@gallentjill, @carolinamom2boys, @TS0104 Thanks for the info! I’ll let you know what happens.
@JBSeattle, my thoughts are vague. It has a good reputation around here but isn’t as popular as say Miami of Ohio, I don’t know why. Honestly people from our high school seem to stick to the same few schools. Our friends DD went there for Theater but wasn’t happy and transferred. She didn’t get into any BFA programs so OWU was a safety/second choice and the theater program she found lacking and worked to transfer into a BFA (totally a theater kid issue, not important if you don’t have a theater kid). My best friend from high school went there and had a great experience, she was smart. My neighbor and friend is head of International Studies and Students there so I could probably get lots of insider info if you want it!
So your visit will probably happen during winter…too bad because when it’s not snowy here in winter, it’s brown and ugly.
@TS0104
We will probably visit in Feb/March or April at the very very latest. Any insight would be great! She would major in Business with a Marketing emphasis. I am a little worried about the 3.5 gpa requirement and wonder what % of kids lose the scholarship due to that requirement. She also wants to study abroad and looks like they have several partnerships so she could go almost anywhere which is cool.
@megan12
I think Carolinamom2boys’ advice was spot on from everything I have read/heard.
@JBSeattle, I visited OWU last spring with my kids, mainly because of the merit scholarships. The campus was pretty enough but, despite a new building or two, parts of it felt a little shabby and tired to me. On the other hand, I recall saying that it was nice that, given the choice between investing in students and investing in bells and whistles, they chose students. As for the town itself, our family’s opinion was that it felt more conservative than college-y and neither of my kids felt that they would be super comfortable there. That being said, ymmv and it is definitely worth a look, especially with the additional merit $. Separately, I grew up near Manhattan College and it is a lovely campus but it is in that uniquely NY type of outer borough neighborhood that is neither suburban nor fully urban. It kind of needs to be seen to be understood but I could see it’s appeal for someone who wants a little of the energy of the city without being in the thick of things.
@Bubblewrap666
Thanks, I have a feeling she will go to Manhattan if she gets in with a good scholarship. My wife would be uncomfortable with her living right in the city but my D lives New York plus is intrigued by the internship possibilities. The other curve ball would be if she got into Cal Poly as that might just be too good a school to pass up despite the cost.
My daughter looked at 8 colleges in the midwest last spring. She didnt like OWU bc the tour had 2 recruited athletes and my daughter and the guide only talked about sports! So she got a bad impression about the importance of sports. She did like Xavier, which gives a lot of merit - did you look there? I believe it is rolling.
My D is not big on Ohio but I will look up Xavier. I think she is done with applying. I told her there was time and she could apply somewhere else. She was going to apply to my alma mater (Occidental) but going to suggest she doesn’t due to $70k per cost and unlikely admission much less merit.
One of the challenges with ED is that many feel the colleges don’t feel they have to offer $$, you’ve already said you’ll attend.
If you are ED they only way you can get out is $ so you’ll want to appeal regardless.
We asked for a reconsideration at S19’s ED school. They have come back with an extra $1500 in scholarship. Which is a tad disappointing but about what I expected. And is better than a grant, or nothing so we will likely take it.
You have nothing to lose by asking!
Do you guys suggest that we email our request so we can be careful with our wording or do you think a phone call is best?
When do admissions decisions cease in December? We are waiting for a few EA
I would call @ megan12 to ask if there is a process to request reconsideration of FA
S is in at Knox but with much lower merit than his other offers. We both loved Knox on our visit and he was waiting anxiously to hear from them. Now is it worth chasing more money there or just go with equally appealing colleges that have already offered more?
I feel a bit dishonest pressing them for more if he doesn’t 100% know he’ll go anyway. Frankly, it’s hard to know anything at this point. We are both pretty worn out from this process. I guess he needs to go back and visit his top merit schools, which are all great schools. Maybe that will bring some clarity. It’s just amazing how variable the awards are.
@fwtxmom I think taking a break from the stress and visiting school with the top merit is smart. It will bring a whole new perspective to the school viewing it as an accepted student with money.
@JBSeattle can you hit send on some more schools that don’t require any additional effort/supplemental essays?
@megan12 both my girls went ED and it was my understanding that lacking financial aid was the only way to walk away from ED. Merit aid did not factor in to breaking the contract. However, Furman is so hands on. I would call and offer to send the score. It may not get you merit aid, but you will know that you tried.
I don’t think it’s dishonest at all depending on how you word the request.
Obviously, the dishonest request would be, “Happy Holidays! If you give my S $10k more, then he will attend.”
Something along the lines of the following would lay everything out on the table, “Happy Holidays. My S is seriously considering Knox. We both absolutely loved the school when we visited. My S was so anxious to hear his admissions decision from Knox. He is considering Knox amongst other schools at this point and a big factor in the decision process is affordability. Knox could be one of his top choices if the financials worked even better with the school.” Or something along those lines. I’ve never had to go back to a school to ask for more money so someone on this forum might be able to provide better wording that your S needs more money, but at the same time he will need to still compare once the final offers are out there.
Good luck!!!?
Thanks @ChicagoSportsFn ! I believe I could use your exact words. You have summed it up perfectly. I am going to wait until after the holiday craziness is over then possibly try for more.
Is that Knox College in Galesburg, IL?
Knox may not get back to you with an offer with their first reply, but at least a conversation can be started.
Yes that’s the one. Great school and Galesburg is a nice little town. We visited close to Flunk Day, a big Knox tradition in which the school holds a surprise out of class day with food, bounce houses and the like for the kids. Everyone was on pins and needles about it and it happened two days after we visited.
Congratulations to everyone with recent acceptances for their kids, and best of luck to those starting (gulp!) financial reconsideration discussions.
@twinmom That is interesting that one of your children was accepted at UR after being deferred by Wake Forest ED. We know two young men (both excellent students) last year who ended up at WF after being deferred/rejected from UR. Strange how those admissions decisions are made.
S was accepted to UMass tonight. It was a reach for him so I think he’s feeling a little pleased with himself that he got in, but he doesn’t really want to go there and now he’s got a problem. H will be pushing for him to go there because of $. S hasn’t even visited. We had a deal that if he got in he would go see it so I’m going to be scheduling a visit for sometime next month.