Agree.
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Iām not sure how the NPC works, but my daughter got a full tuition scholarship to Goucher and she isnāt an academic standout compared to the kids on CC typically. Do NPCs even include scholarships?
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Have you thought about Cal Maritime? Itās a small CSU (under 1000 students) that offers a very close-knit experience (including summer training cruises) with a practical bent and some great STEM majors (MechE, Oceanography, and several tracks of Engineering Technology), with small classes and a lot of structure. A lot of people think of it as a āmilitaryā option but less than 10% of the students go the military route.
For a STEM-leaning LAC environment with good merit and good academic support for getting medium-stat kids through challenging majors, how about Clarkson? Rose-Hulman could be another although Iām not sure it would work $-wise.
Gustavus could be a nice one if the money works. Their annual Nobel Conference is very cool, and the vibe seems to fit what youāre describing - a serious school with strong STEM majors that still doesnāt demand beyond-college-level preparation as a starting point. How about Beloit? Juniata is another that might work. (Edited to add - I didnāt see your list higher up that said Juniata was out of reach. Is that because your EFC is too high or because youāre āgappedāā¦? Theyāre pretty generous with merit in my experienceā¦ but if they wonāt stack beyond an unworkable EFC then yeah, no go.)
U of Maine Presque Isle is the rare small public campus that hits your price point. The OOS āsticker priceā is under 22K/year. Under 1500 undergraduates. The downside is a very low graduation rate. Overall I think a school like Juniata that has a grad rate almost as high as more competitive schools would be more desirable.
U of Minnesota Morris is only a couple thousand over your price point at āsticker,ā so it could work if he got merit. Nice public LAC. Thereās also Truman State in MO, but their merit grid is SAT/ACT-based in addition to GPA so it would be tough to get the merit he needs.
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Some NPCs do include merit scholarships. If the NPC asks for stats, it might do so. HOWEVER, unless merit awards are guaranteed based on stats only, itās hard to predict how accurate the NPC will be about merit awards.
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You are sober! Actually the thread you are thinking of is my daughterās thread last week, the twin sister. She quit because some of the adults were too aggressive. I know people donāt think they are being aggressive but they are. They know not what they do. Admittedly, this current thread is better than her thread.
Then after she quit we had trouble setting up an account for me but in the end it got through.
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yeah Iām wondering how many opportunities are getting shelved because of how the npc is working.
The npc does always seem to indicate what amount is merit and what amount is need, and sometimes I test it with different data and stats to see what it does.
I donāt seem to have a choice but to wade through the hundreds of colleges using the npc, and maybe saving a few good ones that donāt add up, just in case they do.
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great question @Creekland
I teach a humanities type field and as for our intro class the question of his preparedness is no and yes.
No, heās not like the average UC Davis at this point and the next year, which heās going to spend beefing up his math and science muscles, wonāt help much.
However, a good chunk, the largest chunk of UC Davis first years are unprepared for a literary-based course. While it differs by zip code obviously, most of CA public schools are awful and the ones that try, try in the wrong ways (standards, etc.). At least as far as literacy goes.
I design my intro course so that its graded mostly on steady effort, and most people get an A. I am an enthusiastic proponent of grade inflation. My son could potentially get an A in my course. But heās not prepared for it, and less so than the average Davis student who is also not prepared.
I know that people who pick at every word might think this means Iām just a meany who is overly judging my son, but I assure you thatās not what this is. I think I know what Iām doing here.
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You may want to look for Ubumbleās thread. His issue wasnāt the same as yours - his son didnāt care about school til senior year, learning disability/confidence issues, a C+ GPA - BUT he was looking for a supportive college. His son ended up choosing Roanoke and both father and son are very happy with the collegeās offerings so far (they made it clear they had seen his upward trend but added required support, he has a just challenging enough schedule and likes his interactions with them.)
See if Elizabethtown, Illinois College, Luther, UScranton, and Augsburg are within budget.
As a possible reach, Skidmore?
Seconding Knox, Gustavus.
See if they have fly ins for first gens/lower income students and have your son contact the person in charge to ask about support systems for kids from a low-achieving, urban HS (in particular, are these support programs avalaible to graduates from urban schools who arenāt first gen/URM?)
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@UCDProf , I know itās been mentioned but I keep thinking New Mexico Tech would be a good school to apply to. It may not be the final choice, but itās a stem school, he should get admitted, itās not so big he would get lost in the shuffle, and it should be affordable.
Even if it isnāt high on the list, maybe it should be on the list?
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College GPA can be a concern in these situations:
- Renewing a scholarship that is contingent on high GPA.
- Entry to a major with competitive secondary admission (less common at small colleges).
- Avoiding weed-out in an oversubscribed major (relatively common in nursing).
- Aiming to transfer to a different college.
- Aiming for highly competitive professional schools (e.g. medicine, law schools with good law job prospects).
- Avoiding academic probation and dismissal (typically 2.0).
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Does NPC show pre-merit cost? If so, would merit close the gap? Asking because it seems like students I know have made the $ work at those and based on what I know of their finances, am guessing merit was the driver
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Collegesā policies on merit scholarships + need-based aid do vary. A common practice is to use the merit scholarship first to replace expected student work and loan and unmet need, then replace need-based grants before replacing expected parent contribution. But not all colleges do this, and some may apply different policies for different scholarships.
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I was curious about McDaniel-- it looks like most students get merit and OPās son looks like heād qualify.
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Boston College is not an LAC, itās not easy (to get in or once there), it has mostly need based aid. It also has a large number of students coming from Catholic high schools around the US, and those students are prepared for the reading the writing courses. No greek life but plenty of drinking, football tailgating.
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Be careful if you factor merit into your price because it will be contingent on maintaining a certain GPA. From what youāre describing, Iād expect it to fall a bit when he begins college. I understand that you donāt want him in over his head, and I donāt think youāre looking for āeasyā. I think what you are looking for is supportive and an appropriate but acheivable challenge.
Try CC and web searches for āsupportive collegesā, ābest freshman/ first year experiencesā, āgreat colleges for B studentsā. My perdiction is if he can develop some good skills freshman year, heāll be able to take on more challenge and do great.
I donāt know how they come in pricewise, but when doing some of those searches for my son (but I was also searching for a specific sport, so my list is a little tilted), some on my list that may fit what you are looking are:
Elon
University of Puget Sound ( a friend teaches there and from her stories, it sounds like some freshmen need a bit of wrap around ācareā as they werenāt quite ready to launch. Probably not unusual at any of these colleges)
University of Dayton ( I like their philosophy of matching studentsā living situation to their growing maturity. Freshman start in dorms, move on to apartments and then as seniors they live in houses. The way they explained it sounded like they recognize that kids are still going through a new developmental stage in college)
College of Charleston
Quinnipiac
Montana State (we know kids attending and paying what you can afford)
McDaniel (If you happen to be a teacher or other school staff they have an additional discount)
Western New England
Hendrix
Ithica
Juniata
Rhodes
Plymouth State
Susquahanna
Scranton
Lycoming (supposed to be great with aid)
My son is also a high achiever, but Iām looking for the right fit, not necessarily the most ārigorousā college, but a place where he can play his sport and still have balance.
One thing Iād really work on with your son is being able to ask for help. He probably hasnāt had to do it at all yet and it can be the āmake or breakā difference in him succeeding in college. All schools have services available, whether it be subject tutoring, organizational coaching, or professorās office hours. Make sure he knows what those services are and how to access them.
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Understood, just concerned because of all of those things based on the description of the student. May not be able to hang onto merit.
Time better spent on finding the right match based on other things since the grades will most likely go down.
How did you choose his school? Is it considered a good school for the town where itās located? Is it a small, academic-focused academy where the main goal is to get kids into the local CSU?
You may also want to consider the honors colleges at Sonoma State and Chico. Their smaller classes and closer-knit community may work better than a ābetterā but larger CSU (his academic background would not be a huge differential compared to other honors students, half of whom will fall under the ābright but not challenged enough in HSā) and if heās able to, heāll step up.)
He might want to read The Naked Roommate by Harlan Cohen. Note that āasking for helpā is crucial.
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McDanielās npc made it a no go. There are a lot of colleges like that which have good aid reputations but send a āgo away we donāt want youā signal through their npc. Another example: Allegheny is said by many to recruit with aid, but the npc says āgit.ā
An example on the opposite spectrum: no college has made itself look more affordable than Sewanee, not even the most green-drenched need met 4% admission colleges. And by a lot! If they could find a way to pay me money just to use their npc, I think they would have.
Someoneās figured they need to cast a wide net at Sewanee and get applications up, is what I think.
Too bad Sewanee is floating in alcohol.
cool book recommendation for my son!
is there a movie version?
(but really, thanks)
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No 
but itās really designed to be read by future college students ā so, 1 real question by a real freshman who encountered a problem, real solution, 2-3 pages per topic. Often funny. Easy to read. And you can just pick and choose based on personal interest, no need to read cover to cover. As I said: designed for the basic HS senior. 
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