D got her first fee waiver! Let the fun begin! (Didn’t ask for it)
^was it for a school on your list!?
@2muchquan Yes
@itsgettingreal17 I’d like a fee waiver vs. a frisbee or cotton t shirt
@VickiSoCal that’s funny, at our school L&C is harder to get into than Willamette, or at least Willamette seems to like kids from our school a lot better. @picklesarenice of the 4, Reed seems to be the most generous in definition of need. However, after crunching all the numbers we aren’t looking at any of them as I just don’t see any making an offer that would be remotely affordable and Willamette is the only one I think S really has a strong chance at getting into even if we did. For a long time he was focused on Reed as his dream school but it’s more competitive than ultimately he wants, even if he did get in. The Ravenclaw/Gryffindor comparison seems dead on. We know kids at all 4 and they definitely each have their own personality and all can be generous to the right kid.
Pitt was not on son’s list as we are aggressively chasing merit-aid and I always thought they were less than generous. But after I looked through this thread…
…we’ll have to reconsider it.
@itsgettingreal17 Congratualations!!! Great start!!! Did the fee waiver come in via email? Wondering how do you get these?
@RightCoaster Same here!!! :))
@STEM2017 Yes Pitt is on our list because of possible merit. We visit in a couple weeks.
Oh, she likes the Neuro dept too.
@2muchquan Eagerly anticipating your full visit report! 
@MichiganGeorgia @Mom2aphysicsgeek & @STEM2017 I totally agree with what you have all said. In my earlier post today I was talking about fit and the number of applications. All of these things are why I feel so strongly for my DD that a handful of App’s are best. We have looked very carefully at every accept of the schools that she is applying to. Making sure that every aspect of the school fits her down to maintaining a certain GPA. We all can agree that all of our kids in this tread have strong stats. Yes some may be stronger than others, but they are all excellent. Once our kids are on on their own, regardless of where they go to school, everything may change. IMO it is my job along with my DD to find a great couple of school that she can thrive at. Just my 2 cents. I think many kids end up going to school and not being ready for the new challenges ahead.
@STEM2017 glad it is back on the list. D loved Pitt during our visit.
We made a list together to look at how their merit aid is handed out and the list is one that gives you hope and then dashed it ie a 34 ACT and top ranking student got full tuition and then boom on the next like… Same stats and got nothing or got partial tuition. There were several ACT35s but top 10% who got nothing and a few top 1% ranks but ACT 32-33 who got nothing.
Regardless… As soon as D is back and has a jet lag free brain she will be applying.
@2muchquan, you can even apply right at the Pitt visit I believe and for free. The SAT scores and transcript can be sent later.
My D LOVED the alternate bio lab her advisor told her about when she registered for courses. It gets them right into hands-on research with bacteriophages. She took 0058 and 0068 and will be a UTA for this course in the fall.
http://www.biology.pitt.edu/undergraduate/courses/biosc-courses/course-descrip
@whataboutcollege Received via email. Hoping for more. D has been in regular communication with all her top choices.
@mommdc… I would love to take lab 67! That sounds so cool!
Sigh. It’s classes like that one that make Pitt so unique.
@carachel2 Agreed. I posted the comments below a few months ago to an OP who was looking for merit-aid. After reading it again, its more relevant than ever…
“OP, if you are truly interested in competitive academic awards, you will get increasingly better results as you move lower in college selectivity. This is the strategy my son will be using this fall. With his “above average” stats and EC’s he will not get merit-aid from a top tier school - he just wont. But he has a very good chance of getting money from middle-tier and lower-tier schools where he will also have a very good chance of succeeding and thriving.”
And that’s that.
@jeepgirl I agree about kids sometimes not being ready for the challenges of college. And to add to that, it’s our responsibility to make sure the kiddos are prepared to live on their own. At this point the non-academic stuff begins to become more (or at least equally IMO) important (e.g., laundry and stuff we talked about weeks ago).
@itsgettingreal17 Curious how your DD keeps communication regularly? I don’t believe my D contacted anybody other than signed up for info for a couple of schools. I am not even sure myself what to communicate with the schools. Ask questions from time to time? or something else? It would be great to get some pointers ^:)^
@carachel2, yes that is another interesting choice.
@whataboutcollege I am curious, too. My dd has written every single dept for every school on her list. (several multiple times.) But depts and admissions have essentially no interaction.
@whataboutcollege D received an email from a regional admissions counselor and replied with her general enthusiasm for the school and then a question about recommendations for a campus visit.
Since that time he has kept up the communication with an invite to have coffee or ice cream, notification when he was going to be at a regional college fair and now communication regarding the application being open. She has tried not to email too much but just enough to let him know of her extreme interest.
He is a friendly and enthusiastic rep so that helps also.