<p>You could explain that colleges don’t give big merit aid to applicants whose qualifications are typical of their student body’s; they give it to applicants who are unusually qualified compared to their typical student. When you think about that, the logic is obvious.</p>
<p>We were discussing schools one evening and a neighbor said, “I would mortgage my house if one of my kids got into Princeton.” Of course, it was a very safe statement for him to make.</p>
<p>I’d suggest that you simply don’t share information except on a “need to know” basis – if the teacher is writing a rec letter, than of course the teacher needs to know – but otherwise, you could say something along the lines: “I’m still narrowing things down” – and then add, “I’d really like to attend a small liberal arts college, where I can develop a good relationship with the faculty-- so you have any suggestions?” </p>
<p>Instead of giving them a list of all your colleges, pick one, say something about one of its features, and ask their thoughts. Example: “I’m looking at Smith. I’ve heard great things about their STRIDE program? Do you know anything about that?” Or you could focus on an area of academic interest – “I think I want to study XXXX – I’ve heard X college has a great department for that. What do you think?”</p>
<p>That shifts the tenor of the conversation and kind of puts the other person on the spot. If they say, “well, I think you should apply to Harvard!” – you could then look a little puzzled, and say, “really? I hadn’t heard much about Harvard’s XXX program. Can you tell me more about that?” – it’s unlikely that the person will be able to provide much in the way of specifics, so pretty soon they will be the one trying to change the subject.</p>
<p>Also – I hate to burst their bubble – but with your stats [(3.87 GPA) and good test scores (2100)], the Ivies are still very much reach colleges for you. My kids both had teachers who were quite sure that they were “Ivy material” – in terms of assessing my kids’ abilities, I am sure they were right – but as far as chances for admission, they were very misguided. Neither of my kids stood a snowball’s chance in you-know-where of being admitted to HYP – my son because he had almost nothing in the way of EC’s or anything to show beyond GPA and test scores, and my daughter because her test scores and overall high school academic course load were too weak. </p>
<p>I actually think that if you are looking for substantial merit aid (like full tuition scholarships), you may need to dig a little deeper with your list. A lot of the colleges you have listed are great matches for you and probably will offer small merit awards, such as a $10,000 scholarship – but I don’t think you are likely go qualify for full-ride level money based on your stats. So I guess you need to sit down with your parents and get a good sense of what they ARE willing to pay. </p>
<p>It’s tough, because my daughter visited some of those schools and decided, after visiting, that they wouldn’t give her the academic challenge she hoped for – her GPA and class rank were about the same as yours, test scores a little lower. However, we do qualify for need based aid, so in her situation it made sense to aim high. But my d. definitely was not getting enormous merit offers from her safeties. Obviously a $10K or $15K scholarship is nothing to sneeze at and will reduce overall costs – but again, you need to really sit down with your parents and talk about money.</p>
<p>Raiderade</p>
<p>I don’t want to repeat what has already been said (lots of good advice here!). Instead I will tell you about my son’s experience as you may have a similar experience.</p>
<p>My son had the grades to get into a ‘really good’ school but he ended up at a ‘good’ school due to the merit aid they offered him (his high school grades/SAT scores put him in the top 10% for the freshman class). This made this particular school very, very affordable for us, so no loans were needed. A ‘really good’ school would not have offered nearly as much money. So, he went to a ‘good’ college and graduated debt free. Now remember, cream always rises to the top. He applied to grad school at this same school (where the teachers all know him and gave him stellar recommendations) and he received one of the very few grad assistantships with a stipend. So, he is now being paid to go to grad school. A sweet deal. </p>
<p>So, in the end, he came out ahead by going to the ‘merely good’ college. </p>
<p>I wish you well. </p>
<p>Just ignore the comments. They really don’t require any response aside from 'Yes, it really is a lovely day today." ;-)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all of your advice. My family owns 2 properties, two very small offices. They can pay about 100-120k total. I would be willing to take on 20k in debt so a 15k annual scholarship really would be just fine to make college affordable. Any how, I am working to bring my SAT M+CR score up to 1450 (60 point increase) and I am working on the nonprofit where I serve on the board. I am banking on at least 15k at Goucher and possibly even more. That is my favorite safety where I would be very happy attending (at least I think I would be).</p>
<p>I really appreciate all this advice, it is helping me to solidfy my decision to not take on more than 20k in debt.</p>
<p>Check out this thread for some merit aid statistics for a number of colleges.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/696637-merit-aid-percentage-common-data-set.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/696637-merit-aid-percentage-common-data-set.html</a></p>
<p>Have you considered taking the ACT?</p>
<p>I’ve considered it, but I think I’m okay with a 2100. Looking at stats I should be able to secure big enough scholarships with what I have. Plus, I helped found a non-profit which I would hope will help out with admissions and money as well.</p>
<p>2100 is very respectable score. But it might be worth a re-take on SAT or try at ACT. Some merit scholarships have publishe or unpublished cutoffs. If new scores not as good, I don’t think you’d need to send them.</p>
<p>I will be retaking the SAT, and actually with extra time as well (I didn’t get it the time before), so there is a chance I will have a significantly higher score.</p>
<p>I think you have very realistic expectations for college and possible merit aid, and an excellent set of match schools – and you are probably quite likely to get some merit money from Goucher. I wish I could give you some information based on experience, as I thought Goucher might be a good match/safety for my daughter – but she didn’t like the college after visiting because … wait for it … the campus had “too many trees.” Needless to say, we didn’t bother with a visit to Lewis & Clark… and my daughter was safely ensconced for 4 years at a college with an abundance of concrete, and sparsely arranged greenery. But if you don’t mind the risk of an occasional leaf falling on your head, I think it might be an excellent choice for you. </p>
<p>One nice thing about Goucher is that they strongly encourage study abroad, and I believe that they are one campus where you can study abroad without paying full tuition to the home campus.</p>