Thank you @MAandMEmom!
My kid is mostly interested in small LACs in the Pacific NW, Does anyone have any experience with difficulty of getting TE at schools like Willamette, University of Pueget Sound, or Lewis and Clark?
Congratulations to your son, @MAandMEmom ! That’s awesome and such a relief, right? My hs senior daughter ended up applying for TE at University of Univ of Tampa, Fordham, Loyola Maryland, and Syracuse. She has gotten accepted at all but Syracuse so far (should hear by March). She has only heard about TE at Tampa and that was a no. They had told us, similar to Villanova in your post above, that they first give it to current students who haven’t received it before and they most likely would not have any available for freshmen.
My daughter’s scores and academic record are good (31 ACT, 33 superscore) but I think Loyola and Fordham (especially) are both kind of long shots. I know there are few spots available at each and many, many strong applicants. The good thing is that Syracuse still gives the TE scholarship to all who get in. We’re crossing our fingers for her acceptance there as it’s definitely on the top of her list.
Thanks @mageecrew it is a relief that they are starting to roll in. I think this week is a good time to start prodding the schools about timeframes?? At least that’s my plan:).
We did think about Syracuse as well but then changed our minds because of the size. It’s great that they are so supportive of the program – I want to say they are a founding institution and that’s why they offer to all students who are admitted.
We just heard this morning that kid received the TE at Clarkson, which is set rate but they gave him the full $10k additional merit so about full tuition.
We still have no regular decisions from Lafayette, Bucknell, Villanova, and GWU, all of which are pretty competitive even for admission no less the TE. My son is close stats-wise with a 34 ACT (two sittings with the same score, oh well). Each of them is probably unaffordable even with the TE, or rather probably “not worth it for the extra money category” for his program.
I’m a bit surprised that Tampa was a no given your daughter’s stats but I bet Loyola (25-29) will be a yes. Fordham is right in the ballpark stats-wise with 27-31 on the ACT so hopefully that will be a yes as well (fingers-crossed for you!).
@Lemonlee TE is fairly tough at these schools, particularly Willamette where it is full tuition. Our oldest came off the wait list for TE at Puget Sound and went there. (Love that school!). He had A- average and quite strong SAT scores… Did not get TE at L&C or WIllamette. Second son got TE at L&C but not the other two. Grades a bit higher, scores a bit lower. I do think it helps to reach out to the TE liaisons before decisions are made and to stay in touch if wait listed.
Thanks @mamom24! That is super helpful. Looks like it will be pretty much a pipe dream for the schools he is interested in but I guess that was what I was expecting. Really appreciate all the great advice on this thread!
I would say that anything in excess of the 75% would be competitive. We are an ACT family so I know those scores best.
Puget Sound 25-30: 32 and up
Willamette 24-30: 32 and up
Lewis and Clark: 27-31: 33 and up
Just my two cents of course.
My daughter is officially a no at Loyola Maryland, for TE. They said they had 6 spots for 75 applicants. We weren’t surprised with their decision , and since it’s not near the top of her list she’s fine. They offered her a very good merit scholarship and said that she would have priority for getting TE her sophomore year on. My co-worker’s daughter recently graduated from Loyola. She didn’t receive TE her first year, but did get it the rest of her years there. My co-worker said that he spoke with the financial aid person there before she committed and they basically guaranteed that she would get it if she did well.
For parents who are looking at this for their future high school seniors - my daughter has a 3.5 UW, 7 (or 8?) AP’s, and a 31 ACT (33 superscore, which Loyola uses). We did visit Loyola and took an official tour. Like others have said I think if you don’t have top stats at a lot of the more popular or well known TE schools, your chances for the first round of TE are not great. It doesn’t need to be a top school, just somewhat well known in your part of the country. But there’s always another chance late in the spring once the top round picks choose to attend other schools.
I’m sorry for that news @mageecrew. It really feels like to me that a superscore of 33 would have made the cut when looking at their 25-75%. I guess you have to wonder whether colleges are using the TE to fill niches - programs they are trying to launch, geo diversity, etc. Sort of a mini holistic process with liberal amounts of magic sauce. For my kid, I think that him being a dual citizen and born in a not so popular country likely had an impact in his outcomes and is possibly a mini-hook.
Thanks @MAandMEmom. I think many of these schools accept 10% or less for Tuition Exchange, so you’re probably looking at the top 10% stats, not so much the top 25%. And maybe they are doing it more holistically as well. From speaking to TE liasions on this go around, and my older daughter’s experience, most of the schools seemed to hone in on stats first. We knew it was a long shot going in, so we have no hard feelings 
I feel like that will be us @mageecrew in a month as the remaining RD are tough admits not even considering the TE. I already know that Villanova will be a no and even with a 34 ACT he didn’t receive an advance invitation to apply to the honors program at Bucknell. Good thing he doesn’t even remember that campus - our whirlwind tour of PA last April was just that:). And Lafayatte and GWU are no sure things either!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you guys @MAandMEmom ! I bet he’ll hear more good news soon.
I am a year out from this with a daughter graduating high school in 2020, but this thread has been so helpful as we are crafting our list of schools. Thanks so much.
It seems like TE is getting more and more competitive, so we need a wide net of schools that offer good merit in addition to the TE schools. Looks like lots of applications in her future.
We live in the midwest and have visited Wooster (great academic fit, may be too rural), Pitt (which she loved although may be a little big) and are heading to Butler in April as far as TE schools go. We have summer plans to go to American U, George Washington U, and U Richmond. She wants to be near a city, and those seem like good fits for her broad interests. She is strong in math (has taken AP Calc AB at her high school and then Calc II at my institution) and loves history and languages. Completely undecided as to potential major(s).
I also work at a FACHEX school, so that opens a few opportunities beyond TE. Stats are 35 ACT (taken once), likely NMF (selection index of 223), 4.0 UW GPA (4.59 Weighted), top 2%, ECs are theater (deep commitment) and academic events. Strong writer. Took SAT this week.
Thanks again for all you have shared on this board. Any advice for someone at this stage of the game will be greatly appreciated. I have spoken to my TE liaison, and DS 20 will be eligible to apply for TE. We have a balanced import/export ratio, so I think we are okay on that front.
I noticed that I typed DS in the last paragraph instead of DD. I was talking to my younger son as I was posting. I also tend to write things out rather than using abbreviations because typos are so much more confusing in abbreviations
Hi @realmmom! It looks like you have a great list of colleges and I think your daughter’s stats will make her very competitive for TE at those or any TE schools. Have you thought about University of Delaware? Newark isn’t really a big city, but it’s a great college town and not far from larger cities. Plus it’s large enough to have a ton of majors to choose from. Another is Case Western. At least I think that’s a tuition exchange school… I had both of my daughters ('17 and '19 hs graduates), email the TE representatives at each school they were interested in just to ask a few questions and to show some interest. Not sure if it helps, but you never know.
hello - any updates to report? I am 12 months out from using the exchange and very interested to hear how its played out for others.
Hi @Gurteen Our tuition exchange experience this year has gone pretty much as expected. My D19 (ACT 31, superscore 33; GPA 3.5ish UW, lots of APs, very few ECs) applied for TE at Fordham, Loyola, University of Tampa, and Syracuse. She was accepted at all of the schools but only received TE at Syracuse, where anyone who gets in gets the scholarship. Luckily, the schools she didn’t get it from were not at the top of her list, so no harm done. She’s going to major in Finance and is torn between Syracuse and University of Buffalo right now. Not sure which way she’ll go.
Basically, she really couldn’t find many schools on the TE list that she could envision herself at. Those that she may have had a better chance at, she just wasn’t interested in. She applied to a couple of SUNY schools that she really liked, so we knew we’d have something that we could afford and she would enjoy. That made TE not as important or necessary for us. If it was, we would have had her broaden her search and apply to more places. I would have thought of Tampa as her best possibilty for TE, but they didn’t have TE available for freshman (at least that’s what they told me). Both Loyola and Tampa mentioned that she could probably get it starting her sophmore year.
My D17 had the stats that seem to attract the TE offers as she got TE scholarships at all 3 she applied to - WPI, Pitt, and University of Delaware (ACT 35, 3.9 UW GPA, lots of APs, lots of ECs). She did not apply for it at Case Western, as it was a total last minute application and we didn’t even think of it, but she did get a really good merit scholarship there (almost equivalent). She, unlike my D19, was not interested in any SUNY schools and wanted to go out of state, so it all worked out perfectly for her. She’s at Pitt and absolutely loves it.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
thanks Magee Crew… Great feedback. My son’s current profile would fall somewhere between your two daughters. I do feel like this benefit should be called the Syracuse Exchange Program. If you need D17’s profile to land one of these at a Fordham/Loyola this “benefit” its not what many perceive it to be. But its great to have another quality institution (Syracuse) to offer to our son, in addition to where mom teaches. Thanks again and good luck!
Thanks for the details…how did it all turn out?
@carriebshopper how did it all turn out?
@MAandMEmom is all decided yet? My son and I are visiting Bucknell, Lafayette, Drexel and Villanova next week, and your process resonates with me. I’m new staff to a TE school (wish a daughter graduating George Washington next month – d’oh!).