<p>OP - You have made good progress with early research. Welcome to CollegeConfidential, which maybe should be renamed “parent sticker shock club”. Do what you can to drop the hints to other parents at your hs. For some reason GC seem better at coaching families on college selection process than the financial feasibility aspects. With NPC, most families can get a good early reading.</p>
<p>Our flagship, which is UT Austin, basically does not give financial aid.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Eight, where did you get that info? UT Austin awarded $237.5M in need based aid and $33M in non-need based aid for the 2012-2013 school year. And, those figures do not include parent loans.</p>
<p>OP, I haven’t read the full thread, but U of Miami offers many extremely generous scholarships, and no financial information is required. D is there on a full ride scholarship (those are very limited, but many full tuition ones are offered). D loves it there, and I have been very impressed with just about everything about the school. Good luck to you. There are many schools that do not consider finances for merit aid (USC, Rice, Wash U Stl, etc).</p>
<p>Went to two college info sessions. One at a university, one at a high school. Both pretty much started out with the “don’t let the cost scare you”. Hah! Really, if you didn’t know how it worked, either session would have you thinking that the cost would take care of itself. Downright wrong the way these things are done.</p>
<p>I know the rationale, but there has to be a better way not to eliminate those who are low income and know they cannot afford ANY college without financial aid. The audiences both times, were comprised of those who were not going to get a whole lot of aid, is my guess. There has to be some balance here so that more accurate info is given. It certainly is not, right now.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, now. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear.</p>
<p>I dread seeing what next year’s tuitions will be when Spygirl chooses an institution of higher learning. They won’t be going down, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>Golf father…fact is…if a kid has competitive stats for consideration of the Ivies, that student could be in the running for significant merit aid at any number of colleges. U of Alabama has very generous GUARANTEED merit aid for students with high stats. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what surprises you about that sentence. Many parents don’t realize that ivy type stats can be used to garner merit aid at other schools. </p>
<p>U of Alabama is the state flagship with a gorgeous campus, many new and fine facilities, and a plentiful supply of majors from which to choose. The generous guaranteed merit aid based on stats is likely the most generous of any flagship U. For those who are looking for guaranteed financial aid, it’s really a great choice. Actually, it’s a good choice regardless…</p>
<p>I thought Bama was getting rid of the full ride scholarships? No?</p>
<p>When I hear U of Alabama I immediately imagine (true or not) a big sports, especially football, school, and a huge fraternity/sorority scene, which to me sounds as bad as bad can be. (For others that’s a positive). Yet I hear the name U of Alabama mentioned here more than any other school in the country.</p>
<p>As other posters have mentioned, U of A is quite generous with high stat kids. One could do worse than having a full ride for four years.</p>
<p>We have someone who is heralding the great scholarships Bama is offering. Getting guaranteed awards of that size is just about impossible these days, so it’s a deal worth examining. Look at the short list of what 's out there. You have the numbers, they have the money. </p>
<p>One for the money, two for the show, I like to say about Bama. It’s on my list for my youngest. Hope he gets the stats. Hope the program continues a few more years. A lot of such deals have run out.</p>
<p>Our S with the necessary stats is definitely considering Bama and has already applied. We were super impressed by the Honors College visit last spring. But, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say that I have actually received a few unsolicited PMs (which I have appreciated, since it gives us a more complete basis for comparison) on here telling me that Bama has been less than ideal for their high stats kids. But, I keep saying, “It’s hard to beat free!” Especially if you know that your kid is probably going to grad school later.</p>
<p>I’d be curious to hear from parents who did fork out big bucks for junior to attend costly dream school if they thought it was worth the expenditure. It seems to me that the excitement of the college experience may dim when the enormous tuition comes due.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Precisely why I mentioned it. I have a high-stats kid who has no real shot at the Ivy League (even with legacy status at one) because he’s just too “average” in other non-stat ways. For somebody with high grades who also does well on standardized tests, it’s hard to beat what 'Bama appears to be offering.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>'Bama’s Honors College appears (at least on paper) to offer that “LAC within a larger uni” feeling, but I need to investigate this further.</p>
<p>redpoint, I believe I read elsewhere that you’re a New College grad. Although polar opposite of 'Bama, New College is another school we have on the radar. My biggest concern with New College is that there would be few OOS students there. Can you comment on that at all? And are they still offering the generous merit awards they were a few years ago to lure kids from other states?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Amen to that! It’s likely not the right school for every kid that fits the requirements, and it might not be a good fit for mine, but it seems like an outstanding alternative to Penn State for this family.</p>
<p>Lucie, I have heard conflicting things regarding Bama…that the Honors College does indeed feel like a LAC within a large uni versus the Honors college absolutely does not make up for the size of the school if your kid prefers small schools. I have no idea which to believe… I think it must depend on the kid.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Definitely, Collegefortwins! I wonder, too, if it depends on the student’s major? </p>
<p>Certainly, kids better suited to a LAC are going to find a wide variety of schools to choose from, and some will be preferable to others, so presumably they’re not going to react to every honors college the same way either. </p>
<p>In our case, we’re looking closely at the rare LACs that also offer ABET-accredited engineering. If those aren’t do-able (either for admissions or financial reasons), which would be better, studying hard science at a good LAC or applying to the engineering school within a large uni like 'Bama? Tough choice, but my feeling is to hedge our bets and have our S apply to both!</p>
<p>Another way to gauge the appropriateness of the school is to really look at the department catalogue. What courses are offered? How in depth is the course? How frequent is the course offered? What is the class size? </p>
<p>I’ve found this can be a real eye opener. A school on the surface may seem like a good fit, but if ultimately they are lacking in the chosen academic field, there’s no point in applying. </p>
<p>Because Spygirl is going into STEM, we also look at the number of female faculty in her chosen area. That speaks volumes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But a little context is required. UT Austin does give some need-based aid, but it doesn’t come close to meeting full need even for in-state students. According to its 2012-2013 Common Data Set, UT Austin met full need for only about 20% of the undergrads it determined to have need, and on average it met only 66% of need. In short, most students with need get “gapped.” And a large fraction of the need-based financial aid they do give (about 40%) comes in the form of loans and work-study jobs—in other words, the student is still paying. Some people don’t consider loans and work-study true “aid” at all, just alternative ways of paying. So while Eightisgreat’s comment that UT Austin “basically doesn’t give financial aid” is hyperbole, it does get at the underlying truth that many people find Ut Austin’s financial aid inadequate.</p>
<p>“redpoint, I believe I read elsewhere that you’re a New College grad. Although polar opposite of 'Bama, New College is another school we have on the radar. My biggest concern with New College is that there would be few OOS students there. Can you comment on that at all? And are they still offering the generous merit awards they were a few years ago to lure kids from other states?”</p>
<p>Lucie: As I’m sure you know, you won’t find Engineering at New College. I visited New College recently with my D, a rising senior, so I’m up on the latest. Around 75 % of kids, perhaps are from Florida. NC is trying to reel in kids from other states, and is offering a $15K discount to any out of state kid it accepts this year. So all those out of state kids get the merit scholarship. Plus, they do give financial aid to those deemed worthy.</p>