Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are scholarships for children of first responders. I would think so!

This is a great idea!

She is from New York and is good with in state and public options. She's feeling pretty good about likelys. Thanks.

New York has wonderful SUNY options. Some of the top academic ones are Binghamton, Buffalo, and Geneseo. Geneseo is rural/prettier than most of other SUNY schools.

If you have to come to DCUM (and think this place is a good source of information about colleges), you should probably explain that you are not an appropriate advisor for her.

This forum is more entertaining than informative. A lot of the advice here is terrible.

Two strategies (really three):

1. Aim really high for need-based aid. The more prestigious the school, the more likely to give $$$. That is where suggestions like Davidson, Middlebury, Swarthmore come from.

2. Aim someplace lower where she might raise the average GPA. This is where the Seven Sisters, Hollins, Salem College (they have a women in health leadership emphasis), etc come in to play.

3. Realistically I would plan on attending the most prestigious in-state, unless she gets equivalent aid to an equivalent private.

It's really a poor economic choice to spend out-of-state tuition on a school like Clemson, the Universities of California, CU Boulder, etc. Better to go in-state and then apply for full-ride graduate school in those locations.

Firefighters have amazing pensions, though, so the family might have more money than you think (although MSWs are notorious for being $$$ and paying peanuts.)

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are scholarships for children of first responders. I would think so!

This is a great idea!

She is from New York and is good with in state and public options. She's feeling pretty good about likelys. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Why are you even getting involved? They need to talk to someone at school.

If it’s anything like my kid’s high school, that’s not happening in a timely manner.

I wonder if there are scholarships for children of first responders. I would think so!

Davidson is hard to get into but very good. It might be a long shot for her with those stats but hard to say since she has not taken sats yet. She may as well put it on her list.

We need to know what state she is from so we can advise on in state options.

Big piece of info missing here. What state is she from?

Anonymous wrote:Also tell her to look into the academic common market. It is a college consortium in which student can get in-state tuition if their degree program is not offered at a university of their residential state. She should be able to find info of what majors would qualify her for this program… usually there is something adjacent to a student’s interest that they can pursue to take advantage.

Cool, I didn't know about this. Thanks so much!

By “take advantage” I mean “utilize the resource.” Not in a nefarious sense.

Also tell her to look into the academic common market. It is a college consortium in which student can get in-state tuition if their degree program is not offered at a university of their residential state. She should be able to find info of what majors would qualify her for this program… usually there is something adjacent to a student’s interest that they can pursue to take advantage.

Anonymous wrote:Did her mom earn a degree? Do you have a sense of family income (for example the questbridge program is great, but has an income cutoff around 65k for a family of 4). You could look to see if there are any local college access support programs she is eligible for. If she was my kid, I would want her to apply to 2-3 instate options, at least one school that has a reputation for generous merit where she would be stronger than most applicants, and some private match schools where it would just depend on how much money they would give her. if she is low-income that would be a big factor in picking private colleges, because she would want schools that offer generous need-based aid.

Her mom has a master's in social work, unfortunately j/k

Her mom doesn't work now (takes care of her elderly parents), father is a retired firefighter and I get the sense that maybe his pension may be affecting her financial aid opportunity?-- but, I thought those kinds of retirement accounts don't matter (?), and this is conjecture, so really, not sure.

Thanks for this info, good ideas!

Did her mom earn a degree? Do you have a sense of family income (for example the questbridge program is great, but has an income cutoff around 65k for a family of 4). You could look to see if there are any local college access support programs she is eligible for. If she was my kid, I would want her to apply to 2-3 instate options, at least one school that has a reputation for generous merit where she would be stronger than most applicants, and some private match schools where it would just depend on how much money they would give her. if she is low-income that would be a big factor in picking private colleges, because she would want schools that offer generous need-based aid.

Anonymous wrote:If she is open to it, she may do very well at one of the "seven sisters'. Supportive environment and scholarship opportunities.

Thank you! I will suggest it.

Anonymous wrote:I’d also suggest looking at the small liberal arts schools in New England if she’d be open to a smaller school. They get way too many similar apps from the boarding school kids and are always interested in someone with a different background. They are big on first gen college students. She may appeal to them and would definitely find a supportive environment

This is really good advice, thank you!