@mominsc One edit to our final Rollins FA award. The total grant money (non-merit; non-legacy) in the award is $5,328, not $3000.
@4kids Soon there will be one! I hope your D enjoys her Centre visit.
My D is accepted to Centre and this thread is great. Centre is the better ranked and cheaper now.
@dadof1 @4kids4colleges Thanks so much for sharing your info! Iām obsessively calculating every scenario imaginable as our family awaits Roliins updated financial aid letter. I found a Fafsa4Caster tool on FAFSA.gov to run every possible financial scenario, and Iāve now succumbed to another addictive habit besides CC!
The financial aid counselor that I met with at Rollins predicted about $8,000 in institutional grants with two in college and zero need-based grant aid (besides loans that we are not inclined to accept) if we have only one in college. @dadof1 This info tracks closely to your initial financial aid package from Rollins, which is encouraging!
My Dās stats earned her the $20,000 Presidential Scholarship at Rollins. She has received similar annual merit awards from Furman ($19,000) and Roanoke College ($22,500). Her ACT score is not that high (27), but it is a solid score for test optional colleges like Rollins and Furman. I believe Dās teacher recs and essay were very strong, which probably helped offset her standardized test score.
Dās weighted high school GPA at the end of junior year was 4.49. Iām not sure what that translates to on a standard 4.0 scale that most colleges use. Dās guidance counselor offered to calculate Dās overall GPA and 1st semester senior grades so we can determine if D has reason to appeal for more merit aid. I believe Dās GPA so far senior year is a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale, which is more in line with the merit scholarship that awards $22,000 a year. On the flip side, Dās ACT score needs to be a 28 or higher. So weāll see how that pans out.
@4kids4colleges I hope your D experiences an āI love it!ā moment at Centre. It feels so good when when all the stars align, and when our childrenās hard work over their high school years is rewarded with a college acceptance and subsequent visit that ignites a genuine smileā¦and the purchase of a t-shirt!
@mominsc Although D has an UW GPA of about 3.6, Rollins recalculated her GPA to about a 3.4 according to the admission counselor. They may only use core courses to recalculate the GPA.
@4kids4colleges Let us know how the Centre trip turned out. Hope your D has more clarity and gets to show the āsmileā and t-shirt!
Thanks @mominsc and @dadof1. Dās flight to KY was canceled yesterday, rebooked this morning, delayed again, so she is arriving this evening and missing the entire admitted students event. But, the silver lining, she now gets to stay 2 nights so she definitely will get a real taste of Centre life!
Will let you all know how it goes!
I think itās interesting that some colleges recalculate gpa and some donāt. And some superscore the ACT while others donāt. Two great questions to ask during visits.
^^Yes, especially if the college post standards for merit scholarships based upon GPA. Rollins and BSC both have these standards on their website, but neither state how the GPA is calculated. Rollins uses an UW, recalculated GPA; BSC uses a W GPA.
I had D16 read about Southwestern in Fiske. She had three objections: 1) too many required courses; 2) in Texas; 3) seemed ātoo cheerfulā which seemed fake to her. Sigh.
@MidwestDad3 the GPA thing kills me!! I still have no clarity on how itās done. This past year my D highschool deflated the GPAs because of the feedback they got from colleges. She goes to an all girl Episcopal school. This school has a reputation for academic rigor and for the majority of classes there are no non honor options to take. Out of her class on 55 we have kids going to Northwestern (2) U Chicago. Columbia, UNC, USC(2) Williams College ectā¦ So her peer group is pretty smart. Most people in my city would regularly say a B at this school is an A at most others. So for my D who did lots of EC and sports, instrument ect she was a A- to B+ student. Same thing where a A- is less than 4 points ect. The whole thing has been so hard to figure out. Her school now only weights an honor class by .5 and an AP by 1 for UW and A is an A nothing for a + or - . That is what brought the UW below a 3.5 because most of her Bs were B+s
Imagine all these kids ending their junior year with one GPA and starting their senior year with a lower one. That one went over really well ( not ) !!
Some state schools no longer give credit for honor classes at all and only .5 for AP. U of Arkansas does that.
Her SAT was a 1990 with a 750 out if 800 for writing .
I think now her weighted is at a 4.1 with UW 3.4 which on paper looks very average or not outstanding.
Her school will not rank, because it will make some really smart kids look not so smart.I think in some ways it helps and in other ways it hurts. It helped my D for them not to rank! might have hurt the top 5 or so. It isnāt your typical sampling if a school class though.
The whole thing just is really hard to comprehend. In the end her school said it does not matter how they calculate the GPA the college is going to use their own formula and they all have different formulas!
Well, she got the Centre t-shirt!
But still feels like she canāt decide between Centre and SU. :-S
D is on her way home from Centre now, but from what sheās said, she had a great time and loved the students. Loved her overnight host (stayed 2 nights). She attended Chemistry and Genetics classes and really liked them. Met with lacrosse coach and team members, loved them. Said the food was good. Dorms average, except for upperclassmen.
Fun-wise, she said this was the bestā¦she attended a frat party and even sent me video (yikes). Pretty sure that is not usually allowed for prospective students, but seems like it was fine. (Outdoor party with lots of dancing).
Tell me whether you think this should be a factor. D almost certainly will go on to med school or grad school. If she can establish residency in TX (12 months residency + not claiming her as a dependent on our taxes), she could potentially attend UT or another TX grad school for substantially less $ than pretty much anywhere else. (For example, Med School in TX is $14-17k per year in state vs. $32k in state in CO vs. $60k many privates).
Would you factor this into the equation?
I think D still feels like she wants to be closer to home, but loved Centre. Have to talk to her in person, but for now no decision!
^ Looks like its not so easy to establish residency, not sure if being in college and living in TX for the summer would do it, so maybe not a worthwhile consideration?
@4kids4colleges Great to read your D enjoyed Centre! I canāt speak to your D obtaining state residency as a student, but I do know the majority of incoming premeds do not attend med school.
Good point @dadof1. She just texted me, āI love them both, I canāt decide.ā She honestly thinks she canāt choose. Could be a long 10 days.
If its really that close, would you advise your kid to go with the cheaper, closer school (SU, $20k less over 4 years) or the higher ranked school (but still in the middle of nowhere)? I feel like she wants us to convince her of one over the other.
If itās really that close, there are a lot of things you could do with that 20K. At the same time, thatās not such a huge difference that it makes the decision easy, is it? Your D still has some time to make her decision and then sit with it to see how it feels. Iād be wary of convincing her even if she wants you to 
Good advice, yaupon, especially the part about not making the decision for your D.
There may be a bit of extra shine on Centre right now in your Dās mind because the visit is fresh in her mind. Maybe wait a few days at least before the final decision is made.
My D suggests thinking about the reasons that are keeping your D from decidingā¦ what about each of these two colleges doesnāt she like. Maybe the negatives will sway her thoughts in one direction.
@yaupon and @dadof1, excellent advice.
I keep thinking, $20k is one year at the state school our S (now 16) wants to attend! Its real money. And, this kid is the first of four.
D keeps asking, which would you choose? She is not amused when I say Agnes Scott (she ruled it out).
One thing that makes me kind of sad is not being able to visit her very often (at all?) with my husband if sheās at Centre. It is not drivable from here and quite expensive to fly vs. SU, $100 round trip from Denver. I want us to be able to attend family weekends, that kind of thing. Of course that canāt be the deciding factor, but something I think about!
Very good question - figure out what doesnāt she like. Iām going to try that one when she arrives home in a couple hours.
I had hoped this would be the trip that decided it all. You are right, give it some time to sink in.
Thanks again, I so appreciate your input!
I donāt know that the rankings should factor too much into it; Iām guessing that a med school is not going to look too hard at an undergraduate schoolās ranking in making admissions decisions, so long as the student has good grades and MCATs. If your daughter goes to Southwestern University, and looks to go to medical school in Texas thereafter, the chances are that someone on the medical school admissions committee will know of Southwesternās reputation (and hopefully it will be a good one) based on past admits; that person may not be as familiar with Centre or their graduates. Plus, as other posters have pointed out, your daughter would have to travel less far to and from school; and the $20K that you save can be applied to medical school or graduate school down the road.
As for the residency question, it might be worth while to find out directly from the medical college how it determines who is considered an in-state student, and what criteria are considered in making that decision ā having a Texas driverās license, registering to vote and then voting in Texas, length of time in the state, full-time employment history, etc. (I know a student who graduated from UVA last year and is now working for a year or so in Virginia post-graduate in order to be considered an in-state resident when she applies to UVAās law school). Some state schools are more particular than others in determining who qualifies for in-state residency; back in the day, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill was very picky in who it considered in-state for tuition purposes, and some graduate students I knew actually consulted with attorneys to help them in making their case to UNC.
@gandalf78, thanks for your thoughts. You always provide good advice.
I looked further into the residency requirement issue in TX - 12 consecutive months residency plus āgainful employmentā during those 12 months. Which means an average of 20 hours a week working (minimum), which does not include work study jobs. So, she would have to work during sophomore year at an off-campus job, or take a year after graduation to work then go to med/grad school.
Of course, as dadof1 notes, many pre-med students do not go to med school, and I canāt say my D is certain about that.
The economy in Austin is great and it has been listed as a top place for young people to live over and over again. So thereās that.
Itās also still Texas, so thereās that.
I agree with many of the points made. I wouldnāt consider the residency/pre-med issue at all. So many kids start out as pre-med who donāt end up that way that it would be a shame to base her selection on that.
As for the money, when S was trying to decide between Rhodes and Elon, he asked me about COA. There was about a $4k/year difference, which we deemed not significant enough for our family for it to factor overly into the decision, all other things being equal. Taking the $ off the table made him concentrate on the issues about both schools that really mattered to him.
It sounds like the biggest differences between your Dās choices come down to location, both in nearness to family and whatās surrounding the campus. Austin is a huge college town and a more urban environment, while Danville, KY is a small town. Iād probably start her focusing on that as she tries to make her decision. Iād imagine the schools themselves and their offerings will be pretty similar.
Good luck!
I donāt know the specific geographic representation, but it seems as if Centre has a national student body, whereas SU is very heavily Texan. As much as I like Texas (lived along I-35 just north of Georgetown for 7 years), that would be a factor for me.
As for med school, she will be applying all over the country if she is like most prospective med students. And there is definitely a trend now to either work or do a fifth year of studies before applying to med school. Students who hope to start right out of undergrad are at a disadvantage right now, as much of the competition is a year older, with significant lab experience in many cases.