Colleges that are easy to get into ... Are they worth it?

Parents Forum
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<p>I haven’t done the calculators but I’m guessing an EFC of 25,000 or 30,000. Ugh. We can afford the PA state directionals, assuming a Stafford loan. And even if she ends up with a 3.4 or 3.5 average, her rank will not be that great. About 40% of the school takes APs and probably 70% take multiple honors classes. So her weighted gpa, used for rank, just won’t compare.</p>

<p>Believe me, I’m not thinking of funding from a top school … Cause that ain’t happening… When she takes her SATs we’ll have a clearer picture of where she stands. She wants to stay on the East Coast, from NC up through New England. I keep trying to figure things out in advance, but I guess that’s not practical when there are so many unanswered questions, such as SATs and major.</p>

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<p>Has she taken any practice SAT’s? I would strongly suggest she takes the ACT as well. Often kids do better on one or the other. Also, do a couple NPC’s and get a more firm figure. Each school does their own so you might be surprised at what you get at private schools. Also, if she lives on campus, checking just U Penn-Greensburg, COA there is about $25,000, COA at Wheeling Jesuit is $31,000 so they aren’t that far off. Seton Hill is about $39,000, but then again, you never know what merit aid she might get.</p>

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<p>SteveMA - are your trip reports on a B student thread? Or the general parents of 13 grad thread?</p>

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<p>I think community college is great for these kids, if you live in a region with a good CC and the kid can remain academically committed there, and not be drawn down academically by unmotivated classmates who have been stuffed into CC by their parents and don’t really belong it college. Even just 2-3 semesters of CC allows the kid to adjust to college work, proves that he or she can succeed with it, gives them more time to figure out what their academic area is (so that they can pick a school at their admission level with a strong program in their field).</p>

<p>Their CC grades may open better doors than the HS record. A kid like yours could end up with a degree from a state flagship after CC that would otherwise not have been possible right after HS. The GPA starts fresh when you transfer to the four year school, too, and you might have the distribution requirements from your weaker subjects out of the way by then.</p>

<p>SAT/ACT usually doesn’t matter after a certain point (after 2-3 semesters) if you’re transferring. It’s the strength of the CC transcript, at that point, that gets you in. The money can also stretch further when it’s only got to cover the remaining 5-6 semesters “away”. </p>

<p>Articulation agreements between the CCs and the four years will give you some assurance that you are not wasting time and credits, if you study them in advance, get advisement, and follow them closely.</p>

<p>Pitfalls – if the kid loses momentum at CC, and you think you’d better get her out to the four-year before losing her academically, the HS record will not be much help after a while, and the CC record might hurt. And beware financially that transfers are not usually eligible for merit aid. </p>

<p>I am working from the assumption that there will be no merit money, no need-based money and no athletic money, now or ever. So there is no financial loss to waiting; it’s pure savings. But that’s not everybody’s assumption. If the kid was a candidate for merit coming out of 12th grade, it might be unwise to pass that up. It depends how much.</p>

<p>Many people have commented that lower-prestige private colleges are often very liberal with merit money. That’s true, but I have found that they rarely discount themselves down to the price of an in-state direcitonal. YMMV.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, it seems paramount to notify the kid of the financial aspect, early and often. My kid is entering 11th, and he already knows the four year budget and knows what kind of limitations that has placed on him. He has a few options, but some of the tastier options that will be available to friends with better grades and more money are simply off the table for him. We were all upset when we realized this, but we have made a lot of progress toward getting over it, and it’s easier to accept long in advance when there’s still the possibility that things may improve. </p>

<p>My message to him is “I am not upset with you if you can’t win a scholarship, and you should not be upset with me if I don’t have $300,000 after taxes, per kid, laying around for you to go wherever you want and take 6 years.” Make sure she doesn’t get her heart set on any one school until the financial aid letters come in, late in 12th grade. </p>

<p>Loans are not aid, they’re loans. Parent Plus loans are radioactive. Love thy safety, and if CC is the safety, and you don’t know until May of 12th grade if you’ll be going away or staying at CC, it’s ok. Loving the subjects you’re going to study and loving the prospect of a career as an educated person should come first.</p>

<p>Bottom line, a very high percentage of incoming freshmen at directionals will flunk out after a year or two. I don’t want my kid getting mixed up with the onew who are not going to make it. I’d rather see him be the kid who transfers in to take their place, does well in his upper level classes (in the subject he is strong in) and graduates with a nice gpa.</p>

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<p>Slight correction. My D did get a small merit award from Truman, but what really makes it very affordable is the low OOS sticker price of about $20,300 (tuition + fees + room + board). It’s about $2,200 less for Midwest Exchange state residents, but that wouldn’t help the Pennsylvanian OP. </p>

<p>Here’s a link to the Truman scholarship info: <a href=“Admission | Truman State University”>http://admissions.truman.edu/costs/scholarships.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Truman nets out as our lowest cost option right now too, but we are in the Midwest. Run their NPC and see–even their regular OOS tuition is less than what you would pay at the PA schools-or about the same. </p>

<p>I sent you a PM!</p>

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<p>SteveMA - her practice PSATs will be coming up this year. She has brought up SATs and asked whether she can take a prep course when the time comes. Frankly, that isn’t like her, so I know she is taking it seriously. I take the viewpoint that if she does some low-key prep now - doing the question of the day from college board, signing up for the s a t ha b i t thing (can’t believe cc blocks other sites!) doing some vocabulary flash cards - it will take the pressure off later.</p>

<p>Fieldsports - my concern with community college is what you said - unmotivated kids influencing her. I will say 9th grade was an improvement for her. I never suggested that she take honors classes because I didn’t want to overwhelm her. But she signed up for honors history this year because she was sick of all the kids in her classes who don’t do their homework or pay attention. There were kids in her class who thought slavery happened in the 1960s … She said her teacher would just put her head down on the desk sometimes in despair … </p>

<p>Another option is the 2+2 option at Penn State. I suppose that’s her safety, but I do think the full 4 year away from home option would do her a lot of good, so I’ll try to help her make that happen, if possible.</p>

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<p>SansSerif-I got you confused with surfcity-I was thinking your DD was a '13er. Sorry for the confusion :D.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the pm!</p>

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<p>Don’t be afraid to go visit your local CC and find out what it’s about. We are lucky to live near a very good one. There are some kids there who are going places.</p>

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<p>So, it sounds like your daughter is a sophomore. My suggestion is to not worry about colleges too much. At the end of this school year you’ll have a better idea of her path, but really for now she should be thinking of what EC’s she can do that she will enjoy and just keep the grades up.</p>

<p>Next summer, you should do some visits to some of the local PA colleges - private and public.</p>

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<p>I agree with kathiep - don’t worry too much now - just let her explore her favorite EC’s and make sure she stays rested so she can do her best in her classes. My S2 had a dramatic improvement in his ACT score in the fall of senior year which put him in the range of highly selective colleges - we were thrilled but it happened at the last minute. So don’t worry too much about her PSAT right now- things can and do change right into senior year.
You also mentioned Connecticut - there are several lesser known private schools that are very well respected in the CT and Western MA area for elementary ed. PM me if you think that the Connecticut/Western MA area is a possibility for her.</p>

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<p>S2 just graduated from a directional state u. in our state. It changed him for the good on so many differwent levels. We don’t regret sending him there. </p>

<p>A co-worker and her husband are graduates of Clarion State in PA. By all accounts they seem to be doing very well for themselves. I’ve only heard her say positive things about Clarion.</p>

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<p>Can you get an education at cheap and non-selective Universities (Think Temple/WVU/Kutztown/whatever)? Yes, but it is unlikely that that education will help you get a job. Say you graduate at temple with a marketing degree, you are likely to get a job at McDonalds. Maybe in a couple years of work experience you can get to a point where your degree might help you get a better job, but it is unlikely that you will get a good job straight after college, or have access to a strong inturnship.</p>

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<p>I know two recent Temple grads, one works with me and the other got a good paid interrnship at NIH right out of college that led into a permanent position.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I wouldn’t say that about Temple. Many grads I know are doing just fine. My daughter doesn’t want to go there because of the very high crime neighborhood it’s in - understandable.</p>

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<p>Use some time this year to visit some of the state schools and see what you think. Graduates definitely do get jobs from them - esp teachers.</p>

<p>You could also check out a few of the CTCL schools.</p>

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<p>hawkeyes55–that is not even CLOSE to true. Seriously, do you have data to back up that outrageous claim?</p>

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<p>Hawk eye, that is utter nonsense about Temple.</p>

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<p>Hawkeye, that is one of the most ignorant posts I’ve read in a long time. Where you get your degree does not matter much for your first job for 99% of majors (investment banking is an exception). After your first job no one asks where you got your degree. That you have the degree is simply a check box on the application. </p>

<p>What matters is what YOU do with the degree, your job performance, and your recommendations from past employers. I’m speaking from almost 30 years of being a hiring manager. </p>

<p>I have a couple friends that are Ivy grads and are struggling. Several more that went to Tier 4 schools and are have great careers and are very comfortable financially.</p>