college admissions process so far, financial aid disappointment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, don't assume that your child will be going to school "with peers who didn't grind like them and sacrifice time." (Which....I have other thoughts about, but....) Some of those peers will be students in the same boat, lacking the funds/FA to go to theirbtop choices. Hopefully they won't be too disappointed to be at school with your kid.

+100

OP, you need to check your bias. If your kid isn’t happy with Towson, are they following your lead? It’s your job to explain Towson is a good school and that strong kids go there for many reasons. If they don’t like it they can transfer after saving money for a year.

Here's the Towson med school recommendation process. Now imagine being a top student there vs. mid-pack somewhere else.

https://www.towson.edu/fcsm/departments/preprofessional/medicaldental/admission.html

i

I am not familiar with med school processes. Is Towson’s better or worse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I think we should keep this post focused on solutions and positive stories. Those doubting my child's stats are taking away from posts that can be productive for me and others. My child isn't special or better than your child, I know that. My child worked hard, did well, and wants to see their results realized.

NP here. I didn’t read all the advice. Cutting to the chase, typically the bigger merit will be offered at least a tier down from where your kid could get accepted - so the student getting the half tuition scholarship at a T50 school, might be someone competitive for a T20 school. There is also Jeff Selingo’s Buyer and Seller list of colleges. It helps of you are targeting merit to see which colleges are using merit to attract students and the average amount.

Given that it’s too late to do this differently, the options really are apply to Honors college at safety school if still possible, attend safety and look into transferring if unhappy after a year, consider if campus job plus summer job, plus a small loan is worth it and possible to bridge the gap for a slightly more expensive school, see if graduating early (3 years or 3.5 years) is possible pre-med at one of the other schools using AP credits, see if able to negotiate additional merit at a school where they got some merit , but not enough (YMMV depending on the school and how your kid compares to their applicant pool).

Great advice…..
We figured that out.
Kids got huge merit awards at Pitt, Case, OOS flagships.
Admitted (humanities) to T10.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What is the child's exact substantial college savings and what are the extenuating circumstances related to how the savings came to be? Is the savings in a 529 and if not, what kind of plan is it in?

OP?

Not a specific plan. Family. But I don't make the income relative to the amount there is.

I don't understand. So this is a family gift that will pay for post high school education, not in a 529 and not with a limit, but you also don't think it is limitless?

Sounds like there is more than enough with the family gift but [bOP doesn't want to say the amount because it is more than most have AND it will cover all the way through medical school so long as undergrad is on the cheaper side. It isn't even in a 529 which tells me it is not finite. So who cares what your income is? Who cares how your income relates to the amount of money your family is setting aside. It seems your kid can afford any undergrad he wants but can't afford without debt all post high school education. My guess is that the money wasn't put into a 529 to likely try and game the financial aid system so undergrad would be supplemented by the school reducing the costs (i.e. no need to disclose the 529 balance but the money is nevertheless there/available).

Sounds like you then had kid apply to schools and while he "can" afford to go, it isn't advisable if you want education to be fully family funded. So your idea (to try and get financial aid for free) didn't work even though it was worth a shot to you. I don't think people are going to be sympathetic...your kid is fine regardless what is selected.

You are so wrong about my specific family money scenario, and I don't owe a public message board an explanation. But there is no gaming of anything, everything is being done by the books. I never asked for sympathy, I asked for input about other children who didn't go to their number one schools because they couldn't, and how their experience was. Again, not looking for anything other than stories and advice.

Wrong message board if you're looking for kindness. The uptight, judgmental hags on here are not capable of it.

It's increasingly clear that "be kind" = enabling delusions and dishonesty.

[/b]OP is getting flak because she refuses, over and over again, to let us know two critical pieces of information: child's SATs and her actual financial position. This is an anonymous SAT score. Child is one of 156,000 MCPS students. He or she will not have their identity revealed by mere mention of those two key information.

There are many experienced parents posting on here who can offer great advice. But we have to work with what we are told, and people withholding important details and then complaining about nastiness aren't going to get the useful advice they might otherwise have.

Will say I am forming a better impression of OP's kid and it does tell me Towson is probably a good outcome. Higher grades, lower SAT scores still means a good work ethic and Towson will have plenty of similar peers. Yes, there are other schools but you're going to have to pay for those. And that's the reality.

+1. This thread has been a total waste of time for everyone.

[Anonymous]

NP. Going to say this as gently as possible...

You've been somewhat blindsided by the realities of college admissions.

You mention med school. That pathway might be very different from what you, your family, or your child are imagining.

The time to educate yourselves is NOW. Before you make a massive financial commitment, or miss a deadline, or another opportunity.

Before you make a massive decision that is conditioned on an imagined future pathway, you need a serious crash course in the realities of that pathway.

Personally, in your position, I would pay for a few hours with a consultant: This is not your area of expertise, and you don't know what you don't know.

Your child will be infinitely happier when they have the opportunity to make well-informed, self-directed choices about their future. If you haven't already, communicate openly, visit Towson and Salisbury, and take charge of the moment.

P.S. Make sure you aren't telling your kid what you can't pay, but what you can. Could they earn enough to cover the shortfall? Or might they more enthusiastically embrace the available choices when they realize they could pocket or invest their earnings instead?

Do what you can to shift the conversation from one in which they're subject to circumstances to one in which they choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm kind of stunned. How could child be rejected from UMD with info you gave? Regardless, take this from someone who transferred after first year of college - everything will be OK. Child will end up OK no matter what and what you can do as a parent (I think) is show how proud you are of them and resilience no matter what.

Plenty of kids are rejected from UMD with a 3.8.

Bad essays and narrative then

UMD acceptance rate is now something like 34%. It's become more selective over the past decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the child's exact substantial college savings and what are the extenuating circumstances related to how the savings came to be? Is the savings in a 529 and if not, what kind of plan is it in?

OP?

Not a specific plan. Family. But I don't make the income relative to the amount there is.

I don't understand. So this is a family gift that will pay for post high school education, not in a 529 and not with a limit, but you also don't think it is limitless?

Sounds like there is more than enough with the family gift but [bOP doesn't want to say the amount because it is more than most have AND it will cover all the way through medical school so long as undergrad is on the cheaper side. It isn't even in a 529 which tells me it is not finite. So who cares what your income is? Who cares how your income relates to the amount of money your family is setting aside. It seems your kid can afford any undergrad he wants but can't afford without debt all post high school education. My guess is that the money wasn't put into a 529 to likely try and game the financial aid system so undergrad would be supplemented by the school reducing the costs (i.e. no need to disclose the 529 balance but the money is nevertheless there/available).

Sounds like you then had kid apply to schools and while he "can" afford to go, it isn't advisable if you want education to be fully family funded. So your idea (to try and get financial aid for free) didn't work even though it was worth a shot to you. I don't think people are going to be sympathetic...your kid is fine regardless what is selected.

You are so wrong about my specific family money scenario, and I don't owe a public message board an explanation. But there is no gaming of anything, everything is being done by the books. I never asked for sympathy, I asked for input about other children who didn't go to their number one schools because they couldn't, and how their experience was. Again, not looking for anything other than stories and advice.

Wrong message board if you're looking for kindness. The uptight, judgmental hags on here are not capable of it.

It's increasingly clear that "be kind" = enabling delusions and dishonesty.

[/b]OP is getting flak because she refuses, over and over again, to let us know two critical pieces of information: child's SATs and her actual financial position. This is an anonymous SAT score. Child is one of 156,000 MCPS students. He or she will not have their identity revealed by mere mention of those two key information.

There are many experienced parents posting on here who can offer great advice. But we have to work with what we are told, and people withholding important details and then complaining about nastiness aren't going to get the useful advice they might otherwise have.

Will say I am forming a better impression of OP's kid and it does tell me Towson is probably a good outcome. Higher grades, lower SAT scores still means a good work ethic and Towson will have plenty of similar peers. Yes, there are other schools but you're going to have to pay for those. And that's the reality.

+1. This thread has been a total waste of time for everyone.

I would guess that OP's kids have college savings from grandparents or some other relative, but that since those are not funds to be repeated, they have termed them "exceptional."

[Anonymous]

Why are you applying to schools in the states? It’s cheaper to send your kid abroad for college and not pay the exorbitant prices for tuition, room and board. Go that route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, don't assume that your child will be going to school "with peers who didn't grind like them and sacrifice time." (Which....I have other thoughts about, but....) Some of those peers will be students in the same boat, lacking the funds/FA to go to theirbtop choices. Hopefully they won't be too disappointed to be at school with your kid.

+100

OP, you need to check your bias. If your kid isn’t happy with Towson, are they following your lead? It’s your job to explain Towson is a good school and that strong kids go there for many reasons. If they don’t like it they can transfer after saving money for a year.

Here's the Towson med school recommendation process. Now imagine being a top student there vs. mid-pack somewhere else.

https://www.towson.edu/fcsm/departments/preprofessional/medicaldental/admission.html

i

I am not familiar with med school processes. Is Towson’s better or worse?

It looks typical of a school with a large number of pre-meds. The key element is this:

"Complete interview with the Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Committee"

The candidate will receive an evaluation based on their relative performance to peers and how well they interview. This is where it's helpful to be a top student at a lesser school than an average student at a harder school.

Anyone playing the long game on med school financing should also be reading up on the admissions process, pre-reqs, etc. It takes a lot. Compared to when I was an undergrad, a lot more healthcare-related extracurriculars are required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was your kid. I got into a T10 early and went to a T30 school with a full ride. It still stings, but I acknowledge I turned out fine.

Her kid is not getting into a top 10. She didn’t even get into UMD.

[Anonymous]

My child is in a similar boat but we prepared him ahead of time. He applied to schools in his budget and to schools known to give generous merit aid. We can afford the equivalent of in-state tuition plus room and board. His classmates with similar stats have way more options and are going to higher ranked schools. He had to focus on schools where he was 75% or higher stats to secure enough merit. I felt badly at times in the process but he is excited about the school he’s chosen and he is grateful that he will graduate college debt-free. He is aware that we live in a bubble and he is luckier than most kids elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take out loans to bridge the difference.

I disagree. Work with the budget you have. It's a life lesson and much more realistic of a path for your DC.

[Anonymous]

OP - friend’s kid was similar: high grades, SAT they did not submit I think as it didn’t match the grades stats, several AP / DE classes, multiple ECs and compelling personal story. But not in at our flagship. Kid is also pre med and opted for WVU and is absolutely loving it there.

For med school especially I think there are a lot of options because you’re intentionally planning to keep going with schooling. But yeah a not super high SAT would personally worry me a bit about whether the med school route would work out for my kid given how critical MCAT scores are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been hard. My child has gotten into their safeties (Towson/Salisbury) which they are NOT enthusiastic about. They have also gotten into some of their reach/target schools. Unfortunately, those schools so far are around 60k per year with merit (child has 4.8 gpa). Financial aid is minimal. I don't have an amazing salary, but child has substantial college savings because of extenuating circumstances (not enough to cover 240k though). They go to a decent high school in Montgomery County, and it is sad for them to see their classmates commit to schools they cannot commit to. How do you help your child handle going to a safety so they can graduate college without debt? My child is so disappointed to have to go to school with peers who didn't grind like them and sacrifice time. But they/we just aren't willing or able to pay 50k PLUS per year. They want to go to med school after college as well, so the price of undergrad really matters. Please tell me your stories of going to a safety bc of money and kid thriving.

You have the savings. If you live in an expensive house, find a way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMD is probably best choice. In state pricing and flag ship

child rejected but came from a MCPS school that is UMD predominant. And we recognized with the rejection, it's probably too big

We’re in the same boat. Rejected at umd, doesn’t want to go to Towson because she worked very hard - similar stats to you kid. Got in at a couple lower profile smaller oos flagships but still not all that excited. Coming from dc you’re just not going to get a lot of need based aid. There are a lot of families outside the dmv that survive on hhi’s less than $100k and aren’t sitting on significant home equity.

I’m working on getting her to see the big picture. Grinding is a skill/habit that will benefit them over the long haul…especially if med school is in the picture.

[Anonymous]

240k will provide plenty for the kids target
I dont understand this whiny post.
Your kid is way better off than most!