My S has ruled out Bama, going with Oklahoma for the NMF automatic money.
We had the painful conversation today about where finances sat. Donut hole, not seeing a way to afford some schools on his list. He took it well. It really helps that a role model this year had to turn down Yale for Vanderbilt! Made it “real” for him.
Did well on his AP tests, so that is good. SAT result on Monday, then I hope testing is done.
Ah, yes, the donut hole. We know it well.
The UCs say we are full pay, which means we’d need to give them a full 37% of our pre-tax income each year to send S there. S would probably get Regents, of course, so make that 35%. /facepalm
Fortunately, S loves his NMF full ride options, so as long as there aren’t any whammies, we’re good.
Welcome @ChattaChia! Your son sounds super-interesting. I think he should have lots of great choices. Have you looked into Olin at all?
@ShrimpBurrito I also thought the Canadian schools would be a great option, but then a number of people on the pre-med websites said that McGill, U Toronto and UBC all had grade deflation, so that my D’s chances of getting into med school would be reduced. They didn’t know about the other Canadian schools. You all can see that I’ve been trying to figure out where my D can go for less $, while still being an excellent school.
@ChattaChia my D toured RPI and she liked it except the boy/girl ratio was too skewed for her taste - she didn’t want to be one of a few girls. She has a good friend, though (also a girl), who goes there and loves it. The mom says that RPI gives out a lot of partial merit scholarships.
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
Hey, parents, I am from the Class of 2018 thread. I hope you guys don’t mind me stopping by and asking questions. I am a first-gen, low-income student so I can’t really ask my parents for help or a sibling since I am the oldest. I was just wondering if merit scholarships like this are first come first serve or will I get the full tuition+housing no matter when I submit my app. Thanks!
@kassh4 depends on the school. The Alabama scholarship should be good as long as you make their deadline, from what I’ve heard that app is very easy and if you are still testing you can send in higher scores after the application is submitted so there’s no reason not to do it now.
@kassh4 If limited number typically this will be noted. Meet requirements and deadlines and you should be fine.
@melvin123 My D18 probably won’t go to med school, but my S20 is laser-focused on it. I’ve already been putting together a list of possibilities for him with a good chance for merit. We are also a donut hole family. Take a look at:
Trinity U (TX). We are visiting next month.
St. Louis U
I’m really optimistic about these two.
And the more obvious:
ASU Barrett. Visiting with D18 and S20 this fall.
Florida State
Alabama
OU
UNM
More competitive merit:
Tulane
U Miami
Pitt
UBC is on his list as well (he’s a dual citizen so it’s dirt cheap). He’s visited with sis and loooooves it, but H and I are also somewhat concerned about the grade deflation. I sense it’s not as big of an issue there as with McGill or Toronto. I also get the impression that a lot of students don’t perform well at UBC because there are so many distractions. Big ski/snowboard culture up there.
@suzy100 I have looked at Olin, he has not. It sounds interesting. I’ll try to get him to look closer. I hesitated since it’s so small. The freshman class is under 100 kids. I’m not sure what he’d think of that.
@melvin123 thanks for the info on RPI. I suspect the atmosphere will be a fit. Have heard mixed things about Troy, but were visiting with an open mind.
He says he doesn’t want a big city, yet he’s interested in schools in Boston. We are spending a couple days there for him to get a feel for public transportation, which he’s never used. We drive cars where we live, lol.
Seems as if college application season just got a lot simpler in our house…picked up S today from several weeks of coding camps at UTD (he stayed in the dorms there) and he had such an amazing time that he may apply to UTD and nowhere else. His current thinking is to complete the UTD application next week, and maybe be done after that except for scholarship applications (McDermott and hopefully NMF). He’s auto admit, and even if he misses NMF his stats should get him the next-highest scholarship (AES). H and I told him we support that plan, and if he gets excited about another school he’ll still have time to apply in the fall.
That’s fantastic, @traveler98 !
I’m starting a list because my memory isn’t what it’s used to be. Which kids already pretty much know where they will be going and where?
OU - Booajo’s S
UNM- DiotimaDM’s S
UT Dallas - Traveler98’s S, 3Scoutsmom’s S
Who did I forget, any other class of 2018 kiddos know where they are likely to go?
S completed his Texas Tech app today, so we’re done with apps. Unless the GF pulls the trigger on “let’s both apply to [NAME].” They’ve both been waffling on that*, and I’m staying out of it. 
@kassh4 Welcome! That Bama scholarship is automatic and guaranteed as long as you meet the application deadlines. There’s really no reason not to apply now, even if it’s not your first choice. Having the app in and the acceptance in hand means you don’t have to worry about last minute surprises (such as servers going down, the deadline being in another time zone, etc.)
Bama is a great school, and an excellent choice. There are other schools with similar scholarship potential, some automatic like Bama and some not. Do you know about them already, or would you like us to point them out?
*not waffling on each other, it’s just early for her to be picking colleges. That’s totally understandable, but if they’re going to apply to the same places, she only has a limited window to let S know.
Welcome to all the other new folks, too! And congrats to everyone on tests, visits, personal accomplishments and enjoying summer!
I have to say, I love this thread. I’m sitting here looking at the list @3scoutsmom started and thinking “Oooh, I want to hear all about OU once Booajo’s S gets there! And UTD from 3Scoutsmom’s and Traveler98’s Ss.” and I’m sure I’ll feel just the same about everyone else experiences wherever they end up. 
Unrelated, I was carrying boxes full of Costco groceries into the house in the 120-degree heat today when I tripped over the grass, turned my ankle and /faceplanted on our front walk. I now have road rash on three different bodily surfaces.
Thank goodness I wasn’t carrying the eggs or the peaches!
@traveler98 we are leaving on Sunday to take DS20 to 3 weeks of computer camp at UTD. Any suggestions of things to bring that aren’t on the packing list? How much spending money is needed? His bedding is taking up one whole suite case so I’ve told him to pack a weeks worth of clothes and do laundry on the week ends.
Welcome new folks. Sorry for the generic and delayed response. We are on vacation on the west coast so have not been checking in recently.
College wise, drove through Univ of Washington while in Seattle. Really beautiful campus. We will likely do at least a drive by of CalTech monday. We have an extended layover in chicago for a tour of uchicago which i will do a more detailed report on. This isn’t a college trip really, but we are trying to sneak a few interesting ones in.
Unfortunately, S18s AP scores were artificially delayed because we aren’t in florida at the moment. So… shrug
He did awesome. He outdid his own projections, should get full credit for everything (exception is physics 2 possibly but physics 2 gets no love from most colleges/majors anyway) and will have National AP Scholar to put on his app. Super excited for him.
Now the wait for SAT from june 3rd.
I’ve read several posts on CC saying that AP awards are not a big deal and I agree that not getting them, especially if your school limits APs is not something that hurts anyone but I do think it gives a boost to those kids that get the National AP Scholar award in 11th grade because not that many are awarded in 11th grade.
Here’s a link to last years numbers by state and grade:
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-scholar-counts-2016.pdf
In Texas there were more than twice as many National Merit Semi Finalists than students that earned National AP Scholar in 11th grade. So if your kid got this award tell them to list it!
I agree @3scoutsmom - S18 is happier about getting his name up on the wall at school because of national ap scholar than the boost it will give his app, but it should be worth something. It’s certainly not easy or common, but is dictated to some degree by circumstance. I think that it does confirm that you aren’t just taking a bunch of tests and are doing well across a range of courses, for example.
It’s the same reason I think reporting 5s could help (even if self reported) at least in certain cases. On some of these exams, it’s indicative of better than top 10% performance. Aren’t students supposed to show how well rounded and how many std deviations above the mean they are? 3s and 4s don’t hurt but i am not as sure they help in the application process, for the same reason - it doesn’t really demonstrate differentiation.
Man, it’s late and need to go to bed, I read “std” as sexually transmitted diseases three times before it clicked as standard deviation!