Who's applying here?

<p>My daughter will be completing her RD application this weekend. Anyone else applying?</p>

<p>my son sent his ap RD last week and is also applying for the trustee scholarship. good luck to your D. Did you visit yet?</p>

<p>Momof3teens, we first visited in October for an Open House. I thought my thoroughly-midwestern daughter would not warm up to it as much as she did, but she loved the campus, felt at home with the students she met, and really clicked with her regional rep. As a result of that visit, she made plans for an overnight the week before Thanksgiving. The overnight clinched it for her; she really liked her hostess and hostess' roommate and felt very comfortable with all the other kids she met. She went to several classes and felt the level of engagement was high, and when she went to a Chorale rehearsal, she found herself in awe of the director (he has perfect pitch). My daughter is not a gusher by nature, but she told me she "really, really" enjoyed her visit, and it was the first "really, really" she's used with any college. She won't come out and say it's her #1 choice, but I have to believe it's at least tied for #1. Yes, she's applying for the Trustee Scholarship as well as for the Arts Scholar program. Time will tell...</p>

<p>i applied RD as well. i've gotten into my other 3 schools, so this is the last one i'm waiting for</p>

<p>I just got in today! They made me a faculty scholar, too, I'm not sure exactly what that means but its exciting. At least I'm in someplace, I've still got to wait until the April 1rst deadlines for all the other colleges I applied to.</p>

<p>My daughter received her acceptance today also (faculty scholar). Folle, the designation of Faculty Scholar also includes a scholarship ranging from $3-14K, which will be finalized when your financial aid package is sent to you. I thought it was very nice the way they handled the announcement: "You're in. You're not a Trustee Scholar, but you are a Faculty Scholar." It kind of softens the blow, and with the potential for $14K, it's nothing to sneeze at. If my daughter is also selected as an Art Scholar, we may just be able to swing HWS after all.</p>

<p>Congratulations to you, Folle!</p>

<p>thanks!
what does your daughter want to study? where else has she applied?</p>

<p>Folle, if she attends HWS, she'll probably major in Media and Society and minor in music. She ultimately wants to work in film as a first assistant director (which is NOT the same as director, so requires less direct film experience), and she likes the internship opportunities in LA and New York that HWS offers.</p>

<p>She's been accepted at Central Michigan (her financial safety), Earlham, and Otterbein (OH). She's still waiting to hear from Goucher and American. As of today, I think she would place HWS and Otterbein in a dead heat for favorite, despite the fact that Otterbein started out as "just a safety." The sticking point with Otterbein is that to keep her VERY generous talent award there, she has to major in music...and she's not sure she wants to do that. The sticking point with HWS is that it's way more expensive, and their music department is not as strong as Otterbein's (e.g. Otterbein has an opera theatre program; HWS does not).</p>

<p>I have a feeling she'll be mailing her "yes" to whichever school on April 30th!</p>

<p>And you?</p>

<p>I applied RD right at the deadline for the trustee scholarship. I heard back amazingly fast on both fronts, not to mention I got my financial aid package about a week later! I think the reason I did hear back so fast is that I applied for the scholarship. This is an interesting idea that stands out for me because I have heard back from all of my schools already (EA for Elon and McDaniel and VIP phase two for UVM, and RD for H&WS) while 90 percent of the people I know haven't heard back from anyone!</p>

<p>Grantb, it is nice the way HWS handles things. Although I know on one level that a great deal of their approach is related to enrollment management and an attempt to improve yield with higher stat students, it doesn't change the fact that there was a huge sigh of relief here...and the nice feeling that comes with "being wanted."</p>

<p>My daughter also has received her FA package, and I was impressed with how remarkably fair (read that as generous) it was. My daughter called the FA office today, because it didn't reflect anything re: art scholar. She was told that her package is subject to revision, because art scholar decisions won't be made until the end of this week. It's unlikely to effect the bottom line; if she receives an art scholarship, they'll just reduce her HWS grant. But she did say that she was quite impressed with how helpful they were and how willing they were to spend the extra time explaining the various elements of her package. </p>

<p>She now has two schools (three if you include her state school) which are financially doable, so she'll have the luxury of deciding based on fit and academic programs. Big sigh of relief from mom and dad...</p>

<p>My daughter looked at McDaniel too but it fell off her list for some reason. And I've heard nothing but good things about Elon. Sounds like you have some tough (but good) choices ahead of you!</p>

<p>mezzomom-
You're right, it does feel great to be wanted. While UVM (too big, 8000 and growing) and McDaniel (smaller than my high school!) are starting to look like not the right match for me, it was a great luxury to be able to figure this out solely by my opinion.<br>
Question about what you said about the financial package for you--wouldn't the art grant be in addition to any financial aid you recieved? For instance, if you have financial aid of 5,000 a semester and then you recieve the art grant for (I don't know how much it is) 1,000 the year, (500 the semester) wouldn't that be in addition to any separate need based financial aid you recieved?</p>

<p>Grantb, re: FA. Because an HWS grant is a "gift" from the school based on your need, they reduce it when if/when you receive merit aid (art scholar/trustee scholar/faculty scholar, etc). So in one sense, it is a wash...but because merit aid is NOT dependent upon need, it's guaranteed from year to year, whereas an HWS grant can vary from year to year, depending on any income changes that effect your need.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships at HWS are treated a bit differently. The first thing they will reduce is loans, but if a student were to receive a significant amount of outside scholarships (more than the loan amount in your package), it could potentially cut into your HWS grant. </p>

<p>Their approach to FA is pretty consistent with most schools we've looked at; only one school on my daughter's list actually stacks outside scholarships (no reduction in your package at all).</p>

<p>My daughter found out this weekend that she has been designated as an art scholar, but the scholarship was less than she was hoping for. Although it doesn't change the bottom line at all (HWS is still affordable), she isn't quite sure how to interpret the amount. She almost feels as if it was a vote of no confidence (even though she knows her audition wasn't top-notch since she was sick), but she also recognizes that some of her reaction is pure ego. The problem she's having is that she very much defines herself in terms of her music, she has one other school which is actively "recruiting" her for her vocal talent, and she's just not clear if the low scholarship means anything negative. It could just mean that there was a dancer, visual artist, musician, or creative writer who kicked some major backside on audition day...or it could mean that her vocal talent is not to their liking. She's struggling with how to interpret the news and hasn't figured out anyway to get an answer. It's not as if she feels she can e-mail the music department and ask them, "So, did you think I sucked?"!!! My suggestion was that she contact the music department and see if she could arrange a visit for a private voice lesson and see how that goes...but we're both pretty sick and tired of college visits at this point, so I have no idea if she'll follow through. And here I thought she was HWS-bound for sure; now I have no idea what she's going to do!</p>

<p>I was in awe of the financial aid package, and this weekend has been this strange lethargy of general happiness. Hobart was my first choice, and to know that I’ll be attending for the price of a public school is something that says a lot in many ways.
I was recently accepted as an arts scholar as well, and the letter alone was incredibly kind, nevermind the faculty at the luncheon. I’m very excited for the fall, to say the least.</p>