anyone a pro with scholarship stuff?

[already]

OP, take the advice to do whatever you can to help your DD prepare for the ACT/SAT. It really does put money on the table. Have her take it and take it again. Every point matters.

Do whatever you can to squeeze every point out of the SATs/ACTs

DS just accepted his choice school, but with not a dime of merit money.

He has a 4.3 GPA from a rigorous HS (#3 in state,) National Honor Society, AP classes, college credit, varsity and academic letters, tons of volunteer work and outstanding recommendations from his teachers.

But what killed him was a 27 ACT score. Due to a LD, he is slow on timed tests. But since we do not have a 504 (he does just fine in school,) we could not ask for extra time on the ACT. He had an IEP in elementary school, but it was no longer valid.

Friends with lower GPAs, but higher ACTs are all getting a minimum of $10,000. The school guarantees the top 25% of ACT/SAT scores $10,000 - $25,000 merit money.

We are resigned to paying the full in-state $29,648 in the fall unless some of the other scholarships he has applied for pan out. But we are not hopeful.

Oh and for the one person who is questioning what tuition means:

This is a public, in-state University:

Tuition is $7,419 per semester, $1,000 in fees per semester, and $6,405 per semester room and board. Freshman are required to live on campus even though we live 7 minutes away.

 

[tzolkin]

My brilliant nephew attended a High School for gifted kids 10-12th grade-all started with 4.0-all got into Ivy Leagues & Top Tier Universities, and even he only got a little scholarship $$

Likely the reason he only got a little scholarship money is because those schools tend to only offer need-based scholarships, not merit based. They figure you must be a top student to get into an ivy in the first place, so many do not feel the need to award money based on high school achievement.

I graduated at the top of my class, all AP classes, etc and attended a top ranking university. I got a "free ride" but only because I was "fortunate" enough to have poor parents. Financial aid was all based on family income.

Another thing to consider when investing time in small scholarship applications is that many colleges make you report what you have received from other sources and deduct that amount from their award. (Ex. College offers you a $20,000 scholarship. You receive $3,000 from local scholarships, so college reduces their award to $17,000. You still wind up having to pay the same amount regardless of how many outside scholarships you receive.)

 

[Colleen27]

Around here, 'full tuition' means just that - only tuition (around $860 for a state school) and does not touch the various 'fees' tacked on. For example, there's a $4k+ curriculum fee. Does it mean that your son got a full scholarship because of ACT scores, or just a tuition scholarship?

That's one thing everyone has to watch out for - the way colleges charge for tuition/fees/services. In MA, a student that gets advanced on the MCAS state testing gets free tuition to a state school, but as shown above, that pays for very little.

Mass. state schools are crazy that way, but I haven't seen others that are anywhere near as bad. DD has looked into schools in about a half-dozen states and at every one tuition is the biggest expense, with fees amounting to a fraction of a percent of the tuition line-item.

OP, how helpful is the counselor at your DD's school? A good counselor can be an excellent tool; a bad one is next to useless. If you're doing the legwork yourself, don't rely entirely on the internet - look into community organizations, organizations affiliated with activities she's involved in, etc. Many of these things don't readily show up on web searches because they don't have a significant internet presence but there is often less competition and even though the awards are small they tend to be portable and every little bit helps.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm well aware of that. I said I doubt claims of "full rides." Many people will claim full ride when they mean full tuition. My DD's tuition is about $7200 per year so her $5000 scholarship covers most of that. That figure does not include fees nor room and board.

Don't know why you would doubt people.

I took out a $1,500 student loan three of my four years. This was to cover my books and health insurance. (My parents did not pay a dime for my education.) For a school that cost over $60,000 per year (tuition, room/board, insurance, fees), I would say that was pretty much a "full-ride". I paid less than 0.02% of the total cost.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Don't know why you would doubt people.

I took out a $1,500 student loan three of my four years. This was to cover my books and health insurance. (My parents did not pay a dime for my education.) For a school that cost over $60,000 per year (tuition, room/board, insurance, fees), I would say that was pretty much a "full-ride". I paid less than 0.02% of the total cost.

Was that financial aid or an actual merit scholarship though? If it's financial aid, that is not what we are discussing.

 

[LisaR]

Buy her an ACT prep book. My son was not great at writing essays. But his ACT score got him full tuition at the school he now attends.

Out of curiosity, when you say full tuition do you mean housing, as well? Gym fees? Sorry, I couldn't resist. That "full tuition" wording seemed pretty clear to me.

OP'er, I agree with focusing on the ACT/SAT. I firmly believe my DD's test scores and GPA were the only factors considered in all of her scholarships. All of that talk about being involved in numerous activities and volunteering didn't really do anything for her that I could tell.

 

[Colleen27]

Don't know why you would doubt people.

I took out a $1,500 student loan three of my four years. This was to cover my books and health insurance. (My parents did not pay a dime for my education.) For a school that cost over $60,000 per year (tuition, room/board, insurance, fees), I would say that was pretty much a "full-ride". I paid less than 0.02% of the total cost.

The poster who first raised the full tuition vs. full ride issue is from Mass., where "full tuition" awards are a drop in the bucket of the actual cost of attendance. U Mass. Amherst, for example, has tuition of $800ish and fees of nearly $6000, so "full tuition" isn't as meaningful as one might think. I've never seen another school do it quite that way, though.

 

[LisaR]

The poster who first raised the full tuition vs. full ride issue is from Mass., where "full tuition" awards are a drop in the bucket of the actual cost of attendance. U Mass. Amherst, for example, has tuition of $800ish and fees of nearly $6000, so "full tuition" isn't as meaningful as one might think. I've never seen another school do it quite that way, though.

I've heard that before about U Mass fees. How ridiculous!

But to be fair, that poster went on to ask about things nobody would ever mistake for "full TUITION." Of course full tuition doesn't cover travel expenses, room and board, health care fees, etc.

Does that tuition scholarship pay for room and board, fees, health care, books, travel expenses, etc, or just the line item on the bill called 'tuition'? That's what I was getting at. You can get tuition paid for, but there are other expenses as well, not covered under the term tution. Wondered what your defition of 'full tuition' was.

 

[barkley]

Do whatever you can to squeeze every point out of the SATs/ACTs

DS just accepted his choice school, but with not a dime of merit money.

He has a 4.3 GPA from a rigorous HS (#3 in state,) National Honor Society, AP classes, college credit, varsity and academic letters, tons of volunteer work and outstanding recommendations from his teachers.

But what killed him was a 27 ACT score. Due to a LD, he is slow on timed tests. But since we do not have a 504 (he does just fine in school,) we could not ask for extra time on the ACT. He had an IEP in elementary school, but it was no longer valid.

Friends with lower GPAs, but higher ACTs are all getting a minimum of $10,000. The school guarantees the top 25% of ACT/SAT scores $10,000 - $25,000 merit money.

We are resigned to paying the full in-state $29,648 in the fall unless some of the other scholarships he has applied for pan out. But we are not hopeful.

Oh and for the one person who is questioning what tuition means:

This is a public, in-state University:

Tuition is $7,419 per semester, $1,000 in fees per semester, and $6,405 per semester room and board. Freshman are required to live on campus even though we live 7 minutes away.[/QUOTE]


THAT'S LOUSY-dd's university started requiring freshman to dorm this year, and the 2 biggie private universities near us require both freshman AND sophomores to dorm but all 3 have exemption policies that include living w/parents so long as the parents live w/in a so many mile radius of the campus. NOW-if someone lives with their parents that changes what the university uses for the cost of attendance, so a student who was expecting to receive x amount of dollars in scholarships will see that figure lowered to match their new cost of attendance (but they will save a boatload of money living at home vs. living on campus).


oh-and for those keeping track: our in state university tuition and fees for the entire year are less than this poster pays for one semester.

 

[StitchFanZ]

Does she know what area she wants to study? That can make a difference in scholarships - especially if its in an area of high demand.

 

[mjkacmom]

The poster who first raised the full tuition vs. full ride issue is from Mass., where "full tuition" awards are a drop in the bucket of the actual cost of attendance. U Mass. Amherst, for example, has tuition of $800ish and fees of nearly $6000, so "full tuition" isn't as meaningful as one might think. I've never seen another school do it quite that way, though.

Dd18 received $10,000 from UMass, bringing it down to $25,000 per year, all inclusive, which is what we are paying for her in state university.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Out of curiosity, when you say full tuition do you mean housing, as well? Gym fees? Sorry, I couldn't resist. That "full tuition" wording seemed pretty clear to me.

OP'er, I agree with focusing on the ACT/SAT. I firmly believe my DD's test scores and GPA were the only factors considered in all of her scholarships. All of that talk about being involved in numerous activities and volunteering didn't really do anything for her that I could tell.

For institutional scholarships, usually they have a grid, published or not, that shows if you have x GPA and y test score you get $ Z money. There are special interest scholarships that are different but usually the bigger merit awards at various schools are pretty cut and dry. Our kids did get one smaller scholarship, $2000, for being involved in our church, that kind of thing but their full-tuition scholarship was because of a combined GPA/ACT/SAT score only.

 

[NewRVLady]

OP-what does she want to study....you indicated it is very 'unique"

one of my nephews set out to get a degree he really wasn't qualified for-that had a high amount of science-he had to switch and got a General Studies degree after many years...it never helped him get a job(he is still doing the entry level job he had in college).

 

[Andtototoo]

My dh spent many many hours looking into scholarships because he was sure that he was going to find one/some for our dd because he'd heard anecdotal stories about how so much money -- full rides! --was out there for students.



Having worked at two universities -- one private, one public -- I know that was mostly a load of hogwash. And indeed I was proven right.

-The vast vast majority of available money is dependent on financial need. We make too much money to qualify for any financial assistance, including loans. (Which I knew, which is why I insisted upon saving saving saving.)
-The next category of money at our state universities is given out for sports and marching band scholarships. (Dd was in neither of those.)
-The next category of money is given out to cover tuition, but not room/board/books/fees. This category is largely given by private schools. Dd was offered the "largest merit scholarship" at the private school of her choice, which had recruited her. They were very aggressive in their recruiting and promised her a lot of money. It was $17K/year and the school cost $54K per year.

Also, a lot of people recommend the community college rout for the first two years. I do have some cautions: Be very careful about the reciprocal arrangement with the 4 year schools. As it happens, my dd changed her major (which is so common) and the 4 year public university that did have her major (the flagship one closest to us that she intended to attend did NOT) had limited reciprocal arrangements with her cc. (And FAR less than they led us to believe.) So, for example, both she and her roommate had taken Psych 101 at their different cc (within 45 minutes of each other). My dd's Psych 101 credits did not transfer and her roommate's did, because her roommate's cc had better reciprocal arrangements with the university. My dd needs one more semester of credits than her roommate does, solely because of the reciprocal arrangements with the community colleges.

Really, it's all about gouging people for money.

 

[mom2rtk]

Also, a lot of people recommend the community college rout for the first two years. I do have some cautions: Be very careful about the reciprocal arrangement with the 4 year schools. As it happens, my dd changed her major (which is so common) and the 4 year public university that did have her major (the flagship one closest to us that she intended to attend did NOT). The school with her major had limited reciprocal arrangements with her cc. So, for example, both she and her roommate had taken Psych 101 at their cc. My dd's Psych 101 credits did not transfer and her roommate's did, because her roommate's cc had better reciprocal arrangements with the university.

Really, it's all about gouging people for money.

And I'll reiterate another issue that's important here. There's no way to know what sort of money will be available when the time comes to transfer to the reciprocal school.

One 4 year school my son was closely considering actually did offer him a full ride (for sake of clarification, that included tuition, fees, room and board) with money left over. The problem was they didn't offer the engineering degree he was after. They had a reciprocal agreement with 4 other high profile schools with automatic acceptance so long as he maintained his GPA. He would leave the first school after 3 years with a degree in physics then move on to the other school for 2 more years to finish out the engineering degree.

He was VERY tempted by this. But in the end, nobody could tell him what the cost would be for those last 2 years of school. He would have to go into it assuming he would have no money available to offset the (potentially crazy high) cost. It could have ended up costing him a lot more to take the cheaper offer out of the gate. Money seems to be much more available to incoming freshmen, so I would be careful of any plan that requires a change of schools somewhere along the line, unless you are prepared to pay whatever it takes.

 

[mamacatnv]

Tuition is $7,419 per semester, $1,000 in fees per semester, and $6,405 per semester room and board. Freshman are required to live on campus even though we live 7 minutes away.[/[/B]

My DS went "away" to college, all 8 minutes down the road to the Dorm. Just my opinion but the cost of that dorm was some of the best money we spent during his college career.

IMO college is so many things, it's not just what they learn in a book, or a class it can also be heavy on life lessons.

Looking back, my DS lived on or near campus all 5 years (yep, took him 5 but he is 10 months away from getting his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree so I'm ok with those 5 years) Yes, it was expensive but I would not change a thing. Sure, he could have lived at home and saved a chunk of change but he didn't. He worked part time, went to school full time and learned a whole lot of things along the way.

I don't know if there are any good statistics to back it up but I remember being told that kids who live on campus and immerse themselves in college life have a better chance of graduating in a timely fashion. Universities are concerned with their graduation rates, perhaps that is why they are moving towards requiring on campus living.

Like I said, IMO it is the best money we ever spent - DS paid part, we paid part. We were all invested in his education

As for scholarships, I began to think that most were just a joke. From my experience, the better the sob story the better the chance of landing the scholarships.
DS got a few from my DH's then employer, our high school booster club and from the University itself but all the "community" awards went to the kids who overcame some sort of diversity mainly in their home lives.

 

[daisyx3]

Guidance counselors may or not be helpful. Some are better than others.
My second daughter had a 3.9 and a 31 ACT. Her best offer was $8000 from the school we chose (other schools offered $6,000, 3,000, and 2,000, plus other schools we never really considered). She had several other scholarships that first year. The $8,000 is renewable if she keeps her grades up and we end up paying about $3000 a year on top of it. We paid for one year of housing. That's it. Dorms are a racket. She was a Disney CP this fall and is living at home this spring, but in a house next year--but rent is on her.
We took kind of the same approach with my oldest and she not only graduated early, she is awesome with money. No debt except for $6,000 I still owe for her.
My son is a junior. He has a 3.4 and a 28 ACT. If he graduated this year he would get $6500 at one close state school and $3-4000 at the other one. I hope they keep the same requirements next year! He is in Algebra II so I am hoping when he retakes the test he gets a higher score. But due to his GPA his $$ options are limited at his school.
Both of my daughters got scholarships from an organization DH belongs to as well as my credit union. Hoping I can keep that up for DS.
Daisyx3

 

[Happy Snowman]

My dh spent many many hours looking into scholarships because he was sure that he was going to find one/some for our dd because he'd heard anecdotal stories about how so much money -- full rides! --was out there for students.



Having worked at two universities -- one private, one public -- I know that was mostly a load of hogwash. And indeed I was proven right.

-The vast vast majority of available money is dependent on financial need. We make too much money to qualify for any financial assistance, including loans. (Which I knew, which is why I insisted upon saving saving saving.)
-The next category of money at our state universities is given out for sports and marching band scholarships. (Dd was in neither of those.)
-The next category of money is given out to cover tuition, but not room/board/books/fees. This category is largely given by private schools. Dd was offered the "largest merit scholarship" at the private school of her choice, which had recruited her. They were very aggressive in their recruiting and promised her a lot of money. It was $17K/year and the school cost $54K per year.

Also, a lot of people recommend the community college rout for the first two years. I do have some cautions: Be very careful about the reciprocal arrangement with the 4 year schools. As it happens, my dd changed her major (which is so common) and the 4 year public university that did have her major (the flagship one closest to us that she intended to attend did NOT) had limited reciprocal arrangements with her cc. (And FAR less than they led us to believe.) So, for example, both she and her roommate had taken Psych 101 at their different cc (within 45 minutes of each other). My dd's Psych 101 credits did not transfer and her roommate's did, because her roommate's cc had better reciprocal arrangements with the university. My dd needs one more semester of credits than her roommate does, solely because of the reciprocal arrangements with the community colleges.

Really, it's all about gouging people for money.

Anyone that files the FAFSA is eligible for unsubsidized federal student loans...it is not dependent on income at all....

as for private schools, some are just better than others at giving money to the better students, you do have to do your homework some....

My DS went "away" to college, all 8 minutes down the road to the Dorm. Just my opinion but the cost of that dorm was some of the best money we spent during his college career.

IMO college is so many things, it's not just what they learn in a book, or a class it can also be heavy on life lessons.

Looking back, my DS lived on or near campus all 5 years (yep, took him 5 but he is 10 months away from getting his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree so I'm ok with those 5 years) Yes, it was expensive but I would not change a thing. Sure, he could have lived at home and saved a chunk of change but he didn't. He worked part time, went to school full time and learned a whole lot of things along the way.

I don't know if there are any good statistics to back it up but I remember being told that kids who live on campus and immerse themselves in college life have a better chance of graduating in a timely fashion. Universities are concerned with their graduation rates, perhaps that is why they are moving towards requiring on campus living.

Like I said, IMO it is the best money we ever spent - DS paid part, we paid part. We were all invested in his education

As for scholarships, I began to think that most were just a joke. From my experience, the better the sob story the better the chance of landing the scholarships.
DS got a few from my DH's then employer, our high school booster club and from the University itself but all the "community" awards went to the kids who overcame some sort of diversity mainly in their home lives.

I agree. I think being away from home those 4 years (or so) is equally important as what they learn in the classroom.

We didn't have any sob stories to tell....but still got generous merit offers .

 

[NewRVLady]

I agree. I think being away from home those 4 years (or so) is equally important as what they learn in the classroom.

We didn't have any sob stories to tell....but still got generous merit offers .

Actually-the link I showed earlier disagrees-living at home can save a pile of $$-

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/10-things-kids-applying-college/story?id=26897509

7.
Living at Home Is the Best Advice

I have good news for those who are dreading the moment when their little birds fly the nest. Living at home is the smartest financial choice for students. According to College Board, the average cost of room and board in 2013-2014 was $9,498 a year for a public four-year school and $10,823 a year for a private non-profit four year school. Multiply that by four and that adds up to a lot of money.

If there is a good school close enough to home, then you should seriously consider it as an option. Even if they want to graduate from another institution, getting some first- and second-year credits at a local university or community college is going to be a lot cheaper than going away for the full four years


I have 2 kids-one lived at home all but one semester-other had apartment-both had great college experiences.
The one who lived at home actually has the more dynamic job-and moved near NYC to accomplish that

 

[Happy Snowman]

Actually-the link I showed earlier disagrees-living at home can save a pile of $$-

7.
Living at Home Is the Best Advice

I have good news for those who are dreading the moment when their little birds fly the nest. Living at home is the smartest financial choice for students. According to College Board, the average cost of room and board in 2013-2014 was $9,498 a year for a public four-year school and $10,823 a year for a private non-profit four year school. Multiply that by four and that adds up to a lot of money.

If there is a good school close enough to home, then you should seriously consider it as an option. Even if they want to graduate from another institution, getting some first- and second-year credits at a local university or community college is going to be a lot cheaper than going away for the full four years

The decision to live on campus was not a financial decision at all...it wasn't an option to live at home in our house...well, if they REALLY wanted to ok, but much of what is learned in college happens living on your "own" and having to do for yourself. Our kids ended up with real full rides so it it ended up not mattering but it was always assumed they would live on campus and selecting schools were most kids lived on campus all 4 years was very important to them.

Personally, I cringe every time I hear parents forcing their kids to go to the college down the street to save a few bucks....