Could she contact the school now to ask if they’d still consider her for TE should she make it off the WL?
Very good question. Could it hurt her chances of getting off the wait list tho?
That’s what I was wondering too.
She’s going to accept at one school and stay on the WL at the other just in case- doesn’t hurt- I’ll post back for everyone if a miracle happens 
How competitive is TE at the wait list school? Unless the school is one that offeres TE to 90-100% of applicants I’d say it’s doubtful, since most schools that are competitive for TE use academic merit as their guideline. Also, does the school typically dip into their wait list? Some schools take only a handful of WL students.
What we’ve seen is some schools offer a set number of TE scholarships regardless of yield. Others will have a TE wait list, but that is of kids who were accepted no later than regular decision and were close to the TE cutoff but didn’t quite make it. The one wait list D was put on never did contact her again, but we’d moved on by then.
It’s painful to be already into April and still not know what the cost will be at different schools in order to make a decision!
Definitely do contact the TE liaison at the school though. We’ve not had one yet that wasn’t helpful.
DD scores etc are right in the average for the school so was bummed she got WL but it’s all a crapshoot. I sincerely doubt she will get TE there but was curious if it’s ever happened to anyone on here.
She has two solid choices and is on the WL for TE at two other schools she was admitted to, just happens that one she really likes and is on same par as the others WL here. Oh well.
Is she actively “showing the love” to the WL school right now? I’ve read that it helps if the school Does turn to the WL candidates.
@dreambig2018 I was curious if you ever found out an answer to your question about whether a school where you were possibly eligible for both tuition exchange and a large, possibly full-tuition scholarship (based on your stats) let you choose which award to receive.
I am facing the same thing with my hs junior daughter now. Her stats are really good (35 ACT, hopefully NMSF) and I think put her in the running for large scholarships at some of the tuition exchange schools. I would prefer she go to college with merit-based scholarships, rather than TE only so that I can save our TE for our younger daughter, in case her scores don’t merit as many choices. The institute I work for allows each family 12 semesters, which I am very grateful for, but that’s not enough to cover the both of them.
@mageecrew, it may be different at different schools, just so you know. We are in our second bout of TE applications (second child) and each school seems to do it all completely differently - oh the fun!!
However, you certainly don’t have to apply for the TE at any of the schools for your daughter, which I’m sure you know. And there are so many great schools not on the TE list anyway that you can do a mix of schools with TE and without and see what happens.
DD was offered scholarships at one school where she got TE but unfortunately wasn’t allowed to layer them which would have made that school practically free!
^ That was my thought as well. Just don’t have D1 apply for TE. Make sure you get some good merit aid options on your list.
Thanks @myjanda and @“Erin’s Dad” - good advice. I figured we’d do a mix of schools, but I should consider the fact that we don’t HAVE to apply for TE at all of the TE schools. I just don’t want to risk her ending up with nothing at a school she really likes. But, I know she, and we, are going to have to be prepared for that outcome anyway…
@mageecrew Well, I received tuition exchange at both Univ of Richmond and at American Univ but both without a merit scholarship. However, I did get merit at other colleges ranked similar or higher (e.g. Lafayette, Davidson, Macalester, etc.).
So…while I can’t say for sure, I think that Richmond and American did not consider me for any merit scholarships when giving me the tuition exchange. They probably thought they were giving me a great deal but my parent gets an automatic faculty grant that pays a guaranteed amount each year for any college that I choose. I ended up choosing a college that gave me merit because, when combined with my parent’s faculty grant, it ended up being considerably more than the tuition exchange amount.
If I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn’t apply for TE for colleges where I had a shot at merit.
Thanks @dreambig2018 - there is a lot more strategy involved than I remember from my college search days I am glad you got a great deal in the end.
@mageecrew, after having been through this twice now- the best advice I can give is not only to factor in the likelihood of your daughter getting accepted at a particular TE school, but also how competitive the school is in general with awarding their TE scholarships- some give it to less then 10% of those that apply and others to 90% and it isn’t always in relations to the selectivity level of the school.
Also, definitely keep in mind that most schools look at it as a merit scholarship and your daughter stats need to be pretty competitive with the ones kids applying to that particular school- although it sounds like she will be at most schools.
Good luck- it’s a great benefit!!
Thanks, @myjanda! The more I browse CC the less sure I feel about her chances everywhere… but I still have hope Plus, if it came to it, I know she’d be fine with attending either my institute or a state university that is close to home, both of which are cheap and safeties.
I have been reaching out to TE liaisons to get a more accurate picture of how many applications they receive and how many offers they make… it’s scary but not surprising how many kids are vying for these scholarships.
Did/have any of you make a point to visit with the TE liaisons when you went to tour the schools? Is that something we should be doing?
@mageecrew, I had my daughter reach out to the TE liaisons after she applied to introduce herself and establish a rapport (as I had her do with her admissions counselors at each school. She very infrequently sent updates as well to both and I think it helped her - as you said, TE is very competitive so every bit helps. But no, we did not meet with any of them personally. They are all different but some seemed more interested than others in establishing contact.
@myjanda - sounds like a good plan - we’ll have to do that. And I’m sure they like hearing from the student instead of just the parent.
What worked for us was D16 applying to TE colleges where she was in the upper quartile for stats and where she could make a strong and clear case for being a good match for the school. She also showed interest with visits where possible, responding to emails, meeting with traveling adcoms coming through town, applying EA, and the ilk. We knew she depended on TE to make colleges she liked affordable. It worked out in the end, and she’ll be attending her 1st-choice school. Good luck for those who need TE!
^^ agree.
Also, DD just was informed this afternoon that she was given TE at a school she had been accepted to but waitlisted for TE. So with 3 days left to go we are now planning a 5 hour drive to visit that school again- now that it is a serious contender. Nerve wracking but happy DD will really have three great schools to choose from!
And that means don’t give up if you get into a school but don’t get TE at first!