UofChicago :-(..........

Parents Forum
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<p>To begin, I must say that I am so happy for all of you who have heard what they hoped to hear this week and before! </p>

<p>I preface this by saying, I KNOW we are no more entitled than anyone else. I know we are lucky my S got into so many schools. Emotionally, though there is more..</p>

<p>Background: My S did quite well and got in to 5 of us 6 schools..
WashU (potential honor's scholar will be visiting next weekend to interview/play), Uchicago (EA), Umich(honors-legacy..out of state), Rice, McGill, Rejected-Harvard. He is a high level applicant NMF with SAT 1580, SATII 800/800/800, ACT 36 - 7 APS all 5s, tutoring for 2 1/2 years, taking college Intensive Japanese since June (all As) , GREAT writer, great recs, interviewed very well according to the interviewers, etc...coming from VERY competitive public hs.</p>

<p>We are quite dependent on merit money (don't qualify for FA) not because of bad planning..don't know how to explain this without too much detail, so I will just say....we are doing what we can at this point. </p>

<p>After extensive research, we came up with schools where merit was a real possibility and were good fits for various reasons. Since his visit last winter, UChicago is his first choice school, WashU second. He spent 2 months on his UChicago app. </p>

<p>OK...the problem is this. We were just SURE he would get merit money from Chicago ....just SURE! I called the adm office at Chicago and they said scholarship letters were sent on Tuesday and we are in Ohio...it's Saturday and so far nothing! At this point I think we are not getting anything. They give quite a few scholarships...I believe it is 30 $30,000 and over 100 $9500. I am frankly shocked and appalled right now. (AT WashU he was selected as 1 of 35 potential scholars out of 2,000 applicants).</p>

<p>I'm feeling like this is such a, I don't know "sick" process. We tell our kids to dream as big as they can and after "extensive" research (including CC) we pick a few schools in that reach range, then pick other schools that will love having them. We tell them not to fall in love with 1 school. We spend $100 per app, we visit and spend hundreds more with the kids investigating and "selling" themselves....being interesting, serious, probing, funny and intellectual. They must be introspective and creative and write great essays ...again...selling themselves. Inevitably (as he is MY son) they fall in love with a school or 2. We "pray" it works out. WE do what we can to keep them calm during the long waiting of the winter. They get rejected/waitlisted/get no merit and we are all now supposed to fall off that "dream machine" and get real and move on after as much as 2 years time invested in the process. Sigh...</p>

<p>He will go to WashU to visit next weekend where according to the head of the program there, they have a very high likelihood to come out of it with money. We are of course very grateful for that. I just cannot describe how sad we are though about U0fC. It seems like such a perfect fit! We felt he has done all he could to make this work and now...here we are. </p>

<p>Sorry to sound like a baby, but I just have to get this out. I know that everyone says there is not just 1 right school for everyone. I realize that WashU is a strong second choice school with great opportunities where he would be happy. I am so hopeful that his visit next weekend goes very well.</p>

<p>Thanks for listening. Again, good luck to all of your well deserving kids.</p>

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<p>Congratulations on your son's wonderful offers!</p>

<p>From what I have heard, merit aid at U Chicago is limited and therefore is extremely difficult to obtain. No matter how outstanding a student is, I would not count on the student getting merit aid from there.</p>

<p>For example, in my area, the only person I have heard of who got it was a Harvard EA admit. Since the only people who get into Harvard EA are candidates so outstanding that Harvard is certain they'd be admitted after all of the RD applications are in, that gives you some idea of what that U Chicago merit aid recipient was like.</p>

<p>It sounds like Wash U is your son's second choice. I know a couple of parents whose kids go there, and their kids absolutely love the university.Wash U seems to be very generous with their merit aid, too, a major advantage.</p>

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<p>Kdos:</p>

<p>What a very accomplished son you have! I can only suggest that you call Chicago again to make sure; in the meantime, however, your son should focus on WashU. It is a great school, and the scholarship would make his experience there both productive and enjoyable. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Yeah. WashU is a great school. In many ways, probably a more enjoyable college experience than UChicago.</p>

<p>I'm afraid that you ran into the realities of the college merit aid game.</p>

<p>Colleges that already have super high stat applicant pools use their merit aid discounts primarily as a diversity recruiting tool. Colleges that are trying to raise the overall stats of their student body are more likely to use it as a recruiting tool for the strongest applicants from a stat standpoint. WashU and Emory are two schools that have used this strategy to great effect, not to mention all the state schools that now offer heavy merit discounting to high stat kids with their "Presidential Scholars" type programs. For these schools, diverting aid money away from low-income low-stat kids to a larger group of high income high stat kids raises the overall stats of the school so dramatically that the added prestige allows them to attract more full-fare customers down the road. It is a very effective pricing policy.</p>

<p>Conversely, the schools with big endowments and very high-stat students can better maintain the prestige necessary to attract full-fare customers by offering a more diverse campus, something that is essential from a competitive marketing standpoint against other high end prestige schools.</p>

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<p>thanks for your comments...maybe we were unrealistic and I so wanted his dream to come true. I am sure he would do very well at WashU...and Southwest Air flies there cheaply from here! :-)</p>

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<p>I am so sorry it didn't work out. The same for us -- our son is a second year at U of C. He received wonderful scholarships at other schools but nothing there. We told him that he personally would have to take out loans to cover the difference (which he has done) and that we would consider it a matter of the highest priority to help him pay them off.</p>

<p>When you think that they are giving maybe 130 scholarships to a class of 1000 (1500? I forget), you realize that your child's chances are really very slim. The admit pool at Chicago is pretty amazing. The only kid I know who got one of the SMALLER scholarships was a musician, artist , national science team competitor (top 25 in the nation) -- a national level achiever in virtually everything he touched. And he went to Harvard -- demonstrating Chicago's effort to use $$ to attract a certain level of admittees. Yes, it's frustrating -- $$ was so not an issue for him, and for us that $9,000 would have completely changed our lives for four years. So be it. </p>

<p>All the kids I know who've gone to Wash U LOVE it, btw.</p>

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<p>"I am frankly shocked and appalled right now."</p>

<p>The feeling will pass, and well it should. What can anyone say, "Your son lacked merit?" ;)</p>

<p>And part of it may be that they figure you can afford it anyway; they know it his first choice, and so they might as well use the money elseswhere. Who knows? Don't overthink.</p>

<p>Give thanks. (and give him a big hug!)</p>

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<p>kdos,
I am sorry to hear that the merit aid did not come through. The kids at the top - like your son - are really in a difficult spot regarding funding. However, your son's list is good, and he has excellent choices. Your family has all done a good job, and worked together. Did Rice offer merit money? My son refused to look at anything southern - otherwise that would have been <em>very</em> interesting.</p>

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<p>geena,</p>

<p>you know, the kids never want to go where they are most wanted! How are things going for your son there? I know a few alums from WashU who are quite successful today (doctor/CEO, etc..) and they loved it!</p>

<p>mini,</p>

<p><`"Your son lacked merit?"></p>

<p>LOL! We are keeping it as light as we can and getting ready for the trip to WashU.</p>

<p>thanks all...</p>

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<p>thanks ohio_mom.</p>

<p>he got no merit offers from anywhere except WashU. He applied to Rice very quickly on the last day (no interview, no visit) so we weren't surprised. Umich he didn't apply until Dec, so a bit late for Rolling school and no merit there either.</p>

<p>Is your S going to Chicago?</p>

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<p>I am SO sorry about that. I hate to see a child disappointed after being on a high after being accepted. We, too, rely on merit aid (single school teacher, father deceased). But my D was just accepted at UofCh, and we just received her acceptance today. No mention in it of merit aid or anything. This has me VERY worried! It is her dream school, too. They said her package wouldn't come for another 2 weeks. Does this mean that merit aid was sent out for EA students before RD, or are we just hoping against hope? She has received nice merit aid from American (in an effort to get her to go there) and Amherst. We will be visiting there soon. Middlebury gave her some, but not enough. I understand the Pres of UofCh has started a campaign to raise an endowment because they have lost some terrific candidates due to money, but that is for future years, and won't help our kids. Any info for me?</p>

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<p>Sigh. I'm glad WASHU came through for you. We are waiting for UChicago's need's - based aid letter. If that comes through with anything, he will likely attend. We are still waiting on Bowdoin - a very close 2nd choice. If they admit him (a big if) and the aid is better its decision time. We'll know in a couple of weeks.</p>

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<p>evita -
will you qualify for any needs-based aid? That's what will come in a couple of weeks. BTW, congrats on the acceptance.</p>

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<p>evitajr1-the woman in adm was kind of unclear, but what I gleaned from it was that the scholarship letters went out Tues with the packets. She said RD and EA stuff went out at the same time..FA comes out next week. Hope I am wrong. </p>

<p>ohio_mom-good luck with FA. when will you hear from Bowdoin?</p>

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<p>Ugh. This is part two of the roller coaster ride, the fin aid/merit aid awards. Last year my oldest gave up one school because of cost, which we pretty much expected as it is a state school, and we are out-of-state. He did have a very good alternative which he liked as much, and is happy there, and accruing less debt. </p>

<p>We are in the process of receiving "the lettuce," as we refer to it at our house, for second son's schools. Nothing from U Chicago yet, but he would not qualify for a merit scholarship there, but probably some fin aid. One school has already priced themselves out of the running. Fortunately of his favorites we have some good financial packages. </p>

<p>You will have company as the fin aid awards arrive. :( I hope your son enjoys his trip to WashU!</p>

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<p>kdos,
Bowdoin mailed their letters Thurday - I am thinking monday or tuesday. It takes a <em>long</em> time for mail to get from Maine to NE Ohio!</p>

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<p>KDOS; Has he visited Rice? If he doesn't get merit aid from Wash U, look into it! Although tuition has gone up, ( $23000? for incoming Freshman) it is still a bargain for all the opportunities it provides. Several of us who hang out on CC here have Rice kids, and we think very very postively about the education and experiences they are getting there.</p>

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<p>Oh, yes, we will qualify for aid - loans, etc. But that will leave the debt structure so high as to make it impossible. Only scholarships or merit aid would help us. Paying what FAFSA says I can afford would wipe everything out in 1 year, and then what? Once you're in, if your financial situation changes, will you all of sudden get merit aid the next year? It would appear we are out of luck. Amherst may get my D by default. Not a bad choice by any means. kdos, I understand completely.</p>

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<p>Kdos, I don't know if either of these 2 things will make you feel better or worse but I'll give it a shot because it may help you think differently about Wash U and Chicago.</p>

<p>(1) My son LOVES Chicago. He works his butt off and is on the Dean's List, but it is definitely a tough, tough school and his dream of majoring in physics is kaput. (I have no way of knowing whether it would still be alive elsewhere.) He has a great group of friends and an excellent social life and enjoys the city itself tremendously but so far has not had the energy for anything beyond school and socializing. This is a kid who in high school had a diverse life with awards in science and art and did extensive service work -- but school at Chicago is really draining for him. It's also a bit complicated by the fact that it does not offer majors in areas he is interested in and at other schools could switch to in lieu of physics -- engineering and architecture. He is getting an incredible education, but he will probably go to summer school this summer and take some design courses because that's the only way, short of transferring, that he can explore architecture.</p>

<p>(2) On the $$: his sister is probably going to a school ranked maybe 30 slots below Chicago, with merit aid that is very significant to us. She expressed some frustration with his choice as we were discussing her options today, but one of the things I told her is that you really don't grasp what a burden it is until you're in the middle of it. We spent years taking incredible family vacations, and those are now out. Chicago son wanted to spend last winter quarter in Europe (he had spent a high school year abroad) and I had to tell him there was no extra $$ for it. She will be able to relax much more in terms of a semester or year abroad, in terms of volunteer work and internships vs. summer jobs, and in terms of $$ for grad school -- which is only to say that if we are not paying off college loans for her, we may be able to help her. You may find, if your son goes to Wash U with a lot of $$, that there will much to be said two years from now for knowing that if you have to replace your driveway (as we do), your financial ceiling will not cave in.</p>

<p>Good luck, and I hope you all adore Wash U.</p>

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<p>Well, the JHU packet gave S a big "0" for financial aid, much as I suspected. Waiting on Harvard's finaid decision (his father had to send them more documents). In the Chicago packet was the University Scholarship offer ($9500). </p>

<p>Naturally, I had hoped that he would get one of the full tuition offers, and in hindsight we made one mistake in the admissions strategy details: We sent his NMF "first choice" school card to another school, where he has now been offered full tuition, in order to help him lock up a 1/2 tuition scholarship. 20/20 hindsight, I'm thinking that if he had put Chicago as his first choice school, they might have decided that he was more likely to attend and that could have bumped him into the full tuition pool. No point second-guessing, but I would certainly counsel other parents in future to take this type of thing into account if a clear first choice was identified. </p>

<p>In today's economy, with the dollar dropping, the huge deficits, and the price of oil predicted to as much as double in the next two years, I believe that middle/upper middle class families should seriously consider merit aid offers - could be getting pretty tough around here, folks. </p>

<p>Prior to the stock market crash (and in my case, the dot-com bust, which has left salary growth rather flat in IT ever since), I for one would have been much more inclined to "go for it, damn the torpedos!" In an indifferent economy with rising fixed expenses, prudence may well be the wiser choice down the line. I would point out the advantages of Wash U and let him visit again, making special efforts to get him conversations with faculty, representative of his favorite ECs, living-learning environments, whatever floats his boat.</p>

<p>Remind him also, that if he is focused on grad/prof school, fellowships are offered to those who demonstrate that they are top of the pack in their undergrad college, and many schools give attractive TA/RA stipends as well. The grad/prof school degree is the one that really counts for employment.</p>