College loan ?

[Pea-n-Me]

Agreed. The SATs are much more "well-rounded" and I believe (I haven't taken these evil tests in years, ofc) that the ACTs are really geared toward specific subjects, is it not? I think the SATs are a crock of you-know-what and should actually be based on what I have learned. It frustrated me to know that I was this smart kid, but couldn't understand how to "work the SAT system" -- hatreeeeed for theeeee.

You will be happy to see this, then!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...requirement/7FCbTpjGAHvzq2uOmAN2BP/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...regoing-sat/7fBsxwseXxVetpEY0zzunO/story.html

 

[disneypanda11]

To echo some prior posts, I would encourage your daughter to apply to any school that she has a serious interest in. Many private schools have significant endowments that they use to offer aid (both merit and needs-based) to students. Needs based aid does not take factors like test scores into consideration, it's based solely on the financial situation of the family. If it is a school she has her heart set on, why not have her apply provided she has the appropriate expectation that it may/may not end up being affordable. That way, you'll both have the "complete picture" to base a decision upon once she is accepted and is offered a definitive financial aid package.

 

[sunshinemelody]

You will be happy to see this, then!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...requirement/7FCbTpjGAHvzq2uOmAN2BP/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...regoing-sat/7fBsxwseXxVetpEY0zzunO/story.html

These standardized tests are just a money-making scheme and a lot of students suffer from not being amongst the best, even though they're top-notch kids in terms of their school grades. I could have an A average, but my SATS are average and I won't be let into Harvard? That's craziness to me.

 

[teller80]

You will be happy to see this, then!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...requirement/7FCbTpjGAHvzq2uOmAN2BP/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...regoing-sat/7fBsxwseXxVetpEY0zzunO/story.html

NPR had a segment on the real reason why more schools are going test optional - the bottom line? To be able to reject more applicants and thereby raising their selectivity. They know that kids who do well on SAT's will submit their scores.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/03/436584244/why-are-colleges-really-going-test-optional

 

[sunshinemelody]

NPR had a segment on the real reason why more schools are going test optional - the bottom line? To be able to reject more applicants and thereby raising their selectivity. They know that kids who do well on SAT's will submit their scores.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/03/436584244/why-are-colleges-really-going-test-optional

Sigh. Students can never win. Ever.

 

[teller80]

These standardized tests are just a money-making scheme and a lot of students suffer from not being amongst the best, even though they're top-notch kids in terms of their school grades. I could have an A average, but my SATS are average and I won't be let into Harvard? That's craziness to me.

Part of me agrees with you but another part says that the education you receive in high school varies so greatly from school to school that this is a way to compare applicants. Add in the fact that grading systems at each school are not standardized so comparing gpa's can be hard.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Part of me agrees with you but another part says that the education you receive in high school varies so greatly from school to school that this is a way to compare applicants. Add in the fact that grading systems at each school are not standardized so comparing gpa's can be hard.

I can understand that.

A part of me just wants to see the younger generation succeed and actually be able to go to higher education without being straddled with tens of thousands of dollars that they can't even afford to pay back. There are no jobs for us and when they are available, the pay is so low, it's laughable, but we take it because it may be our only chance to get into the work field and it's truly unfair. The whole, "I paid my way through college!" line doesn't work anymore and if schools are becoming more selective, it means that their rates are going up as well to accommodate the slimmer classes they're letting in (which is obscene). Maybe the standardized tests aren't that far-fetched in the grand scheme of things, but they need to rework it, because it doesn't make any sense.

 

[okeydokey]

These standardized tests are just a money-making scheme and a lot of students suffer from not being amongst the best, even though they're top-notch kids in terms of their school grades. I could have an A average, but my SATS are average and I won't be let into Harvard? That's craziness to me.

The reasoning is that an A at your high school may be very different than an A in another. The test score compares the kid by comparing their performance on the same thing. The caliber of schools is wildly different in different towns and states.

When I was advising at a major University the valedictorian of a small rural school has an ACT score of 21. A B student in the more affluent town next store had an ACT of 26.

 

[Hrhpd]

Just pointing out that this is actually incorrect. When you submit your 2016-2017 FAFSA, that is considered new, so when you have filed your taxes and have finished that process for the 2015 tax year, you can then go back in and have the IRS pull up your tax information from both parents and re-submit; that's it.

You can't submit your 2016-2017 yet.

 

[Hrhpd]

I can understand that.

A part of me just wants to see the younger generation succeed and actually be able to go to higher education without being straddled with tens of thousands of dollars that they can't even afford to pay back. There are no jobs for us and when they are available, the pay is so low, it's laughable, but we take it because it may be our only chance to get into the work field and it's truly unfair. The whole, "I paid my way through college!" line doesn't work anymore and if schools are becoming more selective, it means that their rates are going up as well to accommodate the slimmer classes they're letting in (which is obscene). Maybe the standardized tests aren't that far-fetched in the grand scheme of things, but they need to rework it, because it doesn't make any sense.

SAT just had a major overhaul.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/

 

[Hrhpd]

I can understand that.

A part of me just wants to see the younger generation succeed and actually be able to go to higher education without being straddled with tens of thousands of dollars that they can't even afford to pay back. There are no jobs for us and when they are available, the pay is so low, it's laughable, but we take it because it may be our only chance to get into the work field and it's truly unfair. The whole, "I paid my way through college!" line doesn't work anymore and if schools are becoming more selective, it means that their rates are going up as well to accommodate the slimmer classes they're letting in (which is obscene). Maybe the standardized tests aren't that far-fetched in the grand scheme of things, but they need to rework it, because it doesn't make any sense.

Depends on the marketability of the degree you choose. DS and all his classmates had jobs landed before they graduated. They actually had their pick of jobs. All the jobs paid between $65,000 to over $100,000.

While you should study what you love, you should also have a backup plan.

 

[mnrose]

The reasoning is that an A at your high school may be very different than an A in another. The test score compares the kid by comparing their performance on the same thing. The caliber of schools is wildly different in different towns and states.

When I was advising at a major University the valedictorian of a small rural school has an ACT score of 21. A B student in the more affluent town next store had an ACT of 26.

Good colleges look at all that stuff. GPA....can be meaningless too. My school DOES NOT do a "weighted" GPA...so an A in an AP course counts the same as an A in "bead counting" (to use an example). There are some colleges which "claim" that their "average" entering GPA is 4.0. That MUST be weighted. Sorry, but I simply do not believe that every single kid in your entering class has a "perfect" GPA or higher...or it they GOT that GPA, they deserved it. LOL. There are plenty of kids in my kids' high school whose GPA is in the 3.5 range and they are insanely talented, smart kids. But, they are pushing themselves with HARD classes rather than floating through. I've been assured by many college admission people that they DO look at what you took, they DO know the quality of the schools in our state (which are harder, which are notoriously easier). Also, they care more about RELATIVE position within your graduating class, rather than GPA...since some schools have these ridiculously inflated GPAs. So, did you graduate in the top 25% of your class, regardless of GPA....more relevant to them.

I'm always shocked at the number of kids with so-called perfect (or higher) GPA's....back in the dark ages, by the time you got out of the top 10 of my graduating class (about 250 kids) you were OUT of kids with a GPA of 3.75 or higher. Top 10%, you had kids with a B+ average. That doesn't happen anymore. My high school used a "real" curve...about 10% of class got A's, 20% B's, 50% C, 20% D, and a few failed (not many). It meant something to have a GPA of 3.9 (or higher). Not a SINGLE kid in my school had a perfect GPA (a couple of us were higher than 3.9). Yet, how many times have we heard about schools with many dozens of kids with "perfect" GPA's.

All that's a long diatribe, but my point is that there is NO single measure which is useful for college admission. They are all imperfect. Collectively....looking at ALL the data points...you might have something.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Depends on the marketability of the degree you choose. DS and all his classmates had jobs landed before they graduated. They actually had their pick of jobs. All the jobs paid between $65,000 to over $100,000.

While you should study what you love, you should also have a backup plan.

DD's BF just landed a job making $72,000 with a computer science major.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I'm not at all an expert but we recently learned about how FAFSA is going to work for when current Juniors apply. It's called prior prior year and it begins in 2017-2018. For current juniors, nstead of submitting tax info and then going back to resubmit once taxes are complete, you submit THIS year's tax information (2015). This will make the whole process of applying to college start earlier. Kids will be applying the summer before graduation. FAFSA can be submitted as early as October.

Here's a better explanation of it"
http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/fafsa-changes-what-ppy-means-for-you

Just pointing out that this is actually incorrect. When you submit your 2016-2017 FAFSA, that is considered new, so when you have filed your taxes and have finished that process for the 2015 tax year, you can then go back in and have the IRS pull up your tax information from both parents and re-submit; that's it.


In the state of CT, UCONN has agreements with many local CC's and state colleges that offer two year programs, for students to transfer into the college with all credits being transferable. I'd definitely look into this option.

OP, let your daughter know that it's not the end of the world. I'm 24. I'm still in college. I still live with my parents. It sucks. But she'll get over it. In this day and age, as a millennial, she has limited options and she's truly got to make do with what is available to her and work hard to boost her grades.

Also, question, any reason why she hasn't taken her SATs?

 

[sasywtch]

My dd went to a community college to get her AA then we moved back to CA, she had to wait a year (so as not to pay out of state tuition), then she went 3 years to a state university for her BA. She worked during all her classes and paid for her entire college education with no loans. It took her 2 extra years but she is now debt free, makes 2000 more a month than I do while her friends from college who didn't want to live in their parents homes, graduate in 3 years from HS to BA are heavily into Sally Mae debt. It's possible but people don't want to say no to their kids, feel guilty because they didn't save or kids want it quickly with no extra work. It bothers me when people say it can't be done. My son paid his way from AA-PhD while getting married, having kids and working. His wife paid for her RN degree during that time. He bartended and she was a waitress. He is now a tenured teacher in a large district (tv guy, think it's your district SJ) and teaches his kids on career day about working and college. He tells them that it made him appreciate it more, made him not take the classes for granted, etc. I have a $10K loan left and those people are vicious if you miss a payment. I tell my kids all the time, not to do what I did.

 

[littleblackegg]

Tell me how this works please, I only finished college a couple years ago, and had a family, so I'm sure it is different for an 18yo.

We are sifting through 7 schools, trying to really get an idea, assuming the worst, no scholarship $ (which is highly likely).

How much will it hurt dd with me still owing on my loans?

We ruled out the $49k a yr school, but may need to rule out a few more..or all of them & make her stay @ hm. Which I'd hate, if it's my fault she can't get loans.

My mother wasn't in any kind of position to help pay for my college education. Your daughter will be able to get her own loans and funding package through the school by filling out a FAFSA. You won't have to rule out schools.

 

[tzolkin]

Have you tried the online cost calculators for the different schools you're looking at? (Just search: "School Name cost calculator" or "financial aid calculator")

You can put in a few approximate numbers (income, assets, etc) and it will give you an estimated cost based on your financial need.

I would not rule schools out because of their sticker price unless you know for sure that your income is way too high to get any financial aid. Often schools that are more expensive have more money to give away and can sometimes wind up being cheaper. The school I went to was the most expensive of the 15 I applied to (over $60k per year), but they gave me the best financial aid (by nearly $10k over the next best offer). This was solely need based aid (all of the other schools' packages included merit based scholarships and still came nowhere close).

 

[sk!mom]

My mother wasn't in any kind of position to help pay for my college education. Your daughter will be able to get her own loans and funding package through the school by filling out a FAFSA. You won't have to rule out schools.

How long ago did you go to college? As someone who has recently been through the college search and currently has a college sophomore, I find your comment to be inaccurate. FAFSA, and therefore Universities, assume a parent contribution regardless of whether or not parents plan on contributing. It takes an extremely low income to have a low expected contribution.

To the OP, are you able to contribute anything from savings or current income? If not, and without merit aide your DD's best option is probably living at home and going local.

 

[littleblackegg]

How long ago did you go to college? As someone who has recently been through the college search and currently has a college sophomore, I find your comment to be inaccurate. FAFSA, and therefore Universities, assume a parent contribution regardless of whether or not parents plan on contributing. It takes an extremely low income to have a low expected contribution.

To the OP, are you able to contribute anything from savings or current income? If not, and without merit aide your DD's best option is probably living at home and going local.

I went in the late 1980's-early 1990's. My mother, recently divorced from her second husband, had a very low income. So that is probably why I had plenty of grants and loans in my own name.

 

[sunshinemelody]

The reasoning is that an A at your high school may be very different than an A in another. The test score compares the kid by comparing their performance on the same thing. The caliber of schools is wildly different in different towns and states.

When I was advising at a major University the valedictorian of a small rural school has an ACT score of 21. A B student in the more affluent town next store had an ACT of 26.

Nope, yeah, I understand, I just still think it's crazy. Doesn't change my opinion on it.

You can't submit your 2016-2017 yet.

... That's obvious. I was telling OP that that is how it will work for the 2016-2017 FAFSA.