I just barfed at the word unhooked

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Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Your DC has heard from five of those schools?

Most of them do not notify applicants of decisions until March at the earliest. How is it that your DC has heard back already from five?

Yes - DC applied EA (nonbinding) where it was offered. Also applied to others in that thread (more competitive ones) RD.

Which ones has your DC heard from?

My DC also applied EA but has only heard from two EA schools (plus one rolling admissions school).

I'll mention 2 so as not to out him completely -- Wooster and Kalamazoo. Each of the schools told EA applicants (apps due 11/1) that they would get an answer by 12/31 and all came in before Christmas.

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations to your son. Sans snark, I must ask are those $ amounts your son was offered enough to bring the COA down at these SLACs? These institutions all seem to have at least $60000+ COA plus one must factor in those travel costs to NE and the Midwest.

Also regarding SLACs, I am concerned about limited course offerings in higher-level STEM and languages. Thank you

For 2 it brought the COA to $30,000-35,000. For the others it's about $25,000. As our family lives in DC, so there are no in-state colleges or universities. Even with the DC TAG $10K grant (which may or may not exist for all 4 years of undergrad) our COA at these SLACs is lower.

My DC is interested in studying economics / public policy / international affairs, so not concerned about higher-level STEM. There are state flagships that offer merit to high stat out of state students -- OSU, U of Georgia, U of Alabama, U of Arizona (you can find these through searches).

Obviously, YMMV but so far this approach is working for my DC, whose priorities were a relatively affordable undergrad experience, a small (<6,000 student) college with little to no Greek life. DC is also unhooked -- white male, not an athlete, typical extracurriculars and hasn't changed the world (yet) so while a Harvard (for example) would actually have been even more affordable for us per their NPC, he knew that he had a .00001 or less chance of admission.

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Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Your DC has heard from five of those schools?

Most of them do not notify applicants of decisions until March at the earliest. How is it that your DC has heard back already from five?

Yes - DC applied EA (nonbinding) where it was offered. Also applied to others in that thread (more competitive ones) RD.

Which ones has your DC heard from?

My DC also applied EA but has only heard from two EA schools (plus one rolling admissions school).

Congratulations to your son. Sans snark, I must ask are those $ amounts your son was offered enough to bring the COA down at these SLACs? These institutions all seem to have at least $60000+ COA plus one must factor in those travel costs to NE and the Midwest.

Also regarding SLACs, I am concerned about limited course offerings in higher-level STEM and languages. Thank you

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Your DC has heard from five of those schools?

Most of them do not notify applicants of decisions until March at the earliest. How is it that your DC has heard back already from five?

Yes - DC applied EA (nonbinding) where it was offered. Also applied to others in that thread (more competitive ones) RD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Your DC has heard from five of those schools?

Most of them do not notify applicants of decisions until March at the earliest. How is it that your DC has heard back already from five?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Thanks, PP and congrats! I really appreciate your sharing this along with your child's stats. It can be a little vague to read that "these schools give good merit" without seeing how much and what stats you need to get it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

NP - my senior kid sounds similar to the PP's second child and is pursuing a similar strategy. FWIW DC is male, SAT/ACTs - 1560/35, GPA 4.5 weighted, 8 APs and 5s on all.

DC applied to 5 of the schools in this DCUM thread from November 2018 and received merit scholarships from all ($23K/year from one; $32-34/year from the others) https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/762531.page

Anonymous wrote:There are many posts on this forum about SLAC's that give generous merit aid. I suggest you search for them rather than ask others to recreate the lists.

Really? Two pages of Canadian troll affirmative action posts and THIS is what you complain about?

There are many posts on this forum about SLAC's that give generous merit aid. I suggest you search for them rather than ask others to recreate the lists.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest mistake we made with first kid was assuming high grades and test scores would lead to merit aid at upper tier schools. Got a bad case of sticker shock when that wasn’t the case. Kid ended up in a great state school honors program.

With second kid with similar stats, we targeted less competitive schools. Average merit has been $30K and cost will be less than state schools. This kid will do better at a smaller school.

Would you mind sharing these schools, PP?

Hi - they are not DCUM worthy schools but smaller mainly Catholic colleges in the northeast. All will be a great fit for this kid. Some have sent out invites to interview for their full tuition scholarships. Even if not awarded, we will be paying significantly less than in-state college tuition.

Thanks, PP. I am also looking at "not DCUM worthy" schools for my daughter along with some more mainstream reaches as well. They can be hard to find outside of the DC area so I appreciate your sharing. A lot of times these schools seem to be well known or better known in their particular region so I'm finding them a little harder to track down.

The black/Canadian thing is just meant to be over the top

The true troll was the person who gamed the system with the "Hispanic" checkbox

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Anonymous wrote:I'm Canadian and so is my daughter. Since Canadian is a nickname for black people in the service industry, we applied with her as black and got a full ride! Thanks America!

What is this jibberish??

+1 - I don't beiieve a word of it. No need to get silly abut this.

Sigh. Yes, it's true. It's extremely racist, but true. I grew up in the mid-west and was a server in college in a southern IN town and some people would call people of color "Canadians." Along with the "code" word,I think the disparagement comes from Canadians not understanding or properly tipping servers the correct amount. It's racist and disgusting.

So this thread has taken a turn. Can we delete this crap now?

No that part, the part where the Canadian person applied claiming they were black because they are "Canadians." C'mon. That's just trolling.

Every single one of these types of posts is inevitably hijacked by the White grievance posters who whine incessantly about (a) URMs and affirmative action, (b) David Hogg, (c) Obama and HRC, (d) athletes, legacies and big money, and (e) how tilted the college process is against them personally. It’s like the sun rising. They’re just upset their mediocrity is no longer rewarded.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm Canadian and so is my daughter. Since Canadian is a nickname for black people in the service industry, we applied with her as black and got a full ride! Thanks America!

What is this jibberish??

+1 - I don't beiieve a word of it. No need to get silly abut this.

Sigh. Yes, it's true. It's extremely racist, but true. I grew up in the mid-west and was a server in college in a southern IN town and some people would call people of color "Canadians." Along with the "code" word,I think the disparagement comes from Canadians not understanding or properly tipping servers the correct amount. It's racist and disgusting.

So this thread has taken a turn. Can we delete this crap now?

No that part, the part where the Canadian person applied claiming they were black because they are "Canadians." C'mon. That's just trolling.