<p>Moonmaid…I am happy for your son and family regarding Tulane…the Pomona redirection not withstanding.
Spouse and I are on one level also hoping for a redirection from a certain ivy on Thursday evening so our S14s mindset to attend Tulane is completely uninhibited as well. The other 4 remaining decisions ( all similarly yielding zero merit $) already do not trump Tulane in my son’s preference, so merely represent part of the finish line to this marathon process of college admissions.</p>
<p>Alright, just wrote a long winded post & erased it cuz it seemed somewhat pointless, except to say that I really appreciate this forum & being able to be straightforward with our kids’ accomplishments, & thus able to get real feedback, advice etc. Thank you all!!</p>
<p>I sent an email to our college counselor today letting him know the final outcome for d. He looks like he takes his job so seriously, but when I saw his recommended list I just wondered if he had his head up his a$$. People rely on this guy and he seriously low balls everyone. I just kept it upbeat and gave her stats, the list with what we viewed as reaches, matches and safeties and how it worked out for d. She’s pretty much your typical kid there, and I think he could do a little better by kids. He’ll probably ignore it, but I was thinking if next year he has someone come through with her stats he’s put a little more effort into it. Or at least expand a little. </p>
<p>Do you actually tell the schools the kids aren’t attending that they aren’t going? I just saw a call come in from one of her schools and I didn’t pick up. </p>
<p>@Moonmaid - Sorry about Pomona and hope Tulane comes through with some more aid. And how nice your older son will be around as a support system.</p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom - Sounds like your son has come a long way and you’re very proud of him. It’s too bad that a small drop in one grade makes such a difference. I understand the disappointment all around.</p>
<p>The news here is no news! DD’s official package from Smith arrived today with a letter saying her financial aid package was incomplete. UGH! Once we were able to finally log in and find the section where the missing document was listed I couldn’t believe it. They want the 2013 tax returns for the non-profit corporation I work for! No - I can’t give out that info as I don’t have the authority to release it and it has no bearing on her financial aid. I get a paycheck, nothing more! I have no financial interest in the company but it does use my address as there is no physical address for the company. And there’s nothing on our personal tax returns related to the business except my W-2. So I’ll call tomorrow morning and see what I can do to convince them of that. I can send copies of corporate forms available online, but not tax returns. It’s so ridiculous and didn’t help stress levels - hers or mine! I just can’t figure it all out.</p>
<p>@eyemamom–I had my son notify the schools that he didn’t plan to attend. This was back during the ED round when he had been offered admission to a couple of EA schools before the ED was out. While some schools will never move to their WLs, others will, so it is nice to let the college know that a spot is no longer needed.</p>
<p>Congrats to all those with acceptances to report. S got into Rice, his favorite, and he could not be more excited. It was a long wait!</p>
<p>@austinareadad
Congratulations to your son! I heard good things about their residential colleges. I was hoping my D would consider it, but in the end she didn’t apply. Good luck.</p>
<p>A no from Rice…S14 just accessed portal…thankfully no sting</p>
<p>congrats to austinareadad S’ yes</p>
<p>Here’s the google doc link:
<a href=“https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxUwgbCqcCpq4L_2L4lAhqcKQAN0AyGHDAjf1rDX9rI/edit?usp=sharing”>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxUwgbCqcCpq4L_2L4lAhqcKQAN0AyGHDAjf1rDX9rI/edit?usp=sharing</a></p>
<p>Loving all the good news and acceptances of redirections. I think we all have kids we can be proud of – especially in light of these challenging four years getting them through high school, standardized testing and application season. What a feat! My two are very different and I know that it will be a nailbiter with go2dude in 2018. Very different kid. We just received the fat packed from Claremont-McKenna. COA is over $65K next year! Seriously! $47,395 JUST FOR TUITION!!! And they don’t have a rock climbing wall. LOL.</p>
<p>
Is this the new norm now? it seems that last year, tuition is about 60K, now it’s closer to 65K. USC (SoCal) also informed my D that tuition for 2014 is $47,400.</p>
<p>$48,970 just announced for next year. $10K increase in COA in five years. Tuition, basic double room & full meal plan = $63,500, before considering cost of books, travel, and other expenses that are considered COA. So, $65K probably doesn’t cover it! Will have to alert my younger siblings with their much younger children. Save more!</p>
<p>@2016BarnardMom (and others) – I’m sorry. My note came off totally wrong. I didn’t think that you were bragging or being insensitive. I was just trying to cushion the disappointment by congratulating him (and you) by pointing out that he clearly had a stellar high school academic career. Am truly sorry if it appeared otherwise, Really. </p>
<p>2Ds just got accepted to Rice. I have to laugh; last summer when we were looking at colleges they were so naïve and said “I’m not going to any barley or wheat school.” My brother lives in Houston, and he would take great care of them. Warm weather sure would be nice. Oh and I’m thankful, up to this point, they’ve both been accepted to the same schools… twin angels looking over us at least for now. </p>
<p>I might have said this before, but… Thursday has me in a pickle. Decisions will be posted right before all 3 of my Ds perform in their last hs musical together. Depending on the results of Thursday (something like 10 decisions will be coming in between the 2 of them), I’m concerned their minds won’t be able to focus and give their best on stage. But they are 18, I can’t really tell them they can’t look at the portals. Oh bother. </p>
<p>Oh and about the high stat kids vs the mid stat, etc. I firmly believe all of these kids are going to be productive citizens so every acceptance, decision, etc. is positive in my eyes. Go over to the Musical Theatre boards - oh dear, those kids and families are under a lot of stress and everyone is SO supportive. </p>
<p>@Go2mom: we saw that at the beginning of the month with DS’s Rensselaer admission and FA package. Over $62K a year COA. Even with merit and need the cost including subsidized loans was over $40K. I just saw on Twitter that Lafayette sent out acceptances and FA letters today so we’re excited. But I’m pessimistic that Lafayette costs will be similar. Although Lafayette is probably DS’s #1, he’s been warming to PhilaU lately. After merit and need aid, it’s half the price of RPI and is one of only about four colleges that has a program DS is interested in. I love Lafayette, but #2 might be trying harder.</p>
<p>It gives me a lot of pause. These $5k jumps were not expected (and more importantly, how do these institutions justify it?) </p>
<p>S11 will be a senior at USC next year. S14 caught the SC bug and we encouraged him to apply. I secretly hoped that he would fall in love (and be accepted) by a lower priced public. Thankfully, it appears that he has. Even with Financial Assistance the cost is huge. We are willing to make sacrifices to afford college for our kids, the yearly hikes really add to the stress of doing so.</p>
<p>@AsleepAtTheWheel I do understand. After my D’s graduation, my kids asked why some people made such a huge deal out of graduating from high school. I had to remind them that for some kids, that was a real struggle that they had to work very hard to achieve. And that for some kids, it was the highest level of education they would achieve too. </p>
<p>Re: the $5K jumps- and then you think “what if this continues all four years? Can I afford what I’m planning to pay for 2014-15 PLUS $20K by their senior year?” I’m especially concerned about S14’s last two years, when his sister is no longer in college too. I’ve heard that one of his schools is much more generous for freshman than they are in future years. However, most of his package at that school is merit based and he only has to keep a 2.5 to get it. Very little of it is a school based grant. </p>
<p>@austinareadad and @3tallblonds - Congratulations on your children’s acceptances to Rice!! </p>
<p>@go2mom - Congratulations on go2girl’s acceptance to Claremont-McKenna! I understand how you feel about that COA. D received an acceptance to Richmond today, but no mention of any merit aid so it might as well be a rejection with a COA of 59K+. </p>
<p>All our decisions are in. We are now awaiting scholarship notification from just one school. One thing I really like about Sewanee is that they guarantee tuition for 4 years, and their COA at 49,900 is less than most comparable schools. Like the dozens of posters on this forum, I’m probably going to be asking myself that “is it worth it?” question in the next few weeks. Ugh. </p>
<p>So much activity here the last few days! @AKmom - that is nuts. Why would they want or need the non-profit returns? That is overboard, even for a college.</p>
<p>@go2mom - Right there with you. Can not believe Oxy’s COA. Max laughed when I told him. Thought I was joking. Don’t think they have a climbing wall, either.</p>
<p>Congrats @austinareadad & @3tallblonds on the Rice admits.</p>