If the finances are not affordable, that is a reason for declining the ED2 acceptance should she get accepted. No squirming required.
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OK, thank you. 
I’ve read that but wanted to make sure.
University of Miami uses the info from the CSS Profile to calculate need based aid…the FAFSA SAI really isn’t what they use.
If your SAI and the NPC give the same net cost…then fine. But check and make sure.
The FAFSA, CSS Profile for both custodial and noncustodial parents, and tax documents need to be submitted by the following due dates. You must be a degree-seeking student to apply for financial aid.
The CSS Profile and tax documents are required for consideration of institutional need-based aid.
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That is SUPER helpful info! Thank you. It’s been so long since we did the CSS that I don’t even remember or know what the numbers are. Will try to look it up tonight. Thank you!
The CSS profile does not give you an expected family contribution. But info on it is used to calculate institutional need based aid.
Look at your NPC results…
Being close to the FAFSA number is coincidental.
If your finances are relatively simple (e.g. mostly W-2 income with ordinary levels and types of assets and investment income), and the numbers in the net price calculator are the same as on the financial aid application (both FAFSA and CSS Profile for University of Miami), then a reasonable expectation is that the college’s net price calculator will show something similar to the actual financial aid (especially for a more detailed one like the University of Miami one based on the College Board template).
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This is not correct. My daughter and all her friends except her bf were deferred 4 years ago. He was accepted with $25k merit.
When she and her 3 or 4 friends got in later, all got the same $25k merit.
Miami is very expensive to attend so their yield isn’t great (removing ED). The surrounds are very expensive. So they need those deferred kids and have to pay to get them. It’s not at the level of other top schools that they can get those full pay.
A deferral there by no way means a rejection. It could but it’s not like where many think it automatically does.
They are need aware though so they might favor full pay (minus the $25k merit) when picking from deferral.
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Thank you.
Would you recommend switching to ED2 if Miami is indeed her first choice, or taking RD?
The deadline for choosing is the same day that we go to Baylor for Invitation to Excellence.
I did read the ED agreement, and she is not required to withdraw her other acceptances until she gets financial aid information from Miami (if accepted).
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The admissions office at Miami does not recommend switching to ED2 if acceptance hinges on merit and/or competitive financial aid offers (per their website).
So we will most likely switch to RD.
Assuming she doesn’t get in RD to Miami, that leaves us with 5 options.
Arizona— didn’t quite see here there so will probably cross it off our list
CU Boulder—the most expensive. They are way off from their NPC. Great campus, Boulder is expensive, worried about liberal/party school reputation, excellent engineering department and that major she thinks she loves.
Clemson—she is very excited about it…no idea what the merit award will be. I’m assuming it will come out to around the same as Boulder. It is beyond frustrating to have to wait until the end of March for financial info. Great engineering school, great reputation, nice size school with all the big name stuff, family close by, her Dad will be ecstatic.
That leaves:
Baylor—compared to the others (barring Arizona), really pretty reasonable. I mean it’s still a crazy amount of money, but overall it is not bad given the quality of the school, and we can lock in tuition for 4 years. If we got just a little bit more money from them it would make all the difference. Positives: perfect size + big amenities, plus the culture. Known for their undergraduate teaching and freshman experience. Excellent communication from the school. Negatives are that it isn’t an engineering school and it’s in Waco. (At least off campus housing shouldn’t be too exorbitant).
Mines— right now the cost is just slightly more than Baylor. Great engineering school
with a great reputation. In Colorado, which she loves. Negatives are that it is a super hard school and the retention rate isn’t what you’d expect for a school of that caliber. If she doesn’t want engineering, there is not really anything to transfer into. Golden will be expensive as far as rent goes. School might be a smidgen small?
If it were my choice, and all the money were equal, I would choose Clemson for her. With money being a factor, I am in favor of Baylor.
I congratulated my daughter today and told her how proud we are of her for her nearly perfect admissions run. I don’t think that’s easy to do.
If she by some miracle gets an acceptance from Miami + a lot of money, then we will go back to the drawing board.
We visit Baylor soon for Invitation to Excellence and I am praying that she loves it and/or finds clarity.
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If it works and it’s her top choice - then sure - ED is the way to go.
Just know you’re bound.
As you need a lower cost, I don’t know but guessing RD may work against you as they are need aware - but that is a guess.
Just a tad more than one third (847/2328) of students gets need aid -so similar to other “rich kid” schools, they are likely picking and choosing.
So ED2 would give your best shot - but you seem to be highly interested in every school that’s deferred you or put you in Exploratory, etc.
So b4 ED, make sure you are 100% committed to the school. If not, then no you should not.
Might it make the difference between acceptance and not - yes. But if you’re not sure, that’s not reason enough.
And don’t forget, living off campus there will be brutally expensive. Eating off campus - also brutally expensive. So if $$ are tight as they sound, think about the life you’ll have as kids are out and about and spending - and at that school, they will be and are.
Best of luck.
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On this list for engineering, I’d rate them:
The top 4 are really interchangeable but how I’d rank (just my opinion) for engineering:
Arizona
Mines (just a different kind of school)
Colorado
Clemson
Baylor
Miami
When you say Mines is really hard - hmmmm - they will all be really hard. Engineering has a 50% drop out rate nationally. It’s a very tough major. I noticed your daughter didn’t have Calc yet (I believe, I read you said she will have to take Calc 1 which might play a part in her Exploratory vs direct entry) - so if you feel that she might not end up staying in the major, yes, Mines may not be the best fit. Plus, it will be less gender diverse - for example, the last CDS shows 1035 men and 477 females enrolling.
As for career - I can’t find a report for all but here’s some data - of course, you never know if it includes bonus, etc. And it’s all majors - vs. what your student will study. They are, by $$, at least, very similar.
Arizona shows an average $76.7K salary for 2022 grads (doesn’t have a major breakout) with 91% placed by graduation. Salaries went up drastically the last two years - so it’ll be higher now.
CU doesn’t seem to provide graduating student data - but the college which includes science says $85K for students 1-5 years out. Not sure that it’s helpuful. 5 years out, Arizona and Mines would in theory be well above.
Mines is a couple years old like Arizona and shows very similar salaries - $78,600 - which I find surprising because they have higher paid majors (Petroleum Engineering, etc.).
Clemson is 2023 (newer data) and shows $80,751 average.
Baylor has more kids looking at graduation than the others. But shows an $82K base for 2023.
Miami shows a $75,954 average salary for last year.
In the end, if any are affordable, then you’re in good shape. They’re all fine programs.
Thank you for all of that detailed information. That gives us a lot to consider.
Yes, she took AP Calc 1, as a junior. Her ACT math subscore was lower (30) compared to reading and English sub scores (35s). She is stronger in the humanities but prefers STEM.
Oh so her math is fine. I thought I read she will take in college.
I get 30 for math doesn’t seem high but a 30 is the 95th percentile for math.
Golden is great. At the Mines student panel, the kids said they recommend not taking AP credit on any engineering type class. My son didn’t listen and at his school took calc 2 and had to WD. He didn’t listen.
I don’t suspect academically Mines is any more difficult than the others - they all will be. Rank/prestige doesn’t equate to rigor - I learned that a long time ago. I think major often drives difficulty, but rank does not.
Good luck.
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At CU she would have to take Calc 1 and Calc 2 as a freshman to transfer from exploratory studies into Engineering. They are required for Engineering anyway, so no big deal. That’s probably what you read.
Yeah she plans to retake Calc 1 irregardless of her AP test.
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Just know that in engineering, short of a few schools (none on this list), outcomes will be relatively similar - based on who and where she is employed.
So choose the best fit, and cost us part of fit.
Reputationally, I’d say Arizona and Colorado are the two best known but that’s just opinion. Both, especially Arizona, are leaders in Physics which is tied to engineering. Both have strong aero/defense nearby. Mines is more niche - petroleum and mining are its strengths. Clemson is up and coming - strong in automotive.
But as you see salary wise - they’re really the same. It’s because most large companies pay by major and location, not school. My Alabama kid makes the same as the Michigan kids he works with - at least starting. Now that he’s had a review, he might make more…or less.
Both CU and Miami will be most expensive off campus. When we toured CU (loved it), the tour guide made a point to say many move to Broomfield or Louisville to save money. So check into that if being close by matters. Coral Gables is great - I love it, I go for work - but off the charts expensive.
I imagine Tucson, Waco, and Clemson will be most affordable off campus. Tucson and Clemson have the new high end apartments but will have reasonable accommodations too.
Good luck.
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We’ve had a couple of busy whirlwind days at Baylor for Invitation to Excellence weekend.
The three of us are all extremely impressed. My husband and daughter went into the weekend not super high on Baylor, but are coming out of it confident that it is an excellent fit for her. Students are polite, friendly, and engaged; the campus is very pretty; she likes the resident colleges; we got a ton more positive info about engineering and band.
We still aren’t crazy about Waco in general (downtown is pretty cute) or the fact that I35 is right there, but those don’t seem to be deal breakers when weighed against all of the positives.
Clemson is also still of high interest but we don’t know if the money will be there.
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So happy to hear that your D really enjoyed her visit at Baylor! You may want to post a trip report here: Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why? (NO REPLIES)
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Over the course of many discussions, it has become clear that the decision is between Clemson and Baylor. (I’m pretty sure I predicted this months ago.)
We’ve thrown out Arizona and Miami as kind of the extremes on the bell curve. Mines seems too small and too intense. CU Boulder seems to be not the right fit. D is a bit sad about those only because she loves the state of Colorado, but we have reminded her that she still has summer job opportunities in Colorado. Summer in Colorado is quite different than winter in Colorado (obviously).
Anyway, Clemson and Baylor are quite similar. They are about the same size, conservative, Southern, lots of traditions, less Greek oriented than many other Southern schools, pretty campuses, both sort of in bubba towns, roughly the same ranking, both with excellent opportunities including her major and band. Both are good fits for our daughter, which has always been the primary focus.
Frankly, we are absolutely thrilled with either one. However, finances will most likely be the deciding factor between the two.
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Congratulations to your D on the many acceptances and on having it narrowed down to two schools that she really likes!
Since finances will be a deciding factor, you might find this thread helpful that @tsbna44 shared in the fall:
Baylor was one of the schools mentioned that gave additional scholarship money in April to students who had not yet committed, so even if she decides she prefers it over Clemson, she may want to hold off on committing to see if any additional money comes in.
Even if a school only offers $1-2k/year more, that’s still $4-8k over four years!
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