Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:36     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Bennington and St Mike's in VT may be worth checking out - they may like that your DD is from the mid Atlantic rather than New England.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:36     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Allegheny College in PA.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:28     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Anonymous wrote:THIS from 16:52 below! I agree here. OP, your child is not you. There is something out there that will let her shine. Anyone who finds something they like, even basket weaving.


Me, me, me! "Her friends are doing well but she's floundering." "I went to an ivy so this is a struggle for ME."

It's not about YOU! Just because YOU went to an Ivy doesn't mean your child is walking in your footsteps and certainly not your clone.

Get your hands on Peterson's 4-year college guide. There are hundreds of good schools that can accommodate your daughter. If her head is hanging low and buried in the sand, YOU are partially the blame. Stop mentally beating up on that child and be the beacon of support! And STOP comparing her to her friends. A 'B' is NOT a death sentence! Geez!!

Ooops, forgot to complete my sentence. Anyone who finds something they like, even basket weaving, will do well and get the A grade.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:27     Subject: merit aid for B student?
THIS from 16:52 below! I agree here. OP, your child is not you. There is something out there that will let her shine. Anyone who finds something they like, even basket weaving.


Me, me, me! "Her friends are doing well but she's floundering." "I went to an ivy so this is a struggle for ME."

It's not about YOU! Just because YOU went to an Ivy doesn't mean your child is walking in your footsteps and certainly not your clone.

Get your hands on Peterson's 4-year college guide. There are hundreds of good schools that can accommodate your daughter. If her head is hanging low and buried in the sand, YOU are partially the blame. Stop mentally beating up on that child and be the beacon of support! And STOP comparing her to her friends. A 'B' is NOT a death sentence! Geez!!

Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:20     Subject: Re:merit aid for B student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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.





This is what I'm hoping for, except DD does not want a Midwestern school. That's why I thought maybe Vermont, CT or Delaware might come up with the equivalent of in-state tuition.




For the most part and with limited exceptions, schools in the Northeast and on the coasts do not give merit aid.


That's a ridiculous statement. I know kids who have gotten merit aid at all sorts of schools up and down the East Coast.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:16     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Albright and muellenberg in PA
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 17:01     Subject: merit aid for B student?
A good friend's DC was admitted to U of California, Santa Cruz, and absolutely loves it. A forest-like campus and not far from the ocean. The college has a high admit rate, granola like, and an environment that is most definitely easy on the mind.

Broaden your horizons if you can. The world goes past the mid-atlantic/east coast.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 16:55     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Definitely read the book Colleges that Change Lives, and encourage your DD to consider Midwest colleges. If she will expand her geographic focus, she will have many more affordable options. For donut-hole families, there are very few affordable options in New England.

If she is interested in SLACs, consider Goucher, McDaniel, Juniata, Allegheny, Wheaton (MA), Wooster, Kalamazoo, Ohio Wesleyan.

Smaller publics with affordable OOS tuition: Mary Washington, SUNY-Geneseo, UNC-Asheville, University of Minnesota-Morris, Truman State, Christopher Newport.

Larger publics with affordable OOS tuition: James Madison, any of the SUNYs, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State, Ohio University.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 16:52     Subject: merit aid for B student?
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?Me, me, me! "Her friends are doing well but she's floundering." "I went to an ivy so this is a struggle for ME."

It's not about YOU! Just because YOU went to an Ivy doesn't mean your child is walking in your footsteps and certainly not your clone.

Get your hands on Peterson's 4-year college guide. There are hundreds of good schools that can accommodate your daughter. If her head is hanging low and buried in the sand, YOU are partially the blame. Stop mentally beating up on that child and be the beacon of support! And STOP comparing her to her friends. A 'B' is NOT a death sentence! Geez!!





Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 16:30     Subject: merit aid for B student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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!



U. of Mary Washington is in Fredericksburg. It is a SLAC and bears no resemblance to the College of William & Mary, which is in Williamsburg.

Whether the other schools you were looking at are "better" is up for debate, but I will tell you that brand-name schools do not, by and large, give merit aid.


Uh, W&M alum here, with more than a passing knowledge of Mary Washington. I'd say the two schools have some important commonalities, mainly size, architectural style, and location in a historic town. The both are primarily undergraduate focused, though they both have some graduate programs. W&M is far more selective than Mary Washington.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 13:21     Subject: Re:merit aid for B student?
You could try the old "geographic diversity" strategy. That is, identify schools in other parts of the country, typically private and not a name brand, that do not get many applicants from this region and want to improve that to create geographic diversity with the student body.

Using this method, my friend's kid, a decent B+ student, got a VERY generous package from the University of Redlands in California. Like 75% of total cost covered.

Now, friend's kid did not end up going there, but I throw the idea out as something to ponder.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 13:20     Subject: Re:merit aid for B student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look at the schools in the Colleges That Change Lives book: McDaniel, Goucher, Ursinus, Juniata, Clark. Consider Ohio schools as well: Wittenberg, College of Wooster, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan. Also look at Kalamazoo College, Lawrence University, Augustana College (IL).

St. Mary's College of Maryland might work and the U. of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg is lovely and affordable from OOS, even without merit aid (they do give it).

Buy and read the book The College Solution, which will tell you how to find schools where she will get in and get merit aid.


As a data point, my son got waitlisted at college of Wooster with an unweighted 3.5 and 1920 SAT. But I agree some of the CTCL schools deserve a look. Knox offered DS a lot of merit aid but he didn't like the town.


My DD was admitted to Wooster last year with an unweighted 3.3 and 2340 SATs. She got $24,000/year in merit aid.

Beloit might be an option.

OP's DD needs to warm up to the Midwest, as that is where most SLACs that give merit aid are located.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 13:18     Subject: Re:merit aid for B student?
Anonymous wrote:Look at the schools in the Colleges That Change Lives book: McDaniel, Goucher, Ursinus, Juniata, Clark. Consider Ohio schools as well: Wittenberg, College of Wooster, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan. Also look at Kalamazoo College, Lawrence University, Augustana College (IL).

St. Mary's College of Maryland might work and the U. of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg is lovely and affordable from OOS, even without merit aid (they do give it).

Buy and read the book The College Solution, which will tell you how to find schools where she will get in and get merit aid.


As a data point, my son got waitlisted at college of Wooster with an unweighted 3.5 and 1920 SAT. But I agree some of the CTCL schools deserve a look. Knox offered DS a lot of merit aid but he didn't like the town.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 12:59     Subject: Re:merit aid for B student?
I agree with PP that Temple is a good option and plan to visit with my sophomore at some point. Temple does offer merit aid for good but not great students.

As you can see, OP, your daughter would be in the ballpark for decent aid:
https://admissions.temple.edu/sites/admissions/files/uploads/010-1415_Scholarship-Info_FINAL-ADA_508.pdf

Anonymous
Post 01/13/2016 12:59     Subject: merit aid for B student?
I was thinking Miami of Ohio OP. It's lovely and does do merit aid. Have dd take SAT/ACT Prep course. It will be worth your while to have her score as high as possible.