@burghdad - the Clemson site seems to be wonky because it is saying zero in merit aid even though she is clearly eligible based on her ACT score alone. Maybe because I said she is not filing a FAFSA? This is just an academic exercise anyway since she is committed to Syracuse. More out of curiosity to see where Clemson might fall in her current range of $18k to $24K from everyone else.
I also feel bad that she hasn’t withdrawn any applications yet but I am superstitious and want to keep all options open. What if something disastrous happens and we all of a sudden can’t afford Syracuse, or she gets rescinded??? Call me paranoid ha ha.
We finally checked the University of Scranton financial aid award last night. Nada. With generous merit, the cost would be almost $10,000 more than the next highest price college on her list. I’m thinking it’s not worth it and she has no attachment to it.
Those remaining on the list, in order of probability, nclude:
Mount St. Mary’s (favorite; financial concerns)
TCNJ (waiting on decision)
Susquehanna (really wants to know more)
Rowan (best merit; too big?)
Elizabethtown (more merit would shoot this to the top)
St. Vincent (second best merit; ambivalent)
Franciscan (no music ensembles)
@traveler98 Sorry your S did not make finalist for McDermott, but glad he took it in stride and thankful that with NMF and CV it did not impact his direction.
My first shot at odds:
Texas Tech/A&M/Ole Miss - 50% chance he will end up at one of these
UTD - 25%
Baylor - 15% (this will shoot to the top if he is awarded the Faculty Scholarship-full tuition)
Clemson/Alabama/SMU - 10%
TCU-NFW
Since he is chasing merit, so much will depend on scholarships, including a local scholarship that is $7,500/yr for 8 years but requires us to stay in-state for undergrad. If he gets that, he will definitely stay in Texas. Unfortunately there are still 2 more stages of that competition with final award decisions announced in April. By March 1 we should be able to narrow it down some more and do some admitted student visits to the Top 4. Pretty sure there won’t be any definite decision made here until April.
So we were flagged for verification because the DRT was not working for us. Once it was, a couple days later, I used the DRT. Does that mean we are forever flagged for verification for the current FAFSA, even though we went back in and used it?
I have the transcripts ready, but I’m just wondering if the correction will make any difference in the paperwork.
As an aside, one of the schools DD is not attending sent an email about needing tax transcripts for the “2015” tax year to process aid. Um, shouldn’t they know it is the 2016 tax year? :-?
@TexasMom18 Birmingham works if we are with her as I can rent a car but they don’t have a shuttle, she doesn’t drive and even if she did, rental car companies are persnickety about under 21 age drivers. When her and I visited to tour, we flew into Birmingham. Nashville is the best SouthWest air option and there is a shuttle that runs from Nashville to Huntsville a couple of times a day - this is most likely what we will do once she is at school unless the airfare in/out of Huntsville is competitive.
I love reading everyone’s odds! Still too much out there for me to play that game but I see it changing in the next month so maybe I will start to play…
Last night my daughter received a letter that she was not in the running for the fellows program at what is right now her top school but she had been selected to be in a special program of 15 students that comes with a small amount of merit and a stipend to study abroad or do an internship. Best of all she will receive two years housing in a brand new dorm that is designed for her program and similar ones with lots of gorgeous amenities…she especially liked it had private community bathrooms (shower/sink/toilet in one room)…told her sister “it will be just like home I can go in and shut the door!” LOL! The things that speak to them.
In all seriousness she was over the moon she had been selected and was even happier than her two other happiest moments she has had in the past few months(one was her first acceptance and the second was this school’s acceptance). Such a great night!
So now we have 7 acceptances all with merit…but her number one is still the most expensive…waiting for one more scholarship decision and the financial aid package. We also have 5 schools still pending…it is a long winter!
Since she did not get accepted to the fellows I have one hotel cancellation to make out of the 100 I did the other night but it is all good as I can keep the one for the school’s admitted students weekend the following week. I think that is how I will track our progress to a decision…which reservations are still standing in the 4-6 weeks!
One of my friends told me they got an extra $1,000 grant (?) for visiting, and I think non music majors can audition for music scholarships.
You might want to check with them. The last audition date is Feb 19th, but you might be able to check an alternate date.
TCNJ and Rowan, Susquehanna and Elizabethtown are on the NASM (national association of schools of music) list of accredited institutions, I don’t know if that matters or not for a non music major.
Woot, D18 is a finalist for the Bama Fellows! I have to say that every time we’ve visited we get the feeling that something is happening there. I joke with DW that it seems like Saban is running the whole university because everything is well run. When D18 fills out the housing form online, we get a call from the local rep asking if we need any help. The dorms are great. Campus is clean. I don’t know. She might end up there.
Our odds are 100% U of Cincinnati. She just found out she got into the Honors program. We are waiting to hear hopefully this week if she is NMF (currently NMSF) which will mean she will get Cincinnatus scholarship- full tuition, room, and $1500 for purchase of computer. Fingers crossed! She is so excited to be done with high school and go to college. I’m sad to see my second child leave the house but she is #2 of 4, so at least I’ll still have 2 more at home and she’s not going far away like her sister DD16 who is at UTD!
One good thing that might help with taxable part of scholarships (room, board, computer, anything other than qualified tuition and fees), is that the standard deduction for dependent students is supposed to increase from $6,350 to $12,000 with the new tax law in 2018, although it is not entirely clear to me how this is going to work out compared to the current tax law.
I’m certainly NO Tax expert. Personal opinion only. I think new tax law will be a little better depending on whether you claimed the child in the past or let them claim themselves. We let DD16 claim herself so she got exemption 4050 and standard deduction 6700 for total is 10,750 deducted off taxes for 2016 filing. But 2016 was her first year and only one semester. She’s at UTD on NMF scholarship and she had other outside scholarships too so she had a ton of money. If we had not let her claim herself, she would have owed a LOT at our rate thanks to the kiddie tax! And we get hit with AMT too So it was better for her to claim herself. We ran it both ways. Anyway in 2018 with no exemptions anymore and a 12000 standard deduction instead of 6700 I THINK it will be better? Also the rates are lower, Again because of the kiddie tax. I know I will drop into a lower rate which means she will too. The kiddie tax seems unfair.
S18 has been accepted at 4 schools with 2 more still to hear from. He gives no indication of which way he is leaning. I’d guess…
NCSU 40%
ASU 30%
The field (Clemson, VT, UNCW, USC) 30%
:-/
@mommdc Thanks for the tip about the music scholarships. D contacted them and is waiting for a reply. Feb. 19 is impossible unfortunately. There is a Feb. 16 audition date…
You cannot just choose to let your student claim themselves on taxes. Either the parent is eligible to claim them or not. If the parent is eligible to claim them, then the student can’t claim themselves.
There are rules about support and such. Who provides more. And scholarships cannot be figured in towards student support as far as I know.
But there won’t be any more exemptions now.
And by not claiming your college student you miss out on a $500 dependent credit.
And kiddie tax is changing too as far as I know. Net unearned income is supposed to be taxed at trust rates now instead of parents’ highest marginal tax rate from what I have heard.
That might be bad or good. If the trust rates are higher than your parents’ tax rate.
But anyway, we won’t have a choice.
Paying tax on scholarships still brings you out ahead.