NEW here - worried about paying for college! - Page 2

LurkNessMonster · 10-27-2009, 12:43 AM

I have no first-hand knowledge of the University of Scranton, but my brother's boss went there and was raving about it. I know that it's Jesuit, and I hear they're generous with merit money. Maybe others can fill in more details.

Marist College in Poughkeepsie is not officially Catholic but has that feel. It is known to give merit money for SATs above 1200, and the tuition is reasonable to begin with. I visited the campus with a friend, and it is lovely and spacious, right on the Hudson, with a gorgeous modern library.

Manhattan College is also worth a look. It's located in the Riverdale area of the Bronx and is run by the LaSalle fathers.

mom2collegekids · 10-27-2009, 06:50 AM

Have you had a "sit down" with your son to discuss how much colleges cost these days (total cost - tuition, r&b, books, etc)? Have you discussed how much you can afford to pay each year and how much he'll need in merit money?

He also needs to know what level of schools will likely give him merit for his stats.

That way, he won't be expecting to attend schools that are unlikely (such as Boston College or Georgetown), since they are expensive, super-reaches, and aren't generous with merit $$. Many state publics are also not generous to OOS students, but a few are. Those that are generous, should be considered as matches or safeties.

If you come up with a list of colleges that are affordable because of a combination of what you can pay plus merit money, then the two of you can look at these school's "online tours" (aka virtual tours), to kind of get a feel for each one.

Is it safe to say that you can at least pay the same amount that you're currently paying for Jesuit High? I'm guessing that's about $10k per year (plus or minus). Do you have other children?

mamom · 10-27-2009, 07:36 AM

Thankfully, I found this discussion board when S applied to prep school. He is now a jr and we are starting to look at colleges. What I am doing is making a list of schools he is interested in, we have visited and adding in schools that will probabaly offer him merit money. I have a spreadsheet listing, school, location, info I get off "common data set" for that school (average GPA, number of students in top 10% of graduating class, SAT scores for middle 50%, COA, etc), and what scholarships my S may qualify for. In addition I note pros and cons of majors he is intersted in at that particular school. S can find the pie in the sky schools, I will find the financial safeties he would love to attend. S knows money may be an issue and the determining factor where he ends up going.

As others have said, BC will be a reach, and does not offer much in merit money. I think they only offer 10-15 full scholarships a year. Competition is very tough.

MiamiDAP · 10-27-2009, 07:52 AM

My advice is based on my D's experience (college junior). She is at state college. She has numerous Merit scholarships (might be over 10, not sure) that cover her full tuition. In addition, her school has a lot of Merit $$ for Returning students with college GPA over 3.8. When she applied, she got additional $6500 to cover good portion of her R&B in sophomore year. So, here is my advice. Apply to in-state and work hard to get close to GPA=4.0 in college, research if additional funds are available for returning students and apply before deadline, which we unfortunately have missed last year. Oh, well, nobody is perfect. We have learned the hard way.

mom2collegekids · 10-27-2009, 08:09 AM

Many state schools do not offer much - if anything - for merit - even for in-state students. That's why it's important to look specifically at what each school offers - never assume.

Also look to see if the merit scholarships are automatic or competitive. It can be almost impossible to get a competitive scholarship without stellar stats because often only a small number are awarded, and sometimes hundreds of kids have applied for those.

While it may be a good idea to apply for some competitive scholarships, since they are "iffy," it's best to also apply to a few schools that will award automatic scholarships.

Another issue to keep in mind regarding competitive scholarships...many require an on-campus interview (at your expense). That was a real "turn-off" for us when distance was an issue (airfare, hotel, food, car rental, missing days of school, etc), just for a tiny chance at a competitive scholarship. We limited competitive scholarships to those that didn't require a campus interview or weren't too far away.

Also, look to see if scholarships can "stack"...meaning that a student can receive 2 or more scholarships from the school and add them together (some schools allow, some don't). My sons' school lets you stack a university scholarship with a departmental scholarship. DS1 has one scholarship that pays for his tuition and dorm,, plus another one that gives $2500 per year. DS2 has a scholarship that pays for tuition, another one that pays $2500 a year, and another that pays $2000 per year.

MiamiDAP · 10-27-2009, 08:21 AM

We did not know the whole financial package before D decided to attend. It exceeded our expectations by a lot. There are numerous Merit scholarships (with names attached, in memory of.....) that nobody is aware of. D. did not apply to any of them. They were automatically awarded by school based on her stats. It is impossible to fully estimate, except that we heard from others that school rewards high caliber students very well, nothing official though.

mamom · 10-27-2009, 08:44 AM

Someone has probably already mentioned this, but many of the merit scholarships have deadlines, as early as Dec 1. Research and find out if you need to specifically apply to particular scholarships, or if everyone automatically gets considered and if you need to apply by a certain date.

Here is some info on a couple of scholarships
FAQ: Scholarships | University of Miami
The Gateway Award Program: Ohio University Admissions

good luck. I wish my S and BIL would look at finances. They fairly bright S is also graduating in the spring and they are absolutely clueless and leavig all the college stuff to S. They do not even know what their EFC is.

speedo · 10-27-2009, 08:52 AM

Marist sounds like a good choice. Further afield Elon in NC is a popular option that gives some merit aid.

mamom · 10-27-2009, 09:02 AM

Check this out
Best schools that give the most merit based aid

And, no matter what make sure your S loves his financial safety. My neice got a full ride at a school she refused to attend. Her unemployed parents and herself are now taking out loans to the tune of 15K + a year. How crazy is that?

mom2collegekids · 10-27-2009, 10:53 AM

>>>
many of the merit scholarships have deadlines, as early as Dec 1. Research and find out if you need to specifically apply to particular scholarships, or if everyone automatically gets considered and if you need to apply by a certain date.
<<<<

^^^^ Very good tip. Also, just because a scholarship is "automatically" awarded to all students who qualify doesn't necessarily mean that a scholarship app isn't needed. Some schools don't require a sep app, but some do. So, read the fine print.

>>>
I wish my S and BIL would look at finances. They fairly bright S is also graduating in the spring and they are absolutely clueless and leavig all the college stuff to S. They do not even know what their EFC is.
<<<

Are they just assuming that their "fairly bright" kid will get some big award? In such cases, all you can do is try to educate both the parents and the student and hope that someone is listening. Mention (by name) schools that don't give merit scholarships. This wakes up a lot of "sleepy parents." Mention such things as particular test scores that are needed for certain scholarships at various schools (that also usually gets people's attention.) Many parents just assume that all schools give merit money, and that a high GPA alone will get money; many parents don't realize that a high ACT/SAT is also needed. If they're expecting F/A, casually mention that people with XXX incomes typically have a YY EFC.

Unless you S & BIL can pay "full freight," they'll likely be shocked and disappointed come Spring.

>>>>
And, no matter what make sure your S loves his financial safety. My neice got a full ride at a school she refused to attend. Her unemployed parents and herself are now taking out loans to the tune of 15K + a year. How crazy is that?
<<<<<

Very True...but I believe everyone should apply to 2 or 3 financial safeties (that you like) so that if your better schools don't work out financially, you still have some choices in the spring. Plus, if you only choose one safety in the fall, you may no longer like it in the spring.

As for the spoiled niece. Well, her parents are also to blame for participating in this loan process. The situation is crazy and regrettable.

missypie · 10-27-2009, 11:06 AM

Here is what I knew going into the process for my son (an '09 grad):

1. We would not qualify for need based aid.
2. With Son's issues, he needed a small (under 5000 student) school.
3. There are no state options in our state of that size.
4. We could not afford to pay full price at a private school.

He applied at only those schools where his stats put him above the top 25% of applicants. A couple of schools stacked scholarships, a couple of others offered small music performance or religious denomination scholarships. Total merit offers ranged from $8000 per year to $20,500 per year.

my-3-sons · 10-27-2009, 11:16 AM

The University of Dayton is a very nice Catholic University (Marianist) with a generous merit scholarship program. There is a wonderful sense of community on the campus.

MiamiDAP · 10-27-2009, 11:24 AM

One more tip,
Even if you do not qualify for Need based (like us), please, fill out FASFA. At D's school, they specifically stress FASFA to maximize your MERIT scholarship package. We are doing it every year. And, again, substantial ADDITIONAL (non-departmental) scholarships might be available starting with sophomer year for kids with high COLLEGE GPA. At D's college, they need to apply to them, most kids do not do it thinking that they have no chance. At D's school College GPA cut off for Returning Student scholarships is GPA=3.8. Research each school if $$ is important factor.

missypie · 10-27-2009, 11:25 AM

Unless you want to get a lot of loans, you have to be pragmatic. Let's say the target school costs $45,000 per year and you look on the website and the highest merit scholarship they offer is $15,000 per year. Assuming your child could qualify for that, could you/would you come up with $30,000 a year? If the answer is a firm "no" then the school really needs to come off the list (unless you really think you could get need based aid.)

This conversation needs to be held with a student early in the process. It's difficult to read the "admit/deny" threads in the spring, where the student is admitted to his dream school, no aid of any kind (or grossly insufficient aid) is offered, and the parents can't pay.

Also, for each of us identifying schools that offer "generous" merit aid, do the research yourself to figure out what that means. I'd heard offers of $8000 a year described as "generous" but for a school that costs $45,000 a year, having to come up with $37,000 a year doesn't fit the bill.

mom2collegekids · 10-27-2009, 11:27 AM

^^^^

UDayton is a very nice school...

here is a link to their merit offerings... Affordability

>>>> His SAT's weren't great - 680 Math, 600 Critical Reading and 570 Writing. <<<<

If his October scores see a good increase, he might qualify for one of the better scholarships. However right now (with his 1280 m+cr) he'd only get about $9k per year...not much when the COA is over $40k.