You (the parent) didn’t get your own education in the United States, right?
I deduced this from the fact that you said “maths.” People educated in the United States say “math.”
If I’m right, please ask questions about how the U.S. college admissions system works and how it compares with the system more familiar to you. Lots of people here have information that can help you.
“Regarding the PSAT and NMSF questions, I need to gather that PSAT data. He did well, but I am not sure if it was well enough.”
I have a feeling it was hi and that is the reason for the sudden flood of pamphlets from colleges.
A PSAT score that excedes this years NMF cutoff score for your state opens the doors WIDE OPEN for merit scholarships at MANY fine colleges and U’s.
I’ll post links to colleges that offer full tuition scholarships later on.
I was educated right here in the good ole US of A. Red blooded 'merican. Same High School as mah boy in fact!
Plan a summer of college visits because schools you think are sure bets will come off the list. It is one thing to look at photos and school rankings and quite another to experience a campus and a town. And if you visit UChicago and your son loves it and you can swing it financially do ED. I along with many applied EA only to be deferred. Also, have some safeties - that is where I have seen the most merit aid, example IU. Good luck!
I don’t have it all in front of me, but found his 1480 raw score 730rw/750m.
I thank everyone for the input so far. One thing not to misunderstand: Arranging “college visits” is moot at this point; much of the genesis for the thread is that one can’t visit every college and my son has not done a good job of narrowing anything yet. I am enjoying hearing ideas about winnowing the choices greatly, and again do recognize the financial issue is paramount and among the first to consider.
thanks @beyondtx and best of luck to you and your daughter.
I notice you listed (I think) only one school in the NE. Was that intentional? It seems if you were willing to look at Northeastern, there are many other similar scoped schools in throwing distance. Curious why you restricted it to Northeastern?
Re: #42, Your use of ‘maths’ is indeed an odd and altogether unusual choice for anyone raised and educated in the U.S.
It doesn’t forward the thread at all, but it stands out as some sort of…raised eyebrow indicator of… I’m not sure what.
It’s not a question of visiting EVERY college. It’s a question of visiting ANY (realistic) colleges. If he hasn’t already done so, visiting some colleges, ideally while the students are there, and attending some info sessions, could help give him a better sense of what he likes and doesn’t - moreso than just looking at brochures or websites or hearing others (his parents, his counselor(s), etc) describe them.
Goodness, perhaps it’s an indicator of a poor typist. What are you inferring otherwise?
And yes, it doesn’t further the thread. Too bad editing is disallowed so quickly.
I am chuckling. To paraphrase: “I don’t know what I am raising them at, but you can be sure I am raising my eyebrows!”
@DavidPuddy: “What are you inferring otherwise?”
There is no inference, other than that it stood out as a reason that the prior suggestion that you may need extensive background information on the American system of post-secondary school selection made sense.
It stood out to two sets of eyes; sure it stood out to others. But, back to the thread.
The other poster may be observing that “maths” is the more common usage in the UK and many other non-US English-speaking places.
I ran the NPC for Amherst College, assuming $135K/year income, $50K home equity, 1 kid.
Result: estimated grant/gift aid = $35,400; estimated net price = $35,486.
Of course, various factors could drive that number down. By enough to matter?
Yeah, probably not enough to matter. The few NPCs I have run show an assumed carry of 29-33K.
You will get different results from different schools- some may come in lower and some higher. You need to plug in the numbers for a bunch of schools and see if any come near your cost. I would also invest a lot of time in finding schools with merit aid.
@DavidPuddy – about visiting schools: my daughter applied to several distant out-of-state campuses. To keep costs down, we agreed to visit only the schools that accepted her, and whose financials were doable for us. In the end, that only meant one long flight to look at a couple of schools.
I will add, be sure you add the costs of travel to/from the school – plus possibly the cost of having to store your son’s stuff over the summer. Airfare from the northeast to the southwest where you live isn’t insignificant… that first year alone, many kids fly home at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and then home for the summer. All those flights will be expensive, since they’re not off-season. That alone can add thousands of dollars to the overall college costs.
It can be helpful to visit types of schools even if you can’t visit actual schools the student is interested in. Schools of varoius sizes, urban vs. rural, etc. That can help hone in on preferences.
Merit is the best for you I would say. If your EFC is higher than you are comfortable paying, financial aid won’t get you there.
Look for full tuition merit and or full ride. A few examples: Arizona. You may get enough merit at ASU. One the other side of the aisle: Alabama: possible tuition room & board.
Temple. They have decreased merit, but you may still get full tuition. Tulane will likely still leave you with a cost of $25 or more.
I’m also strongly in the camp of visit at least a school or 2 over break. Pick a couple of close schools, preferably with different characteristics - medium size/small/large and urban/rural/college town. That kind of thing. This will let him visualize himself on a college campus and get a feel for the info presented at these events. Later visits of schools he’s truly interested in will be much more effective in the future as he knows what info he wants to hone in, what’s important to HIM. Don’t be afraid to ask financial aid questions too, get an idea of the process, etc. The first couple college visits were pretty eye opening for my son and really helped set the stage for later visits.
Yes, visit doesn’t have to mean “trip”
Is the 1480 a National Merit Semifinalist in your state? You need the raw score, something like “220” to find out. Or your school may have told you.