Did atrocious on the SAT; SAT Optional Suggestions?

Parents Forum
521

<p>My kids both got several thousand dollars in outside scholarships but they were only for their freshman year. BUT every penny counts. Since they didn’t qualify for need based aid, it was a nice thing to get. </p>

<p>These were all “local” scholarships in our town (PTO, music organizations, town foundations, etc). I would suggest that you check with your guidance office. This is usually where information about these local scholarships can be found. My kids also found some in the local newspaper. Just keep an eye out.</p>

522

<p>I have found that I’m not eligible for a lot of local scholarships or scholarships my counselor has. I just don’t fit what they’re looking for.</p>

523

<p>Hmmmm… so your change in college visits is starting to sound like what most of us recommended to you in the other thread several weeks ago about the extreme travel plans…</p>

<p>Yes, some schools will apply outside aid to lower your need, but as others have said, some schools will apply it to your work study or other “self-help” as mathmomvt said. But to repeat what I posted in #505:

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<p>While many of the scholarship checks are made out to you and the school of your choice jointly, some are made out just to you At least $3K of older s’s award money came to him directly. </p>

<p>You might be able to outside scholarship money (if you are successful in getting any) to negotiate or ask for FA reconsideration from your choice schools. There are ways to make these awards work for you, not just the school. Its too easy to glom on to one or two opinions that its a waste of time to justify why you shouldnt do it. Don’t do it INSTEAD of organizing your FAFSA and CSS deadlines/submission, do it in ADDITION to. As they say, you have zero chance of winning if you don’t apply.</p>

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<p>I didn’t change my college visit plan. That has always been the plan. I was creating a list to see where we should visit in order, etc. And of course we would be taking some schools off the list once the financial aid packages started rolling in. I have been very organized throughout this whole process. I basically got 99% of my applications finished in the end of October. Of course I will organize my FASFA and CSS deadlines, what would make someone think otherwise? My strong work ethic has gotten me through this whole process.</p>

525

<p>Well then it must have been someone elses plan to drive to several over Pres weekend, MLK weekend and Spring break, with plans to hit a lot of schools in a little time, with long drives in potentially bad weather.</p>

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<p>No! I still plan on visiting schools during presidents day weekend and spring break! Although, the presidents day weekend trip is not as likely due to the bad weather. A lot of the schools are closed on MLK day, so I can’t visit.</p>

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<p>Just because a school may not have classes or an open admission office isnt necessarily a reason not to visit. You will learn a LOT by going to the cafeterias, the student union, the bookstore and chatting with students, faculty and staff. Campuses wont empty out on MLK day.</p>

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<p>The 3 day weekend wouldn’t be worth it for the schools far away. At least the presidents day weekend is 4 days off and the schools could give me an official visit. If I did visit on MLK, it would be better for schools like LR, GCSU, or Flagler.</p>

529

<p>I may be mistaken and don’t feel like wading through all the old posts, but I thought Flagler was already one that you determined would not work financially?</p>

530

<p>On the early estimator, it would cost too much. But other posters told me to ignore it since it’s just an estimation and to wait until I get a real package.</p>

531

<p>That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying. Hope you enjoy your college visits.</p>

532

<p>That goes without say (driving to the closer schools when you have less time). Easy drive to GCSU and not a lot farther to Flagler. Other than with your brother a few yrs ago, have you done any college visit yet?</p>

533

<p>No, I hope to visit GCSU in January if I’m admitted and I’ll ask my dad to take me to Flagler/LR as well. My dad actually really wants me to go to Flagler.</p>

534

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Jym, just because a check goes directly to the student, that does not negate his obligation to report every outside award to the financial aid office.</p>

535

<p>Understood, but sometimes the checks came after school started.</p>

536

<p>And it was reported to the school.</p>

<p>We were not receiving any need-based aid, so it was moot for us.</p>

537

<p>ec, considering the cost of the profile, applications, etc. are taxing on your family budget, why do you want to visit all those schools? Most parents here on CC will tell you when they went to college, they never had set foot on their campus before. It seems that most of them had enjoyable experiences and turned out well. There is much to be said about a person being able to adapt to their situation or surroundings. A nice college visit tour is a luxury, not a neccesity.</p>

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<p>I kind of disagree with GA2012Mom here. While a college visit tour is indeed a luxury, the cost is a drop in the bucket compared to tuition, or even a family’s contribution toward tuition. If there are multiple schools seriously in the running financially, I think it’s a good investment to visit before committing to spending a ton of money at one of them, where possible/practical. A good fit may save you the cost of a lost semester due to a transfer. Not that a visit guarantees that this won’t happen, but it can help to assess fit. IF the student spends enough time on campus to get a real taste (i.e. a whole day at each school, visit classes, talk to students, talk to profs, etc.)</p>

539

<p>Re post #511

NO. You only submit the CSS Profile once. If there is a change in information in the Profile, you simply contact the colleges to report that change… but you don’t have to if it is also going to show up in the FAFSA. The colleges all rely on the final, post-tax FAFSA as the primary source of financial information – so if the Profile said your dad’s income is $55,000 and then it turns out that he earned $59,000 – the fact that you corrected the FAFSA will be enough. </p>

<p>However, if information that was reported on the Profile that wasn’t part of the FAFSA changes, then you would write the college to tell them the change. I can’t really think of many examples - but lets say hypothetically someone reported having home equity of $150,000 and then their house is destroyed in an earthquake and they didn’t have earthquake insurance* – they might then contact the college to explain that their house is now worth -0-. (* you can tell I live in California…)</p>

<p>As to all the other stuff. Honestly, I don’t understand why many posters here seem intent on giving you a hard time over all the details. Obviously you need money, and obviously your family is not destitute. $128 for financial aid applications is enough to cause frustration, but it is not an impossible amount. Most high school kids could manage to earn that much in a fairly short time doing babysitting or other odd jobs. My kids financed some of their college visits with airline coupons – my d. won hers in a trivia contest, my son got his as compensation for a cancelled flight. </p>

<p>It sounds like your parents are supportive – just not as knowledgeable or obsessive as many cc parents. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing in the long run – I think I did too much for my son; I took a more hands off approach with my daughter and I think she benefited in the long run from the increased self-reliance and lessons learned. So you have two caring parents who are willing to contribute a reasonable amount to your college, but don’t have the knowledge or resources to do everything for you … and you have got to be one of the most determined and motivated kid I’ve ever seen on cc. College apps done at the end of October? My kids barely made the Nov. 30th deadline for UC applications. My d. applied to one school EA and blew off the others. My son missed application deadlines for some colleges because he didn’t decide he was interested in them until after the deadline had passed. </p>

<p>You are going to succeed. Maybe not with plan A or plan B or plan C… but you see to be the kind of person who is ready with plan D or plan F or plan K if it comes down to it. You have far more going for you than a lot of students. Hard work and persistence is what pays off in life. </p>

<p>I think having high test scores is kind of like having a lot of money (in more ways than one). If your parents were rich, then you would have an easier path and less to worry about, and if you had 2300 on the SATs, that would make things easier as well. But “easier” is not always better. You’ll find a way.</p>

<p>And as far as those outside scholarships: they can be used to fill a gap for any college that has not claimed to meet full need, and they can be used to to replace self-help funds for colleges that do meet full need (like work study or loans). The reason I encourage you to look for them is that you seem to be in a position where your parents might be willing to pay $7500 but unable to come up with $10K - you don’t want have to turn down a college over a couple of thousand dollars. I agree that the money isn’t all that easy to come by … but it’s worth doing the applications because it is also not all that rare for kids to pick up those smaller awards. Of course it makes sense to hone in on the scholarships that you have the greatest chance of winning.</p>

540

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<p>Perhaps it’s because he keeps asking the same questions over and over again, so parents are getting frustrated having to give him the same answers over and over again. The OP comes across as very needy and immature to me and I understand why people are losing patience with him.</p>