<p>I’m curious, how much gapping is considered a lot? We were gapped anywhere from $3K to $8K by the schools that admitted our son, depending on whether you use the FAFSA or Profile. (Goucher, for instance, said they gapped us $7K but they were using the FAFSA EFC. Rochester said they gapped us just $3K, but they were using the Profile, and their bottom line was actually about $1K higher than Goucher’s.)</p>
<p>Well in our situation. my D got almost $30,000 per year in free money from Muhlenberg. Same kid got a total of $8000 from Drew. We actually have two in college for the one year (next year). Same kid got $28,000 from Fordham.</p>
<p>happy64 - Good luck with visit to UPS. I’ll be curious about your impressions. It was in my son’s final 4, then 3, then 2, but he ultimately decided on Pitzer. UPS has a lot going for it, and the location is very nice.</p>
<p>I’m curious, how much gapping is considered a lot? We were gapped anywhere from $3K to $8K by the schools that admitted our son, depending on whether you use the FAFSA or Profile. (Goucher, for instance, said they gapped us $7K but they were using the FAFSA EFC. Rochester said they gapped us just $3K, but they were using the Profile, and their bottom line was actually about $1K higher than Goucher’s.)</p>
<p>Can someone explain to me what “gapping/gapped” means in this context?</p>
<p>It’s the difference betwen the cost of attendance (COA) and your EFC. So, if the COA is $50,000 and your EFC is $20,000 - you would hope for a FA pkg of $30,000. If the pkg you receive is only $20,000 - you have a gap of $10,000 that you would have to make up somehow.</p>
<p>Glad someone else asked about ‘gapping’ - I am one of those newbies, first child heading to college and british parents so really no clue!</p>
<p>We live in Texas and so I am not sure how the weather thing in Puget Sound will work for D - she would like seasons but perpetual rain? maybe not so much! She is headed to Vancouver Island for all of July so don’t you think that will give her an idea of the vibe and climate? We are pretty liberal and so she longs to get out of the bible belt!</p>
<p>H64 - Those are the same reasons that S2 looked only at schools out side of Texas. He considers himself liberal, but then he thought Lewis and Clark was “a bit too hippie” for him. He’s learned that even “liberal” is a matter of prespective. We thought that UPS was pretty balanced, both socially and politically.</p>
<p>People from Seattle say they perpetuate the myth of constant rain in order to keep people from moving there. But, you know, it rains a lot in Houston too! It will be colder, but not frigid, and your D will certainly need / want new clothes. When I’ve visited there, the worst part for me was how early it got dark in the winter. Both times we visited Tacoma, the weather was lovely. July, of course, will not be typical. (And the days will be very long.)</p>
<p>Thanks, rockvillemom. Thought it was something straightforward like that. </p>
<p>Although I had always understood the difference between COA and EFC was the “Need”. So really, the “gap” would be Need minus Offer, right?</p>
<p>Hello All! I’m not much of poster, but I wanted to thank all who have posted on this thread. This is the thread that I have religiously read to keep me grounded in getting my typical 3 to 3.3 S through the college process. After reading the posts here we came up with a list that, when you looked at the guide books, seemed ambitious. We must have visited 20+ colleges in MD, NY, PA, and OH, which our S narrowed down to 8: Skidmore (rejected), F & M (wait listed), Gettysburg (wait listed), Wells (accepted), Washington (MD) (accepted), Wooster (accepted), St. Mary’s (MD) (accepted), and Muhlenberg (accepted). He was offered great aid from 4 of the schools–and choose Muhlenberg. I guess he must be happy with his decision–he just ordered a shirt and hat! Thank heavens I have two years before I have to do this process again!</p>
<p>Again, thank you!</p>
<p>guidedbywire - yes - the gap = need - offer. </p>
<p>wdgovans - congratulations on great results. Muhlenberg is on my son’s list - I know a few others on this thread are eyeing it as well - so please post in the fall - either here or on the Muhlenberg forum - as to how it goes.</p>
<p>
Right. [10 char]</p>
<p>I live about 20 minutes from Muhlenberg. In fact, my church is about 10 minutes away so if anyone has any questions about Allentown or the Lehigh Valley area let me know. I did an open house there several years ago when my daughter (now 25) was looking at colleges, just to get an idea of what a small private was like. The campus is very nice and compact, location is pretty good. Allentown itself does not have a good local rep, but like any city, there are good parts and bad parts and Muhlenberg is in a good part.</p>
<p>CCL, i don’t think we 2014 parents have to leave, but I suspect we will have a lot less information to pass on (other than our own kids’ expereiences) and Rodney, Emmybet, etc are certainly poised to keep the thread the most useful and supportive on CC.</p>
<p>H64, I did a campus vibe report on Ursinus. In short–small, academically rigorous, very pretty, expensive. I strongly suggest you add Muhlenberg to your list–it is only about 40 minutes away. I did a report on M, too–much friendlier vibe than Ursinus; much more religiously diverse; great m/f ratio for guys; excellent in theater and pre-med; pretty; compact; quite small; oddly has more kids from NJ and NY than PA.</p>
<p>Hope they have a great trip.</p>
<p>I know St Joe pretty well–great school spirit; pretty campus, although one border is on a so-so section of Philly; easy downtown access; very limited upperclassman housing; dominated by grads of nearby Catholic high schools; typical boy loves sports and is middle class; good Jesuit education and focus on service; suffers by losing all cross-admits to nearby Villanova since Nova’s basketball team became much better; tries hard to keep kids focused to graduate.</p>
<p>Moravian (near Muhlenberg) is a solid small school, too.</p>
<p>mom2sons - We know about the long dark winters and long light summers - lived in Aberdeen and Alaska (Yep, oil field trash!). So hopefully it wouldn’t freak her out too much. I like the idea of perpetuating the myth or rain to keep people away! We should try saying that about Scotland too!
Is that where one of your boys ended up or not? If not, then where?We are still open to suggestions!</p>
<p>Wegovbans, congrats on excellent results and, I believe, a very good decision!</p>
<p>H64 - Son will go to Pitzer. This was a hard choice due to the cost difference between the schools (he received merit money from UPS). But he decided that Pitzer + Claremont consortium offered him more options.</p>
<p>We cast a wide net when looking at schools, mainly because at the beginning he was not as clear about what he wanted. He is B+ student, with higher weighted GPA due to many AP’s, so his “results” might not apply to others on this thread. He was accepted at Clark, WPI, Marist, McDaniel, Goucher, Univ of Denver, Gonzaga, UPS, Lewis & Clark, and Pitzer. All great schools for various reasons. It really depends on what your D is looking for - major? overseas study? large or small? urban? vibe?</p>
<p>It’s good your D is visiting the campuses. I think this helps a lot. It’s kind of interesting how they have instant reactions to some things.</p>
<p>Oh, and I should add - I believe being from Texas helped with admissions at some of these schools, because so few kids from Texas go to the smaller LAC’s or private uni’s.</p>
<p>My S is a junior with 3.3 gpa, 1200/1730 SAT, 25 ACT. This is the post for us but most discussion seems to involve small LACs. He is interested in going to school in the middle of a city. Northeastern is his first choice, it is a reach but he would be a legacy. He recently visited NYC, liked Pace (the NYC campus) very much. Didn’t like Manhattan College. Looked at Fordham (as an extreme reach) and thought it was “dull”. He is not impressed with old beautiful buildings, prefers glass and steel. I am worried about safety. Any suggestions? I would like to keep him on the east coast, he is willing to go anywhere. He is interested in marketing/business.</p>
<p>This is my first post, glad I found this thread.</p>
<p>Maybe American University in Washington, DC? Might be a reach - but worth looking into. Great business school. Attractive campus - yet on the edge of major city - easy bus ride downtown.</p>
<p>tvheadmom–what about Temple?</p>