<p>Mantori…</p>
<p>First your son will be given the full OOS tuition (for being NMFS), then around Feb when he’s named NMF, and he declares a school to NM Corp, if he declares UA, he’ll get the rest of the scholarship :)</p>
<p>d3 is a senior and we are applying to schools with good merit aid as the univ she attends can not be anymore expensive than the UC schools here in Calif and preferably less, since d wants to go to law school later. </p>
<p>D1 currently attends Baylor tuition free as NMF and is now a Senior, and D2 is sophomore at UCLA.</p>
<p>D3 is NM Commended scholar, with 4.42 weighted GPA, 2150 SATs, lots of fine arts experience. Is interested esp in east coast because d would rather experience life outside of calif. </p>
<p>Her college choices are u Mich, Northeastern, UVA, UNChapel Hill, Ithica (would go there if she got their Martin Luther King scholarship bc she’s interested in Human rights), Univ Washington, Clemson, Univ Miami, 3 UC schools (UCLA, UCSB, UCSD) --and she threw in U Alabama because i asked her too bc she’d get oos free tuition.</p>
<p>We’re asian, I don’t think she’s interested in greek life and we’re conservative (Christian faith, don’t drink)…would it feel strange going to U Alambama in terms of campus life and fitting in?</p>
<p>^^^ </p>
<p>I sent you a PM… 
</p>
<p>My 2 kids are at Bama, and we’re Orange County natives who now live in Alabama because H’s job moved us here. :)</p>
<p>Your D will do fine. :)</p>
<p>Since the deadline for scholarships is Dec 1, she needs to apply to the school TODAY. Then, a few days later, she’ll get a follow-up email to logon to apply for the scholarship that she’ll get. What will her major be? She may get more $$ depending on her major. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks for your optimism, but with his grades, I’m bracing to find out he’s one of the 10% of semifinalists who don’t become finalists. We’ll see.</p>
<p>d has already applied, now concerned about “fit” to univ like U ALabama, Clemson, etc since she been born raised in S Cali. Planning a spring vacation trip in April to Alabama, S carolina, etc.</p>
<p>*Third tier scholarships aren’t always easy to get! I applied and was accepted with merit aid to schools ranging from #37 to thierd tier. In some cases, the first tier scholarships were actually easier and required less effort. *</p>
<p>This can be true, often because 3rd tier schools don’t have the money for such scholarships.</p>
<p>However, there are some 3rd tier schools that are making the efforts to move to mid-tier, so they are offering generous scholarships to help boost the stats of their incoming freshmen class. </p>
<p>There is a 3rd tier state school in my county. <a href=“UAH - 404 Error Page”>UAH - 404 Error Page; It is outstanding in engineering, Computer Science and science, as well as strong in nursing and some other programs. It doesn’t have depth in all programs, which is why it’s probably 3rd tier. However, it is a very nice school, and money is being poured into it for new buildings, new dorms, etc.</p>
<p>And, it offers very generous merit scholarships - including free rides. It’s too close for my kids to consider, but others take the money and go. It is also known for awarding merit scholarships for students who miss the “priority deadlines,” so… (My friend’s son had “so so” stats, and he got $14k per year, which paid for the OOS part, plus part of the instate tuition. This is much cheaper than the regional Penn St that he was going to go to.)</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone for posting. This information is very useful in this economy.</p>
<p>M2C, there are also schools in Tier 1.3 trying to move to Tier 1.2 and awarding merit money accordingly.</p>
<p>Another CC’er who can’t stand US News shorthand?</p>
<p>Your strategy makes great sense to me - especially if your sons are planning on going to graduate school. Seems to me that if a student is going to take on loans or a family is going to take on debt the time to do that would be when completing a graduate degree. I went to a fourth tier school for undergraduate but got my graduate degree from a first tier school. My roommate was a Harvard grad. That is the strategy I am going to use with my son, save the dollars for his Ph.D.</p>
<p>TheDad quote: M2C, there are also schools in Tier 1.3 trying to move to Tier 1.2 and awarding merit money accordingly.</p>
<p>You’re right. There are 3rd tiers who have the funding and are doing just that. But, I’m not sure what you mean by Tier 1.2 and Tier 1.3. </p>
<p>We have a third tier public in our county that has agressively gotten funding from a capital campaign to underwrite some big scholarships. However, it’s hard for many 3rd tiers to come up with that kind of money without some kind of “other” source. :)</p>
<p>*Seems to me that if a student is going to take on loans or a family is going to take on debt the time to do that would be when completing a graduate degree. *</p>
<p>That’s our strategy. Sons took the full-ride and nearly full-ride to state flagship, because one will go to medical school, and the other will either go to law school or grad school.
We’ll help pay for those costs to help keep those loans to a minimum. :)</p>
<p>As someone who is putting themselves through school, big money means alot. I currently have a full tution offer from UA. Unless my other schools put up serious cash, that is where I will be attending. I will RA my soph-senior years that way my total college costs will be around 10k. An amount I can totally manage. That way, my loans are focused in medical school.</p>
<p>I don’t know how anyone can turn it down. It doesn’t make any sense to me to fork out 15k/year when you don’t have to</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily bet on that–RA positions can be very competitive.</p>
<p>^^psych_ I’ve spoken to people at UAlabama, and generally kids in the honors college get first dibs on RAing. They said it shouldn’t be an issue if I want to.</p>
<p>Tdoc44, what PhD would your kid be interested in that wouldn’t fund him? In most fields, gaining admission to a program without funding is the kind way of saying, “you aren’t going to cut it but if you want to spend your dough go ahead.”</p>
<p>I’d find another field if I were your kid.</p>
<p>Rocket…with your smarts, Bama would also hire you to be a paid tutor. Even if students don’t show up for their appts, you can do your homework and still get paid. Not a bad deal.</p>
<p>And, you’re right. Honors kids get priority for RA jobs.</p>
<p>rocket - what are the perks or pay for being an RA??</p>
<p>link?</p>
<p>or mom??</p>
<p>Mike…</p>
<p>RA’s get their dorm rooms for free. That’s the big perk! :)</p>
<p>I’ll PM this to you. :)</p>
<p>I don’t think i’d give up Harvard for anything either. I’ve always thought my friend made a mistake even though she might not want to admit.</p>
<p>i’m sorry it was a wrong post but i don’t know how to delete it so it’ll just be your eyesore. :(</p>