<p>Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the impression that the original member who posted this thread is, in a way, insulting those who did receive scholarships as a result of hard work? I understand the frustration you must feel, but that opening statement really could not be further from the truth. I myself am a senior in high school and have been offered a full scholarship to UT Austin. I understand as a parent, you may believe that your son or daughter is the epitome of hard work and has done everything possible, but there will always be another student out there who has twice the accolades. It is just the way the world works.</p>
<p>No insult intended, Mrl5394. I don’t begrudge those who are “farther” up on the scale than others. There is always someone better than yourself at whatever you do, whether by hard work or natural ability, and always someone there to make sure you know it as well. As a parent of two children, and someone who is far more than twice your age, I most likely have more “hands on experience” about the way the world works. I also understand that the financial aid offer we received was based 94% on our income, and 6% on our son’s academic/activity record according to the money offered. He has worked to the best of his ability these last 4 years. Could he have taken “normal” classes instead of AP/dual credit at the advanced science school and been ranked higher? Sure, but he wouldn’t have learned what he did to the same degree.</p>
<p>I originally just needed to vent my frustration with the system to others who may have similar understanding or experiences. Not to get sympathy or compassion, but maybe to get a few ideas of where to move forward to. Could I have worded the title better? Most likely.</p>
<p>For now I think I need to concentrate on finding a second job, selling a few unneeded items, and getting our son ready for school. Time to leave the forum to others.</p>
<p>Mrl5394 - I don’t think anyone in this thread attempted to insult those who did recieve merit scholarships. What people are simply trying to say is that UT makes no distinction between those who work quite hard (2100 SAT, all A’s, fair amount of extracurricular, etc) and those who barely got in (1700 SAT, barely in the top 9%). This is, of course, exclusive of the spectacular students like you who undoubtedly worked extraordinarily hard and DID recieve merit aid. Nonetheless, for those NEAR the top who recieved no more aid than those who scraped by, it is understandably frustrating.</p>
<p>OUCH – why tear people down on this relatively anonymous way to vent/ask for help?</p>
<p>Blooze – it sounds like you heard what you needed to hear – a way to justify making the sacrifices for your son to go to UT next year. I will hope your son and mine become classmates and friends in CS.</p>
<p>Mrl – again, congrats on your full ride. Realize you are a distinct minority in the large field of applicants. Whether it was merit or need, congrats, but no one was taking away your reward.</p>
<p>SonofPlutarachy – you really seem to enjoy cutting others when you post. Good luck in the real world.</p>
<p>Blooze - I really hope that your son does not consider that “hard work and good grades” did not help him. The fact that he knows how to work hard and get good grades will make him very succesful. Period.</p>
<p>I hope you continue to talk to UTs Financial Aid office. If not, UT Dallas is a great option and they give a full ride to qualified students. UT Arlington is also good.</p>
<p>I fully agree with others - NO LOANS. There is such a great demand for computer engineers that he will have 3-4 job offers even before he graduates. They will pay him the same amount regardless of which college he graduates from. I am in this business - and you can take my statement to bank.</p>
<p>Plus if he wants to pursue Masters degree at a later date, he can do so from any of the “prestige schools”. There are scholarships which go begging because there are no students who want to do Masters in Science or Engineering. At least this way, he can whet the “prestige issue”.</p>
<p>All “prestige universities” are exclusive for first year students but not so much after the first year.</p>
<p>@Planodad-- music to the ears of a CS major. I hope you don’t mind me asking you a question, since you are in the business. My son is a PlanII (BA) and CS (BS) major. This means he is getting two degrees and thus has all the requirements for both a BA and a BS. If he gets a BA in CS, he will take 18 fewer hours. These aren’t CS courses, but additional science lab courses and an additional math. In your opinion, is it worth it to stay an extra year in order to get the BS? The opinions I see voiced on the internet seem to be split equally. I have seen some posts saying some employers might even prefer someone with a BA, because they may have better writing and communications skills. What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>Admitted to UT Austin as oos. Ranked 17/419, 3.97 GPA unweighted, mostly music extracurricular activities. Admitted March 17th, waited until last week to hear about scholarships/financial aid- BUT I’M NOT WILLING TO GRADUATE WITH >$100K IN DEBT! I read earlier this week that UT system has one of the largest endowments in the country, billions of dollars. Yet, I’m expected to incur well over $100K worth of loans to earn a bachelor degree? No can do. I’m really disappointed with UT and lack of scholarships. Really UT? In this economy, you expect me to incur >$100K in loans to attend your school?</p>
<p>You are OOS. You can also stay in state and go to your home school. Even though we too are OOS, I think they should be able to use their $$ for in state students.</p>
<p>LOL Duke58. Yes UT has a large endowment but it also has one of the largest student populations in the country, over 53,000. No school expects you to incur loans. It is your choice. dogsrcute is right. You can go to your in-state school or community college and spend much less for your education!</p>
<p>Blooze…I have a child in the engineering school. Cockrell (and I know CS and Accounting are very similar) has two incredible business expos (hundreds of companies attend, interview and hire) as well as an outstanding career center. Last summer, and this coming summer, my daughter was hired for two wonderful internships which she both got through the expos on campus. She made enough to nearly cover tuition for the year…they often pay living expenses as well (paid her rent both summers).</p>
<p>Secondly, you might want to “google” the “be-on-time” loan in Texas. I believe it nearly covers tuition. It is a no-interest loan where if your student graduates “on time” the debt is forgiven. You will however be responsible for paying income taxes on the loan. A family friend has this loan and will graduate on time! I think they limit how many of these they give to each of the public schools in Texas.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your Longhorn and family!</p>
<p>^great point. Internships pay, and they often pay big.</p>
<p>^^schmegel-Thats awesome! Is your D a sophomore or junior? My S is a freshman in Cockrell. He went to the EXPO last semester and said there were a lot of upperclassmen applying for internships and most companies prefer junior level. He did not attend the EXPO this semester and said most freshmen did not go.</p>
<p>My daughter got the first internship after soph year. She did prepare a great resume, dressed nicely, has a high gpa and is fairly assertive. She, like your son, went freshman year and got a taste of what it was all about!</p>
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<p>Why so much entitlement? What ever happened to family responsibility to save money for higher education? College is a privilege, not a right. Like many families on this board, we have consistently lived under our means to make sure our kids could get the educations they strived for. Does that mean 50K at a private University? No. It meant finding matches that we could afford and the expectation that the cost incurred belong to no one but us, loans or otherwise.</p>
<p>@collegeshopping</p>
<p>It’s not about a “sense of entitlement” or anything of that sort. I didn’t get any merit or grant aid from UT, only a loans package, which, quite frankly, galls me that they call it “aid.” I don’t feel “entitled” to it, even though my parents’ tax dollars go to fund the university (I am an in-state, in-city student). I happen to think it’s ridiculous that very little scholarship aid is offered to incoming students who are not athletes, science/engineering majors, top 10% students or those in dire need. Not that UT shouldn’t give scholarships to those people, but it ignores those whose need may be a little less obvious. My parents have sacrificed everything to make sure my sister and I get the best educations we can, but it’s still apparently not enough.</p>
<p>homeschooler2012</p>
<p>You have misconceptions that need to be clarified. UT does not give out merit scholarships to science/engineering majors or top 10% unless it is need based. I know it because none of my sons got any despite being in the top (the older one was in the top 1% and chose to attend an elite private institution instead). We are also in-state and our taxes fund the university. The aid must go only to those in need. Period. It is a question of fairness. I do see a sense of entitlement in many posts here, a reflection of society at large. People begrudge entitlements for the poor but fiercely defend middle class entitlements, which are far more costly to the treasury.</p>
<p>homeschooler2012
According to your post #28 in this thread, you have received great offers from UTD. Congrats! Be happy and grateful. Your parents taxes fund UTD as well.</p>
<p>@homeschooler
I’d just like to clarify some things for the sake of setting the record straight. The first two groups you mentioned (athletes and engineering majors), are receiving aid from a different pool than you would be. That is, they are funded largely by 3rd party organizations associated with UT but that are not UT proper. The money comes from donations made with the express purpose of servicing a particular group, and it is this ability for donors to decide where their money goes that encourages them to donate. In this way, “your” money is not being given to other people, at least in those departments. </p>
<p>@anxiousfather
I’m sorry, but that is simply not true. Plenty, plenty of purely merit-based aid is given out annually to engineers. I’m not sure what went wrong with your sons but I know of many 100% EFC students with merit scholarships all the way up to a full ride.</p>
<p>@frever, point well taken. Nothing “happened” to my sons; I am sure there were simply others more deserving. I always assumed that since we have some resources, the college allocates resources to those more needy or deserving. The point is, just because one has decent stats, it does not entitle one to scholarship money. There are lots of bright kids and limited resources. I trust the colleges make rational decisions on how they allocate their limited resources.</p>
<p>of course being middle class means…you can barely afford to send your kids to college…and you get little to no help from financial aid</p>
<p>if your efc is close to 0000…you probably wont have to spend a dime and you’ll leave UT barely in debt
maybe a few thousand.</p>
<p>just a fact of life</p>