@bgbg4us, re: affordability of schools on list. We would not be able to afford the sticker price of 4 of her schools. We have talked to her about affordability and she understands. She does plan to go to grad school or law school so that is also something she will have to factor into her ultimate decision.
We are letting DS20 apply to a few schools that are definitely a reach financially. Iām not sure what is the right answer regarding them. They are all schools that will help guide him in his major and any co-ops or internships that would be beneficial in the long run. More so than many other colleges. We are weighing the potential debt vs the payoff.
My DS20 understands this. If there is no merit there is no chance. If there is a lot of merit we will make it happen. If there is some merit, it will be a conversation.
He has some good schools that I believe (based on NPC) will be more affordable on his list as well.
It might be very hard next spring if things donāt go his way. Maybe I was wrong to allow it. This is my first go round and I made the best decision I could. I figure the answer is definitely ānoā if we donāt at least try.
If his intended major (international relations) was differentā¦business, engineering, etcā¦I likely would have limited his financial reach. So many good schools that can help kids make a path.
He has a really good ACT (35) that we are hoping will help. But who knowsā¦6 months and we will have the answers.
Thanks @cheeringsection and @bigmacbeth for your advice on FAFSA for merit aid.
I let DD apply to some schools hoping for merit. We have had the conversation that we can only afford to spend a little more than our in state school. It was her job to get the test scores and grades that would maximize her chances of merit. We will see what happens. She only applied to schools that were instate or where she had a shot at some merit scholarships.
D20 received her first acceptance to a direct admit nursing school: Marquette University in Milwaukee. Not unexpected, but nice to have one in the back pocket to ease a little anxiety of being shut out. This is about #3 (depending on the day) on her list of 9, so itās a good day.
@bigmacbeth Congrats!
D20 also got her first direct admit for nursing on Friday (UTK). Itās nice to know sheās in somewhere and it has lit a fire under her to finish her applications. She has 3 in and 3 to go that are almost ready to submit. Then she has to work on honors and merit applications at most. Should hopefully be done with everything within the next month!
We were very upfront with our DD about how much money we are contributing to her overall schooling. It is pretty much 4 years at full price of our in state schools. Any scholarship money she earns for undergraduate school would mean she would have money to carry over for graduate school. When those funds run out then she has to fund the rest. This was one of the deciding factors for her to be one and done with her top in state school choice. She is very determined to go to vet school and wants to spend as little as possible on undergraduate. Her in state option has a great animal science department and a vet program that has some opportunities to reduce overall schooling from 8 years to 7. She automatically qualifies for some good scholarships with a good chance for some more so she will be able to āsaveā some of her college fund for vet school and if she doesnāt get into that I am sure she will do some sort of graduate program. And she definitely didnāt want to consider undergraduate schooling that may be above our budget that would require her to start loans in undergraduate when she knows she will have to get them eventually for vet school. I am glad she is being very smart and practical about these decisions.
D20 finally submitted her first applications! Today she sent in her apps to Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo and Stony Brook. Fingers and toes are crossed!
If you know they are unaffordable no matter what, paying the application fee and sending test scores is just a waste of $$ and could possibly lead to resentment and bias toward their real options. (You have to know your kid. Some kids let things fester; some kids let things roll off their back.)
We do allow our kids to apply to schools where competitive merit is a possibility. They know that without receiving it that the school is off the table. A couple of our kids have been amg the handful to receive their Uās top awards, so from that perspective, it has been worth the possible disappointment. But at the end of the day, our kids also know that $$ is the driving factor. Period. They know that no wishful thinking will grow a $$ tree. So, resentment isnāt a real concern.
Now, our dd17 did apply to a school we knew would be unaffordable. She did it as a favor for me. There is a mantra that abounds amg homeschoolers that I disagree with and I wanted to see what would happen with her application. She applied and was accepted (contrary to the popularized myth which would have insisted she would be rejected.) She had no interest in the school and even though it is a top school and she attends a state flagship, there was absolutely no emotion involved at all. (We are not a family who cares about rankings.)
Our oldest ds did attend a school where non-need-based merit did require FAFSA. He is the only one of our kids where that has been the case. No other school has required FAFSA to receive their merit scholarships. But, bc of our experience with him, we ALWAYS ask. We fill it out during their sr yr just in case. But for the rest of our kids, we have not had to fill it out for subsequent yrs.
If you have a STEM kid that is chasing merit and doesnāt care about football you should take a look at the Uiversity of Texas at Dallas. My middle son DS18 is in his second year there and we just took DS20 up for Scholars Day. Everytime we visist Iām more pleased that the boys decideced to go there.
The campus is clean and new and growing. Thereās lots of oppertunities for undergrad research and the undergrad student body is very diverse. Although DS20 has always said this is where he wanted to go, this visist spurred him on to dig a bit deeper - reading degree requirements, course descriptions, talking to current students, thinking about adding a minorā¦ he was so excited he even bought a UTD jacket from the book store!
The merit money is real! DS18 and DS20 are both National Merit and UTDās sholarship DS18 cost about $200 his freshman year (this is a fraction of what it cost us just to feed him in high school!) and heās banking money this year because heās in an on campus appartment and doesnāt have the meal plan. He also started a part-time job with very flexible hours in his field of study.
If you have a high stats kid that isnāt National Merit, UTD has AES scholarships that cover full tuition and fees and about half of room and board. There is no extra app for the AES scholarships and they only look at GPA, high school class rigor, rank if availavle and SAT (superscored) and/or ACT scores. Please beaware that the new deadline is now DEC 1 and all documents must be arrive by then to be considered.
@bigmacbeth congrats to your D! That first acceptance must help everyone relax just a bit. Good luck with her remaining schools!
@dancingmom518 getting those first apps in feels great. Good luck to your d. Fingers and toes crossed for her and all of our 2020 kiddos!
S20 hit the submit button on three applications this morning. Now we need to get working on FAFSAā¦Ugh!! FYI, so far he has applied to UMN Twin Cities, American University and University of Denver. We are headed to DC Nov 1st to tour both American and GW. Should be a fun weekend!!
@3scoutsmom We looked at UTD when my D17 was going through the process. She had nightmares about their mascot, which took it out of the running. :lol:
Yeah, they said they had to tone down the original mascot (itās in a glass class near the visitors center, because it was frieghten young children! Another reason my boys like UTD 
My older son could not leave the OU tour fast enough because of "all that red brick! " Who say āfitā isnāt a thing???
Okay, so I had to look up this mascot and he is pretty creepy!
Saw first signs of stress in D20 as she is unsure where to ED. Her top choice is a reach for everyone, and she is afraid of āwastingā her ED. I am fine with her going for it because has a couple of safeties/likely schools that she would be happy with, but she is second guessing herself. And I am trying to get her to make a decision one way or another because she has to work on those darn supplements.
In the meantime, Iām stressing out because I procrastinated on the FAFSA. Did get through some of the Profile form today, so thereās that. 
In other news, we visited one school a few years back, and that was the first time I saw that $70,000 figure in print in the schoolās brochure. Just went to their financial aid page to look at deadlines, etc., and now that $70,000 is now $76,000. Geez.
@bigmacbeth changed my avatar just for you;-)
I think the mascot isā¦ cute! But then, Gritty is my absolute favorite mascot in the world. Ha ha ha!
@bigmacbeth , I can see where UTD is not the right fit for a lot of kids but not solely based on the mascot. What if she did not see the mascot at all, would she like UTD?