Oh and yes, he was proud of his 1200 and shared it everywhere 
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We went for the Purdue’s for Me Admitted Students Day on April 1st. S24 met a bunch of students and an academic advisor in his department. It was a really good and reassuring visit. By the end of the day, he was again convinced (like in 2022) that Purdue is the college for him. We paid the enrollment deposit at Indianapolis airport. In the end, it was close between U of Mn (department with smaller class sizes) vs Purdue (ranked #1 in his major, but larger department).
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S24 had a practice AP exam as his final in AP Psychology and he got a 4 on it 
. I hope he doesn’t get too over confident and still studies for the actual AP exam. Senioritis has kicked in….
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Any home remedy for senioritis?! We’ve a bad case of it…
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S23 had the worst case or senioritis. He was just done with high school. He did great first semester at college but then rushed a frat this semester and is struggling to catch up. He was pledge class president for the frat and it ended up taking way more time every day than he thought and his grades tanked. He has a much more solid plan for fall.
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I think S24 has had seniorities since he was a sophomore…
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I’m so frustrated with FAFSA right now that I’m ready to just pay the extra $5.5k this year. UGH!
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Hey friends! FAFSA does indeed suck. I’m sorry for all dealing with it. 
How is everyone doing? We’re still on the W&M Spring Pathway track… deposited in fact… and I’m having FOMO but will get over it. Last day of class in less than a month. Crazy to think!
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Mine has committed at Wheaton (MA)! She was on a school trip when our FA appeal came through, and having understood that finances are a concern, quadruple checked we could afford it before she clicked the button. I appreciated her judiciousness and she is appreciative of the opportunity.
I learned a lot about the school from the CC community, especially from those of us that have the more average kids on the forum.
ETA: I see so many posts where others INSIST that a non 4.0 average kid won’t get merit, so never count on that - and it’s just not true. My 3.0 test optional kid got a ton of merit and need-based aid to make it in range for us. I really hate seeing people dissuade kids from applying to ‘expensive’ schools if they don’t have stats - merit in some cases, sure, is linked to stats, but in many places it’s just a way to discount their rates to get the student in. Instead of refusing to let your kids apply to high price schools (COA for Wheaton is over 80k, which is an absolute non-starter if it were the price for our family) make sure they know your financial situation and what you CAN afford, and what you need to make it happen. We are also complicated by having the option/ possibility of tuition waiver because I work at a member school of the CIC, and many of the list schools are made very affordable if you are only paying room and board - so our benchmark was "is it a school on the [CIC eligible] list, and what is the room and board. She got a tuition waiver [worth about 33k] for Lesley but R&B and fees were still 22k. She hasn’t gotten a waiver for Wheaton but merit and need brought the total COA (pre loans) to 27k, R&B is 17k - and the 5k difference from ‘free tuition’ (plus just clicking MUCH more strongly with Wheaton) made it doable. She will take loans, we will probably take a small loan. (ANd she’s still on the waitlist for the waiver at Wheaton, and in such a strange admissions year, who knows how that could shake out!) I am not averse to student loans completely, we are otherwise debt free except for our house which is on track to be paid off when she finishes college anyway.
Just wanted to add that since the average kids can sometimes get punched down on as being not worthy of merit, plan on paying sticker, etc etc… and it’s just not true.
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I know what you mean, but this descriptor struck a nerve.
Every kid is special in their own way, and children develop and mature at different rates. Some have better stats than others at the end of 11th grade, which our college admission system has decided is the appropriate point for evaluation. Fortunately, a child’s academic performance at this level is minimally influential in the journey of life.
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Yep, ‘average’ here is just referring to stats! My own was a late bloomer academically, and we’ve said all along “yes, it sucks that your growth and development wasn’t on the same timeline as admissions officers look for, but it doesn’t mean you aren’t growing and developing to be ready for college.” I
I think she’s extraordinary, but the average stats kids hear a lot of negative assumptions in the admissions year, I think!
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Many average kids go on to do amazing things. The highest earners I know are formerly average kids. Not to say that income is the be all, end all. But it’s pretty darn rewarding!
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Grades don’t always reflect smartness however it may show work ethic. Many teenagers are more distracted and may lack interest in certain subjects or in school in general.
In many cases, high achievers drop out of college as well.
Academic excellence is one of the complex yardsticks that we have.
There is a lot of learning that goes on in the games they play to videos and browsing they do on their own.
In a way, I believe rejections from reach schools is a learning by itself. It prepares the student to learn from past failures and builds on the character for the next phase of life’s challenges.
S24 would like to go to law school and he knows now how hard it is to get into the reach schools, if he wants to pursue that.
Getting into a good school is just the beginning. Lot of people are successful in spite of being “average” in academics.
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Yes! Parent of a 2023 B student here who received a lot of nice offers that brought tuition in range of our state flagship (Rutgers, where she probably would not have been accepted anyway.)
She’s had a great freshman year and will be back home next week!
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My kids knew that their 529s were generous enough that they could go wherever they wanted to, but they were also raised with the concept of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”.
D22 chose a non-flagship instate that was very affordable. She got a few scholarships (not huge money because their tuition is low), so we let her keep those. She got another at the end of her sophomore year that we also let her keep.
S23 chose an OOS flagship but got a lot of merit so it is about what he would pay for our state flagship. We didn’t let him keep the difference of that scholarship, but he has also gotten a number of other scholarships that we did let him keep. He also won a contest this year with a large prize that they just deducted from his tuition, so we “reimbursed” him for that. He is moving off campus this year and chose the most affordable apartment complex to live in ($675 + fee parking compared to $900+$100/mo for parking). As my husband says, “this kid is cheap even when he is spending our money”.
This wasn’t a “deal” we made with our kids, but something we chose to do after as they made financial decisions that were a nice benefit for us. We also continue to pay for their phone and car insurance. They will both have money for grad school if they choose to go although we suspect that S23 will have it paid for. My husband says they won’t be getting the remainder of their 529s, but I have a feeling they’ll be rolled over into a Roth.
I’m very thankful that we’ve had a great financial planner since before they were born.
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Regarding 529, to clarify and confirm: can we use it for a certificate course ( not part of a degree) at USF with no penalties?
Final week of HS!
DS24 has been invited to award/scholarship evening! That’s a pleasant surprise.
Waiting on bright futures scholarship notification after final semester grades are entered.
Hopefully everyone here is immersed in this milestone celebrations.
DS24 plans to do Paralegal certification online in summer. May look for political internships.
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I would say his GPA isn’t bad and I would expect him to be able to get into a decent school and do well.
I wanted to report in that S24 grades are out and all A’s and 2 B+, which brings his gpa up to 3.25. So proud of him…he is ready for college! The last thing we are waiting on is his AP exam score.
Thanks for being such a great, supportive group! Good luck to all your kids. I know they will go on and do great things!
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