The 2018 version of this story
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/houston-teen-awarded-full-ride-183810125.html
Yes, I commented somewhere else about that!
Makes me a little crazy to see the “full ride” language used with regard to schools which don’t give merit awards. The young man had a very low EFC, if not $0, and so is getting financial aid. But that phrasing creates the misperception that there is “merit” money to be had from those Ivies etc., setting up another round of parents who think their kid will also qualify for a “full ride.”
It seems a little over the top.
At the end of the day - he will not pay for school. So, semantics aside - it’s a free ride.
Good for him!
A huge tax free endowment and a few spoiled rich kid’s parents paying full boat will make it possible.
The weird part of this story is he got in to Stanford early with full FA package. So why apply to 19 more?
yes, I’ve read novels from authors that should know better mentioning that some character’s kid got a full ride to Harvard or some such, when the family is certainly upper middle class, if not downright affluent.
Of course, schools like Harvard and Stanford referring to their need-based financial aid as “scholarship” can give the wrong impression to those who associate “scholarship” with merit scholarships.
Also, even the best financial aid colleges generally expect some student work contribution (see their net price calculators), though some students bring in outside scholarships that replace the student work contribution.
Honestly, I don’t care what they call it. I’ll just call it impressive and wish my congratulations.
It really bothers me when kids apply to 20 schools, even after having acceptances with FA in hand by the end of the year. Trophy hunting. There was some of that on the Ivy Day thread - where clearly certain kids with high stats and Top 4 school acceptances in hand (SCEA) applied to a ton of other schools just to say they were accepted everywhere. Some of them want to be in the news. Not saying that was the case for this kid, but with an early acceptance at Stanford, you’d think he would drop a bunch of schools in the RD round.
It doesn’t matter in the end if someone applied to 20. In the end, colleges end up with about the number of frosh they expect, whether they come through regular RD admission or a waitlist. He is only taking 1 slot in the fall, not 20.
And of course, like all of these stories, it perpetuates the confusion of the terms scholarships, merit, financial aid, and full rides.
Agree with post #2. I get it, apply to a couple more so you have a choice. I don’t know what his application deadlines shook out as and how it played a part in what schools he applied to/when, but when you already have the top school in the bag and the finances are covered, you are just being a prestige hound, IMO.
Good for him. Wishing him the best.
this, literally, is the definition of overkill. congratulations to him though, aha.
Good for this kid, great results. I know from another article that he was a Breakthrough Collaborative kid, which I’ve volunteered with and donated to for years.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-teen-20-colleges-receives-full-rides/story?id=54180052
BUT — the “free ride” phrase bugs me. He likely got full need based aid at most of these schools — as most low income accepted students would. It makes it sound like he was showered with merit awards from all these schools. I’ve seen the same wording in other headlines or articles about it.
Digression- but tonight’s episode of “Blackish” is about turning down a big scholarship to Howard for weaker financial aid at Stanford.
Meanwhile, folks on the University of California thread are talking about kids with a 4.8GPA and 1580 SAT getting rejected from Berkeley and UCLA. I suspect most of them didn’t have the option of applying to 20 schools, let alone hoping for admission.
I gave my husband a mini lecture when he told me about a kid in Houston getting “full rides” from 20 colleges.
It is odd, the 20 school thing. Surely after SCEA with full need the rest was not necessary? Good for him, but I don’t see the point. Maybe he thought he might not get into any?
Maybe he wanted to be in the news for getting into all colleges. (Like others I’ve seen on CC)