Scholarships - searching for them

[crisi]

I think Charlotte's post is pretty good too, and mirrors the experience of two of my friends.

Her son was exceptional - but didn't even get accepted to the Ivy - they have their pick and even exceptional kids don't get in. Now, if you do manage to combine talent and luck (and frankly, because there are so few slots and a lot of exceptional kids - there is an element of luck) and get in, many of them offer a lot of money.

He did get into great schools, but with not much money attached.

In the end, the best deal came from a school that - reading between the lines - wouldn't have been the one he would have chosen if he picked without regard to the offer.

Both of my friends had kids who chose to pick in the end without regard to finances - one could have gotten a free ride several places, but chose Vassar (and also didn't get accepted to her Ivy). Another had a free ride to a state school, about half tuition at a better regarded regional state university, and chose the small private liberal arts college - that gave her more in hard dollars, but the tuition being more, she'll end up out of pocket for more.

With the exception of the top tier schools (and not just the Ivy's but pretty much anything in the top 50 - maybe even 100 schools) - most schools need kids who are better than their average enrollee in order to become a better regarded college. So if your kid has a 29 ACT score, he probably won't get much money from a school where the average ACT score is a 28 or 29, but he might get a great deal from a school where the average score is a 24. The problem with this is that in the end, he'll have gone to a school with a lesser reputation (and likely less rigorous) than he could have had he gone to his stretch school - where he is unlikely to get money at all. However, he'll come out in a better financial place - and for MOST people, a degree is a degree.

 

[kcrew]

Our experience with scholarships for DS for college. DS graduated 3rd in his class with a 4.07 GPA. He wasn't a jock, but was in many academic and service groups. He applied for ~30 scholarships spending hundreds of hours on applications. in the end he got a one time $1,000 from our local Walmart and $1,500 from our local Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal club). I was pretty disappointed that 12 years of incredible hard work resulted in $2,500 . Thankfully he was able to live at home and commute to a Big Ten university (Purdue), graduate in 4 years with a major in Physics and a minor in Astronomy with no debt (I work there and get a 50% tuition discount). He applied to grad school in physics and received three full ride offers (tuition waiver and a teaching stipend). No need to seek other scholarships, yay !!

Thank you for this post. I have researched scholarship opportunities for countless hours, days, weeks and have found what you say to be reality. I am SOOOO sick of everyone constantly telling me how much money is out there--of course no one ever has specifics, nor do they have kids that have been through the process, but they KNOW free money is everywhere, lol. Bottom line, just not true.

 

[3boymthr]

I think Charlotte's post is pretty good too, and mirrors the experience of two of my friends.

Her son was exceptional - but didn't even get accepted to the Ivy - they have their pick and even exceptional kids don't get in. Now, if you do manage to combine talent and luck (and frankly, because there are so few slots and a lot of exceptional kids - there is an element of luck) and get in, many of them offer a lot of money.

He did get into great schools, but with not much money attached.

In the end, the best deal came from a school that - reading between the lines - wouldn't have been the one he would have chosen if he picked without regard to the offer.

Both of my friends had kids who chose to pick in the end without regard to finances - one could have gotten a free ride several places, but chose Vassar (and also didn't get accepted to her Ivy). Another had a free ride to a state school, about half tuition at a better regarded regional state university, and chose the small private liberal arts college - that gave her more in hard dollars, but the tuition being more, she'll end up out of pocket for more.

With the exception of the top tier schools (and not just the Ivy's but pretty much anything in the top 50 - maybe even 100 schools) - most schools need kids who are better than their average enrollee in order to become a better regarded college. So if your kid has a 29 ACT score, he probably won't get much money from a school where the average ACT score is a 28 or 29, but he might get a great deal from a school where the average score is a 24. The problem with this is that in the end, he'll have gone to a school with a lesser reputation (and likely less rigorous) than he could have had he gone to his stretch school - where he is unlikely to get money at all. However, he'll come out in a better financial place - and for MOST people, a degree is a degree.

I think this is very important to keep in mind because unless you are going to an IVY (ETA or some other school where the alumni network will absolutely get you a job) or are taking a very specialized degree most employers do not care where you went to school. In over 25 years in the working world have never ever had an employer ask me where I went to school and after a couple of years I probably could have left that off my resume completely. DH has had the same experience (though he has a vocation in HVAC). Not one of his prospective employers cared that he was trained at XYZ school (the best and most expensive technical college in our area) and has his AS degree all they cared about was that he was trained and could pass the licensing tests.

 

[crisi]

I think this is very important to keep in mind because unless you are going to an IVY (ETA or some other school where the alumni network will absolutely get you a job) or are taking a very specialized degree most employers do not care where you went to school. In over 25 years in the working world have never ever had an employer ask me where I went to school and after a couple of years I probably could have left that off my resume completely. DH has had the same experience (though he has a vocation in HVAC). Not one of his prospective employers cared that he was trained at XYZ school (the best and most expensive technical college in our area) and has his AS degree all they cared about was that he was trained and could pass the licensing tests.

Although there is a caveat. Schools that aren't rigorous don't have nearly the four/five or even six year graduation rates as schools that are. Obviously, cause and effect here - a student who can get into and chooses a rigorous school is probably more motivated. However, don't discount peer pressure. If three out of four students drops out and most people at school aren't terribly motivated, then it becomes hard for many students to study and stay in school - even if the school is "easy" for them. A good deal to a school your kid doesn't complete isn't much of a deal.

 

[pryncess527]

Graduation rates can be really difficult thing to accurately judge schools on. There are so many factors that go into a school's graduation rate. Many schools that are affordable attract students that work and therefore attend school part time and that penalizes schools graduation rate.