<p>@ucbalumnus pointed out that a safety is not a safety unless finances are considered. Look back at some of the posts from kids who got accepted to multiple schools only to find they couldn’t afford any of them.</p>
<p>Guidance counselors seldom worry about how a student will PAY for college - just whether they will get in or not. Those people with experience in the process know that no school is a true safety unless:
<p>Kiara, a safety is NOT a safety if you can’t afford it. Your guidance counselor is not doing you any favors. What he or she is describing is an academic safety. Sure, you may get admitted to a school, but if you can’t afford to go it is still not a safety.</p>
<p>How about Wake Forest? They have big merit scholarships, they are holistic and test optional and in a strong athletic conference. They have Journalism minor. They require scores for scholarships but who knows. May be a good reach.</p>
<p>I don’t see how it is an academic safety if such a low % of OOS students are accepted and the applicant is only in their middle range stat wise. In-state, yes. OOS, am I missing something?</p>
<p>Ok. At some of the more generous need based colleges, the amount your parents are paying for your brother to attend a community college will be what is considered. This will NOT make your family contribution half of what it would be with only you in college. So keep that in mind.</p>
<p>A true safety school is one where you have an excellent t chance of acceptance, would be happy to attend if accepted AND where you can afford to attend. If costs are in excess of what you can pay, the school is NOT a safety school.</p>
<p>ETA to add three things. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don’t see a school on your list where you will receive half of the cost of attendance in ANY form of aid, need or merit. </p></li>
<li><p>You can take loans in your name for $5500 for freshman year…and that is it. For any additional loans, either your parents would have to take the loans, or they would have to cosign. Will they do this?</p></li>
<li><p>Fast web has thousands of scholarships. We know a kid who had much stronger stats than you do AND she had financial need. She applied for several hundred fast web scholarships and got $500 total…and they were only for her freshman year. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>She took the full ride she got to our state flagship (she was class val).</p>
<p>Are we on Candid Camera? Is Allen Funt going to come out from behind his hiding spot? This can’t be real. We have all said the same things fifty million different ways. OP just doesn’t want to hear it! She has an answer for everything! And isn’t open to listening…,no matter how we many ways we attempt to peel it, it ain’t gettin’ peeled!!! Maybe she will start to listen before 1/1/15</p>
<p>Not necessarily. Some schools have holistic admissions, where grades and test scores do not tell the full story of whether you will be admitted. Some schools have different admission buckets with different standards, such as admission by major or division, or in-state versus out-of-state for public universities, or athletes versus non-athletes (particularly at small schools with a high percentage of athletes), or automatic admission versus reviewed admission as at Texas. In the latter case, if you are in the admissions bucket that has much higher selectivity, you may be rejected despite being above average in grades and test scores.</p>
<p>And that does not even consider the cost question. You might get into your admission safeties, but if none are affordable, off to the default safety of community college you go.</p>
<p>@thumper1 I’m sorry, but the little she got is not really my problem. Perhaps she applied to the wrong things, and didn’t write good enough essays. There are a lot of variables in that, so it’s not really comparable.</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom What have you said a million different ways? Right how, we are just discussing good schools, I hate to be so blunt, but if you don’t like the conversation, leave. No one is forcing you to stay. Since you know everything about everything and I’m just so stubborn and arrogant, you can leave.</p>
<p>Forgive me if is such a bad thing that I have a list of schools that I wanna go to. Forgive me that I’m not gonna just drop my dream schools for some strangers online who don’t know everything about my academics and school life. Forgive if I feel insulted if I hear that my 90+ average and SAT score is only gonna get me into a CC. Forgive me for not using the failures of your children to shape what I do to apply for colleges. Forgive me for not comparing myself to students across the country. (Admissions officers don’t do that, so why should I?) Forgive me for not taking every last word on here and changing my list of school to a bunch of CCs and HBCUs. It’s not what I want. Deal with it. I’m here to seek advice and answers that is all. Your word is not the end all be all. My question about aid was whether or not a college would give me more because my parents were unwilling to pay. That has been answered. If I’m so stubborn and annoying, please feel free to go. To those who are willing to continue discussing with me, thank you.</p>
<p>Kiera have you <em>read</em> the threads by seniors who have had disappointing results despite great grades and good high schools and good test scores? Have you read the “I got into my dream school but can’t afford it” threads? </p>
<p>If it happens to enough people then it is comparable. The facts regarding FA/EFC and admittance are out there. The facts as to who gets admitted OOS in Texas is out there. </p>
<p>I’m not sure anyone here can offer you any more assistance if you don’t want to hear it. Or why they would try. </p>
<p>If you don’t care what a bunch of (experienced) strangers have to say, why do you ask their opinion? No one is saying you have to drop your dream schools. They’re just advising you, often based on their own experience, also based on reading these boards for quite some time, that you need to cover ALL your bases. If you don’t like the advice, don’t take it. Just realize that denying facts does not change them.</p>
<p>@TempeMom I’m not just ignoring all f their advice. I feel like I have been sobered when it comes to NW. I do want and appreciate the assistance. But what I don’t appreciate is my every move being shut down because it is not up to the standards of the people on here. Do you know how frustrating it is to have someone just tell you “Oh you aren’t good enough” or “You WILL NOT get in” or “They won’t give you anything”. It’s really annoying and the harsh reality of it all, is that at the end of the day, the college admissions process is a game and none of you can predict the outcome. So I am going to apply to the schools that are on my list. That WILL not change because of the opinions of people who don’t know me. What I will say is, I will look more into SUNYs and CUNYs. As for CC or HBCU, I’m not stubborn or arrogant or prideful, but that will never happen. Ever.</p>
Or perhaps there are people posting in this thread that actually do know what they are talking about and that it isn’t as simple as you seem to think. Most non-university scholarships are single time payouts. They are low $$ value. They consume a lot of time in applying. Conversely, you can possibly write 1 college essay for a school that is a good MATCH for you statistically (via both GPA and test scores, not your perception of yourself compared to your peers) and be awarded $120,000+ over 4 yrs. Big difference. </p>
<p>Yes, it is frustrating. I get it. But part of becoming an adult is looking at things rationally. We cannot in good faith pat you on the head and tell you your plan will work. You aren’t a toddler or a tween. You are an educated young lady. If you decide to play the lottery with colleges fine, but be sure you really understand the odds because being wrong sucks. </p>
<p>Kairain. You really are being a bit pompous. My point to you…it is VERY unlikely that YOU will get enough scholarship money from fast web to fund half of your college costs for even one year. The likelihood that these will be renewable awards for all four years is almost zero.</p>
<p>You seem to think that you are so very exceptional and that the experiences of others really don’t matter for your. You feel you will get accepted, and you will miraculously get the elusive aid to these unaffordable colleges…because you think you are so much more special than everyone else.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but that is exactly how you are portraying yourself…as a selfish entitled student. </p>
<p>Do apply wherever you choose. Do apply for all scholarships. Do plan to give up your ECs to do the fast web scholarship applications. For the kind of money you are looking for, applying for applications via fast web will BE your EC.</p>
<p>I agree with others. This OP didn’t come here for advice or suggestions. He/she came here wanting us to give her a rubber stamp approval that schools would be forthcoming with aid even though her stats don’t support merit, and her family income doesn’t support need based aid.</p>
<p>And actually admission officers DO compare your application to a standard for their school based on students from all across the country.</p>
<p>Lol my child hasn’t failed at all. Far from it…I won’t mention the schools to which she earned acceptance and where she will be matriculating but trust me, it’s far from a failure!!!</p>