@JBSeattle Congrats! So exciting to get into a top choice… with merit to make it affordable!
With all this talk of merit and scholarships , for people who haven’t been through this before, be aware that scholarships that cover more than tuition( I.e.room and board) is taxable.
Another good point @carolinamom2boys .
All the scholarships my daughter has received cover a portion of tuition. Would gladly pay taxes if it exceeded that ?!
Isn’t it inconsistent that room and board is an allowed 529 expense yet taxable when received as aid?
Great news @JBSeattle - my previous next door neighbor went there and always had good things to say about the school! It is a popular choice for our HS as well.
Good to know @5050100
Not a popular choice for our high school as it is a few miles away ?! I think she is probably the only one who even applied.
@JBSeattle - I don’t know if you have considered any of the other Catholic schools out here on the east coast, but many of them are very generous with merit.
Thank you for your kind words, @ChicagoSportsFn and @eandesmom . I think we’ll let it sink in a little bit before we send any letters. D did show more interest in UMich. She met a rep at a local college fair, attended the adm rep visit at her school, and she and H actually visited the school. OTOH, two students from D’s school were admitted to UMich, which seems like a lot considering it is so far from Michigan.
She should hear from a couple of schools in the first half of January, one match and one likely (per her GC). In the meantime, she has one more app to submit, RD to our state flagship, UMass Amherst.
@5050100
My daughter applied to maybe 5-10% of the schools I suggested. I suggested Manhattan at kind of the last minute (she applied in late Nov after she sent in all her EA apps). She applied to two other east coast schools: Drexel and Vermont. She really liked Drexel but they gave her $13k In merit with a COA of over $55k a year plus they did not directly admit her to the business school. She was deferred at Vermont plus it is darn tough to get from Burlington to Seattle (and expensive). She is neutral on the school being Catholic even though we are Catholic. My daughter did not want to be confirmed.
@JBSeattle Yay!!! Great news. So happy for this news right before the holidays. Just logged on after a busy day and just really glad to hear!
I thought it was that scholarships that cover more than the cost of attendance (not just tuition) are taxable, yes?
@TwinMom2023
Thank you!! My younger daughter recorded her when she opened the envelope and let out an excited shriek! My wife and I were at the vet with our little dog so did not see it live.
@dfbdfb
Carolinamom is right. Anything above tuition is taxable. There is an extensive thread about it here on CC.
@dfbdfb nope. Room and board is taxable.
It’s tuition, qualified fees and books. Scholarships and grants that cover room, board and other nonqualified expenses, are taxable income to the student.
@JBSeattle if you plan well, and ahead, Seattle to Burlington isn’t that bad at all. It’s not direct but there are easy options and the fares can run the same as most east coast cities. I can generally get each leg under $200.
Congratulations on the acceptance and scholarship. Happy to see some good news for your D before Christmas!
@eandesmom
Good to know on Vermont. My D says she is going to let the application ride. Unfortunately if she is somehow awarded the lower scholarship then the cost of attendance is still $44k per which is over budget. I guess it never hurts to try.
Why is your Son transferring?
He is not transferring. He’s talked about it but never acted on it. He’s fine. Just second guesses things a lot.
Congrats to your D @JBSeattle ! You are so lucky to have gotten the big reveal on video. I had never heard of Manhattan myself but it sounds outstanding. Many great small colleges are relatively unknown outside their own regions, I have found, at least to me and most certainly to most people here in TX.
S is at a tiny private school (it has a great program for kids with LDs) and he has focused on midwestern LACs based on outside help we have received. Literally no one from his school has ever applied to any of those schools on his list. I can tell how odd the other senior parents think we are when I have to explain what the colleges are, where they are, why he’s interested etc. They listen with politely smiling bafflement but the reaction is like we are proposing to send S to the moon for college.
For my part, I am amazed to see people who have sent their kids to our local very expensive (tuition equal to tuition, room and board at a public university here in TX), highly rigorous private schools here celebrating “She’s going to Arkansas! He’s going to Alabama!” These outcomes don’t seem to justify the expense and struggle of their kids’ high school educations. To each their own I guess.
Best of luck to everyone expecting updates before Christmas. Waiting for news on Dec. 24 sounds extremely stressful.