Which daughter was that? Was that the one who attended the FL private? what were that daughter’s high school stats?
When my S’11 got accepted to Marquette there were merit awards that came out in dribs and drabs. But, it was clearly stated on the schools web site. Call and ask.
Sounds like it’s very school and year dependent. Not something that one can expect from any school. That’s the problem when someone has a positive experience from one school, they assume that happens everywhere.
At my kids’ undergrad, when they saw that a “lowered” scholarship wasn’t getting the acceptances that they expected, they increased (offered more) in the spring to sweeten the pot. So, I guess if a school isn’t seeing enough students “depositing” to reserve spots, then they might offer some additional merit to help “seal some deals.”
I also remember the year that Penn State had scandal, they were offering merit left and right to seat a class. That’s the only year I’ve seen Penn state offer much, since they typically mostly only offer to their honors college students.
But no one should expect this to happen, and as mentioned, the added awards aren’t usually large.
@thumper1 I actually thought about her taking out loans and let the money i have saved for her earn interest. I guess in the end she will have to decide community college or high-priced university. Thanks for your advise.
@mom2collegekids, we are very aware that she might change her mind about CS which would be a problem in a niche school and will loose her $$. however, having seen my stepdaughter enter University of California Irvine as a pre-med, bio major and then 13 seconds into school realized she wanted nothing to do with medicine, she was stuck not because of scholarships but because all other majors were impacted and was not able to switch majors. With my HS Senior, we were originally going to do the community college or State College thing but those classes are soooooo overcrowded and never available. what used to take 2 years at a CC can easily take 3 or 4 years and that is 2 years she could be at a job. Ultimately, she will have to decide and I will support her either way.
My daughter at the Fl private did get her scholarships in little pieces, but that’s because they were coming from different sources and we expected it. The athletic scholarship came in the fall, then the school merit scholarships came in late February. There were also two small grants with that award. Daughter didn’t get any need based aid because of the athletic scholarship, but I think those would have come in March (because of the old FAFSA schedule, might be earlier now that FAFSA is filed in Oct). The state aid came in throughout the summer just before school started. We knew it would come, but didn’t know how much.
The daughter at Wyoming, an OOS public for us, did get the merit award with acceptance in the fall, then then didn’t get the talent in February (there was a try out for that), and then they notified her that she DID get a talent away. Wyo doesn’t really give need based aid as a grant but has alum scholarships that are awarded by the FA office. Some are for certain majors and other are just general, but there is no real way to apply for them. They do tend to just appear on the FA page. Every year has been different.The year she did study abroad the Cheney award came in in late December.
I didn’t even know what their costs would be until August. One outside scholarship they both got required a copy of the bill to be submitted by July 31. It took me forever to get copies and they didn’t have all the awards posted. That’s when I learned schools didn’t send bills but expected the money to arrive on time.
I don’t think I suggested this…at all. If anything, she could take out those Direct Loans…which by the way will NOT cover the difference in cost for her at ER…and you could gift her repayment as a graduation gift when the time comes.
I’m not sure what the actual interest rate is on the Direct Loan now…but I’m quite sure it is higher than the interest on most accounts you would have.
Her Direct Loan amount for freshman year is $5500…in her name only. Anything else would either need to be taken out by you, or co-signed by you.
Right now…it seems like this school is not affordable for your family. Even with that $5500 loan and her $14,000 scholarship, you still have a net cost of $30,000 a year or more. Where is that money going to come from?? Please don’t tell me you plan to take $30,000 a year plus in loans. $120,000 in loan debt is quite a lot for an undergrad degree.
$27,000 in loan debt is reasonable…but the $5500, $6500, $7500, $7500 (that’s what she would get each year…) just isn’t going to cover the costs to attend this school.
IS she fully admitted to CS? As per above, don’t bet on her coming out with w CS degree. Will you be happy to borrow this money for a psych degree? An English degree? Her stats are really interesting for a CS admit. Are her sub scores very imbalanced? Personally I would question a school that would have direct admit to CS with her stats as being very financially driven (and even offering sweetening $$), the idea of starting at your local CC is to give her a shot at indicating she truly would be successful as a CS major.
@thumper1 no, no way I would take out a $120,000 loan or even close to that. I guess until the final letter/financial package is received, we will have to make the definitive decision.
@Sybylla, I do question if the school is trying to lure my daughter for the sake of getting one more tuition-paying student, even if sweetening the pot a bit. Like I said earlier, until the final financial package is received, then we will have to make a serious decision.
Moving when your child is starting college isn’t a good plan. You rarely get instate tuition or aid given to high school kids from the new state, and you may lose instate rates from the old school. If you move to Florida your child would get the Florida resident grant for a private school (currently about $3500) and would get instate tuition rates after a year (good value), but in Florida the biggie is to get Bright Futures and that’s only awarded to student who graduate from a Florida hs.
In California, there are a lot of good ways to financial college - CCC, CSUs, Blue and Gold plans, regents. Student loans are at about 4.5%, but will be going up (as will mortgages, car loans, credit card rates). It really is a good way to finance school if you really want to go to a 4 year college. My kids are just getting out of college and starting to repay them. It’s doable with a job and living on a budget.
@twoinanddone I would be moving to Florida when she starts Sophomore College year. If I retire when I move to Florida maybe FAFSA might help, but doubt it since they go back 2 years tax returns. In California, if you are middle-class, own property and non-minority, you don’t get sh$#. California is horrible to people like me. My other daughter’s STATs where very high and I didn’t get a penny for her to attend UC Regents or any school but her friends with worst scores got free rides. My stepdaughter is Vietnamese/Chinese with an almost perfect SAT score, 4.2 GPA and barely received $$ and graduated with a loan. Our community colleges are so overcrowded that it can take 3-4 years to get enough credits to transfer. Plus kids spend 1 hour on the road to travel 14 miles (I am not exaggerating) that is 2 hours a day she could be studying in a dorm.
Your kid is a CC candidate wherever you are IMO. Cali's solid CC pathways seem a win to me. If she can't get well timed classes then take a partial credit load and a job that can help pay. A job in her field is more valuable than anything. It doesn't matter it that is a 6 yr pathway if it means no debt.
I beg to differ. The cost to attend college at public universities for instate students…even without a nickel of financial aid…is less than the net cost of Embry Riddle for you. That’s simple arithmetic.
There are thousands of colleges in this country. Is there some reason why your daughter needs to attend college in the state in which you reside? Especially since she won’t have instate status in FL.
This is Yogi Berra thinking - ‘no one goes there anymore because it is too crowded.’ The CCC are crowded because they are such a good deal. From my kids’ private high school in California, more than 50 kids from a class of 235 went to a CCC, most to the one right up the street from the high school. This high school drew kids from all over southern Cal, many traveling 50-75 miles a day to get to school. Another good chunk went to CSU-Fullerton. Money was often not a factor but the students didn’t know what they wanted from college or just didn’t want to leave the area. CCC got them off to a good start.
Just a clarification…in my post, I meant to write that the cost of CA publics…especially the CSUs…is less than the net cost @JupiterBound is looking at at Embry Riddle.
“I do question if the school is trying to lure my daughter for the sake of getting one more tuition-paying student”
Point blank: yes. I have never encountered a student who Riddle did not offer merit aid.
If you are REALLY trying to make Riddle happen for some reason, contact Dr. Tim Wilson and inquire about funding available through Dr. Shafagh Jafer’s Womens Engineering Institute. Be clear that your daughter is going to be a cs major.
With that said, even with strings pulled, I would still expect Riddle to be unaffordable.
And more importantly even than money, is setting her up for success. CS at a school that will not only accept her stats for CS but to give sham merit ? When it is a $$ private with an acceptance rate of 75% you have to sniff the BS… As one assumes that there won’t be FA of note, hopefully you all have a sensible plan B.
If it wasn’t clear, I’m a student at Riddle. It’s actually a decent school. However, unaffordable.