In that case I think you could ask if there is any additional information you can provide for them to recalculate the award, and note that the NPC gave about $10k more. You could advise them that at the NPC level the school was affordable and she was excited about it, but at the higher cost above the NPC it’s not affordable, regardless of how much she wants to attend.
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We have one admitted student day coming up but can’t make anymore because of D25’s job and rehearsal schedule. I was hoping to go to one on President’s Day but it’s the college my D doesn’t want to think about. My favorite because it has the best bottom line so far. She wants to hold out until the other decisions come back at the end of March. Most of those are reaches. I’m worried the targets might even be reaches in this cycle.
Decisions feel like a long way off at this point. D is pretty done with college app process at this point. She would only do interviews and talk to AO’s for mega reaches. I’m worried she’s shooting herself in the foot with her targets. But she’s just done. I’m trying to be ok with it, but it’s hard. I’m worried she’s subconsciously or consciously sabotaging herself so that she ends up at the local college that she has said she will “never” attend to stay near the boyfriend. I’m hoping she’ll change her mind and/or that a target accepts her with a decent FA package. And this is what will keep me up nights until the end of March.
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I could have written nearly the exact same post about my son. He has some great offers so far, but doesn’t want to think about them or go to admitted student days until he hears from his reaches. March will be ALL the reaches and I am silently bracing for a tear filled month, either because of rejections or FA that falls way short. They were excited about their acceptance to American, but their merit+financial aid was 3x less than most other schools and they were the ones that told us it’s non-negotiable. Wishing you and your D best of luck and really good news in March!
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For the most part, our child applied to schools that are similar to each other. However, the merit award, from one that they like a lot, was somewhat lower than expected and put the college about $10k above the others. But before reaching out, we thought it would be better to have the list narrowed (still awaiting several decisions) so that we could present the offers and see if they would offer any additional merit aid to bring them down to within the range where the other schools are.
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FWIW I have a good friend that last year was pretty aggressive asking for more merit/fin aid with kids final 2 schools. They emailed and spoke with department and I am pretty sure in both cases they gave more $$$ just by asking, basically. Not a ton, 2-3K, but that is certainly noteworthy. I think they implied the $ would make a decision in enrollment (which was true).
I have no clue how common that is, but it worked for them.
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You are describing us too. 
So hard.
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Solidarity! I’m going to keep a secret stash of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer for March. It might not ease the pain of rejection, but it can’t hurt.
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We had a friend who did something similar. Reached out and said “This is Kid’s first choice, but we need $5000 [or whatever number it was] to make it happen.” I don’t know if they got the total they asked for, but it brought the preferred school within the range of the others.
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As mentioned in another post, we reached out to two schools that were high on S25’s list even though we are still waiting for many. The second school just came back with more money. Only about half what we asked for, but enough to now put them back into consideration.
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While I would agree that it never hurts to ask, as others above suggested, I would wait until I had all acceptances and FA offers and then narrow down the list to the schools your child is really interested in attending. Then, approach only the top few and be open with your position (what you have from competing offers and what you need). I suspect that a school in late March would be more open to providing additional dollars if it feels that it might yield your child. Approaching them now, I don’t think they could draw that conclusion and would be less willing to offer anything meaningful.
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How long does teenage heartbreak last? Can someone please wave a magic wand and make it be over now? Lord have mercy. The tears and the sadness are so hard to watch.
And now I’m wondering if sending a kid who seems really eager to date to a college with only 25% women is a good idea. Granted, you can also fail to find someone to date at a school that’s 50% or more women but I wonder if he’s setting himself up for more heartbreak. I know it’s a silly thing to worry about but it’s heavy on my heart this week.
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I’m so sorry. How long were they dating? Multiply that by 2 for the heartbreak to subside! It is SOOOOO difficult to watch them go through it. Hang in there. I just made sure my son was eating and drinking and made his favorite foods and let him vent when he wanted.
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It was only 3 months, but it was the first love. And he really put himself out there in a way I didn’t know he was capable of. Plus, this was a kid who went from spending most of high school gaming in his bedroom to being out socializing and meeting up with her and friends at least 5 night a week. The hit to his social life seems to be just as painful right now. I keep reminding him that he learned from this experience and that the pain eventually subsides. But it’s hard to have perspective at 17.
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I feel that! Reminding him its temporary is good. My S25 dated his first love for 18 months and then she cheated on him with his best friend from elementary school. He removed himself from their friend group and was completely alone for an entire summer to the point where we suggested he switch high schools. I only tell you this because even though it was probably the worst thing he had ever been through at that point, he survived and found a way out of it. The good news for your son is that its senior year and a fresh start is on the horizon!
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That is AWFUL! I’m so sorry for your son that he went through that. How devastating!
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thanks - yeah, it was a really terrible time (including the 2 months where she begged to get him back only to be hanging out with ex-best friend on the side). I’m sure karma will take care of it one day. But his grades tanked that semester b/c he could hardly get out of bed and I will REALLY hold a grudge if he doesn’t get into his dream school because of it and her!
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Small but meaningful good news here: Hofstra sent C25’s full financial offer today, and it had (as we already knew) a full-tuition scholarship, but it also has a small but meaningful scholarship that can be used for campus housing.
That, then, brings Hofstra into financial parity with one of the in-state public options (the more expensive of the two, but the cheaper one would require living in Fairbanks, and C25 has the basic reaction anyone from Anchorage seems to have toward living in Fairbanks, which is not so much a flat no as a simple expression of shocked disbelief).
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thats amazing! Seems like it should be a negligible amount between the two, no?
Rose-Hulman students can definitely use Indiana State University (55+% women) and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (70% women, an all-women’s college until 10 years ago) as part of their dating pool. He may just need to take advantage of opportunities to get off the Rose campus.
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We got the same thing today too! I wonder if the housing grant is due to holding off on depositing?
I’ve convinced c25 to visit again for the Trustee admitted student day but they are not sold on the school
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