Would love thoughts on some hard choices we are having to make:
DD - sort of undecided career path. LOVES working with young children - was thinking maybe peds OT - but unsure - hard to know how to make money working with little kids!
College choices:
Vanderbilt Peabody school- got in ED - came in about 5k more a year than NPC predicted. We have till Dec 31 if we want to back out. Would likely be around 10-15k more a year than other choices - but obviously a great school. 31k - likely will go up 10% a year with raises and increased college costs.
Has not visited campus. Liked vandy comes to you program she went too.
UGA - she was deferred. Not sure if she will get in or not. Probably will- but no guarantee. Early childhood good there - but no Vandy. Very affordable 18k if she gets in. Has been on campus a lot of summer programs. Likes it a lot.
GA tech - got in as a pathway offer (sophomore start) Would have to do freshman year at Georgia state and then guaranteed admission fall of sophomore year. Would do public policy there. Hard to know where that would lead her. Very affordable. 22k. Has not visited campus in a few years. Liked it. Is worried about it being too hard.
I would meet with a Vandy FA director to see what the difference is between the NPC and actual offer, obviously time is of the essence but they likely will extend the deposit date if meetings with FA are in the works. Hopefully you kept a record of your NPC results. IMO it’s important to do that, what if the difference was an NPC oversight on your part? And yes, definitely try to negotiate, but really, they are in charge so might not budge.
Right now UGA is not an option so no reason to treat it like it is.
Is your D interested in Tech’s sophomore start? It is very rigorous there, night and day compared to Ga State.
It depends on how you feel about paying that tuition. If it were my kid, would I pay an extra 10K/year for Vandy? 100%, no doubt. But make sure you visit first so she knows that she really wants to go there.
Typically schools that meet need will increase the need award so your costs remain the same but of course your finances change each year and that could lift or reduce future years.
You are likely headed to grad school - and given the desire to work with kids - whether in a health or educational field, the where is unlikely to matter.
If she likes UGA it’s a fine choice - as is Vandy. In your case, Vandy isn’t necessarily a better choice. Yes you are not yet in but if she likes it. In the meantime and I don’t know her stats but there are many UGA subs - Alabama, UAH, Ms State has a 32 ACT, will be $20kish or less. Bama is a direct sub to UGA. And yes there are other GA schools. If the student wants a four year experience, I’d choose any of them over Tech.
Both my kids chose cheap safeties over reaches they got into - my situation is different they had many more expensive and higher ranked choices I would have paid for. But they chose safeties. So if you’re worried about stepping down, don’t.
Find the right fit for your student and budget. My daughter’s bff at Charleston got into Penn, Rice, and Vandy. He took even a bigger drop off - and he was and I’m convinced will be a stud as he goes to further schooling and in life.
My point - look at the overall and make the choice for the right reason.
My son (an engineer) is likely doing as well from Bama as he would have from top 10 Purdue which he turned down. And my daughter had two great internships from Charleston and has employment secured in May in her target city (Denver) from Charieston, after turning down W&L, UGA, UF and more.
The point being - your student can do anything from anywhere. But if more school is involved, you need to fund that too.
And given the future she wants, I don’t see the where mattering at all.
Talk to the Vanderbilt University financial aid office and share that the NPC was different than the actual offer.
UGA is not an option at this time.
Georgia Tech is a much different experience and environment than that at Georgia State. If your daughter is worried that Georgia Tech will be too hard, then I would listen. It will certainly be much more demanding than the typical education major and in a different category than Georgia State.
I would put UGA to the side right now because she doesn’t know if she will get in. If she wants to go and will commit, maybe she can let them know?
GT doesn’t sound like a great fit because she doesn’t like the transfer offer. It is also unclear to me whether she likes the major.
I would contact Vandy and explain what happened. Hopefully they will increase her FA.
Are there any other schools being considered?
As far as making money as a pediatric OT, I am not sure what salary you/she have in mind but it is definitely a field where she can do reasonably well- as in she can be financially independent. She will need grad school.
UGA outcome is unknown, is GaTech pathway conditional on freshman year academic performance at GSU? Visit ALL campuses your student is considering, Vanderbilt has a very specific vibe. Ask for more finaid. Good luck!
I am a bit confused. Is the Vandy offer affordable for you (the difference seems small) or do you just prefer to pay less… with 2 uncertain or circuitous options? If you are able to pay what Vandy’s ED offer presents, then ethically you should/must accept it. Its binding. You signed a contract to do so. It may be less true these days, but in the past, there have been reports of the backing out of ED offers having consequences for the home HS and/or the student. When one gets an affordable ED offer they are supposed to withdraw all their other applications.
addendum: You mentioned in another thread that Vandy asked for your tax documents prior to your daughter getting her ED offer. Unless something dramatic has happened this year that could affect your financial situation, it sounds like they made you a reasoned offer that they don’t need to vary from. If it’s affordable (even if you don’t like it) you must accept it. You (your daughter) made a binding agreement, as did your school counselor. Congrats to your daughter. She will love Vandy.