NPR College Admissions Story

SlitheyTove
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:19:43 +0000

I’m not talking about a full ride like the Robertson. I’m talking about a token little $1K award, just a morsel, just enough to say, “Yes, we want you.” App State keeps telling DS how much they want him; they keep urging him to enroll…but apparently they cannot cough up one penny in merit aid to “show the LUV.” (They did promise $17K in loans, though.



We’re in California, and merit aid is awarded similarly. Nothing big like the Morehead at the UCs. There are the Regents awards, which are nice and show some love towards a few handfuls of kids. At the Cal States, a few offer some merit aid, but for most it’s need-based aid only. That’s the way that the state works. I’ve never met anyone here, in all my decades in California, who’s ever complained about the lack of merit aid at UC or CSU, or felt that the school should be showing their kid some love. The thing that gets people het up is when tuition skyrockets, which is what it’s been doing on an increasingly (and depressingly) regular basis.



We know about all the options, and we’ve exhausted them. Whatever you may suggest, xiggi and friends, we’ve been there, done that.



You’ve exhausted the options wrt North Carolina public schools. That doesn’t mean that you know about all the options. I’ll bet if you started a new thread in the parents forum asking for suggestions for schools for your second son, you’d get a whole bunch of new options of places that would show some financial love.