Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[TLuvsD]

It depends on whose Social Security number is used for reporting interest.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thank you.

 

[Bluestars]

My son finally got his acceptance to Texas A&M today. After touring colleges, it was the only one he wanted to attend. He also got a four year ROTC scholarship that is good there. He was so excited that within two hours of being accepted he had already scheduled his new student conference and put down his housing deposit.

It feels good to have that behind us. Now he can enjoy the rest of his senior year without stressing about college.

I hope everyone is having a good year. I can't believe there are only 3 1/2 months left of this school year. It's gone by too quickly.

 

[IDoDis]

My son finally got his acceptance to Texas A&M today. After touring colleges, it was the only one he wanted to attend. He also got a four year ROTC scholarship that is good there. He was so excited that within two hours of being accepted he had already scheduled his new student conference and put down his housing deposit.

It feels good to have that behind us. Now he can enjoy the rest of his senior year without stressing about college.

I hope everyone is having a good year. I can't believe there are only 3 1/2 months left of this school year. It's gone by too quickly.

That is awesome! I'm glad he finally got his acceptance! Now you can both breathe easier and enjoy the rest of this school year and the planning ahead.

 

[elgerber]

Congrats to everyone on recent updates!!!
We have gotten first semester grades out of the way, and I guess we are heading down the final stretch.
We sent in dd's Honors Apprentice Scholarship application last week, so we are waiting for the results of that. She also has a talent scholarship application to finish for the Film Studies program. They aren't full ride or anything, but the highest amount anyone can get at this school, so we are crossing our fingers!!
Ordered cap and gown last week, and just got the grad announcement order form from the photographer we used. And we just got the info to send in the $75 for the all night party, and the $75 prom tickets are on sale too. Cha Ching!!! UGH. Good thing I had put away a little money each week for the last year to cover some of this, since I am unemployed LOL. Not sure it was quite enough.
Now I need beef prices to come back down, for the taco bar at her grad party LOL. Ground beef is running double what I paid for it for my sons party 3 years ago.

 

[erincon23]

I have good news to report - after a big struggle to get DS to write his personal statement (I asked about this about two weeks ago, and got good advice from all of you), he finally finished it last week, we sent his app in on Saturday - to the only school he decided he wanted to apply to - got his transcript sent on Monday, and he got accepted YESTERDAY! And this morning, when he went to show me the email, he realized that he had missed the acceptance into the Honors program! So he was grinning ear to ear. This Honors program is great - automatically, he got $7000/year in scholarships, AND they give each Honors kid a laptop to use during their 4 years! It's a state school so costs are reasonable, the dorms are VERY nice, and best of all, he's going where he wanted to go.

If any of you are from Illinois and haven't settled on anything yet, I highly suggest you look at this school - University of Illinois Springfield. Small school, lots of scholarship money (he would have received a $3500 scholarship even if he hadn't gotten into the honors program), limited number of majors, but very personal, almost boutique. Good luck to everyone!

 

[Bluestars]

I have good news to report - after a big struggle to get DS to write his personal statement (I asked about this about two weeks ago, and got good advice from all of you), he finally finished it last week, we sent his app in on Saturday - to the only school he decided he wanted to apply to - got his transcript sent on Monday, and he got accepted YESTERDAY! And this morning, when he went to show me the email, he realized that he had missed the acceptance into the Honors program! So he was grinning ear to ear. This Honors program is great - automatically, he got $7000/year in scholarships, AND they give each Honors kid a laptop to use during their 4 years! It's a state school so costs are reasonable, the dorms are VERY nice, and best of all, he's going where he wanted to go.

Congratulations to him! He must be very excited. That's great that they even give him a laptop to use.

 

[kacaju]

So my dd who just turned 18 has showed little interest in looking at schools. I finally sat down with her and had a heart to heart...she just really has no idea what she wants to do.

So I said...you will go 2 years at Community College and if you want.. you can transfer later to a 4 year school. She was OK with that...but I still couldn't get her to summit the application. Well today she sat down and did it herself!! I am so proud of her...

 

[madge]

I have good news to report - after a big struggle to get DS to write his personal statement (I asked about this about two weeks ago, and got good advice from all of you), he finally finished it last week, we sent his app in on Saturday - to the only school he decided he wanted to apply to - got his transcript sent on Monday, and he got accepted YESTERDAY! And this morning, when he went to show me the email, he realized that he had missed the acceptance into the Honors program! So he was grinning ear to ear. This Honors program is great - automatically, he got $7000/year in scholarships, AND they give each Honors kid a laptop to use during their 4 years! It's a state school so costs are reasonable, the dorms are VERY nice, and best of all, he's going where he wanted to go.

wonderful news!!

 

[madge]

mini update ...

yesterday, we visited one of DS top 3 schools for their Honors Day. It's the school where he spent a month over the summer, so it was nice to have that sense of familiarity going in.

He had a group scholarship interview & an on demand essay while he was there. No way to know how he did ... although he did mention how odd the group interview was. DS can speak in front of 1000 people, but would much rather talk about anything but himself. He hates to do that. So, we'll know how that went in a couple of weeks. 30-40 out of 180 get a call back for a second round of interviews.

Tomorrow we go to another scholarship event, this time at a small liberal arts school.

Interestingly enough, DS top 3 schools couldn't be more different. One is the state's flagship school, one is a mid-level regional state school, and one is a private liberal arts school. It's going to be interesting to see where he ends up. All I know is I will be glad when this part is over.

 

[Pembo]

Mostly a lurker but wanted to share. When this thread started my ds was going to go to the community college for at least 1 if not 2 years. Instead, right before the school year, he decided to take all his classes at the community college for dual enrollment credit. Then we realized that with his intended major of music, he really needed to be at a 4 year school next fall since he'll already have 1 year of college behind him.

He applied to his #1 school, Belmont Univ in Nashville, and took the ACT in December. His audition was yesterday. Last summer we visited there and he fell in love with the program.

But wait, at the end of January we thought he should look at more schools, more local. (We are in Ohio). So he applied to 3 schools within a 4 hour drive.

While at Belmont yesterday for the audition, he/we decided this was not the best place for him. Then he auditioned, he did fine but was glad to have one audition done.

Next weekend we travel 4 hours for another audition, followed by 2 more in March. It's been a whirlwind around here as he is finishing essays, talking to the counselor to get transcripts sent, etc.

Right now, we are waiting to see if he gets into any of these schools, let alone the music schools.

It is exciting to read of all the acceptances here. I hope DS gets one too but the wait will be awhile...

 

[SydSim]

Just returned from a weekend trip to DD's number one pick. She auditioned and felt that it went well. We toured the grounds all weekend and she is hooked (Ruh Roh as Scooby would say). She would be in for a big letdown if she wasn't accepted. She has 12 schools on her list, but this one stands out by leaps and bounds.

Fortunately she really likes one of her other schools that she has already been accepted to but doesn't have to audition for.

Hoping to hear good news from the #1 school soon so that we can cancel the rest of her auditions.

 

[VickiVM]

My son finally got his acceptance to Texas A&M today. After touring colleges, it was the only one he wanted to attend. He also got a four year ROTC scholarship that is good there. He was so excited that within two hours of being accepted he had already scheduled his new student conference and put down his housing deposit.

It feels good to have that behind us. Now he can enjoy the rest of his senior year without stressing about college.

I hope everyone is having a good year. I can't believe there are only 3 1/2 months left of this school year. It's gone by too quickly.

Congratulations!! Sydney was accepted to A&M - Corpus Christi, ACU and Texas State, but really loves A&M, so I think that's her final answer. Even for a smaller campus, CC has a lot of degree programs, which is very impressive. She's goin to major in Environmental Science, so College Station may also be in her future if she wants to expand her choices and transfer later.

FAFSA was completed Saturday, so next step is to visit campus again this weekend and look at housing choices. I'm very proud to have her join the A&M family!

Now if I could just get my UNT sophomore to file his taxes and complete his portion of FAFSA...

 

[lvloopingbag]

Good News! DS got the letter today telling him that he is a National Merit Scholar Finalist!

And the bad news is there is no money offered at his college for it, LOL!

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I'm actually the senior, not the parent, but I hope y'all don't mind if I chime in!

I was accepted to Santa Clara in December, which is my top choice, and I got into the business school! I did receive a scholarship as well, but we are still looking at around 30k per year We tried asking the financial aid office to consider...no luck there. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it is a fantastic school and the perfect fit for me. I'm really hopeful that something will get worked out.

The only other school I've heard back from is University of Hawaii at Manoa. No surprise there, it was a safe school. It's much more reasonable financially with the WUE, and it is a lovely location, but I'm not sure I would thrive academically there.

I am still waiting to hear back from University of Oregon, Arizona State, Gonzaga and Scripps. Tonight I am sending in my application for the Barrett Honors College at ASU. I am regretting not sending it in before the Priority deadline. I think had I applied then, I would have had a much better chance of getting it. By now most spots are filled up, but who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Good News! DS got the letter today telling him that he is a National Merit Scholar Finalist!

And the bad news is there is no money offered at his college for it, LOL!

Congrats! That's such a huge accomplishment. Just sorry it doesn't come with a huge check.

I'm actually the senior, not the parent, but I hope y'all don't mind if I chime in!

I was accepted to Santa Clara in December, which is my top choice, and I got into the business school! I did receive a scholarship as well, but we are still looking at around 30k per year We tried asking the financial aid office to consider...no luck there. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it is a fantastic school and the perfect fit for me. I'm really hopeful that something will get worked out.

The only other school I've heard back from is University of Hawaii at Manoa. No surprise there, it was a safe school. It's much more reasonable financially with the WUE, and it is a lovely location, but I'm not sure I would thrive academically there.

I am still waiting to hear back from University of Oregon, Arizona State, Gonzaga and Scripps. Tonight I am sending in my application for the Barrett Honors College at ASU. I am regretting not sending it in before the Priority deadline. I think had I applied then, I would have had a much better chance of getting it. By now most spots are filled up, but who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!

Good luck! I know how hard it can be. My DD had her heart set on Coastal Carolina in SC. She applied and was accepted. But after a long talk she realized why it wasn't going to happen -- $30-$33k a year. Instead she is going to a state school here (Richard Stockton College) and it will only cost about $17-$20k after scholarship. Unfortunately, money is a huge part of the equation and she knows that even the state college is stretching things and that she will have to take out loans as well. She has had time to consider it all and is quite happy with the state school, particularly since I told her that her major will probably require her to go for her masters and they don't come with scholarships.

 

[Gina]

My son finally got his acceptance to Texas A&M today. After touring colleges, it was the only one he wanted to attend. He also got a four year ROTC scholarship that is good there. He was so excited that within two hours of being accepted he had already scheduled his new student conference and put down his housing deposit.

It feels good to have that behind us. Now he can enjoy the rest of his senior year without stressing about college.

WHOOP!! Congrats to your son!! And the ROTC scholarship has to help! I can't remember, was he going into the Corps? At least you won't have to worry about housing if he is, since they have their own dorms. And good job on signing up for the NSC already! Classes get filled fast from what I understand, and the earlier NSC you register for, the better. Are y'all going to the big A&M Open House this Saturday?

Congratulations!! Sydney was accepted to A&M - Corpus Christi, ACU and Texas State, but really loves A&M, so I think that's her final answer. Even for a smaller campus, CC has a lot of degree programs, which is very impressive. She's goin to major in Environmental Science, so College Station may also be in her future if she wants to expand her choices and transfer later.

Congrats!! My younger brother graduated from A&M CC and *loved* it there. I love the campus, I think it's really pretty.

Good News! DS got the letter today telling him that he is a National Merit Scholar Finalist!

And the bad news is there is no money offered at his college for it, LOL!

Money or not, that is amazing news!! How can they not offer anything for that?? Doesn't seem right.


No new news on our end... Friday we'll be at TAMUG all day for another Sea Aggie Preview. Really, we just want to measure the dorm room for storage and furniture purposes, and he wants to do the lunch-with-an-Engineering-professor thing. We're still waiting to hear back on the Terry Foundation scholarship finalists announcement, but that probably won't be for another month or so. He turns in his application on Friday for the other big scholarship he's applying for. Not full-ride like Terry, but still like $10K so we would take it!! Lol.

Congrats to all those with good news, and good luck to those waiting to hear back! Fingers crossed for you and your Seniors!


-gina-

 

[elgerber]

Good News! DS got the letter today telling him that he is a National Merit Scholar Finalist!

And the bad news is there is no money offered at his college for it, LOL!

That's amazing, congrats to him!!!! Most of the schools we looked it, only offered $2000 or so for finalists too, I thought it kinda funny. It's very hard to be a finalist, you'd think it would be worth more than that!

 

[lvloopingbag]

That's amazing, congrats to him!!!! Most of the schools we looked it, only offered $2000 or so for finalists too, I thought it kinda funny. It's very hard to be a finalist, you'd think it would be worth more than that!

Amen to that, Elgerber! Thanks to all for the kind words! Yep, Penn and the other schools in that group only offer need based aid. No merit aid to be had, but we knew that going into the process. Good thing he is an only child.....

 

[JeannieNM]

Congratulations Everyone!!! So much good news.

We have been off auditioning every weekend so I have not checked in for awhile. DD has 3 auditions in two different states next week and then the auditions are done. YAY

SidSYM go luck with all the auditions, tell your DD to break a leg.


Again, Congratulations to everyone.