Just popping in to say congratulations. I know it’s been a difficult and emotional road. Wishing you and your family all the best!
And also, I’m in love with your dog. :x
@ShrimpBurrito Thank you! I’m also crazy about my frenchie. He quite literally healed my heart. And when I say crazy, I mean I became one of those crazy frenchie owners that created a IG account in his name and post daily as if I was him…he has 500 ish followers. He goes to work with me, he is my constant companion.
Wow, haven’t checked this thread in a while. Felicidades!
Of course, selfish me is bummed because my alma mater (Knox) is officially out of the running. Oh well! I’m a big supporter of LACs, so anytime we have a successful LAC match here on this uni-heavy (Ivy-heavy to be more specific) site, I see that as a victory!
Hopefully, you’ll have more questions. LACs are not for everyone, but for those who want this type of education, there are amazing perks: small classes, close relationships with professors, no graduate students to compete with for research opportunities, a residential experience (no bolting off campus after a year to become commuter students), lots of cool and quirky traditions. Get ready!
Plus, we have to keep this thread going! My gosh: seventy-eight pages, 1200 posts, 58K views!
Finally, don’t sweat that you weren’t able to visit St. Olaf. I’m a bit believer in fit, but I also believe that fit is something of a myth. One can “fit” in at lots of schools. Here on CC there are tippy-top students who simply apply to the top 10 or top 20 on the US News list. If they get into one, they’re going! If a poster happens to mentions fit, the student (or the student’s parent) will say, “I’ll/She’ll make it fit.” International students also don’t have the luxury, usually, of visiting schools in advance. They arrive to not only a new campus but a new country and have to adjust. Your daughter will be fine.
Great news! Congratulations to your daughter and you!
Congrats to your daughter! I hope the FA works out as expected.
Looking forward to hearing about her visit to St. Olaf’s. And that the financial aid package worked out.
Congratulations to your daughter.
Congratulations! As someone who loves choral music, your D will love St Olaf. Last night, I had the chance to hear the St Olaf Ole Choir live in Seattle on their West Coast tour. Wow, they talented. The music was much more complex than I expected and the voices were so perfect that it gave me chills. The venue, Benaroya Hall, also has nice acoustics for it. In the program, the home towns of the choir were listed. They draw from all over the US. I thought it’d be midwest-centric, but no, they pull from everywhere. The conductor also exudes positivity and caring.
Just to update we have her FA package from SO. It is very generous…but Earlham’s is better. I have some concerns. I know most of you would say the amounts are negligible, but that does not mean that they are negligible for me. I have not broken this down for my daughter, yet. I just got off the phone with FA to have them walk me through it and to ask what happens with her aid year over year with tuition increases.
Because you can’t just look at one year you have to look at all four.
Again I need to reiterate I have not spoken to my daughter about this, she wouldn’t have even known what questions to ask. And the way each school presents their financial aid package is different.
But it’s the thing that I worried about pages and pages ago, how the work-study is applied. It’s not what most of you would consider a significant difference but that doesn’t mean that it’s not significant to me.
Earlham’s grants, scholarships, and 5500 in federal loans covers all of her direct expenses, work study would cover personal expenses. StO grants, scholarships, and 5500 in federal loans leaves a gap in direct expenses to be covered by work study.
Congrats to your D! Such an exciting time.
SO’s financial aid is still workable, though, right? I wonder if people ever go back to their ED school with EA financial aid offers and see if there’s anything the ED school would do. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in and let you know if it’s ok to tell SO about your “better” Earlham offer.
@homerdog I’m actually not sure if it’s workable. My head is spinning a little bit. And I don’t want to be attacked for mentioning it or having my daughter consider it. Some would say this amount of money is negligible but it doesn’t mean that it is for us. Also a very big difference comes in to play when StO’s package is fixed for 4 years. Earlham guarantees more institutional aid if tuition increases.
I also need to reiterate my D has not been given the run down by me. She has not said a word about it. I just found out after I asked StO FA the questions.
I have no idea what my D will say.
If the estimate matches the NPC, which you thought you could swing, you need to take it. You and your daughter signed an agreement. It doesn’t matter if someone else came in with a cheaper offer.
@intparent It does not match the NPC. And the NPC is not broken down like the actual award. It’s VERY generous. But several thousand here and there makes a difference.
ETA: I’m waiting on a call back from her AO to clarify what I heard from FA. And it just now hit me they may not be considering the fact that we lose $500 a month on 7/1…that $500 a month helps me cover things my income doesn’t. Like her medication, clothes, cell phone, etc.
It also helps with some household expenses.
@Momof2girlsandafrenchie Other’s know a lot more about financial aid then I do, but since St. Olaf is a full need school if your income does not increase year by year and tuition does wouldn’t aid increase to cover the difference. Isn’t that why FAFSA is filed every year?
What I wanted to talk about was Earlham. On paper it was a perfect match for my son (junior at Grinnell) who is a quirky substance free kid. After we visited, he choose not to apply. It is much harder to make fit work at a school of 1000 students verses 3000. It was not an issue with Earlham being a Quaker school, I think the essay he enjoyed writing the most was about the honor code at Haverford. We spoke with many students and heard 3 complaints repeatedly. The food was the compliant we heard the least and I have heard they have since changed the food provider. I was very put off by the “cafeteria” it was about the size of 2 small classrooms, for son it was a non-issue.
The concerns we heard the most involved retention and ability to graduate in 4 yrs. Students told us that friends had to leave school to work for a semester or two to earn money and then try to return, A lot of the students we talked to were proud of the fact that they were working 3 jobs at once while in school full time. (I know you were offered a great financial aid package, but worry how this would change if your business became more successful while daughter was enrolled.) Also, since the school was so small they had trouble getting the courses needed to graduate on time esp. in science. Courses were only offered once a year or once every 2 years. If you missed a course or did not pass a course required for the next course in your major you were in trouble. I bring this up now because if you compare Earlham’s and St. Olaf’s graduation and freshman retention rates they are far apart. Freshman retention at Earlham is 80% and 4 yr graduation rate is 65%. St. Olaf’s freshman retention is 91% and 4 year graduation is 85%. Please keep this data in mind when comparing financial aid offers. I know that an extra semester or year of college is not something that your family could handle at this point.
Does the full amount of work study money have to go toward direct expenses or can some of it be used for personal? Most college students should be able to earn about 2 or $3,000 per summer to go toward personal, but you would hope that some of the work-study money could be for personal expenses as well. If not that maybe tricky.
@Momof2girlsandafrenchie, it’s sounds very close, so best to go back to St. Olaf and let them know what the differences are and see what they day - be very specific. Until then it’s too early to make any decisions.
I agree on @Mom24boys point regarding importance of retention rate and graduation rate at each. I’ve heard people try to rationalize the much lower rates at Earlham, but it’s very real and definitely could result in a longer duration and more costs.
@Chembiodad I left a message for the AO because I really need to clarify what I heard from FA. Her ability to graduate becomes an issue if we cannot afford her meds, and basic care items.
It could be that I’m misunderstanding what I’m hearing, although I asked it several different ways several different times. But it sounds like she would have to borrow beyond the 5500 every year. Sounds like she’ll have to borrow several thousand dollars more, every year. And then you throw in some music and the travel abroad…I’m hoping that I am overthinking it or that I misunderstood.
Without going into too much detail about the numbers. There is a gap between what is covered from scholarships and grants and the $5500 in student loans, that needs to be made up for with work-study. She needs that work-study money to help with the personal expenses and books and travel.
@Momof2girlsandafrenchie Another thing to try and discern are the ‘hidden’ costs for the college. Little things, but they can add up. Dining plans can be a source. At some school your swipe card works at the coffee/snack bar as well as the dining hall, so that pick me up coffee you get in the afternoon, doesn’t cost extra. At some schools the dining hall is open all day and you can stop by to grab a snack before and afternoon class even if you have already swiped in for lunch, meaning you don’t have to buy a snack on your own. Laundry is free at some schools. Some schools have free shuttles to town or the airport etc, other schools you have to pay. Look at summer research - some schools have lots of paid research available, others not so much. If you become an RA, do you get free housing? What are the transportation costs to and from each of your choices? Are there extra technology fees, fees to use health services, charges to go to movies/speakers on campus? Greek life charges? Admittedly, these are small things, but they can add up, and be very different between schools.
@Momof2girlsandafrenchie, remember you’ll no longer be feeding your daughter 9 months of the year. Electricity, water, gas or bus fees (if any) to get to HS-there are many ways you’ll be saving by having your daughter away at school. I’ll also once again recommend having her sell the car to save on insurance and maintenance.
If you feel you didn’t give St. O full information on your financial situation you may be able to get them to reconsider their award but I wouldn’t expect them to do so based on Earlham’s offer. St. O is upfront about saying they don’t match FA offers from other schools.
@wisteria100 These are exactly the things I’m trying to project right now. You kind of nailed where the difference in direct cost being covered fully without work study comes into play.
So the initial amount that has to come from work study at St. Olaf begins to add up with other hidden costs. I don’t like the word hidden because I don’t think StO is trying to bait and switch or anything like that. I’m sure some of these things are assumed.
However, it still doesn’t mean that my D and I can raise the funds over the summer…I was a little shocked that her institutional grant would not be adjusted. It won’t go down at all, it’s guaranteed for 4 years. It will only go up IF my income increases quite significantly, which it won’t before my D20 goes to school.
But the institutional grant does not quite make it full need if she has to borrow above and beyond the 5500. If that makes sense?
ETA: When I saw the package last night, I thought we were in good shape. It wasn’t until I began asking the questions today, that I realized there was a significant difference.