Fine for admissions…
Not so much for scholarships…
@“dad#!101”
Please clarify…can you PAY 40k per year?
thank you all -
@twoinanddone - what are some of the LAC s south and mid west you are referring to - yes clearly we are going with holistic approach- that is all we have to go on - 1490sat, 2 years of unweighted 3.9gpa - leadership skills of an 18 year who clearly will have way more experience about how to avoid such pitfalls in life - but really i am looking not to waste time - less of the 3.4 gpa -
and i am seeking out LACs that are generous - I got the fact that he might not have a chance - but i am trying to be efficient since we are chasing the money - and yes he will go instate CUNY/SUNY
i thought by addressing a forum i could get this information - yes we do have help from his school, and he is focusing more in the past week on LACs
thank you once agin
@“dad#!101”
Once more. How much can you contribute annually for your son’s college education each year?
Suggestions without this info from you might not get you what you need as a net cost.
…how much will you pay each year …and what is his CUMULATIVE WEIGHTED GPA?
10k a year - not sure on his cum weighted - his 2 year cum weighted is 4+ -
but how does that help or not help with which LACs are generous for merit -
please explain thank you
You seem stuck on the ‘he learned his lesson, so schools should only look at everything post freshman year.’ It’s great that he picked himself up and went on, but he’s competing with a whole bunch of kids who never needed to pick themselves up, who have 4 years of 3.9 grades and high test scores. All we are saying is if you want merit money, you can’t go the traditional route of NE small schools. Merit is hard enough to get at those schools with a perfect record.
I have a friend who had really high test scores but a 3.1 gpa. His explanation was that he had ADHD that wasn’t treated until he was a senior, and his grades did go up that last year. It’s great that they found out why he wasn’t handing in his homework or working that hard in classes he didn’t like, but in the end he was competing against kids who DID turn in the homework and DID get good grades all through high school. Having a lower gpa knocked this guy out of the running for MIT or Purdue or Penn State. He also needed merit aid so that knocked out a bunch of other schools.
LACs in the south that may really want a student like your son? Queens College in NC. Flagler in St. Augustine FL. Rhodes, Centre, all the “Ws” in the Carolinas (Wolford, Wingate, Winthrop). His stats might be above average at these schools, but that’s where the merit money comes in. He’ll have to decide whether he’d prefer a small LAC in the south/midwest that none of his classmates and neighbors have ever heard of or a SUNY for about the same cost. Anything else is going to cost more. And it might be worth it to you to pay (borrow) more for the prestige or to be closer to home or for a better fit. For my kids, the prestige didn’t matter at all so they picked schools we could afford and they got some merit.
I think your son could get into a lot of the top schools, but he wouldn’t get merit aid. At those schools he’d just be in the middle of the pack. Your family’s financial situation is what it is, and will either qualify for need based aid or won’t. Just keep an open mind and consider schools you never considered.
Honestly, I can’t think of any college where your net cost will be $10,000, except a CC or SUNY within commuting distance of your home. At many places, $10,000 won’t cover room and board so your kiddo would need a full tuition merit award plus.
The reason folks are asking GPA for all three years of high school is that most colleges will consider this GPA when awarding merit aid. Full tuition awards go to kids with top GPA and SAT scores.
So folks are trying to get a sense of what schools might both accept this kid as well as be affordable.
@twoinanddone
yes absolutely agree - i can tell my son - just give him the facts - he will ultimately decide - i do think he could certainly consider some NE LACs if that is his desire with the potential to earn RA status and merit money based on his grades and good standing from his second year on - prestige is up to him, and I am just trying to assist him in having multiple options - it is just not so black and white…
The best merit money is offered to freshmen as a way to lure them to the school. I’m not aware of any schools that give merit money to college sophomores based on their grades from their freshman year of college. If you are, please share names of schools … it might come in handy for someone who reads this thread, and I’d love to know as well.
ETA: I don’t think you’re really hearing what a lot of long-time posters with years of experience have been trying to tell you over the past 4 pages…
Merit money is often based on just stats - gpa and test scores and there isn’t anything you can do about the hard facts. Kids have argued that their 3.49 is just like a 3.5, and the schools don’t agree. My D#1 has a merit award based solely on her gpa/act. It says right on the chart ‘no rounding up’ and they wouldn’t have cared (for the merit) if she’d also had a Nobel prize because the merit is only based on gpa/act. I don’t see a way schools are going to disregard the 3.4 which includes freshman year for merit. For admissions? Probably but a lot will depend on other factors.
Some schools do have merit awards that are awarded more holistically, but sometimes those include a need based component. They are also generally much more competitive (Stamps, Jefferson). That’s where the leadership could come into play, but you haven’t said what he does to earn this leadership. Does he run organizations? Does he lead self-help groups? Is he president of his class?
“yes we do have help from his school, and he is focusing more in the past week on LACs”
Does his school have a list of colleges that they have worked with and have been willing to focus on only certain parts/years of a student’s experience? Which ones are they suggesting he look at?
Because some schools use weighted GPA for grades 9-11 to qualify for merit
The dad seems to be confusing merit with admissions. Upward trends can help with admissions, but usually not for merit
Congrats to your son on his recovery and turning things around.
When considering admissions to top LACs, many will look at grades from 9-11 (9 to 7th semester if he is applying RD). While it is great that he has a 3.9 gpa sophomore and junior year, you will still have to factor in his freshman year grades to the overall gpa. many of the top LACs in the Northeast only give need based aid. Those that give merit money will give a small token amount that will not put a dent in the cost of attendance. If you say that your family can only pay 10k/year, then you pretty much need a full tuition scholarship, which is just not going to happen in the north east.
I have has students who have attended schools in therapeutic settings and I have not yet seen it as a hook or a tipping factor in the admissions process. As others have stated, the pool is wide, and the pool is deep, especially coming from NYS. He will be in the pool with people who have better gpa/scores and have not had the challenges that he has had. They are not getting full tuition scholarships either.
What you may also find is that there are selective schools where becoming a RA does not get you free room. My D was a RA at an Ivy in college, where is was one of the most competitive jobs on campus. Still had to pay room board cost, D received a stipend of approx. $3500.
One of the things we did was google the college name and “merit scholarships”. That way you can find out what the max merit amount available is. And what your out of pocket would be. For example, Scripps maxes out around $25k per year with the remaining cost around $45k per year. So that might be a good starting place for figuring out which schools are even in financial range. Sounds like per year you’ll be able to cover $10k plus maybe the student loan of about 6k ave. At privates that will get you a little past room and board. So maybe look for schools with full tuition merit awards. If LACs, maybe investigate those in the 40-75 range on USNWR rankings.
I think someone already mentioned it, but try the Colleges That Change Lives, and maybe Trinity U in TX. Several of these at least offer full tuition merit, but know it’s very competitive. My D was finalist for a few at some of these LACs two years ago. One school where she was a finalist (didn’t get that award) told us they had 500 applicants for 10 scholarships. She had 3.8/4.5 GPA, a very high SAT. It was manageable to get the cost to 25k at the lower cost schools but nowhere was 10k, even where she won the big scholarship. Older D had 4.0 and high scores. University of Wyoming offered very generous merit and has a low initial cost even for out of state.
Let’s start from the financial end. You can afford $10k per year. That’s not a lot, so the financial aspect is your limiting factor.
First decide on a few financial safeties. These would include any public college he can commute to, including community colleges. Do you live in any of the five boroughs? If so, please have him consider City College, Hunter College, Queens College, Baruch College, and Brooklyn College. In particular, Baruch has an excellent business program. Even if you don’t live in the city, but live within commutable distance, any of these schools would be good choices.
Second, look at SUNY schools. Binghamton has an excellent business program. Check to see if you are eligible for the Excelsior need-based grant.
Third, does your son attend school out of state? If so, check to see if he qualifies for in-state tuition in that state. I know that students who graduate from a HS in NY state are eligible for in-state tuition at SUNY – even if their domicile of record is not in NY. Perhaps other states have this rule too.