<p>I think that’s right Kleibo, but it could be up to $10,000. Mom is also planning to use all of her annual bonus as a separate amount for college, assuming she gets one. But she said that she doesn’t want to count on that bonus because it’s not a sure thing.</p>
<p>Perhaps this isn’t too helpful, as this pretty obvious, but all of the NJ public schools should be considered. Of course Rutgers should be applied to. TCNJ would be a reach, but has excellent education and nursing programs, and excellent pre-med. I think the best of the next tier below TCNJ and Rutgers are Ramapo and Rowan. Rowan would be a safety/low match, and perhaps a merit aid possibility.</p>
<p>Someone upthread suggested Kean, but I don’t recommend it because of a truly horrible 4-yr graduation rate, something around 19%, while Rowan for example is above 50%.</p>
<p>TCNJ and Rowan really jump out at me as being a good fit for this student, based on limited info. They are much smaller than Rutgers, and will allow a much more personalized experience.</p>
<p>If she is good enough to play at the D3 level, they are pretty good at finding “merit” aid for the kids to attend school there. It might be worth some of her time to contact some D3 programs, and many of the schools that have been listed are D3, to let the coach know she is interested in playing. If she is an “all-conference” type player, she might even be able to get some scholarship money at a smaller D2 or NAIA program as well, that combined with some merit aid and she could be paying very little to go to college.</p>
<p>Steve’s right that she has to look at finaid calculators. I just ran both the longer finaid.org EFC calculator and their QuikEFC and get to 8-14k. Mom should run these with her own data to get a better initial picture. No, it doesn’t account for the CSS. And, yes, most of us find our final “family contribution” comes out to 20-35% higher. </p>
<p>The lower priced schools that might like her stats may not have much aid to offer. Mom can pay “some,” but she’ll need to see if that projected number is at all feasible. What’s D’s fuller picture- the extras that might make a college go to bat to win her? Beyond being “very good” at softball? Any community efforts and/or strengths?</p>
<p>Once she identified a few schools, whatever they are, she needs to call FA there for a serious talk and early read (and the further info or reality check this will provide.) One of the NJ schools where her stats and interests seem to match. As I understand it, CSS has natural caps built in for medical expenses. In an unusual case, when you claim beyond that, you’re into professional judgment (or is it called professional review?) At that point, FAOs can sometimes work a little magic. There are fed guidelines that they must treat all students in a category per the same, fair guidelines. But they can legally alter certain data, like Mom’s income, when justifiable. It’s been a while since I looked at the fed guidelines for this, so maybe someone has current info.
Will see if I can find the link.
*add: this will keep you busy for a while: <a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid;
<p>Is that 91 unweighted? Does she have a rank?</p>
<p>Is the Dad really an issue for financial aid? Does he even make any money living on the streets?</p>
<p>
I believe it’s unweighted because she has no APs. I will confirm that. Rank is somewher ein the top 10% but not sure where. I had asked her mom that and she said they don’t officially rank at that school until junior year grades are in and they aren’t in yet.</p>
<p>Really she is perfect for the Stars Program. She could go free to her community college.</p>
<p>Have the mom save the money for when she transfers to a four year school for the final two years.</p>
<p>The New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Rewards Scholarship (NJ STARS) is a state-sponsored, merit-based scholarship designed to reward academic excellence to outstanding high school graduates. To qualify for the scholarship, New Jersey students must graduate from their local high school within the top 15 percent of their class. </p>
<p>NJ STARS provides a scholarship for students to attend their local community colleges.</p>
<p>Why is she paying the ex’s medical bills? Did she sign as the responsible party? Even if she did, she should be able to negotiate a reduced payment. Also assume (hope) she is only paying her, and not the ex’s legal bills.</p>
<p>
They were incurred before the divorce and the legal bills pertain to her attempt to have him committed without his consent and to have his financial affairs taken out of his hands. So technically, the legal bills are her own from when she was his wife.</p>
<p>It was a total shock, he had always been a heavier than normal drinker, but then he started acting erratically and within a few weeks he was literally laying on the sidewalk on a cardboard box. So the ex wife has huge guilt for not seeing this coming and for not adequately preparing for her daughter’s college.</p>
<p>Even if the medical bills were incurred before the divorce, unless she signed forms that said she is responsible for them, or unless she agreed as part of the divorce, she isn’t.</p>
<p>
I think she did agree to pay them back when they were still together. Divorce wasn’t the original plan. I know she had good legal advice from her own lawyer and one of the partners here kept an eye on things. I think I remember her telling me that she had signed on to pay those bills.</p>
<p>Some high school coaches are very plugged in to the college scene and give helpful suggestions on schools to approach, particularly colleges in the local area. However, many high school coaches know zero about college athletics. Do not count on the coach for more than a recommendation - do your own research.</p>
<p>She does not need to be an all-State standout to play in college. Like academics, it’s about finding the right team match for the right player. In addition to the earlier suggestions, she should look for teams where the current third baseman is a junior…they will need to be replaced by the time she is ready to enroll. Conversely, a roster that shows a lot of utility infielders might not need her skills as much. This info is available on the schools’ softball websites - click on “Roster” and look at the detail. </p>
<p>Any extra practice she can do to get her batting average up will be helpful. </p>
<p>The right college team can also pay the unexpected but nice benefit of serving as a student’s “family” at school, which could be wonderful for a kid who could use some extra support. This depends on the coach and team culture, which is hard to gage just by reading the school website. One thing to note: are there juniors and seniors on the team? Upperclasswomen often drop a sport when the coach is unpleasant or difficult, leaving the field to younger students. (To be fair, at some schools the workload for upperclasswomen is so huge that they drop sports just to keep up. But I would wonder if there are no juniors or seniors on the team at all…)</p>
<p>If playing in college would make her happy, she should give it a shot. Start identifying schools that meet her academic objectives, check out the softball team situation, contact the coaches after she has finished playing this spring and fill out the recruiting form on each team’s website.</p>
<p>That can be a tricky situation for you, Zoosermom, when giving frank advice. The few times I made remarks regarding what a long shot ivy league and other highly selective schools are for ANYONE, some parents were quite offended because they had been told, they firmly believed and they were only considering those schools. That the stats for acceptance of these schools were right out there, did not make any difference. So I’ve just let that part go, but focus instead on making sure that at least a safety school in terms of admissions and affordablilty is in the mix. Really, once a kid has a school like that on his/her list, s/he can go to town on the rest of the list.</p>
<p>With test scores/grades/difficulty in curriculum profile like the young lady’s, getting into any school that guarantees to meet need, or does a good job of meeting need is going to be a long shot. Going away to school is going to be expensive, even to a state school without substantial aid. Very much a lottery ticket for her to get sufficient funds.</p>
<p>Still, she can try. She should also use Momfromtexas’s method of trying to net a full ride somewhere, and look for some local options such as ccs as her likely, affordable schools. If she hits the lottery, great, but she’ll have someplace where she can make it work, if not.</p>
<p>[Admission</a> | Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA](<a href=“http://www.chatham.edu/admissions/]Admission”>http://www.chatham.edu/admissions/) Chatham University, women, in Pittsburgh, PA. </p>
<p>Has the majors she is interested in and a softball team, located in a nice residential neighborhood. Making the FA Office aware of all the special circumstances before the FAFSA is completed, would be my suggestion and send documentation.</p>
<p>So you guys do think this is a special situation that the colleges should know about? Whether they decide to help is another issue, of course, but it wouldn’t be out of line for the family to try to explain?</p>
<p>Absolutely. If anything, this situation will place her stats in much better context and in so doing, make them look much more impressive.</p>
<p>If the D can craft a killer essay about her situation/life experiences with adversity, that can actually make her a more compelling candidate over those with higher stats, but less adverse life circumstances.</p>
<p>The family should ensure the GC and the teachers mention her situation in their student report/recommendations so there’s some cross-confirmation. </p>
<p>Also, it may be another longshot, but a friend’s sister('07 grad) from a rural area managed to get much more money from Clark University than her local state university. Sometimes…some private universities offer a much better deals once FA/scholarships are factored in. </p>
<p>Their mother was still amazed at how large the cost difference was…and how much she saved sending her D to Clark. Their family was also in a better financial and family situation than your friend’s family.</p>
<p>I think if nothing else, it would make a great essay topic for her.</p>
<p>Sweet Briar (VA) is another all women’s school: [College</a> Profile | Sweet Briar College](<a href=“Admissions • Sweet Briar College”>Admissions • Sweet Briar College)</p>
<p>The costs look pricey, but they seem to offer a high percentage of aid. Don’t know if it’d be generous enough. From a stat perspective, it looks like she’d be a good match.</p>
<p>Finances
•Undergraduate Tuition: $32,325; room and board: $11,440
•98% of all degree-seeking undergraduates were awarded some kind of aid, whether it was non-need-based or need-based aid (and that aid package was a mix of grants/scholarships, loans, and work-study)
•The average aid package under those parameters was $19,018</p>
<p>First-year Profile (2011)
•194 enrolled, including students with high honors
•30% top 10% of high school class; 86% top 50% of high school class
•109 took at least one AP class in high school, 23 dual enrollment
•3.51 average GPA; 1100 median SAT score (980-1220 mid-50%); 25 median ACT (21-28 mid-50%)
•44 served a president of a school club, 22 vice president
•115 volunteered in their community
•48 traveled abroad
•25% non-white
•39% from Virginia
•82% admitted</p>
<p>St. Louis Univ is worth looking at. Ave ACT is 27. Claims that 97% receive fin. aid.
[SLU</a> At a Glance : Saint Louis University University : SLU](<a href=“http://www.slu.edu/x5525.xml]SLU”>http://www.slu.edu/x5525.xml)</p>
<p>Has nursing school.</p>