<p>As of right now, D is only seriously considering applying to 3 in-state schools. Depending on how her scores come back from this round of SAT/ACT, we may expand to some OOS. If her scores are not high enough for waiving OOS tuition, we are not going to waste the time applying because unless she gets merit aid, I really don’t want to pay OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Kajon…sorry to hear about the accident. </p>
<p>I am really hoping we don’t have to deal with teacher recs. EA at her top choice does not require teacher recs. I have told D that she will need them but she keeps saying none of her teachers like her but I know that is not true.</p>
<p>gamomof3, do any of your D’s choices offer merit aid? Some public schools don’t require recommendations for admission, but do ask for them for scholarships.</p>
<p>gamomof3, is your daughter only interested in State Colleges? Private colleges give merit aid and it doesn’t matter if you are in-state or out of state. My kids both went OOS to small private colleges and the cost (with merit aid) was the same as in-state at PSU.</p>
<p>Even if she may not need it, I would strongly encourage your D to line up a teacher just in case. There could be a private/community scholarship that she’s interested in where she would need a rec letter. I’d hate to see you miss out on any money at all due to lack of a letter.</p>
<p>I would have to third what others have said. I suggest having your D ask teachers if theywould be willing to write recs just in case she needs them. I know sometimes teachers will limit the number of recs they write so if she waits she may not be able to get the teacher she wants.</p>
<p>I find having S asking teachers for recs is a good lesson in humility and having him do something outside his comfort zone. Although your D may not think her teachers like her, as you said, that is unlikely. I suggest she ask a couple of teachers in classes she really enjoyed, did well in and contributed to the class discussion.</p>
<p>It was much easier for Son to ask for the letters than it will be for D. He has Asperger’s Syndrome and we’ve known through the years that a couple of teachers were engaged by him and were really rooting for him. D is more of a show up and sit in class kind of gal.</p>
<p>gamomof3, Kathiep is correct in that some private colleges end up being the same price as in state publics so don’t rule them out. </p>
<p>I have one sister that moved to GA last fall (Fayetteville) and another (Newnan)will be moving this week because of the Northwest/Delta merger. They are psyched because of the dollars given to GA residents for college if you meet a certain GPA requirement. This sounds like a great perk!</p>
<p>I asked D about teacher recs again and helped her to narrow down which ones she is going to ask. Her school doesn’t require you to submit the information before senior year like other schools. She needs to get on it as soon as school starts in August. There is one scholarship app that we looked at that does require it so she will definitely need at least one.</p>
<p>D wants to major in Exercise Science/Athletic Training and its not available at all schools so that limits where we are looking. She also says football is a must which also limits smaller schools.<br>
We have looked at some private schools as well but right now she has her focus on just one school. I am working hard to change that and we will be visiting other public and private schools.</p>
<p>@Kajon…I love the Hope scholarship…tuition paid at an public college/university as long as you graduate from HS with a 3.0 GPA in your core classes. One reason we are focusing on in-state schools.</p>
<p>gamomof3 - look into the honors program at U of Alabama? With her stats and being from out of state, the money would be flying into your mailbox. (and the football is great)</p>
<p>D2 is a member of the class of 2011, so I’ve been reading this forum for some time without posting. She believes chemical engineering will be her major. Science/math really aren’t my areas of expertise which means often I worry that I’m lacking the skills necessary to help her in this search process. </p>
<p>Last December D2 applied for Summer Leaders Seminar at West Point, and tomorrow she heads to NY for the week. Anyone else have a child attending SLS this week or next at the military academy? </p>
<p>D1 is a sophomore at the University of Oregon and heading to NYC Saturday for a ten-week internship in public relations; D3 is just finishing first grade which means I’ll be involved in the college process again in ten years! (So much for family planning.)</p>
<p>Most of the merit I am seeing for privates at the highest level is $15-$20K. Off of a $52+ tuition bill that is still $30K to almost $40K, so I’m not seeing how these are approaching costs of in state publics which most are $20K or under. I thought privates would be more generous with merit as well, but when their coa is $50K+ it just doesn’t seem doable. My S hasn’t looked at a private that was under high $40s or $50K+.</p>
<p>There are privates lower than that though. I just looked up a couple nearby that I know kids attend. Duquesne looks to be about $35,000, Westminster about $38,000, and Allegheny College $42,000. My S is looking at RIT, which is a bit over $40,000 for next year. If he could get a scholarship to knock some off that, I’d be happy.</p>
<p>Welcome, Phb Mom. My oldest is in the high school class of 2011 and five kids later is youngest daughter who has just finished 1st. Like you, we are in for the looooong haul. We’ll just be more broke by the end Just wanted you to know that you aren’t the only one.</p>
<p>Indinct, That’s true, it’s getting harder and harder. While a half tuition scholarship used to sound pretty good, it really still leaves the majority of the COA outstanding for the family to pay. I’ve found scholarships for full tuition or more, but they are either very selective and likely out of range (eg. Emory, WUSTL), or the schools are too techy, too small, etc. for D2s liking. However, we are at the point where, to give her a reasonable chance of having some financially feasible options next year, she needs to face the fact that she’s going to have to apply to a few merit schools that don’t fit her criteria perfectly. It’s either that or the likelihood of staying in-state. </p>
<p>Hello and welcome phbmom, from a fellow Oregonian! Did your D2 apply to the Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering program (through Saturday Academy) for this summer? They have many internships at OSU in Chem E. My D1 did one in Chem E a few years back and D2 will be doing a horticulture related internship this summer for 8 weeks. Your D2 should have lots of opportunities as a female going into Chem E, I tried with all my might to steer my Ds towards engineering, but with no success I’m afraid.</p>
<p>LuckyBoy’s labs came back positive for mono. I am so relieved No contact sports for a month <me falling=“” about=“” laughing,=“” the=“” boy=“” does=“” no=“” contact=“” sports=“”> lots of rest and fluids. He’s been messing about with his computer and itunes all day, in between bouts of eating and napping Hopeful of attending graduation tomorrow night to play trumpet so we’ll see how he feels in the afternoon. </me></p>
<p>And if he goes to graduation, I get to go to Target with LuckyYoungest! The nearest Target is a few miles from his school, which is 30 driving minutes away. Parking is nutso around the school for graduation so I’ll drive him up instead of having him attempt to park the mom van on a side street :eek: Sure would be easy if he’d just master that Corolla stick shift!</p>
<p>^It happens to the best of them. I remember when D1 applied to TASP, she got as far as the interview but felt that she did really badly. One of the essays was supposed to be about a book they read out of class and she ended up writing about one she didn’t really like. Of course in the interview they asked more questions about that essay than any other! In the end she wasn’t accepted. I think it’s still the toughest interview she’s had to date, it made college alumni interviews a piece of cake.</p>
<p>@Kajon
UofA is on our list to visit this summer. Their program looks better on paper than other schools she is considering.<br> @KLuck…one of my co-workers is out 4-6 weeks on Short Term Disability for mono. I understand it really wears you out. Hopefully LuckyBoy will have enough energy to get through graduation.</p>
<p>Idinct, mamabear said what I was going to say. We never even looked at any colleges that had a sticker price over $40,000. My son’s college (Roanoke College in VA) was about $35,000 when we first looked at it and he got (about) $17,000 in aid every year. Unfortunately, aid did not go up but tuition did. My daughters College (Principia College in IL) was around $30,000. She got around $15,000 in merit aid. We found that colleges in the South and midwest were more affordable. With youngest son we are looking at a bit pricer colleges but he’s casting his net wide and we’ll see what happens.</p>
<p>There are many small colleges that will give student a very good education, internships, study abroads AND don’t cost and arm and a leg. The only thing missing is name brand recognition and that usually doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>WooHooo! Junior year is complete for our Son! Yesterday was his last final and he sure is happy to have it all behind him. SAT this Saturday and then he is off to Italy with his classmates for a few weeks. </p>
<p>Hope all your children have a wonderful summer! :)</p>
Just wanted you to know that you aren’t the only one.</p>
No contact sports for a month <me falling=“” about=“” laughing,=“” the=“” boy=“” does=“” no=“” contact=“” sports=“”> lots of rest and fluids. He’s been messing about with his computer and itunes all day, in between bouts of eating and napping