Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[aprilgail]

DD just got her ACT results, she jumped from a 30 to a 34 - I about fell over since she dropped 60 points on the last SAT
I believe this got her the "dream school" ACT score she wanted plus a bit of wiggle room

Off to investigate merit scholarships for the schools I think she will get into

That is awesome!

 

[mamacatnv]

That's awesome!! your daughter will likely start getting letters from schools with attractive scholarship offers.

My daughter has a really good SAT score plus good grades and she has gotten several. Unfortunately they aren't for schools she's remotely interested in. A few offers would make the school basically free for us.

Oh I hope so, I just finished the FAFSA and the EFC made me cry due to the dramatic change in income from 2015 to now.
Just curious, will they get offers from schools they have not applied to?
I'm trying to navigate the scholarships etc on the websites of the schools she is applying too

 

[Xcited4Disney]

DD just got her ACT results, she jumped from a 30 to a 34 - I about fell over since she dropped 60 points on the last SAT
I believe this got her the "dream school" ACT score she wanted plus a bit of wiggle room

Off to investigate merit scholarships for the schools I think she will get into

That's great!!! You should definitely look into school's where she would get automatic merit with that score. UAlabama I believe is one.

 

[Poohforyou]

Oh I hope so, I just finished the FAFSA and the EFC made me cry due to the dramatic change in income from 2015 to now.
Just curious, will they get offers from schools they have not applied to?
I'm trying to navigate the scholarships etc on the websites of the schools she is applying too

The letters my daughter got were to strongly encourage her to apply because she's eligible for scholarships, in state tuition rate, book allowance, study abroad stipend, travel allowance, etc.

One school would be free if she applied and got this deal. Several others would only be a few thousand dollars.

She might apply to one that has some of what she's looking for but most don't interest her at all.

My suggestion, look for state schools outside your region of the country that are listed as somewhat selective on college board. Many will have an honors college and that's where the $$$ comes from.

Many state schools that don't draw students from far away are willing to give $$$$ to get them.

 

[v.t.]

WARNING! Mom Brag coming!

My daughter made it to the High School State swim meet! Whoop! Whoop! Her coach was able to fix her seed times and she swam in the fastest heat. It was her 2nd best time EVER which (for me) means that she has some gas left in the tank for Saturday at the state meet. Her next goal is to take down the team record. It's possible, but she'll have to drop a bunch of time to do it. They saying goes in swimming: "If you have a lane, you have a chance."

So excited for her, let us know how she does!!!!!

DS heard from his "tied for 1st place" school and he got in! So now we just have to wait and hear about money. We don't think that he's getting money from his out of state 1st choice school now. It's a bit of a disappointment. His test scores are high (ish - I hate to say they are high because compared to some they certainly are not!) and in the range for a merit based scholarship - and his GPA was too based on his weighted GPA; however, this school recalculated GPA's and they said that his was just under for a merit scholarship... sigh... It is posssible they may come back with something later, I guess. Hopefully, today's school will offer him something. That will help make the decision easier!

WooHoo!!! Nice to have a plan, even if it is a backup one.

DD just got her ACT results, she jumped from a 30 to a 34 - I about fell over since she dropped 60 points on the last SAT
I believe this got her the "dream school" ACT score she wanted plus a bit of wiggle room

Off to investigate merit scholarships for the schools I think she will get into

That is amazing! Now you have a lot of research to do. We found the best opportunities were out of state. What is her dream school?

 

[mamacatnv]

That is amazing! Now you have a lot of research to do. We found the best opportunities were out of state. What is her dream school?

Dream School keeps changing but UC Berkeley and Amherst were both BIG reaches, Univ of Minnesota Twin Cities is not a reach but its high on her list.

 

[3smithboys]

Congrats! Must be a relief to know he is going "somewhere"

It is! He applied to 6 schools and has gotten into 4.... so it's nice to know that he's going "somewhere." We are still waiting to hear from the last two. Now, we just have to wait to see about money, and he has to really think carefully about where is going to be the best place for his future.

 

[Poohforyou]

Dream School keeps changing but UC Berkeley and Amherst were both BIG reaches, Univ of Minnesota Twin Cities is not a reach but its high on her list.

I would bet Minnesota would offer a nice merit package. It's unlikely Berkley or Amherst would. Many of the most selective schools don't give merit aid for a few reasons - they don't have to for one and it would be difficult to do so since they get the best and brightest.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS heard from his "tied for 1st place" school and he got in! So now we just have to wait and hear about money. We don't think that he's getting money from his out of state 1st choice school now. It's a bit of a disappointment. His test scores are high (ish - I hate to say they are high because compared to some they certainly are not!) and in the range for a merit based scholarship - and his GPA was too based on his weighted GPA; however, this school recalculated GPA's and they said that his was just under for a merit scholarship... sigh... It is posssible they may come back with something later, I guess. Hopefully, today's school will offer him something. That will help make the decision easier!

DD just got her ACT results, she jumped from a 30 to a 34 - I about fell over since she dropped 60 points on the last SAT
I believe this got her the "dream school" ACT score she wanted plus a bit of wiggle room

Off to investigate merit scholarships for the schools I think she will get into

Congrats to both of you - great news for both of your kids!

 

[lucky978]

Such an exciting time for all of our children!

My daughters applied each to about 6 early action schools by November 1. When do you think they will hear something back? They have received letters saying they have all of their paperwork, but nothing since. I'm thinking it won't be until end of December, but I see some of you are hearing already.

So anxious!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

Such an exciting time for all of our children!

My daughters applied each to about 6 early action schools by November 1. When do you think they will hear something back? They have received letters saying they have all of their paperwork, but nothing since. I'm thinking it won't be until end of December, but I see some of you are hearing already.

So anxious!!!

DD says Minnesota is a rolling admission school - now she is on edge, she says they stated results by 1/31/17 - she said yesterday, she would have preferred a fixed date instead of anytime between now and then as she is now stalking her application portal

 

[mamacatnv]

I would bet Minnesota would offer a nice merit package. It's unlikely Berkley or Amherst would. Many of the most selective schools don't give merit aid for a few reasons - they don't have to for one and it would be difficult to do so since they get the best and brightest.

Amherst's need based is amazing, it has to be, they are stupid expensive. Kids leave debt free, they assure it. I really hope she does not get into Amherst, I don't feel its a good fit for her academically. She fell in love with the "feel" of Amherst, loved the town, loved the campus etc BUT academically she is a STEM kid not a liberal art kid. She'd end up with an Amherst degree with the majority of her classes coming from U Mass, Amherst which she did not like. There is no real logic in her applying to Amherst.

 

[robinb]

Is anyone else worried about their 529's this morning?

DD says Minnesota is a rolling admission school - now she is on edge, she says they stated results by 1/31/17 - she said yesterday, she would have preferred a fixed date instead of anytime between now and then as she is now stalking her application portal

Thanks for mentioning Minnesota's application portal. I'll need to tell my DD to apply for a student ID number so she can stalk it as well.

 

[Poohforyou]

Amherst's need based is amazing, it has to be, they are stupid expensive. Kids leave debt free, they assure it. I really hope she does not get into Amherst, I don't feel its a good fit for her academically. She fell in love with the "feel" of Amherst, loved the town, loved the campus etc BUT academically she is a STEM kid not a liberal art kid. She'd end up with an Amherst degree with the majority of her classes coming from U Mass, Amherst which she did not like. There is no real logic in her applying to Amherst.

Yes, amazing need based aid but not merit based. We live in the northeast, land of high income and high cost of living. Without any consideration for zip code we, and most people we know, don't qualify for need based aid.

As for rolling admission school, my daughter got into one about 2 weeks after sending her application. it's her safety but still a nice win for her. I don't understand stalking their ap rather than just applying. Check when scholarships start being handed out.

 

[mamacatnv]

Yes, amazing need based aid but not merit based. We live in the northeast, land of high income and high cost of living. Without any consideration for zip code we, and most people we know, don't qualify for need based aid.

As for rolling admission school, my daughter got into one about 2 weeks after sending her application. it's her safety but still a nice win for her. I don't understand stalking their ap rather than just applying. Check when scholarships start being handed out.

Her application is submitted, they have a student portal where they can "follow" the progression of their application.
When we ran the calculator for Amherst we made out ok but we are in Central Texas not the oh so spendy North East

 

[mamacatnv]

Is anyone else worried about their 529's this morning?

Thanks for mentioning Minnesota's application portal. I'll need to tell my DD to apply for a student ID number so she can stalk it as well.

2 kidlets from here are applying to the same school? That's cool!
I believe Austin Tink's son and my DD are also applying to UT as well as Berkeley I think....Small world

 

[sksjasams]

2 kidlets from here are applying to the same school? That's cool!
I believe Austin Tink's son and my DD are also applying to UT as well as Berkeley I think....Small world

Make that 3! My DS is also applying to UMN-TC. He is applying regular decision though...

 

[lucky978]

DD says Minnesota is a rolling admission school - now she is on edge, she says they stated results by 1/31/17 - she said yesterday, she would have preferred a fixed date instead of anytime between now and then as she is now stalking her application portal

I agree! I wish they would provide fixed dates.

 

[AustinTink]

2 kidlets from here are applying to the same school? That's cool!
I believe Austin Tink's son and my DD are also applying to UT as well as Berkeley I think....Small world

You are correct. Good luck to both our kiddos!

P.S. a kid at my son's school just announced he has signed with Berkeley as a student athlete. This is a kid who is on track to compete in the next olympics. He's not even in the top half DS's graduating class, but I guess he's just that good of an athlete. Seems so unfair. DS is pretty sure he's not going to get into Berkeley, but he is still going to apply. It hurts to see him so sad about it.

 

[AustinTink]

DS just got accepted to Texas A&M. It's one of his safety schools, but good to have in his back pocket. The school is not really a match for his personality, but it's still nice to have the acceptance.