<p>/Cheer !!</p>
<p>So if we just got a financial aid package that is neither a pleasant nor an unpleasant surprise, but pretty much exactly what we expected, should I post about it here or in the whine thread? (Or just keep it to myself?) :D</p>
<p>I’m cheering here because so far my D has received extremely generous merit aid at almost all of the schools to which she applied. Probably we didn’t reach high enough, but she is genuinely happy with all of her acceptances, we have a wealth of options we can afford and I don’t think we could have possibly hoped for a better outcome. So I’m jumping on my dear R6L’s thread to express my gratitude and to show that sometimes things really do work out.</p>
<p>nightchef-
Why not post on both threads?? :)</p>
<p>we wont get need based aid…but we are extremely grateful for the merit aid offers made by colleges to my son!! in some cases it still didnt make the school a possibility due to finances BUT they gave him top awards for his stats and no complaints…knew the possibilities going in as we very carefully choice his list… only one may end up being a hard disappointment</p>
<p>Whenever it is possible for a student to go to college it is alway a good reason to rejoice. To make it possible to allow as many students as possible financially possible to go to college it is necessary to spread limited money. When people go out of their way to maximize amount of aid unethically it takes away from other truly needy students. </p>
<p>Sometimes it is also great to be happy just because you are satisfied, not necessarily what other people think is adequate. Op, congratulations. And to any family who may Be able to send their kid to school.</p>
<p>applicannot, are you an URM? Just wondering, because you did go to a Multicultural Weekend. I’m wondering if that is the reason you appear to have gotten preferential financial aid.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as parent56</p>
<p>And I <em>did</em> post in both threads!</p>
<p>Having read many of applicannot’s posts I think she got preferential packaging because she is truly a remarkable young person who will be an asset to have on campus.</p>
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<p>BTDT on a different thread.</p>
<p>I celebrate! the FA that lets any and each kid get into a college that will make them happy. YAY and YAY is all there is to say.</p>
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<p>Yes, I am African American. No, that is not the reason I got preferential aid.</p>
<p>Are you sure?</p>
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</p>
<p>To put it simply, yes.</p>
<p>CTTC, applicannot got her packages because she was a Questbridge MATCH, not because she is a URM. QB is for white students as well as URM’s. Ditto what 2blue said!</p>
<p>Okay. I did not realize she was a Questbridge MATCH.</p>
<p>The program seems similar to the Gates Millenium Scholar program (although in that program, they are specifically looking for URMs).</p>
<p>Average SAT CR + Math for Questbridge Match students is 1287. Interesting…</p>
<p>The average SAT (CR+M) for QuestBridge Match students is 1381.
[National</a> College Match Program: 2008 College Match Recipient Profile](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/students/profiles_class2013/stats.html]National”>http://www.questbridge.org/students/profiles_class2013/stats.html)</p>
<p>CTTC, I’m reading your post as questioning the academic ability of QB Match students. Please forgive me if I am wrong. Since I have the impression you’re not familiar with the program I’d like to clarify a few points. As GA2012MOM said, it is open to all students. That SAT score is for the CR and M sections, not for for CR, M &W. Many students on CC come from schools where prepping for the SATs is the norm. From what I know of QB students, such prep is not the norm. QB is designed to take into account the student’s background, and personal and educational environment and opportunities. I’ve seen with my college student how much learning has gone on for him outside the classroom; he lives with a widely varied group of students, from one who has gone to an exclusive boarding school to one who is a QB student. All of them are remarkably smart and remarkably accomplished. Their accomplishments vary because of their situations. They have learned much from one another. I think admissions officers realize this and are delighted to have students from a variety of backgrounds as part of their campus community.</p>
<p>I’ve had the privilege to follow Rocket & Applicannot and a few other incredibly talented students through their journey this year, and part of their journey was realizing that they would need substantial merit & FA due to their EFC (or lack thereof, I should say) and they’ve followed avenues to achieve that. They are both incredibly bright young people who would be accepted at these schools no matter if they are URM or any other label. I think any attempt to cast a shadow on their rewards for jobs well done to this point is really tacky. </p>
<p>My DH & I are in a position where we can’t pay full freight, but don’t qualify for much need based aid either. Having said that I would NEVER begrudge a student who had a 0 EFC any aid, merit or grants that they received. Take a minute to understand what a 0 EFC means in different opportunities going back to birth. </p>
<p>So as not to derail the thread, I will jump on and CHEER the merit aid that my D has gotten from the University of Alabama! We would not have known about the packages that were available if it wasn’t for all the wonderful posters here on CC so I thank you all :)</p>
<p>you go, R6L-- major congratulations for your hard work and accomplishments!! And to applicannot too, and RobD and others-- it is wonderful to be able to celebrate with you!</p>
<p>2blue, you would be reading my post incorrectly. I am not familiar with Questbridge, so thank you for your information. And applicannot, I was looking at the SAT average score for another type of Questbridge program (College Prep, I think), which apparently are the high school juniors.</p>