$34k does seem low, but if it’s “average”, I guess that makes sense because there are kids above and below that to make the average. Especially if they are counting all the no-loan kids, that would pull it down.
I graduated from college almost 20 years ago and even then had $28k in student loan debt for undergraduate, so I can’t imagine kids are only borrowing $6k more these days.
I graduated college in 1988 and by the time I got married in 1993 (and paid it off) my Guaranteed Student Loan was about $9,000. I think I had a bigger car loan than student loan.
I got a ton of financial aid, though, because my mother was a widow, and worked at a restaurant. Still, I don’t think it was nearly as expensive then as it is now. We were happy with our cinderblock dorms and decent but not gourmet dining halls. Personally, I think expectations have risen so much that the colleges are happy to spend money on amenities and pass the costs onto us.
I don’t even remember having a financial conversation with my mother. I applied in-state to all private colleges, not a single state university. You went to the best place you got in. Those were the days. ^:)^
@ShrimpBurrito sorry for the disappointing McGill news. I hope she gets in.
@ShrimpBurrito I don’t recall…but have you visited McGill? I always wonder when schools ask for mid term grades from clearly qualified students if they are not testing if the student is really committed to attending if accepted. I hope she is accepted, I know she IS truly interested!
Wowzers on that med school debt, @amominaz. I had no idea!
@ShrimpBurrito, I’m scratching my head at your news and so sorry you have to wait. As you said, maybe it’s for merit consideration. It’s so weird though.
I agree with what some others have said @ShrimpBurrito - with your D’s stats there is a good chance they’re pulling her aside for the scholarship. Maybe that’s a smaller group they’re getting together to compare for the final decision. Don’t lose hope yet!
Re undergrad debt, H and I both graduated with very little. Actually technically H graduated with none; we paid off his small loans from our co-op and internship earnings before he even graduated. We went to our in-state flagship though, and majored in the two highest-paying engineering majors (petroleum for him, chemical for me) so even the internships and co-ops paid really well. We both had merit scholarships, plus H had GI Bill benefits from serving in the Navy before college.
Thanks for all of the support, my friends.
@labegg She has visited multiple times, and attended a two week Neuroscience summer academy this past July. The first time she visited (summer after 9th grade), she said that we didn’t need to see any more colleges, because this was the one she wanted. Having said all that, McGill does not consider interest in admissions.
In reality, a lot of applicants are deferred like this, then are eventually accepted. Historically, though, people with her stats have been accepted in this first round. There’s nothing we can do but wait, and send in her grades when they become available in mid Jan. It will be awhile before we hear from USC and UBC, her other favorites. So, we’ll be playing the waiting game along with many of you.
My daughter has been really good about getting Apps and supporting documents submitted in a timely fashion so I have basically left her alone. However, right now she is driving me a bit crazy. She really likes Clemson but probably only if she gets in honors college. The honors college app is due on Friday. We are going to Vandy for a look Thursday and Friday so she really needs to get it submitted tomorrow. She keeps saying I only have one essay left and I really hate this one. I say get it done and submit it. She says even when it’s done I’m not going to submit it until Wednesday. Yesterday when I got to work the hard drive on my computer was toast and I lost stuff that was not backed up to server. I told her what if that happens to you send in the gd app.
She applied scea to Princeton. Over on that thread it turns out some kids gc being asked to send first quarter grades and as it turns out Princeton website says they should be sent. I told dd to ask gc to send them ( all A’s with 5AP classes). She says it’s too late and she is not going to get in anyways. I may have overstepped but I emailed GC and asked him to sent the grades.
All very stressful…and all this drama going on as we watched the Steelers comeback win with last second FG…lol
Hooray, we are now done. My Son got into RIT ED. Now we can focus on enjoying his senior year.
@burghdad, first off “Go Stillers!!!”, second, you are not overstepping imo. We have to advocate for our kids at times, and that was 1 of those times.
@MJDRZAL Congratulations on the ED acceptance! I’m very happy for you!
Congrats @MJDRZAL! So nice to have it done and over. On to a more peaceful senior year!
Quiz for you all - if your S or D was going to a college solely based on how much mail s/he received from said college, where would s/he be attending? Mine would either be U of Oklahoma or Renssalaer Polytechnic (she isn’t even applying to either!)
@amominaz, before NMSF status was decided it would have been a tie between Duke and UChicago. U of Oklahoma has quickly caught up since NMSF announcement though. S never expressed the slightest interest in any of those schools.
@ShrimpBurrito it may very well be due to the scholarship and that may be typical for applicants in contention for major merit scholarships at McGill. I would not call it a deferment in any way. With her stats she is pretty much guaranteed to get in. Even a January decision is on the early end for McGill. If you call Minerva support they may even confirm that it is related to scholarship consideration.
FYI - D18’s app still in “Ready for Review” status - does not have your D’s stats or scholarship app.
My S also applied to ED in RIT. We haven’t heard anything yet. What were you childs’ stats?
@IY266 My S GPA 3.40 and SAT 1390
Congratulations. My son has similar stats, applied for Engineering. How did you find out
@amominaz based on constant and persistent mail my D18 had the most mail from Colgate close second of Vanderbilt. One school too small the other too far away…
@IY266 My Son got into the Computer Engineering program. We found out on the RIT portal. The package is in the mail now.