DD wants top SLACs But Doesn't Have Grades

[Anonymous]

NP this is so exciting, OP! Congrats to your DC.
~mom of a junior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should add we were full pay. Rejected ED Emory. Did not ED 2. EA to Tulane was positive but Northeastern was deferral and eventual rejection. Very solid ECs.

Never agree to pay full tuition. College pricing is a racket. If you're full pay, you're subsidizing someone else's kid.

[Anonymous]

Which might be okay, if you have money to spare and they do not. They have smarts to spare, so full pay may be YOUR kid's only ticket to admission. It all works out in the end. You are just paying with different currency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should add we were full pay. Rejected ED Emory. Did not ED 2. EA to Tulane was positive but Northeastern was deferral and eventual rejection. Very solid ECs.

Never agree to pay full tuition. College pricing is a racket. If you're full pay, you're subsidizing someone else's kid.

Or a cushy job for an administrator or member of tenured faculty. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should add we were full pay. Rejected ED Emory. Did not ED 2. EA to Tulane was positive but Northeastern was deferral and eventual rejection. Very solid ECs.

Never agree to pay full tuition. College pricing is a racket. If you're full pay, you're subsidizing someone else's kid.

If that allows a kid who otherwise wouldn't be able to go, and the money is fungible to you, then who cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should add we were full pay. Rejected ED Emory. Did not ED 2. EA to Tulane was positive but Northeastern was deferral and eventual rejection. Very solid ECs.

Never agree to pay full tuition. College pricing is a racket. If you're full pay, you're subsidizing someone else's kid.

If that allows a kid who otherwise wouldn't be able to go, and the money is fungible to you, then who cares?

The entire higher education enterprise operates through massive cost shifting. Non-athletes generally subsidize athletes. Full-pay subsidizes financial aid recipients. OOS at public universities subsidize in-state students. Humanities majors subsidize science and engineering majors. Undergraduates subsidize faculty research and graduate students. (One good thing about LACs is that they focus on undergraduates.)

[Anonymous]

My dad full paid me to go to a lower ranked SLAC. I was not very good in school, but I enjoyed the social scene.

After college, I was an AA making peanuts. My dad cut off my allowance (slowly, not like a bandage, thankfully). I ended up going to grad school (on my own) and got a good job as a PM. Now a professor.

Life is not a straight line. You can go any direction you want, change course, and go a different way.

I hope you DC finds a SLAC to fit her personality. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I h have a similar kid to this. Stop looking at too 20-30 schools and look at schools below that. 30-80 on us news list. There are some GREAT schools on that list AND they will love her and she will get merit aid. Trust me- it’ll all work out. Those schools are fantastic and she will get just as good an education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I h have a similar kid to this. Stop looking at too 20-30 schools and look at schools below that. 30-80 on us news list. There are some GREAT schools on that list AND they will love her and she will get merit aid. Trust me- it’ll all work out. Those schools are fantastic and she will get just as good an education

Same true for 80-100?

[Anonymous]

We chose W&M because full ride. Saving some $ for grad school. It has been great.
Cousin chose Colby and lived that also. Great choices!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I h have a similar kid to this. Stop looking at too 20-30 schools and look at schools below that. 30-80 on us news list. There are some GREAT schools on that list AND they will love her and she will get merit aid. Trust me- it’ll all work out. Those schools are fantastic and she will get just as good an education

Same true for 80-100?

Essentially, yes. No material difference in the quality of the education provided. Just a question of finding one you like. Consult Loren Pope's book "Colleges that Change Lives" or go to the website CTCL.org and you'll find profiles of 40 or 44 such schools. This is a very useful resource.

You're going to save a bunch of money by focusing on the 30 to 100 ranked SLACs, and your kid will have a good college experience.

[Anonymous]

What about 100-120?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about 100-120?

This sounds like a wise-ass question, so I'll answer it in two ways:

Serious answer: I believe USNWR considers those ranked up to about 106 or 110 to be "national" liberal art colleges.

Jive answer: Just be sure to be careful when considering 122 through 131 and 139-143..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I h have a similar kid to this. Stop looking at too 20-30 schools and look at schools below that. 30-80 on us news list. There are some GREAT schools on that list AND they will love her and she will get merit aid. Trust me- it’ll all work out. Those schools are fantastic and she will get just as good an education

Same true for 80-100?

Essentially, yes. No material difference in the quality of the education provided. Just a question of finding one you like. Consult Loren Pope's book "Colleges that Change Lives" or go to the website CTCL.org and you'll find profiles of 40 or 44 such schools. This is a very useful resource.

You're going to save a bunch of money by focusing on the 30 to 100 ranked SLACs, and your kid will have a good college experience.

Couple more pointers: Apply to 12 or 15 schools, so you can compare merit offers and their impact on net price. Apply early in the fall, September or October. Many of these schools have rolling admissions, so you'll find out sooner rather than later, and this will give you time to narrow down the choices, visit schools, etc. You won't need to commit until May 1st.

On the applications (most or all of which will be free to submit) indicate that you will NOT be applying for financial aid. This question refers to need-based financial aid; but your kid will, as a matter of course, be "considered" for merit money. You don't have to ask for it.

And don't apply anywhere ED. (Unless you want to risk paying pay full sticker price if your kid is admitted). Many of these schools have an EA program, but you'll probably be applying early anyway (September, October, as I advise above. In any event, before Thanksgiving. You'll want to be among the first of the new crop to be considered for admission and merit money).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And don't apply anywhere ED. (Unless you want to risk paying pay full sticker price if your kid is admitted). Many of these schools have an EA program, but you'll probably be applying early anyway (September, October, as I advise above.

I think you are the same person posting this again, but this is TERRIBLE advice given broadly, particularly for a competitive admissions situation. Run the NPCs in advance for any college and if it is affordable and your first choice you definitely want to apply ED. If the actual offer is less than the NPC -- even by a small amount -- you will be let out of the ED agreement with no penalty to you or your high school.

If you choose to shop merit, that is another consideration, but there is NO RISK in applying ED if you know in advance what the costs will be and they are within budget.