Note that Michigan is just my recollection from many months ago!
UMD does not allow gap years as a general rule. Special cases only, e.g., Israeli Gap years.
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IIRC, the older sister got accepted to University of Michigan but didnât receive sufficient aid for it to be a consideration. I believe that the only other college kid is the older sibling at GA Tech.
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I just went through your daughterâs love list. I know the employer discount doesnât include fees, but this is for rough estimates as quick sources were including both. Iâm showing the math for Dickinson to make sure that Iâve done the calculations properly, but for the other institutions, Iâm just listing the percentage of students without need who received merit aid and what the family cost would be.
Dickinson
- $58,708 Tuition & Fees
- $20,777 Average Merit Aid (subtracted)
- 61% of students w/o need received merit aid
- $37,931 Tuition Remainder (after merit aid)
- $15,172.40 40% Employer Tuition Discount (subtracted)
- $22,758.60 Tuition Balance for Family
- $15,252 Room & Board
- $38,010.60 Family Cost
Muhlenberg
- 96% receive merit aid
- $32,840 Family Cost
Gettysburg
- 84% receive merit aid
- $36,496.80 Family Cost
Rhodes
- 69% receive merit aid
- $34,731.80 Family Cost
You and your daughter are hoping that she will get $15-20k more than the typical merit aid package to attend one of these for a cost of around $25k. Is that correct? In my mind, that does not place the schools in the âmatchâ category. That places them in the âreachâ category, and although not impossible, I would think that chances are rather unlikely.
If these are the packages that your daughter receives from her love list, does this mean that she would go to UMD? Would she prefer UMD or Ursinus? Or would she prefer some other option that is neither of those, but would still meet the $25k budget?
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Well. I think it is crazy, but there is Coalition app too. I do not think it will fly well with the her High School, but there is an option to apply to more than 20 schools (given that 9 has 0 app fee or waived fee).
Coalition app is no longer, this was itâs last year. They are doing a partnership with Scoir, but details are scant. Coalition Plans New College Application
Many schools do have their own app, soâŠmanage your 20 common app schools wisely. Generally those who are merit hunting complete more apps than average.
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A) you are applying. You do whatâs best for you, not the high school
B) if you get on schoolsâ mailing listsâŠ.youâll get more. Plus some offer codes at info sessions online (Pitt) or tours (Miami Ohio). Theyâre not on your list but if they do so will others.
C). Some will offer if apply by a date (SMU), fill out a FAFSA (Chicago)âŠagain if they do so will others
D)finally google niche + no application fee. That will be your list for shotgun after you exhaust the rest that is your list⊠You just see which require nothing above your common app essay or have an essay you wrote for another.
Iâm not saying apply to 40. We did 21. Two solo apps (easy) and 19 on common. We could have done 20 on common. My daughter toyed with applying to Cornell. I wouldnât let her go but she wanted to try Ivy. I figured the extra $$, while wasted, was fair reward for her hard work on the 21. So we did IU on the IU app. She never did do the Cornell app.
Once you write a few essays youâll see how you can slightly shift them. If no essay is required above common then itâs filling out the school specific questions which is fine minutes
My opinion - your HS is the last thing you should worry about. They are not paying your tuition bill. If you work with them which seems less common, they are like corporate attorneys at work - guidance, not decision makers.
You are chasing a price. You need as much gas in the car that the tank will hold.
Iâll keep watching. Itâs a fun thread.
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I was going to suggest Miami U - Ohio. My colleagues son received a large merit award and this student is much stronger academically. Itâs worth investigating, at the very least.
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We got $21k. At the time (â21 entry) if you were a 3.9 uw gpa or something like that you got at least 50% whiich most got $21k out of $37k. Itâs mid large, rates high in Princeton Review for teaching quality, lots of Jews (we met the leader, had just graduated Denison). Honestly itâs campus reminded me of William and Mary but larger. Daughter was excited to visit but itâs very rural and she never applied after going there . But they did tell everyone In the info session they are refunding the app fee which was nice. Like Pitt or Florida State, you rarely hear a bad word about Miami. Wasnât adding to the list. Just giving an example of what might happen fee wise.
U of SC is similarly aggressive. They say you get at least $86k in our range. In the end the cost was in state minus $500. Like $12k It is semi urban and became the #2 choice after Charleston. Not as vibrant a Jewish life but enjoyed meeting the very dedicated professional staff.
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I have a family member who recently graduated from the U of SC honors. She loved it!!! She is Jewish btw.
I have only heard positive things about C of C. I have 2 friends with kids there.
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University of South Carolina was my kidâs second choice right down to the APRIL 30th wire. She got a terrific scholarship from them, instate tuition plus a stipend.
I think the school isnât semi urban. It is urban. It is plunked right in the center of downtown Columbia SC. The difference between Columbia and BostonâŠColumbia is a much smaller city. But this is an urban college for sure.
But this parent wonât look at any out of state public universities, so we all need to let that goâŠ.unless they change their mind.
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Wow. Never heard about Scoir⊠I think they will come up with something one way or the other by Fall. We will need to plan more carefully in that case. Thanks for info.
Not that we planned to go for so many. We barely applied for 10 with older kid.
I wasnât sure how to describe. Itâs adjacent to downtown but has a real campus :). But Iâll go with that. We walked to the downtown hotel on our second visit. But had to drive to 5 points where we were recommended to eat. Itâs small city urban ⊠
Weâre you chasing merit ? Full pay at Ga Tech tells me not.
New game. New rules.
Youâve created one of the the most impassioned threads on the cc. Everyone wants to get you there.
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We chased it, but not seriously. Older D had good scholarship at Case. But cost/benefit analysis and specialists in that field suggested that it was not worth a difference in price with UMD for her major. Then she got to GaTech and it is school #2-3 for her engineering major. GaTech was always a target school and we knew that scholarship will not be possible there. But it was the only top school that we could afford and were agree to pay for.
As I said new game. New objective. New rules. Or is there a top school that if your daughter got in, youâd mortgage the house ??
No way!!!
So are you saying you were willing to pay big dollars for child one for college, but wonât do so under any circumstances for child 2? Or is it just that you wonât mortgage your house?
If thatâs the case, the application list really should only be for affordable colleges.
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Has the student been told what the budget is? Has she been told that if these schools come in above budget, she canât attend? Keep in mind that costs may go up every year. Will merit be a flat rate, or is it half tuition (which will go up with tuition increases)?
I would have this discussion before she applies.
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Question: you indicated that the students in your Dâs HS who attend public colleges (other than UMD) generally attend schools such as Michigan etc. I imagine that the strongest students attend these schools. Where do kids go who are not at the topâŠand are more in the middle? Where do they go? What about kids who need merit- where do they tend to go?
Senior year there was a dinner for vals and sals in the area (several counties in our NE state were represented and it was a well attended event). Students returned from the dinner with a booklet describing the evening, and it included a list of schools that these kids were attending (no names). Most of the schools mentioned were not Cornell, Michigan etc. Schools such as Northeastern- maybe 2, but thatâs it. The majority of schools on the list included our state schools (even the small ones) and schools that were lower down the ladder. Many kids were also attending schools such as Ohio State honors (a few years ago this school gave a lot of money) and other public colleges.
This shows that there are strong students at all schools, and highlights once again the importance of your daughter choosing wisely if she needs merit.
Added- what language does your D need/want?
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