@3kids2dogs - THANK YOU for the info.
@NateandAllisMom @AlmostThere2018 All this Lehigh talk is making me have to throw in a shameless plug for my and my wifeās alma mater Lafayette College. Much smaller than Lehigh only about 2500 but strong Engineering and liberal arts. Beautiful campus and a really good community spirit. My kids would not apply as it it too small fo them but we made the trip for them to look at it and they were both surprised how nice it was. If you are looking engineering and donāt want the total high pressure engineering vibe of the Lehighs, RPI, CWRU etc Lafayette is a great option. Plus if for some reason the engineering doesnāt work out, like it didnt for meā¦lolā¦you have a great liberal arts, pre professional school to fall back on.
How can a 1590 NOT qualify for a Presidential Elite?!?! Good lord, what more do they want???
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36 or 1600 for Presidential Elite at BAMA
Hey anyone looking at BAMA. I called and spoke to admission/scholarship rep yesterday. She told me that often they give extra scholarship money in addition to what is automatic from scholarships not used. For example, that 36K for OOS Presidential could end up as full tuition scholarship all 4 years.
@AlmostThere2018 my nephew graduated from Lehigh a year ago (and then earned his 5th year free) and was not in a fraternity and had a great experience both academically and socially, but Iād characterize him as a fairly social outgoing kid so he may have had an easy enough time of it socially because of that - but opting out of Greek life wasnāt a problem for him at all. Again, could be specific to the kid he is.
I totally agree ā we are in the exact same boat. I was more commenting that at first blush, you would think a āhalf tuitionā scholarship would bring the cost below $47, which is close to the full cost of attendance OOS to UNC.
Thatās very interesting. Thanks for posting. Like I said, my daughter was quite smitten. Iāve been trying to learn more about the school this week.
Looks like Penn State is going TO for summer and fall 2021 admissions. As a PA resident who has already gone through the PSU admissions gauntlet with my S19 (he just finished his freshman year at main campus), this is pretty big. They are well-known as a ānumbers onlyā school.
S21 has no interest in joining his brother at PSU (too big and too in the middle of nowhere). The only school left on his list that is not TO is Pitt. If Pitt goes TO, it would take away some of the anxiety of having to test for the first time (hopefully, finally) in August. We think he should still test just in case his list changes.
His top choice match schools were TO long before the pandemic though. We just need some in-state financial safeties.
@InfiniteWaves ā Tks for sharing. When I saw, the first thing I wondered is whether Pitt would follow. Itās on my Sās list ā another school we were supposed to visit in March!
@burghdad ā Tks for the reminder about Lafayette. We have a top budget of $50k and are a financial aid ābubbleā family so the only need aid heād likely get is maybe work-study. This means publics are the most likely option for him ā and even so heās not looking at Michigan or UCs since they cost the same as privates ā but a few privates are on the table.
S has a 4.0 UW with lots of rigor, but has only taken the ACT once and didnāt do so great. He has some test anxiety it appears (he was routinely getting 34/ 35s on his practice tests, sigh.) Anyway, I donāt get the impression that either Lehigh or Lafayette give much merit ā plus unless he brings his scores up he wouldnāt be in the running anyway? If you or @nichols51 think otherwise, let me kow!
From what I can tell WPI is not as generous with merit $$ as they used to be (esp. for males) but since theyāve been TO for years S feels like he has a better chance of getting $$ even if he doesnāt submit a score. And S would be a geographic diversity pick for them. S is particularly interested in their robotics major and he told me heās emailed a professor there to learn more.
Of course, a college counselor we know told me she thinks more privates will be willing to ānegotiateā next year b/c of all the upheaval ā esp. since $50k all in is still a pretty decent budget even if not full pay.
Case Western is also on his list and they are now TO ā I wonder if they will give $$ to TO admits. though. Not holding my breath on that as they are pretty stats driven. Thatās a school we did visit and my S liked it a lot.
Iām still watching Wisconsin to see if they go TO; itās fairly high on my Sās list. We visited last summer. Fort., VT is TO and itās very high on Sās list. Iām still hoping NC State, our engineering flagship, gets more of his love, but so far no luck. He wants to go further from home and the campus is not great.
S is taking the ACT again in July (as of right now at least!). Fingers crossed. . .
@TVBingeWatcher2 I just read this thread from last year. Seems the trick may be to NOT put down a deposit even if you know you are going to attend 
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/2174613-tutwiler-scholarship.html#latest
OT - Iām jealous of those of you who are doing summer things. We still have another week and a half of the regular school year left. (So sick of 3 months of distance education!) Plus, here in the PNW, our high temperatures are still only in the low 60s. Saturdayās high is forecast to be just 59 degrees. It really does not seem like summer at all.
@Creaky maybe I should retire in the PNW! That sounds good to me! High 80ās and super humid here today- yuck!!
We are limping to the junior year finish line!!! I think D hands in her last project tomorrow or Friday. School technically doesnāt end until the 19th, but I think sheās really done this week. I know final grades are due for seniors by June 11. June 17 is book return day for the Class of 21ā¦should be interesting the way itās set up! Now we cross our fingers for fall!!! Iāll have 2 seniors (college and hs) so hoping for as much normalcy as possible!
@Creaky - holy cow! I know going to school into mid/late June is totally normal, but weāve been starting earlier and earlier (canāt confirm, but Iām fairly certain itās to get the subject matter of AP courses completed before the exam) so it seems so strange to me. I can completely understand though - especially with summer weather starting a little late. My rising sophomore son will be almost finished with summer school and you guys will be just getting out from the regular year.
Our high school put summer school online and then waived the usual fees to encourage more kids to take a class that otherwise wouldnāt (summer school is usually for incoming Freshman to get used to the building and meet kids, orchestra/art kids who need to free up space for their music/art classes and kids who failed a class). I think they wanted to test out a more synchronous system on a smaller scale and it seems to be going really well. I thought that was a pretty smart idea and since my sonās summer plans were canceled, he has lots of time on his hands right now and plenty of required courses left to take. He signed up for American Government. My kids were laughing because my daughter will be taking APGov next year, so her little brother will have finished the course (not AP, of course) before her. He assured her he would help her out if she got stuck - lol.
I will say itās crazy how fast summer school moves - they fit the entire semester into 16 days. Itāll be over by the end of June right around when more restrictions around here will lift and summer can really begin.
[quote="AlmostThere2018;c-22845508"S has a 4.0 UW with lots of rigor, but has only taken the ACT once and didnāt do so great. He has some test anxiety it appears (he was routinely getting 34/ 35s on his practice tests, sigh.) Anyway, I donāt get the impression that either Lehigh or Lafayette give much merit ā plus unless he brings his scores up he wouldnāt be in the running anyway? If you or @nichols51 think otherwise, let me kow!
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My nephew did not get merit aid at Lehigh (think he had a 33 ACT). I believe they donāt have automatic score-based merit - itās a more holistic look. (fwiw, I think nephew had strong recommendations, leadership, etcā¦also things have changed since he was applying in 2014-5ā¦they got rid of that presidential scholarship that he got which gave him his 5th year free).
We got a survey the other day floating the idea of starting school in mid- rather than late-August, and going to mid-June, with full weeks off in October, November (TG), December/Jan (winter holidays) February and March. Some of those days off would be potential makeup days for other closures. I donāt love going into mid June, but given that we havenāt been able to do a lot of college visits, I like the planned extra time before decision time.
@nichols51 - tks for the info!
Weāll see if S keeps Leigh on the list, but if he does I will downplay expectations b/c I have a feeling if he gets in, it will likely be out of price range. Same with Case Western.
Iām KILL for those temps lol. Texas is officially in typically triple digit heat waveā¦although a small miracle occurred and this morning in the Dallas area is in the 70ās, we donāt know quite what do with ourselves lolā¦everyoneās posting on facebook to open windows and doors ?
S21 turns 17 today!!! Nothing planned, heās busy with virtual Boys State today until 9:00 pm. I made him a birthday pancake with a candle and weāll order in dinner from the restaurant of his choiceā¦not much as can be done I suppose.
Lehigh has never been known to give much merit aid, most of it is need based aidā¦you can see details in the common data set.
I donāt think their net price calculator includes merit either, but you might check that. You (your student) could even reach out to the AOs and ask how accurate the npc isā¦itās a good and valid reason to contact the AO, and as we know Lehigh is big on demonstrated interest.
@Momof3B Happy Birthday to your son!
@AlmostThere2018 I have to make another shameless plug. A 50K budget can pay for Clemson OOS. The tuition is about 35k. They have a great engineering program. Beautiful campus and weather. A huge lake where kids can rent kayakās etc. and obvious great school spirit. Always ranked high in the āhappiest studentsā rankings and in ācareer placement centerā
With your sonās 4.0 assuming that is top 10% if he gets at least a 30 on ACT there could be some merit money.
My D18 had 35 and got 15K. That year 34-36 ACT got that highest award. I think the lowest award was $7,500 Incoming 2019 students at the high level got 20K. However for incoming 2020 students, even before Covid, they lowered the highest level to 12K. What it will be for next year who knows? Do they pump it up to get more kids or do they lower it because of money crunch?
But regardless I think Clemson would fit the bill on your budget and his engineering interest.
As to Lafayette merit there is this. https://www.lafayettestudentnews.com/blog/2019/11/22/pen-minus-a-few-fact-checks-college-to-offer-full-ride-merit-based-scholarships-starting-next-year-financial-aid-still-the-priority/ Of course it doesnāt say how many will be award and presumable will on go to the tippy top kids.