High School Class 2013: Picking Colleges..Check in Here!

[Christine]

I have to retract something I wrote earlier. My DS got a 1280 on his SAT, not an 1140.

I realized this when we registered (or tried to anyway) for the October SAT this morning. Unfortunately, their systems are down. This is new, though- you now need to upload a picture of your student (and they emphasize that it must look EXACTLY like them) for their admission ticket. And the test price has gone up since he took it in April/May.

My son registered for both the SAT and ACT for October. Both required the photos this time and, I swear, both cost more. Crazy.

 

[Beachbumpirates]

Loving this thread - thank you! Question - my DD applied to her top pick in July under their early application opportunity. They said they would let us know mid August. She emailed her advisor on Monday to see if he had any idea when notification would be made and he advd her that they never received her ACT scores. Called the HS to find out this is the first year that our HS wont be sending ACT/SAT scores with official transcripts but they had not told the kids this. She said they were planning to tell them once school resumed later this week. Do we think that my DD missed out on the first round of acceptance letters because of this? And what, if anything, would you say or do? She is our oldest and we are treading on new ground.

 

[LisaR]

Sigh, I know it is expensive, but our "local" university UVM in Burlington is around $40k for IN STATE. I know, ridiculous isn't it? Jeesh...

I was curious so I looked up public universities in Vermont. Wow! You guys are really lacking state schools, aren't you?

I'd still look at some privates in FL, though. If you have to pay OOS anyway, you will likely get more aid from a private school. Good luck!

 

[Longsx3]

Loving this thread - thank you! Question - my DD applied to her top pick in July under their early application opportunity. They said they would let us know mid August. She emailed her advisor on Monday to see if he had any idea when notification would be made and he advd her that they never received her ACT scores. Called the HS to find out this is the first year that our HS wont be sending ACT/SAT scores with official transcripts but they had not told the kids this. She said they were planning to tell them once school resumed later this week. Do we think that my DD missed out on the first round of acceptance letters because of this? And what, if anything, would you say or do? She is our oldest and we are treading on new ground.

Is it a University with rolling admissions or early action? Either way I am sure there is still time to apply under early action. If you want to name the school I will try to help.

 

[Beachbumpirates]

I am not sure which it is, early or rolling. How would I find that out? It is Carthage College in Kenosha, WI and thanks for your help!

 

[vttkdmom]

I was curious so I looked up public universities in Vermont. Wow! You guys are really lacking state schools, aren't you?

Yes, I grew up in NY and there are so many SUNY schools to choose from, VT has only a handful, and if you want a BS in nursing, UVM is pretty much IT.

I'd still look at some privates in FL, though. If you have to pay OOS anyway, you will likely get more aid from a private school. Good luck!

Thanks. Her second choice is Nova, which is private; I am thinking if we get a better financial aid package from Nova, she may choose that.

But, the Navy program will offer her a $10k signing bonus, and $1k/month while in nursing school (jr & sr yrs), so that would pay a chunk of the tuition, she has to serve 5 yrs after, but she thinks that would be a bonus, guaranteed job at graduation, and when she is out of the Navy, she will have 5 yrs experience going into her field. She can apply to the program once she is accepted into a nursing school in her junior year.

 

[Longsx3]

I am not sure which it is, early or rolling. How would I find that out? It is Carthage College in Kenosha, WI and thanks for your help!

Carthage is Rolling, so when they get all of her application including transcript they will review her app. Kudos to her for being so fat ahead in the process.


BTW I found the info by googling, sometimes college websites require digging....you can also use a website like cappex where info is easy to find.

 

[Denise W]

For those of you in New England - check out regional rates. We were living in RI and the state schools did not offer the major my daughter wanted (illustration). I found out that the NE states had an agreement that if another NE state school had that major, she could attend and pay a regional rate, which was just a little more than their in-state rate. She ended up going to UMASS and we saved over $8000 a year due to paying the regional rate. This was 8 years ago so I don't know if this is still offered, but it was a well kept secret.

Hope it helps!

Denise

 

[Longsx3]

Thanks. Her second choice is Nova, which is private; I am thinking if we get a better financial aid package from Nova, she may choose that.

But, the Navy program will offer her a $10k signing bonus, and $1k/month while in nursing school (jr & sr yrs), so that would pay a chunk of the tuition, she has to serve 5 yrs after, but she thinks that would be a bonus, guaranteed job at graduation, and when she is out of the Navy, she will have 5 yrs experience going into her field. She can apply to the program once she is accepted into a nursing school in her junior year.

Hopefully Nova will offer a good aid package. Someone mentioned Vermont schools lacking, some states offer neighbor discounted tuition you may want to look into that.

My husband is an Active duty officer, I would hate to see a new officer come into the military with that kind of debt even if it is 60K, heck even 30K that is a lot just starting out.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'd still look at some privates in FL, though.

(Gasp)

 

[LisaR]

(Gasp)

Hmmm.......maybe I could have worded that a little better.

 

[Beachbumpirates]

Carthage is Rolling, so when they get all of her application including transcript they will review her app. Kudos to her for being so fat ahead in the process.


BTW I found the info by googling, sometimes college websites require digging....you can also use a website like cappex where info is easy to find.

Thank you! We are thrilled she is ahead of the game too but I still wonder if the delay of her scores made a difference. I am learning that we will need to stay way on top of our HS through this process.

 

[hemispheredancer]

This year is coming faster than I anticipated!! DD is very active in school with clubs and marching/symphonic band. She has a 3.5 right now and her ACT was less than stellar..twice! She is not a standardized test taker. Her ACT score dos not reflect her academic ability and I hope colleges see that. She would like to major in biomedical engineering and then go on to med school. Her #1 choice is U of Michigan. She will also apply to Central Mich Univ and Wayne State Univ. This year she will be taking AP chem, calc, and AP Lit. Last year she had AP comp and got a B in there. Also took anatomy & physiology and got A+ all 3 trimesters. I have no doubt she will get into CMU and WSU, but I hope she has a killer essay for U-M and they look beyond her ACT scores. Looking to do early desicion there, too.

 

[marcyinPA]

Can anyone answer a FAFSA question? When you fill out the application, do they take into account your debt? We currently only have a mortgage, but we also don't make a lot of money. My DH works two jobs and I work one in order to make ends meet.

That said, we are kind of in need of a new(er) car, and will have to take out a loan in order to get one. This will make money a lot tighter for us.

Not sure how to go about this whole thing-

 

[wvjules]

Can anyone answer a FAFSA question? When you fill out the application, do they take into account your debt? We currently only have a mortgage, but we also don't make a lot of money. My DH works two jobs and I work one in order to make ends meet.

That said, we are kind of in need of a new(er) car, and will have to take out a loan in order to get one. This will make money a lot tighter for us.

Not sure how to go about this whole thing-

They do not care about debt. Only income and assets.

 

[marcyinPA]

They do not care about debt. Only income and assets.

Hmmm... well- we have $10K in a high yield account that we've been saving- and that's ALL of our savings. If we did something else with some of it- to make it "untouchable", will they count it as assets? Do they count 401K money as an asset?

As you can tell- I have no idea how this all works!

 

[Christine]

Hmmm... well- we have $10K in a high yield account that we've been saving- and that's ALL of our savings. If we did something else with some of it- to make it "untouchable", will they count it as assets? Do they count 401K money as an asset?

As you can tell- I have no idea how this all works!

The 401K is not counted as an asset; however, your income before the 401K deduction is what is used, not the income AFTER the 401K was taken out (like what is done for your taxable income). At least I think I have the right!

 

[georgina]

I think that is right, Christine. Putting money in a 401k this year will not help for the FAFSA in spring 2013. 401k assets are not counted, but any money put in is added back to your taxable income for that year only. So, if someone made $60,000 and put $10,000 in a 401k, the FAFSA counts all $60,000 as income for the year. Now, if you spend that $10,000 you have saved up on something, then you would not have it as an asset.

On the other hand, there is some level of protected assets that are not assessed by FAFSA calculations. I'm not sure what that is - it is based partly on the age of the parents.

 

[hemispheredancer]

As a student myself, I can tell you they do not give a rat's fanny about your outgoing bills. They are concerned with how much money you can access via savings, funds, stocks, etc. Less income=more aid. If you have a younger child, I would suggest moving some of your money in their name (with someone else other than you or DH as the account custodian). If any accounts are linked to you, your spouse, or your college-bound child (via SSN) you will be responsible for declaring those monies.

 

[luvavacation]

Congratulations to those that have already received acceptance letters! Hopefully the acceptances came from the first picks, and the search is done!

DD has stated that she will definitely be doing college apps this weekend, and has cleared her schedule. Unfortunately, it will be very hot this weekend, and the pool has been chlorinated and cleaned in anticipation of one last big swim. This would have been so much better if it was raining all weekend, instead of DD being tempted by the sparkling clean pool in 98 degree heat! Oh well, guess she can take a bit of a break at some point, right?

MarcyinPA, two years before the eldest went off to school, we put much of the savings that was in her name into her little sister's savings account. I think it was up to two years that the FAFSA can check back? Either way, we figured we would be able to get need-based scholarships or grants for DD, after all, we only have one income, pay a mortgage, had a car payment, etc, etc. Um, nope, no need-based anything! While FAFSA does not take all of a parent's savings into account, they do take some of it, and we are good savers, so that ruined any chance of need-based anything. I was fretting, because I was not going to empty our savings to pay for DD's college, but luckily she did get academic scholarships. Younger DD, I am not so sure about!

Unless you only make $20,000 per year and have 20 kids with no penny in savings (I exaggerate, but this is how it appears to me!), I don't think the FAFSA will put you in a favorable light. However, you still need to fill it out, because perhaps the school your child goes to will have different criteria for their financial aid offices. Either way, good luck to you! At times like this, it stinks to be responsible with money!

Ok, another college question. Are any of the colleges that your kids are looking at basing their GPA requirements on unweighted, core only GPAs? This is the one thing I am most worried about for DD, as it was what kept elder DD from full scholarship at her university (she had the ACT score, but took many honors and AP courses, which did not all receive an "A" grade, but were weighted by the High School). With unweighted core grades, she missed the full ride scholarship by just a few tenths of percentage point. For those that haven't gone through the college search before, it is something that might need to be asked when looking at scholarship qualifications. It was quite the shock for our family!

By the way, most schools bury this information on their websites. I will be calling the admissions counselors at the schools DD #2 applies at for the specifics of GPA calculations. Haven't done it at this point, because I don't want to be irritated yet! Arggh, things were so much easier 25 years ago when it came to college acceptance!