Parents of the HS Class of 2018 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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Thanks again everyone for the support! My daughter emailed the school last night and they returned the email with written confirmation the scholarship app was in in time. So that chapter is closed.

On to the next chapter…I am curious about local/outside scholarships…I have not been pushing these as I thought they would be reduced from grants but could they be reduced from her student loans instead? Thinking she should apply because if she wants to attend a school without merit money we need more in other ways.

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@MinnieFan I asked current #1 school about outside scholarships and they said it would stack them in addition to any institutional aid. I guess that might vary, so you could always ask. But I would definitely give outside scholarships a shot.

You can’t win it if you aren’t in it. :wink:

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@bearcatfan We didn’t do a prepaid 529. The returns on them aren’t that great if your child chooses an out-of-state school. In fact, our 529 plan isn’t even in our home state.

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We were told by a few schools that outside scholarship reduce what the school will give. But almost all said that if its under 1000 they would leave the previous FA package alone and just award the 1000 to they student. So, we haven’t pushed outside scholarships yet. But we will when we get more info from the schools on what they will offer.

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My daughter was contacted a few days ago by the Regional Counselor from one of her safety schools. The rep wanted to know as to why she had chosen to withdraw her name from a major scholarship which would have given her close to free tuition. She had already been admitted to the school and had been awarded with a great scholarship which had waived the OOS portion of the tuition.

She was so crushed when my daughter told her that she was leaning to commit to another University. Her reply was “I would be heartbroken if you did not choose xxxxx. Although, I would be very happy for you. What can I do to help?” On the other hand, my daughter feels terrible because she genuinely likes the rep and always knew that out of the schools she applied to, this was going to be one of the most difficult ones to give up.for that reason alone It was also her first acceptance and one which would have been and still is a good financial option.

By taking the ACT one last time last September, she was able to raise her score by a few points. All of the sudden she gave herself a chance to go from certain reaches to perfect matches.

.

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The emotional manipulation is dirty pool, in my opinion. Telling a student they are wanted, offering to sweeten the pot (“help”) is one thing, but heartbroken… is not really fair. It’s business.

It’s really hard to turn down some of these schools, especially where you’ve had a lot of personal contact. But you can only attend one school at a time.

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@mstomper What is NFW? My S was accepted at Ithaca (EA). So far we have received some financial aid but not nearly enough to cover costs. Several of his friends/classmates also applied to IC and got some money with their offers. I suspect that most will not attend, so some $ might open up. Keeping fingers crossed.

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@daffodilpetunia - exactly. What if her daughter had said to the admission rep "I really hope you accept me. I would just be brokenhearted if you don’t’? That would definitely be frowned upon. Shouldn’t do it the other way, either.

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@pbarhug, “No Financial Way.” The Net Price Calculator was way off.

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Anyone know anything about TCU honors vs Tulane honors?

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Had to share my new “odds” per S18’s 11 year old sister: “He should go to Minnesota; that’s what he talks about the most.”

Out of the mouths of babes…

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@VikkiG5 I call my girls Thing1, Thing2 and Thing3 as well! And I totally agree with your analysis. D18’s the first to do everything. It is also a first for me to experience. My Thing3 is D25. She heads off to middle school next year. This is my last year as an elementary parent. Bittersweet.

Onward and upward my friends. Enjoy the ride.

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I am chomping at the bit today for some reason…really would like to have a few more college decisions. DD has seemed to put the college admissions process aside for the time being and is concentraing on other things (I need to follow her lead).

She has been asked multiple times over the past week if she has made a decision and she had been steadfast in her response, it is: a smile and “It is either Texas A&M or Clemson, but I haven’t heard back from Clemson yet.” (She doesn’t mention the two reaches because we assume they will be “no”)

Still waiting on…

  1. Florida State: Jan 25
  2. UT (reach): Feb 1
  3. U of Florida: Feb 12
  4. Clemson: Feb 15
  5. #1 (reach) that I am not permitted to name because she doesn't want to jinx it: March 1-15,

I am terribly interested in seeing the Florida results because no one from her school has been admitted to either university in the past 3 years. I am going to have to find a new hobby after DD2018, no more college admission cycles to obsess about!

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Took my D21 out for her second driving lesson this morning. We are still in parking lots, and will be for a few more lessons, but she is catching on quickly and is a joy to teach. She’s also much easier than D18. Shhhh =))

I haven’t seen D18 much this weekend. Friday night she went out to dinner and a basketball game with a friend. Saturday was mostly ballet. This morning it was brunch with a friend, later a movie with a different friend. I’m glad she has friends to spend time with, but I would like to spend some time with her, too. I see those opportunities slipping away, and I’m sure she doesn’t.

:-S

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General updates from our house…

As soon as S uploads his HS transcript, we’ll be completely done with the whole college & scholarship cycle, and we’re pretty ready to stick a fork in it. The transcript is for the Elks MVS. We’d identified a few more local opportunities, but various things made us decide not to apply. Lots of the local scholarships have a need component, and S feels like applying would risk taking funds away from students who need it more than he does, especially since he’s already got a full ride in the bag. One of the opportunities requires S to have been a resident of this county for three consecutive years and we only have two, plus five more several years ago, so he’s not eligible for that one.

We’ve still got some waiting to do to confirm his NMF status, and to see how Elks plays out, but as soon as that transcript is in, everything is done, delivered and out of our hands.

Registration for freshman orientation is open, so I’ll be taking care of that next week. Wahhhhh!

The horrible mudslides in Santa Barbara took the lives of two family friends, a Scout Leader and a boy S’s age who was in his troop. The family’s home was completely destroyed, the father is confirmed dead, and while the boy is technically listed as missing, there’s no chance of survival since it’s been well over a week.

DH’s parents were supposed to move back up there before the fire, then the mudslides and freeway closure postponed the move again, so there’s a chaos factor, too.

Between this and my sister’s stroke (she’s doing great!), we’re all feeling a tad weary and beleaguered. S is in no frame of mind to write yet another scholarship essay, and that’s also part of what’s been driving putting an end to the applications.

S has finals next week, and he starts a new dual enrollment class - delayed a week since it’s out of Santa Barbara City College. He’s looking forward to being a second semester senior.

He’s not planning to slack off, but there’s a certain mental freedom in knowing that everything is handled, the pressure is off, and you can mostly coast for the next several months, you know?

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@DiotimaDM I’m sending positive thoughts your family’s way.

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Oh man, @DiotimaDM, that is a LOT to manage. I’m so sorry for the family of the scout leader and his son. That’s absolutely awful. I’m sending you guys good thoughts as well.

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@DiotimaDM, I’m sorry for everything you’re going through. :frowning:

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@DiotimaDM so sorry that you and your family keep having blow after blow. Praying for the strength and peace you need to keep going forward during these trying times. I think it is a good decision to declare the college cycle done and to use that energy and time as a family. Hope the light starts to shine for you.

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@DiotimaDM I’m sorry to hear your friends were victims of the mudslides. I’m hoping for better times ahead for your family.