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Your average B student, average SAT/ACT, without a major talent or sport ability, and who isn't considered "poor", is NOT going to get full ride, merit, scholarship, to anything anywhere. Period.
I DO know someone who went practically free to a small, religious based school but there was no going on to grad school, no PhD's, no Rhodes...just a BA in something soft and a lot of religion. And another because her mom worked at a college who was part of a larger group of colleges and it was a job perk.
It's frustrating to see posters insist that anyone can get a college education free ...IF ONLY...
My youngest child will not pay a lot but that's because he is living at home, went to CC first, and is commuting to State University. But nothing is going to be free no matter how much I try to spin it.
Sure, SOME students go to school for free with merit aid money. But this idea that any halfway decent student can get all this money from dozens of private schools is misinformation at best.
Sure, SOME students go to school for free with merit aid money. But this idea that any halfway decent student can get all this money from dozens of private schools is misinformation at best.
Here is what I have experienced re: misinformation.
1.) "I got a free ride". (Nope, you got FAFSA $$'s.)
2.) "I know a student who only paid....." (Hearsay. Psst. Many people embellish or give 1/2 truths.)
3.) "My son/or daughter got a free ride to an Ivy." (Actually the school gave a lot of needs based aid.)
4.) "I know a family that accomplished (so-and-so) great feat!" (True. Thanks for pointing out a 1 in a million. The discussion is about trends not outliers. )
There are more. But you get the trend.
This forum is designed to share ideas through discussion. So let's share. I'm interested in learning more about the specific schools that gives out nearly full merit aid to B students. I'd LOVE to hear the details. Obvously people on this thread are not in an agreement that quality B students can attend a 4 year for substantially less than a CC/ 4 year xfer. It goes against the grain of everything that was learn about the purpose of CC's. So I say please educate us exactly how. Inquiring minds want to know!
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 08-02-2013 at 06:31 AM..
Your average B student, average SAT/ACT, without a major talent or sport ability, and who isn't considered "poor", is NOT going to get full ride, merit, scholarship, to anything anywhere. Period.
Exactly. And even a 3.5 student in an AP class, playing one sport, with above average SATs, isn't going to get one. Also, very few parents I know want their kids at a college half way across the country just because they got some sort of scholarship there.
Here is what I have experienced re: misinformation.
1.) "I got a free ride". (Nope, you got FAFSA $$'s.)
2.) "I know a student who only paid....." (Hearsay. Psst. Many people embellish or give 1/2 truths.)
3.) "My son/or daughter got a free ride to an Ivy." (Actually the school gave a lot of needs based aid.)
4.) "I know a family that accomplished (so-and-so) great feat!" (True. Thanks for pointing out a 1 in a million. The discussion is about trends not outliers. )
There are more. But you get the trend.
This forum is designed to share ideas through discussion. So let's share. I'm interested in learning more about the specific schools that gives out nearly full merit aid to B students. I'd LOVE to hear the details. Obvously people on this thread are not in an agreement that quality B students can attend a 4 year for substantially less than a CC/ 4 year xfer. It goes against the grain of everything that was learn about the purpose of CC's. So I say please educate us exactly how. Inquiring minds want to know!
You keep thinking this, just more money for those of us that know better. Sorry, our kids didn't get a dime of financial aid.
Yes, some people do not understand the difference and yes, I've called people out on the "scholarships" they got at Ivy's, but the reality still is, for most better students, it's less expensive to go to a private school then a state school because of MERIT awards--no one said 'full merit" the discussion was about net costs...our kids were fortunate that they were able to get pretty much a full ride...but they are a little better than B students with higher than average test scores. They have plenty of friends that have 3.6ish GPA's with 26-28 ACT scores that got plenty of merit dollars to bring their private school costs below state school costs. Feel free to look up any private school that gives automatic merit awards and do the math yourself. It's all there in black and white...
Golfgal, what I find interesting is that your children received basically (or very close to) a full ride (various scholarships stacked from the same uni?) without apparent regard to EFC. If it involved outside scholarships, yes, that is absolutely possible. But scholarships from the college, stacked, and disregarding the families EFC, for a B student, that's amazing!
My son's a high academic, 4.0 uw, high test scores (but not a nm). He was offered good sized scholarships from some of the colleges he applied to, but we were still responsible for our EFC. One college stacked two scholarships (one was renewable but we never determined whether the other was. Ds had other choices so we didn't pursue it). I am aware of very (VERY) high academic students (high gpa, high test scores, and nm) who have received large scholarships without regard to their EFC (they were exceptional students).
One interesting situation we ran into - my son received a $30K scholarship to a college he didn't apply to . True story! It was renewable each year, guaranteed, plus he didn't have to turn in the common ap, just a smaller different application and his essay was to describe himself (introduce yourself, basically). He wasn't interested in the college at all and didn't pursue it, but I found this interesting as they didn't know our EFC (and apparently didn't care). Thinking back....they didn't know he was an athlete, too. Maybe I could have pushed for a full ride . My daughter (very high test scores, 3.7 uw gpa) received numerous phone calls from a private college, initially eliminating the common ap and using a simple form, and she didn't turn anything in, and they continued calling and finally said straight out they would accept her if she just turns in the simple application form. She wanted to go to Community College, so didn't pursue it. The college never talked finances, and didn't know our EFC.
I don't doubt your situation, and I'm not arguing it. I just find it interesting.
Golfgal, what I find interesting is that your children received basically (or very close to) a full ride (various scholarships stacked from the same uni?) without apparent regard to EFC. If it involved outside scholarships, yes, that is absolutely possible. But scholarships from the college, stacked, and disregarding the families EFC, for a B student, that's amazing!
My son's a high academic, 4.0 uw, high test scores (but not a nm). He was offered good sized scholarships from some of the colleges he applied to, but we were still responsible for our EFC. One college stacked two scholarships (one was renewable but we never determined whether the other was. Ds had other choices so we didn't pursue it). I am aware of very (VERY) high academic students (high gpa, high test scores, and nm) who have received large scholarships without regard to their EFC (they were exceptional students).
One interesting situation we ran into - my son received a $30K scholarship to a college he didn't apply to . True story! It was renewable each year, guaranteed, plus he didn't have to turn in the common ap, just a smaller different application and his essay was to describe himself (introduce yourself, basically). He wasn't interested in the college at all and didn't pursue it, but I found this interesting as they didn't know our EFC (and apparently didn't care). Thinking back....they didn't know he was an athlete, too. Maybe I could have pushed for a full ride . My daughter (very high test scores, 3.7 uw gpa) received numerous phone calls from a private college, initially eliminating the common ap and using a simple form, and she didn't turn anything in, and they continued calling and finally said straight out they would accept her if she just turns in the simple application form. She wanted to go to Community College, so didn't pursue it. The college never talked finances, and didn't know our EFC.
I don't doubt your situation, and I'm not arguing it. I just find it interesting.
Our kids are better than "B" students, but they aren't top 10% either. The point is, for B students and better, private schools are usually less expense than state schools, not that they get full rides...
My daughter has a friend who was a top 10% student (probably in the top 5%), a gifted, and I mean truly gifted, musician, NHS member, volunteer, etc. Her parents said she could not go to a college that cost more than in-state tuition at the U of CO. She got a number of scholarship offers, but in the end, went to CU b/c it was still the cheapest.
Our kids are better than "B" students, but they aren't top 10% either. The point is, for B students and better, private schools are usually less expense than state schools, not that they get full rides...
My post wasn't about free rides - it was about receiving stacked scholarships and not having to pay your EFC when you are a very good student but not a tippy-top student (high gpa, high test scores, nms).
For my son, the financial aid package from private schools were not less than our state schools. All of the private schools he applied to were several thousands more than the CSU's. Our EFC is a huge determining factor of what we are expected to pay and no college gave us a free pass on paying our EFC.
My post wasn't about free rides - it was about receiving stacked scholarships and not having to pay your EFC when you are a very good student but not a tippy-top student (high gpa, high test scores, nms).
For my son, the financial aid package from private schools were not less than our state schools. All of the private schools he applied to were several thousands more than the CSU's. Our EFC is a huge determining factor of what we are expected to pay and no college gave us a free pass on paying our EFC.
Our EFC was more than any college in the country costs so finding schools with good merit aid was very much a concern. Again, merit aid is NOT tied to any financial concerns--and is usually awarded before any financial paperwork is even submitted so they don't really know if you have a million in the bank or are living pay check to pay check...
FINANCIAL aid is a different beast and if you do get financial aid, no, most schools do not stack aid and scholarships to reduce your EFC. They usually keep the scholarships and start reducing your loans or other self-help so in the long run, that does help, but year to year, not so much. You have to compare apples to apples and I'm not talking about ANY financial aid--only awards based on merit (grades/test scores) or talent (playing the oboe or whatever).
The most we would have had to pay at any of the schools our kids applied to was $18,000...our state flagship is $27,000....
Let's be honest, the workload in a community college is not as stressful or as much as a four year university. I know folks who got good grades at the CC level, but dropped once they hit the four year and i wonder why is that?
is the course work at a 4 year so much more even if they are about the same length in time? i'm speaking relatively classes one could find within both places, like english/lit, history or math/psychology.
I started at CC precisely because it was less stressful - not so much that the classes were easier, but that you get MUCH more individual attention at CC. I went with a GED, at age 28 after having quit school in 11th grade, so I really needed that extra "hand-holding" you can get at CC. I ended up graduating with a 3.98 GPA, then transferred to a very competitive medical/health sciences university (as a therapy student) and not only got in, but got a $3000 a year scholarship due to my CC GPA. I would never have gotten in at all had I applied without CC first. I graduated from that University Magna *** Laude, and with much less in student loans than my fellow students who did the entire stretch in University did.
I don't know why your friends did so poorly once they transferred, unless they were part-time at CC then full-time at university, or maybe they picked a major that they weren't passionate enough about? It could also be, as I said above, there is much less individual help and attention at most universities. At CC I could drop in and talk to professors at any time, and ask for extra help at any time. Once at CC, we had an algebra quiz on Friday, with a test the following Monday...the prof called several students at home who did poorly on the quiz and told them to come in an hour early on Monday so she could go over the material again before the test. That would not happen at a university. At university I had to request a meeting in writing, in advance, just to talk to them.
While my university has smallish classes, my best friend went to a very large state U, which was so big I used to go to classes with her sometimes and no one even noticed. There would be 300 kids in a huge lecture hall with a grad student teaching who barely spoke English. I myself would have been very intimidated to even ask a question in that setting (you needed a microphone, lol) That probably makes a difference, too.
Last edited by ocnjgirl; 08-02-2013 at 03:18 PM..
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Obvously people on this thread are not in an agreement that quality B students can attend a 4 year for substantially less than a CC/ 4 year xfer. It goes against the grain of everything that was learn about the purpose of CC's. So I say please educate us exactly how. Inquiring minds want to know!
