Sigh. I guess I’m just trying to make straw into gold. Ran the NPCs for the colleges on D16’s list now that I’ve learned more about what her grad school costs might be, and I just can’t see a way to pay room and board for undergrad, given that she must avoid substantial debt.
We know that she’ll have to attend where her tuition would be covered by a grant. And two schools in the list would throw in room (without biatd) to be covered by the grant. But…those don’t have her preferred major, the BSW.
I am now just kicking myself for not realizing we needed to start save for dorm room and board expenses back 17 years ago. So, it’s looking like her real options are now limited to four tuition-grant schools, none of which are highly desired by her:
3 local and commutable, with one including a room grant
1 across the country, but including the room grant
She’d do a psych major at 3 and have to self-design a major (social science and education, with a NFP management minor, probably) at the 4th. And, because she would not have the BSW, she’d have to forgo advanced standing for an MSW program. That’ll make the MSW program last two year$$ rather than one year.
We know already, she’ll be given the tuition grant at one of the 4 schools, but we’ll have to wait until late spring to hear about the other three. I’ll be endlessly grateful if she’s chosen to receive the tuition grant for any of these but I’m feeling very guilty about not understanding how much room and board would be for her undergrad years.
D has received many free, streamlined apps - many to schools she’s no longer interested in, unfortunately…
However - yesterday we got a fee waiver from one of three favorites on her list. Yes! I know the 50 bucks saved is a mere drop in the bucket, compared to overall college costs, but - hey, it helps!
Now if I can just get her to apply and finish an app!
Hi all, been lurking and reading (and responding in my head, haha.) It’s possible that I am experiencing a bit of college app burnout, after the initial rush of excitement with the opening of the Common App and the National Merit announcements!
Like some of you, really starting to try and wrap our heads about the reality of finances (we were expecting a tuition discount for D13 this year, bumping us down to in-state rates, because of a program she is in…long story short, after a year of being told it would happen…it didn’t. Argh. We have significant out of pocket medical expenses for her too, so it was disappointing.)
Many apps done and submitted; she’s gotten four acceptances so far from RA schools (one being OU, though we don’t know anything about the additional scholarships applied for there yet.) Holding on to a few completed apps (waiting to see how cross country season plays out; good chance her team will finish first at state. Also orchestra chair placement, All State results.) We know she can get a full ride from our in-state schools, but those programs are not ideal (very limited Chinese program.)
And a few more apps to complete, though there is really no huge rush on those.
S has had two waivers, and D has one. And the ones S has have been put out there for anyone, so he’s not special or anything. He still has four or five schools whose applications he hasn’t done yet-- sure would be nice if they’d offer them.
@Ballerina2016 , Rice is awesome. S really, really wants out of the South though, and Houston qualifies as South. But they stayed on the list for a long while.
@dyiu13 don’t beat yourself up too much. The cost of college has surprised many parents. At least you are educated on all of this now and she will have options in the spring. I have forgotten exactly what major she is hoping for but what is her alternate plan? So many kids change their majors that you may need to confirm that she has applied to at least one school that gives her the flexibility to do that.
Congratulations on new acceptances. Cannot wait for the October SAT date so DD can start working on her applications. For the next two weeks, it is only homework and SAT subjects prep.
@Cheeringsection - She’s aiming to become a LCSW and get a job as a school social worker and eventually start working as an LCSW individual psychotherapist.
We might have had a breakthrough tonight as I’ve been doing more calculations on funding her education. We actually might be able to send her as an undergrad residential student to her dream school, which would give her advaced standing in its MSW program. That would shave about $30K off her master’s degree, reducing a 2-year program to a 1-year program. So, it might be prudent to pay for room and board as an undergrad at her dream school, which would also permit her to have the “college experience.”
I’m very confident she’s found her career calling. If course anything is possible, but she’s primed for her goals and the school seems to be a perfect fit.
I figure if she takes the smallish subsidized direct loan of $3500, contributes $5500 of her annual net earnings from summer job and 10-hour school-year job, and we parents cash flow the remainder of $5000, we could pay for residential at that school. Given the $30K savings for the MSW, it’d cost us about $30K for that residential undergrad experience, which would be so important to her development. She’s had a rough life and needs something good. As long as it’s financially doable. Razor-thin doable, but seemingly doable.
@dyiu13, realize also that your household budget may see a bit of a boost from one less mouth to feed, no “helping out with a little cash”, “picking up something for her while I’m out”, or keeping the tank filled for the car. I found utilities and food went down drastically- but this was a large male varsity athlete. It far offset the $510 “board” allocation of the monthly “room and board” budget in the school COA. Could you rent out her room during the school year? That could free up some cash flow. And then there are (any) college savings…
Paying $5000 out of cash flow may be a net gain, or at least break-even. You may be pleasantly surprised.
My D16 is one small-footprint kid. Thift store, low-maintenance type of a kid. If she goes residential, I figure I’ll save about $1000 on her transit pass and funnel that into our contribution to school funding.
Interestingly, the NPCs assume room/board for a kid at home is $3000. (Books, supplies, transit, and personal spending is considered extra.) I think a lot of that $3K might be spent grabbing take-out meals on campus.
While I love the idea of renting a room or two to students while she’s away, the DH hates people in his space. Sigh. I do like the idea though!
Yea…no college savings on our part (D16 is saving though and has $3K at this point to launch herself into college). We got married and had a kid when the big personal financial advice was to “save for retirement and let the child find a good financial match for college on her own.” So, the retirement fund is very healthy and I was even able to borrow from it to send D16 to a special private high school just for junior and senior year, but I am afraid to tap it further.
Congrats to those with acceptances. D has a single application submitted (UMN-TC) and is still trying to have a correction made to her transcript, so no admissions decisions in sight here! Patiently waiting for the English teacher to assign a personal narrative essay as promised, because otherwise, it’s probably not happening.
@labegg Your daughter must be really happy about Pitt! Mine has the exact same GPA. Her school has quite a few Pitt applicants and they accept most of them. Her her GPA is below the average compared to her peers (but the ACT score is above the average). Maybe I’ll have her give it a try (especially if it turns out that essays are optional(ish).
I’m starting to think/hope/expect D16 to not only get accepted to her well-fitted dream school, but that we can make it work financially, if careful. This is a new feeling. Don’t want to feel cocky, but it’s a nice feeling to have a bit of reasonable hope for a change.
I knew it would happen sometime, but I was hoping it would happen while my husband was not away on business . DS16 is feeling overwhelmed with everything going on in his life right now . He’s trying to get aps done by mid Oct for EA to qualify for merit, 2 more honors applications completed, complete his Eagle project and paperwork within the next 2 weeks while taking 5 AP classes including Gov, Econ, Physics, English Lit and Calculus, and prepare for the SAT on Oct 3. He’s a very responsible person and good student , but is really having difficulty . Hopefully , he can prioritize and accomplish some things so that he feels less stressed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He’s currently ranked 4 th in his class and wanted desperately to move up, but at this point, I told him not to even think about that right now.
@carolinamom2boys I feel your pain. DD is overwhelmed as well. She is taking same number of AP classes this year as last year, but somehow AP Government and AP Statistics became really time-consuming. I am not too much surprised with Gov, since she is not a history person, but AP Stats came as a real surprise. She is very much behind on essays. Fortunately her earliest application has November 1 deadline. She should pick up speed after next week SAT subject test.
@Ballerina2016 He seems to be having the most difficulty with Calc BC and Physics in terms of time management, but he is going in early for extra help. He’s used to understanding things quickly, so the fact that he has to work at it is kind of throwing him . If we can just get through Dec , the stress level in our house will signficantly drop. He has come to the realization that he will not make Val or Sal and has shifted his goal to stay in the top 10. Good luck to your daughter.
@dyiu13 , I’m so happy to hear things may work out for your D to go away to her favorite school.
Congrats to everyone’s kids with early acceptances! What a great feeling that must be!
D is FINALLY typing up her EC resume (and over-thinking it - of course! ), then she wants to upload the file to one of her apps tonight and hit “Submit”.
This is more of a match, maybe, not a safety, so hope they like her app.
She had an appointment with her GC on Monday, and GC encouraged her to get in her apps in early (Thank you, GC!)
D told me this afternoon she just wants to “get them in” and wants to have all of the “fast apps” completed by this weekend.
@BeeDAre Thank you so much for your kind words. He was able to make a list of things that need to be done with due dates and was able to cross off three items after supper. Just being able to visually see the list shortening has calmed him down a bit. He’s going to study a little longer, then give it up to watch some TV to reduce some stress.
Congrats to those with acceptances and those crossings things off of lists! It will all get done. Just hang there and focus on one thing at a time.
So happy for you and your DD @dyiu13 ! I am glad you are feeling better about all of this.
I love that feeling of things being accomplished. I was able to confirm with one school that DS’s application materials have all arrived and his application file is complete. Woohoo <:-P
We might have had a breakthrough tonight as I’ve been doing more calculations on funding her education. We actually might be able to send her as an undergrad residential student to her dream school, which would give her advaced standing in its MSW program. That would shave about $30K off her master’s degree, reducing a 2-year program to a 1-year program. So, it might be prudent to pay for room and board as an undergrad at her dream school, which would also permit her to have the “college experience.”