merit aid for B student?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the small, lesser-known privates give a lot of merit aid for students with your DD's stats. Locally, Hood and McDaniel would give her a fair amount. York College of Pennsylvania also has good merit aid. You might get the cost down to close in-state state school tuition. State schools that we looked at didn't provide much in the way of merit aid unless the student had very high stats.

+1

If she does want a large school, however, she might get merit aid at UNC-Wilmington or Ohio U. in Athens, Ohio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the donut hole: too much money for FA, not enough to afford privates or OOS public.

DD has a 3.9 unweighted, but she's a junior and is floundering this year. She'll probably end up with a 3.2 at the end of the year at the rate she's going. Her SATs will probably be around 1200 based on her PSAT scores, according to her high school counselor.

I am starting to compile a list of places for DD to visit during spring break, but aside from our in-state schools, what other colleges will accept someone with her stats, and give her merit aid? She has one somewhat unusual interest, is a non-varsity athlete, no special talents except that she's nice and funny and people like her.

She's social and outgoing, so she'll feel fine in a large OOS public, but we can only afford it if she can get merit aid. She'd probably prefer a SLAC, but are there any that would give her enough merit aid to match in-state tuition?

Any suggestions? I'm thinking U Delaware, U VT, maybe Penn State? Any other ideas? Northeastern, maybe?

There are plenty of SLAC's that would give her merit aid, but probably not enough to reach in state tuition.

If she wants an SLAC, I'm not sure why you're looking at Penn State. I'd look at state schools that resemble SLAC's instead: Mary Washington, Saint Mary's (which ever is OOS, I assume you're already looking at the one that's instate) Truman State, etc.. . .

Also, is she willing to go to a private school where her stats are on the high end? You'll find the most money there.

OP. Thanks for those suggestions. We're in MD, so I know about St. Mary's. Truman State I've never heard of. Is Mary Washington the one in Williamsburg? OOS is not cheap though for public SLACS, so not sure if we could afford Mary Washington or Truman State.

She'd do fine at a large university, but would prefer a small college. She had a 3.9, so I was looking at better schools, but this year she's fallen apart, so we have to aim our sights a lot lower.

Keep those suggestions coming, please! this is so helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could you do a tour more locally, to start getting a sense of big/small, urban/rural, etc . . . ? For example, if you're in MD, you could do a MD tour and look at Hood, Goucher, Loyola Marymount, McDaniel, UMBC, Towson, St. Mary's and Salisbury, which would give her a sense of different kinds of options. Then if she decides that she really loves one of those schools, you could look further afield at schools that are similar.

We are in MD, and yes, thanks for these college names. (We just finished the college application process with her older sister, whose stats are waaaaay higher, so I'm not familiar with most of these schools.)

I'd still like to take her to some OOS schools where she might both get in and get some merit aid.

I've heard of so-so students getting merit aid at not very selective colleges, so that's what we're likely looking at. (A friend's kid got a lot of $$ from a private midwestern college, can't remember the name, one of the Colleges that Change Lives, and his grades were mediocre.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3.2 and a 1200 SAT isn't merit worthy. Thus the crappy options . Merit is merit for a reason.

Totally agree. But there are places where it is merit worthy, and I'm looking for those few options.

[Anonymous]

University of Mary Washington is a public school in VA. They do offer merit $ sometimes. Also, Randolph Macon in VA is a small private but awards generous merit money. There are tons of small privates in PA that offer generous merit $ as well. Hopefully she will be able to get her grades back up before 1st semester of her senior year but if not, the other PPs are pretty accurate that the large flagship state colleges are significantly more competitive than they were even 10 years ago. But there are tons of SLACs that offer merit $. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

College is not for everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that these schools are nit ideal, but you are on a very difficult quest. Merit with so-so stats is illusive at best. Time to have a chat with the student about her options with current grades

OP. I know it's difficult. But DD wants to take a tour during spring break, and I don't know where to take her aside from in-state schools.

Her grades are not going to improve. She's having a hard time this year. All her friends are doing well, and she's floundering. We're taking her to counseling, but her counselor is baffled by her sudden lack of interest in school. She's overwhelmed by all the work, and doesn't want to do it, basically. So, her grades will be Bs, not As, sadly. She's smart, but this is the path she's chosen. She does not like to work hard.

Sorry for the vent. I went to an Ivy, so this is a struggle for me, but I don't want her to go to CC if I can help it!

Any other suggestions? Please?

Have her thyroid tested at doctor
Depression screening - second. My daughter was doing fine in school but floundering physically and mentally. Thyroid was off she feels much better now.

Thanks very much for this suggestion. I hadn't thought of this. We have thyroid problems in our family history. I'll take her to the doctor and ask to have her tested.

We did have a counselor screen her for depression, and she said she's mildly depressed, but she found no reason for the depression other than the pressure of junior year. Also, it came on very suddenly, late October, when academic pressure really increased at her school. Before that, she was fine, and seemed to be handling the workload.

[Anonymous]

Also check Mt. Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg. I believe that they have a pretty generous merit aid program that is graduated based on GPA. It's laid out on their website, so definitely worth a look. Plus, it's a beautiful campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College is not for everybody.

NP here. Stop it. She's a B student, not a D student. She's not going to become a Master Plumber (which, if you can get the gig, is awesome), she needs to find a good school that interests her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that these schools are nit ideal, but you are on a very difficult quest. Merit with so-so stats is illusive at best. Time to have a chat with the student about her options with current grades

OP. I know it's difficult. But DD wants to take a tour during spring break, and I don't know where to take her aside from in-state schools.

Her grades are not going to improve. She's having a hard time this year. All her friends are doing well, and she's floundering. We're taking her to counseling, but her counselor is baffled by her sudden lack of interest in school. She's overwhelmed by all the work, and doesn't want to do it, basically. So, her grades will be Bs, not As, sadly. She's smart, but this is the path she's chosen. She does not like to work hard.

Sorry for the vent. I went to an Ivy, so this is a struggle for me, but I don't want her to go to CC if I can help it!

Any other suggestions? Please?

I would make an appointment with a psychiatrist at this point then. She might have ADD and is depressed about her grades. Even if she is just depressed, you need more than counselling. I have been there with my child, I feel your pain.

Not to derail the thread, but how did you know your child had ADD? My DD has always done well in school, put forth very little effort because she's smart, but she's never done well on standardized tests, especially math, even though she gets good grades (until this year) in math. She has a long attention span, reads for hours, doesn't exhibit anything I would associate with ADD. What were the red flags for your child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also check Mt. Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg. I believe that they have a pretty generous merit aid program that is graduated based on GPA. It's laid out on their website, so definitely worth a look. Plus, it's a beautiful campus.

Thank you. I've never heard of this school. I will check it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that these schools are nit ideal, but you are on a very difficult quest. Merit with so-so stats is illusive at best. Time to have a chat with the student about her options with current grades

OP. I know it's difficult. But DD wants to take a tour during spring break, and I don't know where to take her aside from in-state schools.

Her grades are not going to improve. She's having a hard time this year. All her friends are doing well, and she's floundering. We're taking her to counseling, but her counselor is baffled by her sudden lack of interest in school. She's overwhelmed by all the work, and doesn't want to do it, basically. So, her grades will be Bs, not As, sadly. She's smart, but this is the path she's chosen. She does not like to work hard.

Sorry for the vent. I went to an Ivy, so this is a struggle for me, but I don't want her to go to CC if I can help it!

Any other suggestions? Please?

I would make an appointment with a psychiatrist at this point then. She might have ADD and is depressed about her grades. Even if she is just depressed, you need more than counselling. I have been there with my child, I feel your pain.

Not to derail the thread, but how did you know your child had ADD? My DD has always done well in school, put forth very little effort because she's smart, but she's never done well on standardized tests, especially math, even though she gets good grades (until this year) in math. She has a long attention span, reads for hours, doesn't exhibit anything I would associate with ADD. What were the red flags for your child?

Ironically, there were no real red flags for me, except her grades tanking in the beginning of junior year. And a lot of hours spent on homework. Took her in for depression, came back with ADD diagnosis...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College is not for everybody.

This is so ridiculous.

I know lots of kids who had B averages and SATs that were like your DDs and got into colleges with some money. One in particular went to a midwestern state flagship university and got the equivalent of in-state tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:University of Mary Washington is a public school in VA. They do offer merit $ sometimes. Also, Randolph Macon in VA is a small private but awards generous merit money. There are tons of small privates in PA that offer generous merit $ as well. Hopefully she will be able to get her grades back up before 1st semester of her senior year but if not, the other PPs are pretty accurate that the large flagship state colleges are significantly more competitive than they were even 10 years ago. But there are tons of SLACs that offer merit $. Good luck.

Could you name a few PA schools that give generous merit $$ to a B student? Thanks!

I'll look into Randolph Macon.

[Anonymous]

OP, would it make sense for her to take "a gap year"? Maybe she isn't mentally or emotionally ready for college. What about staying home and working, and thus saving up for someplace she really wants to go, while attending counseling sessions? She could also do some CC classes to get a few credits while she's at it.