kinds of disappointments sting, but in the long run, build character. She is close to some wonderful teachers and they have been offering her the same advice you have. I know she'll be fine. </p>
<p>I promise to post as soon as I hear anything...</p>
<p>chocolate
PS someone asked if this was a rolling admissions school--no, she applied early action. The app asked for sibling information, and she answered honestly. We sent the fafsa in very early, so they had that info several weeks before the decision was sent.</p>
<p>So glad that she was offered a generous scholarship from another school. That must have made her feel a bit better!</p>
<p>Gee, I really thought most if not all Universities had need blind admission. Am I naive? Many early action apps are long before the FAFSA is due. Decisions also often come before due date for FAFSA.</p>
<p>Atlmom, Schools ask names and ages of siblings in the family, grade level, and schools that they attend. They also have a box to check to see if one is filing for financial aid. </p>
<p>The school can see that there are currently 2 other children in the household who are currently attending college as undergraduates. Adding a 3rd child in college at the same time, would give the school reason to assume that there will be financial need (not if one is very wealthy, but for everyone else this is most likely the case).</p>
<p>If I worked for admissions, and was told to look at the financial aspects (not need blind), it would be better for the school to have a student with similar qualifications whose family had no others in college, where their efc was over 25k, than a student with the same qualifications, same family income, but the efc of 25, but was being split by 3 schools (efc is now 8333 for each student vs. 25k).</p>
<p>Atlmom,</p>
<p>When you apply early, you fill in financial paperwork early. With Profile schools, you usually do it before 1/1 using 2006 figures. They also ask for your 2006 taxes.</p>
<p>And only the most selective, wealthiest schools are need-blind. Only those schools provide 100% of need. Most schools are at least need-aware, and most also "gap" by failing to provide 100% of need.</p>
<p>chocolate - </p>
<p>"Again, I am not expecting a reversal, but an explanation. "</p>
<p>Don't hold you breathe on this one, either - it may be a weasily reply. However .... BIG CONGRAT's on the three scholarships (thus far) for your wonderful D!</p>
<p>Congratulations on the latest scholarship! The whole situation is weird, but it sounds like things will work out to your D's advantage. She can see that she is obviously a attractive applicant, given the interest the other schools have shown. That should help take some of the sting out of the unexpected rejection.</p>
<p>There is definitely a reason for the question "Will you be applying for financial aid?". As well as the siblings and colleges. Need blind- NOT if they ask those questions.</p>
<p>After few days of telephone tag, we got the "weasily" explanation that Ohio mom predicted. "very competitive applicant pool" (this was early action--they haven't even looked at the regular pool), "would have gotten in any other year", "application was impressive, but unfortunately an offer of admission could not be made", "she should definitely apply again as a transfer student", etc. Vague explanation and, as I expected, did not give us any real answer. As someone said to me, they probably did us a favor because it was clear that they were not going to give her a decent finaid package and we would have been faced with the prospect of trying to figure out a way to pay come September. On the off chance that dd might want to transfer in, I did not want to make too many waves, but I did want them to know that the high school was "perplexed" by the decision and unhappy that they rejected a solid applicant. I believe this was purely a financial decision on their part and we are SO ready to move on. </p>
<p>DD is very fortunate to have so many excellent choices. We will be going back for final visits so she can look at these schools in a new way. As the weeks pass a new "first choice" will be made and we can all move on!</p>
<p>A HUGE thank you for listening to me vent and for your sympathetic support. I am starting to realize that we should be thankful she did as well as she did in admissions, as the finaid piece is a tricky one with multiple siblings in college. </p>
<p>Cheers :)</p>
<p>chocolate, I am sorry that the school your D would have liked to attend the most was the one that did not offer admission. It does seem as though finances with multiple siblings in college did have something to do with the decision, although that was not part of their explanation. It is interesting that a school that is not need blind doesn't also say that finances were a consideration as well.</p>
<p>I really do hope that your D is able to get excited about her second choice school, and is happy with all of her other offers admission and merit scholarships! I hope that after a few weeks at school in September, she will feel as though this school did her a favor.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I believe this was purely a financial decision on their part and we are SO ready to move on.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Only a handful of schools are "need blind" which means that finances are most definitively a factor in admission.</p>
<p>Thanks for letting us know, chocolate, even though it wasn't a "real" answer. Count me in as one of the "naive" parents. I learn so much from this web site!</p>
<p>It's trite but true - one door closes, another opens. If the school in question is going to conduct itself so disingenuously, then your D is better off somewhere else.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Only a handful of schools are "need blind" which means that finances are most definitively a factor in admission.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>how do you know that?</p>
<p>Chocolate -
well, I'm glad you have extracted your 'non-answer' - easier to move on! Better now than March. Best wishes to your DD!</p>
<p>Toledo,
we all learn something in this process. Our oops concerned the level of importance of athletics (didn't have any) at certain LAC's. And it did work out for the best in our case!</p>
<p>JustAMom: Because they say so. Sometimes you have to ask, but in the college-admissions world it's widely understood that unless a college says specifically it's "need-blind" in admissions -- and only a few dozen colleges say that -- then admissions staff takes an applicant's financial aid status into account in making admissions decisions. (Many people also believe -- although you won't get any official acknowledgment, ever -- that even at need-blind schools the admissions staff has rough targets based on application data that have the effect of making sure they don't admit more or fewer scholarship students than they want.)</p>
<p>That's not necessarily horribly sinister, by the way. It's realistic. If a college only has a limited amount of scholarship money to commit to a particular class, I think it's fair for the admissions staff to ask, "Do we like this kid enough that we're willing to pay for her, and then not have money left over for that other kid?" And it doesn't do anyone favors for a college to admit a student but offer him or her a completely unrealistic financial aid package. So it makes sense to take that into account in admissions decisions.</p>
<p>JustAMomOf4 -</p>
<p>"how do you know that?"</p>
<p><em>Carefully</em> reading the finaid and admissions pages. Then, if it SAYS need blind, you poke around carefully on CC and see how need blind it acts. </p>
<p>Also, look for the "%of financial need met." If it is less than 100%, there is likely gapping going on. </p>
<p>It is fine to apply to schools that are need aware - if they really want you / your kid, lovely scholarships may appear. </p>
<p>Its just that if money is a factor - cast your nets wide.</p>