<p>" Did we make a mistake by saving diligently for college?"</p>
<p>I was told by more than a few CC’ers on the FA forum that I made a mistake by paying off my house instead of saving for college, and planning to use home equity to pay for college for my children. They’d think you made the right choice.</p>
<p>My son was awarded merit aid (not as much as NPC said, but the minimum of the best merit award they offer, which was won by someone else at his school) and his full possible Federal loan package ($8,500 per year, according to the colleges website). We filed the CSS Profile, so are not sure if the merit aid decrease was based on something in that which wasn’t on the NPC.</p>
<p>It is difficult to put my mind around, but we are talking about a merit award of $60,000 for four years or $100,000 for four years. I guess maybe “one year of a full ride” sounds good :)</p>
<p>@rhandco, For us, the net prices of Penn and Cornell are roughly equivalent, and Harvard maybe $3k less than that. The truly amazing financial aid is at Yale and Princeton, both another $5k-$6k less than Harvard.</p>
<p>Break out the tiki drinks! D was accepted to her SCEA school. The decision to ultimately attend or not will wait until April, (so yes, we’re on this ship for the long haul) but at least there’s one good choice available!</p>
<p>Great to hear about your D’s acceptance @OHmomof2! </p>
<p>Re: PharmD co-op pay, could be a great opportunity for some comparative shopping amongst the schools on your D’s list if the quality of the Career Services [CS] department is a selection criteria:</p>
<p>1) As you note, you could pose the question to NEU’s CS group and see how quickly and effectively they reply. They should also be able to answer how many PharmD program kids there are, what % get desired pharmacy co-ops vs. other jobs, the names of the bigger employers, post-graduation employment data, etc. </p>
<p>2) Then, maybe ask the same kinds of things of the other CS dept.s relative to unpaid/paid internships. </p>
<p>If responsiveness is weak from any of them now - while they’re recruiting your child - probably doesn’t get any better after they have already secured the investment of one’s time and money. b-( </p>
<p>I almost wish savings counted for something, because the universe has decided that I need to spend every penny I have in my savings account this winter! Between a collapsed sewer pipe and car stuff on top of Christmas and birthdays (4 birthdays this month!), I will be hand to mouth by the time this month is over. </p>
<p>Also, many thanks for all of the well wishes for the Cabbages. Everyone here has been terrific, and I’m really grateful for this community. Even though not a frequent poster, I’m a dedicated follower and the insights and support everyone gives to one another is phenomenal. Plus, experiencing all of this together helps reassure that despite all of the ups and downs - with the help of the insights here - we did the best we could to put them in a position to succeed. All USS Indecision kids no doubt built their balanced school lists, took their tests, and submitted/will submit their quality applications. In the end, it will all work out just fine for them and they will find a college that “fits”.</p>
<p>Thanks, again. Margaritas, mojitos and other tiki drinks on me. And, oh yes, champagne too, once the Jan 1 deadline is cleared!</p>
<p>@Kelowna! I wondered what happened to you. Congratulations to your D! </p>
<p>And double congratulations to the Cabbages! And wonderful news @vistajay and @wrights1994 and @OHMomof2. I am sure I am forgetting someone, many apologies.</p>
<p>Knowing that D has 12 essays to write between now and January 15 is making the holidays seem a little less bright. But I am doing for her what I did for her sister- I am putting together a basket of some favorite munchies, warm drinks, a scented candle, a fuzzy blanket and a CD of upbeat music to help make it a little more fun. The semester ends the same day the last of the applications are due and she leaves the next day for a week long school sponsored trip. So we are in high alert, all hands on deck mode to get it all done in the next month. Oh and squeeze a holiday or two in there. </p>
<p>But my main goal is to get to the point where she is not in full on freak out mode during the last half hour before she submits the application. I am happy to say that the last one went in 10 minutes early instead of 10 minutes late. Progress. But it is still too stressful for an old woman like me. So I am hoping she can spread these out a bit and get them in one by one and not all together at the last moment because I think it will kill me otherwise.</p>
<p>D got into her EA school. She will be applying to some schools RD, but now she can cut down on the list. As she hasn’t finished all the supp essays, I have a feeling that she will cut down a lot.</p>
<p>Molotov to the Cabbages! (I had to do that for those here who follow politics). But, really - congrats to you, too, @Cabbage1. I can’t imagine going through this for 2. Congrats to @IJustDrive (always loved that name), @vistajay, and those with their good news for the day. Hang in there, those in it for the long haul.</p>
<p>My D got into another EA school yesterday. We don’t know about merit money yet, but she will have some good choices in the Spring, which is all we really wanted her to have. She is so bogged down with work right now, and in full panic mode with an AP Physics exam tomorrow, she hasn’t really been able to enjoy this latest good news. I think she will sleep well this weekend.</p>
<p>And I second Cabbage’s sentiments about this amazingly welcoming, fun, supportive and wise forum. I read more than I write, but I have taken it all in and found so much that was helpful. </p>
<p>So many acceptances! Congratulations to all those who got ED, EA acceptances! Pat your kids’ back from all of us here! They worked very hard for this. Those who got deferred (our home included) and rejected, good news is yet to come, so, chin up! Have happy holidays everyone! </p>
<p>@Ohiomomof2- Check with NEU about scholarships/aid for the 5/6th year. 6 years is the minimum anywhere to get a PharmD and a number of schools will extend aid into the final 2 years. And if those co-op hours are paid, that could be a huge plus, since those hours are just considered mandatory “volunteer” hours at some schools.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all and hugs to all who got deferrals/rejections. I guess this is why we spend so much money on applications!</p>
<p>My son got his second acceptance, but no FA, even though 2013 ED1 applicants indicated they all found out about their awards online. So we need to decide to wait for the letter or just take the ED. The ED which I just calculated will be 12K more per year than expected, overall.</p>
<p>Wow! The acceptances are coming fast and furious in this group! Congratulations to all…and congratulations to those who have managed to come to terms with the deferrals and move on to better options!</p>
<p>That of course would be “congratulations to all who got accepted and hugs to those who didn’t”…</p>
<p>Funny thing is, the ED school gave FA info right away, and the EA school that accepted him is waiting. He’s still thinking about saying yes to the ED school tonight, because he didn’t get into the honors program at the EA school and therefore doesn’t expect that good aid.</p>
<p>They give a LOT of time for kids to decide about ED - until January 15.</p>
<p>To any who are waiting for ED responses for their children - your day will come!!! Once you get them submitted (and yes, I know some are still pending, keep on trucking!), try to relax. </p>
<p>Echoing congratulations/hugs/welcome/welcome back to everyone receiving results recently. It’s great to see things progressing well for so many!! <:-P </p>
<p>I’m curious to see how the actual FA numbers work out for everyone versus the NPC numbers (if folks ran the NPCs). It might provide some insightful data points for posters from the Class of '16 who might be looking at some of the same schools.</p>