@TwinMom2023
My D was deferred from UVM and per the merit calculator she should have received an $18k merit scholarship.
Some schools have a specific grid. Others are very specific in terms of what numbers generate merit. I think that takes away the holistic nature of the process but it does make it easier to plan/forecast.
My D applied to a dozen schools because she had not yet decided between the BA path and the BFA path for technical theatre. In addition, some of the schools on her list have interview/portfolio review requirements, so admission is not necessarily solely based on academics. Finally, we had some seeking merit requirements for some of the schools. None of the schools were super selective (although some of the BFA schools were super selective programs).
I apologize if anyone interpreted my intention as blaming the students. My D would have also applied to over 10 schools if her ED did not come through. I think at this point it is a viscous cycle that will not improve unless something changes. I have no idea what the solution is but I think middle to higher income (not high enough to afford full pay but not qualifying for FA) families are facing the greatest challenges. Ultimately, I believe that every student can find a quality school they can afford but it doesnât mean they can attend their dream school.
The best advice our school gives is telling parents to focus on finding a dream school you can afford then add others to the list.
@JBSeattle Holy Cow that is odd. And you have the geographical advantage. It is a crazy process and everyone does need to do what is best for them. @momof3kidz - agree on all accounts.
@Momof3kidz I believe that it is vicious cycle that will continue.
@JBSeattle We were chasing merit too - as well as some lottery reaches - as it is SO hard to predict the financial piece accurately for us. I ran NPCs for all the schools, and we applied where it made sense to apply - but several schools require Profile - which includes all the financial info for the twinsâ father, and he has refused to pay a penny. My husband is older than me, by quite a bit, so the financial aid is based on three people, although Iâll be the only one paying. stressful
Itâs interesting that my D was complimented by an AO for her ârestraint and maturityâ in only applying to 4 schools. Well, to get to that point we (mostly me) did tons and tons of research and could only find 4 that checked enough of her (and her parentâs) boxes to warrant an application. I had wanted her to add more schools just to be sure she was getting the best option she could. FWIW, all 4 schools accepted her and offered merit as expected from the NPC. Iâd love to think that she displays a great deal of maturity, but it seems likely the AO has a skewed view of this situation as well. Not sure that even they understand the complexity of decisions that are part of the application process.
Yes and no.
Remember, the majority of college-bound applicants are one-and-doneâand this isnât from ED admissions, either, itâs because theyâre applying to schools where their stats guarantee them admission, either because the school is noncompetitive entry or because itâs a Big State University (that isnât Michigan or UVa or such).
I mean, to take one state not really at random, my daughter applied to Iowa State last summer (and could have applied to Iowa with the same result), and got in pretty much immediately, because she had a GPA and ACT that guaranteed thatâand the thresholds werenât all that terrifically high. And you know what? Those are both pretty incred schools.
The interesting thing, from my point of view, is that the selective schools that are seeing their acceptance rates drop are applied to by a pretty small slice of the college-going population. So really, what weâre seeing is more and more schools being applied to by a small number of applicants, not applicants generally applying to more and more schools.
The corollary to that is that there are schools out there who were along for the ride who are now hurting. Not that they were on a par with the top selective schools, but they thought they could keep raising COA right along with them, despite not being on that level. Thereâs a new look at ROI, I believe, and that is hurting some schools.
@Gatormama
Great point. How do you know that these other schools are hurting? (Not arguing just genuinely do not know). I know the one school that did not offer my D merit aid had to be immediately rejected ($65k per which is in line with Ivy League COA).
My alma mater has a COA around $70k per but claims to match 100% of need. They say they strive for diversity which I did see when I attended. It is a very good/selective school but not HYPS level (Occidental College). My D did not apply due to admissions difficulty and that they focus on financial aid rather than merit (merit given to a small %).
@JBSeattle - Just google downgraded credit ratings and colleges.
Beloit, Allegheny, Drew - these are colleges that get bandied about on CC quite often, and theyâve all seen their credit ratings cut. Beloit was down to junk last I checked.
Hereâs a good overview:
https://hechingerreport.org/like-their-students-colleges-are-vastly-increasing-the-amount-they-borrow/
Huh. Thatâs too bad. Two of the schools (Allegheny and Beloit) are on the CTCL list.
Hope things turn around for them.
The CTCL list contains a good number of colleges that arenât necessarily precarious financially, but they certainly face headwinds.
DS19 was just accepted at Wofford with 20,000 a year merit. He also was offered almost 12,000 merit per year . I say this not to brag, but to let people know that merit is possible when applying test optional. DS19 does not test well. In fact , he did worse after hrs and hrs of prep.
@carolinamom2boys Congrats. My directorâs son went to Wofford and he had the best experience.
Congrats @carolinamom2boys!!!
Too late to edit . The almost 12,000 was from Flagler.
@carolinamom2boys Is he considering or still set on CoC?
@carolinamom2boys Congrats!
Congrats @carolinamom2boys ! When people post those types of results in this forum (or otherwise with stats) I think it gives prospective students (and their parents) a lot of hope!
My D did apply to a test optional school, but sent her scores. Iâve wondered many times if her results would have been different.