Tuition Exchange for Fall 2022 Freshman applicants (Class of 2026)

Parents Forum
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I was just talking to hubby about a coworker and his daughter’s TE woes this year. She’s a good student interested in engineering so I would have predicted better results than my son saw in 2019 given the underrepresented nature of girls in that field, but this year’s TE seems to reflect the admissions phenomena in general. She was accepted to Bucknell but no TE and waitlisted for TE at Quinnipiac. They’ve actually told them it may be after May 1 that they will hear! My S19 received TE offers very early in the process three years ago.

The most frustrating part is the opaque nature of how it works. For instance, had we known up front that one of the institutions where D22 applied offers a lone award, we might have skipped the app (and fee) as well as the time we spent at their events.

We are not aware of anyone at DH’s work who was not awarded an export, but that must feel awful especially if the employee has spent time at the institution expecting to receive this so called “benefit.”

Having this been our second time (and last thankfully!) with this process, I can’t suggest enough that casting a wide net is super important. My son was super chill even as we had to wait for the results, but my D22 was getting anxious waiting yo know if we were going to get an offer where she would consider going. Here we are on 4/6 and we have yet to even hear a peep from Sacred Heart!

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My friends daughter is in engineering at SLU, tuition free due to benefit.

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Good luck with your decision making. We may see you at the scholars reception. DD did not want to go to MSU or U of M as DS is at MSU and U of M too close to home. She used to skate at Yost ice arena. She is really excited about Cuse and has really embraced it. Waiting for the visit to finalize decision, but I think it is already made.

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Yes, thanks so much! It is so nice to know a bit about what to expect. It helps a lot with this silly and stressful process.

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Overall, this process is stressful for everyone. I think there are ways that it can be made better starting with schools updating statistics and being more transparent with the process. Also, I think there should be more stringent deadlines all around so people are not scrambling this late in the process.

Fortunately for my daughter it worked out and she had the award she wanted in December but I really feel for the families who are still trudging through this process. Also, we were still stressing until it came in because she had to commit to the school for soccer.

My advice to the families who will be going through this next year and the years to come: like so many have said cast a wide net. Also, I think there are other things that need to be figured out:

  1. Are you looking for a full-tuition or stacking school or is the set rate enough. This may rule out many schools. I know our family does not have the 40k plus per year to cover the difference between the set rate and tuition plus room and board
  2. Location - Not just part of the country but rural vs. suburb v. city. Figure this out now. Go look at one school that represents each type of campus. Do not try to put a square peg in a round hole when it comes to this. You will end up back at the same place;
  3. Major is important(duh but we did not listen). My daughter is leaning towards engineering. We spent too much time looking at other schools because we thought she would change her mind. We were wrong;
  4. for the athletes: This was the hardest part. It was a blessing and a curse. This process starts early especially for female athletes. Identify schools on the TE list and start emailing the coaches and get them interested. BE REALISTIC. Know if they are good enough and know the appropriate level . A lot of these coaches have pull. There was several coaches who flat out said that getting the TE scholarship would not be a problem. The rest did what they could to help. If they want your child they will fight for them. It is nice to have someone on the inside. If you are in this situation use it to your advantage.
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has anyone heard from LMU or USC about TE?

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We are finished! Our son is RIT bound on TE (set rate), computer science
HS - does not rank
SAT 1400 (not superscored)
Common app - 4.219 Weighted 3.878 - grades after application even higher

RIT- accepted, exchange
WPI- accepted - TE denied
Syracuse - accepted, TE awarded +$10,000 merit
UDel-accepted honors, TE denied
Merrimack- accepted honors, TE awarded - full
URI - non TE school, accepted honors, final cost
UMASS Amherst - waitlisted (likely due to competitive major- well in the accepted range on scattergrams

CAST A WIDE NET!!
The ideal candidate for TE is the student that does not mind being a big fish in a small pond. Or at least swimming in a school of fish. The small fish in the big pond will likely not get TE - because of the competition for a small number of awards

Have a goal in mind…Our goal was to pay less for college than our in-state flagship (MA), we decided where to apply based on what the final cost would be if he got TE, but that being said, even though there were some schools he was accepted to that he could not go to without TE (WPI, DEL, bc cost without TE was too high)

In most cases we received a FA decision before seeing the TE benefit….so you can really see the actual benefit you are receiving over going it alone.

There were colleges we didn’t apply to because they weren’t on TE - maybe that was not the best choice

Patience -your student needs to understand they will not be able to make a college decision until later than many of their friends because you will not hear from all the TE schools.

The TE decision was sent to us about a week before the TE website was updated, so no bother looking there for early information.

There are many great colleges that students CAN get TE at. The frustration comes that a large number of students are all applying to the same handful of TE colleges

The benefit is eligibility….that is it….the rest is based on stats…
I hope this helps…

Happy with our outcome

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Great info. Thank you.

Our hope is wide net of TE along with a couple of hopefully affordable non TE.

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I have the same question-- anyone heard about Loyola Marymount or USC for TE? Or have any insights?

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Last year acceptances came out March 30th and we heard from USC on April 14th. What’s nice about USC is that it isn’t a set rate, it’s 80% of tuition, plus they allow for some stacking. BTW, USC raised their tuition for next year by 5%. My daughter didn’t get TE or FACHEX (I work at a Jesuit school) at LMU, but she got a merit scholarship. So Fight On! And good luck.

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Has anyone had any luck getting off a TE waitlist yet? My daughter is waitlisted at two schools (Furman and Richmond), which would be her top two choices at the moment. Her 3rd choice, we’re just sitting on the TE in hopes to get a magical email at some point.

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No. We are in the same boat, on waitlist for TE at two schools. I’d imagine not much happens before May 1, but I’d love to be wrong.

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I’m trying to figure out how things are going to happen on May 1 (a Sunday). Obviously schools will know if they have available TE spots once students decide, but if that doesn’t happen until exactly on May 1 (which is seems like will be the case for all of us on waitlists), there’s no way we’ll be more info on that Sunday. So is this a case where we have to either take the sure thing with a TE we have or gamble on being willing to pay at a school and just hope a TE spot becomes available?

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We’re also on a waitlist for TE for kids #1. We’re going to accept at #2 before May 1. Then if TE at #1 comes in we’ll switch (will lose deposit at #2 but that’s ok). Waitlist email says we should know by May 15 and will have 1 week to enroll and accept TE if offered.

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Thought I would chime in:

Son was accepted TE at Fairfield and Stonehill, waitlisted for TE at Providence College.
Denied TE at Fordham .

Stats: weighted GPA 4.0 Sat 1430, varsity athlete and captain of baseball, clubs, volunteers etc. Took a mix of all (but 1) Honors and AP classes throughout high school.

Waiting it on on TE for Providence until as close to 5/1 as possible, otherwise will take the TE at Fairfield. Providene has overall been nice to work with, and have always answered me when I have inquired about TE waitltist. Just not sure son will flip after May 1st but I guess that is part of the process! Luckily he is a patient kid, but this is along stressful process!

Good Luck to All!

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Hi. Just to add some hope. My daughter went through the TE process last year. She was accepted but waitlisted for TE at a few schools. She did get off the waitlist at Skidmore (her #1 choice) and at Mount Holyoke. But it took some persistence on our part. I emailed the TE contacts at the school and had my daughter email the admissions officer expressing her interest in the school and making it very clear to Skidmore that she can not attend without TE as they offer very limited merit. It felt like a miracle at the time but she did get off the waitlist and she’s now a freshman at Skidmore! This happened around mid April for us but it could have easily dragged into May, we just got lucky. I know this is all incredibly stressful but wanted to offer some hope to anyone out there on the TE waitlist!

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Hi everyone. Just wanted to update on our now complete journey.
My daughter applied to 18 schools (including our home institution and 3 TE schools).
Her info and stats: ACT 34, SAT 1500, 4.7 W GPA, President of Senior Class; President of Several Clubs; Active in Local Government; Participant in Model UN and Youth in Gov for 5 years; All-State Alto, Flute; Musical Theater performer

She was accepted to 10, waitlisted at 4 and rejected from 4 (Ivies + Georgetown).

TE Schools:
She received TE at American U (set rate) and Agnes Scott (stacked with merit = full tuition)
Accepted at Sarah Lawrence with Presidential Scholarship ($35k/yr); never heard about TE

Non-TE Schools:
Accepted to several with highest merit scholarships (anywhere from $26k - $40k/yr)
Accepted to several needs-blind (no merit) schools with financial aid (wide range of offers)

In the end, her financial aid package at the school she liked the best is an amazing offer, and so she will be attending Wesleyan University in CT with terrific financial aid (note: this offer gives us a net price $10k less than FAFSA thought we could pay).

All this to say – it’s a wild, unpredictable game. TE is a great benefit when it works out, but there are other ways and I think it’s best to cast a wide net as others have said and mix it up TE and non-TE.

Daughter officially declined her American U. offer as soon as she committed to Wesleyan and we hope that TE scholarship is given to someone deserving from this group!

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As you said, TE is so unpredictable. My s23 has a low GPA but higher act. We will cast a wide net of FACHEX, TE, and others. Hoping that as he is aiming at less selective schools that possible award may be an option.

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Congratulations on Wesleyan!!

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Thank you for the list. Do you have to log in to see the list of openings? I didn’t see it on the website.