questions about financial aid

CrewMommaNPoppa
Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:04:05 +0000

No one ont this thread can respond properly, because they don’t have a child like yours and they have never been through a heavy recruitment process.

My oldest son was an Ivy grad in the 90s and was mostly covered by FA. He was in crew and what sealed the deal was that he participated in and won a few international competitions before the Olympic games and was highly recruited by the Ivies because of it. if your son is as good as you say, then high profile domestic and international competition could help seal it for him also. The Ivies will do just about anything for kids who can shine their light outside of the US for these schools. It’s free marketing.

Speak with the coaches and FA people. Research minority kids who are on the roster and use Facebook or whatever to reach out to them. These things are not black and white. Not all kids are equal and this is why rich legacy Ivy parents with not very bright kids get into these great schools and why poor brilliant kids get in and is why kids with special financial cirumstances who have special gifts and can shine for the schools are also given access.

Like all transactions, college is about what can you do for me, on both sides of the table. No one on this thread can answer your questions. No one has a brilliant kid who is a star at his sport at his level. You have to take it directly to the schools and make your case about what he brings to the table beyond great academics. Something tells me, that they probably already know and will do what it takes to get a child like yours in. Best of luck to you.

By the way, we were in a similar situation and had the ability to pay in the 90s but the schools were fighting over our son. So, he went to an Ivy school for almost nothing, he is now a practicing doctor and one of the largest contributors to his college. paying back can come in many forms, and these schools know it.

I had to jump in on this post as my youngest child is also a junior and is a top US swimmer and my son shared this post with me. Again, we find ourselves with a heavily recruited child by the Ivies. We are older parents now and are smarter about the process. The worst thing you can do is listen to these posters and think their words are gospel. If that was the case then there would be no diversity of any kind at these schools. You would have the rich, the poor and they all would be brilliant. Get in touch with the schools he wants to go to and plead your case, it works.