It's not like she's not looking at options, but when even a base in state school has become so stupidly expensive, is college just becoming something you need to sign your life away for for your kids to go? HELP!
She's just about to begin her senior year? The hard thing is that you're making choices about where to apply without knowing whether she'll get a scholarship here, there, or nowhere ... you have to make a stab in the dark. Here's what I've been telling my seniors for years -- it works:
You must choose three categories of school.
1. Choose your dream school (some people call it your reach school). If everything were to work out perfectly for your daughter, where would she go? If the scholarships were to go her way, etc., etc., etc. While realizing that it probably won't happen, apply to that school.
2. Choose 2-3 realistic schools. Schools in the mid-tier price range, schools where she can be successful, schools to which you can drive. You know, the schools where she will probably end up. Applying to more than three means you haven't done enough homework /enough whittling down. Few students end up getting big-deal scholarships from individual schools, so don't worry too much about that.
3. Choose your safety net. Sounds like you've already decided this is community college, but the safety net should be something she can do entirely on her own at least to
start her college education.
Keeping that in mind, know that the big-deal scholarships tend to "open" in September-October and have due dates around November 1st. Smaller scholarships pop up October-March and have due dates March-April.
Also, don't be afraid to be up front with your daughter about what you can afford to contribute. We told ours that we could pay for 4 years (not 5, not 4 + summers) at a state school. That would include tuition, fees, dorm, meal plan. If they wanted "more" -- out of state, apartment, etc. -- they had to figure out how to pay whatever was "above and beyond". Letting them know what you can provide is important; they have enough "floating numbers" in their lives right now -- let them know what they can count on from you.
First, yeah, welcome to reality. Unless you have some incredible "hook," you're not getting a full scholarship.
Realistically,
few, few, few students get full rides these days. I think it's been 2-3 years since ANYONE at the high school where I teach earned a full ride. Why? Schools and scholarship committees have decided that it's better to give modest awards to 4-5 students rather than a full ride to a single student. This is just the way things are today.
Don't forget, though, that students can earn multiple scholarships. And students can pay for school in other ways: National Guard, work for the university to earn school benefits -- an RA in the dorms typically gets free room and board, a secretary can take a few classes each semester for free. Look into schools that provide books as a part of tuition; that's saved a ton of money for us. Hint: A freshman Chemistry book is $360; we paid nothing.
The cheap way is live at home and go to the local community college for 2 years-join the honors program and get straight A's. You can jump right into the junior year.
In theory, yes; however, in my experience, most students take more than four years to graduate when using this 2 years + 2 years process ... typically because they don't plan thoroughly enough, and managing the requirements of two schools instead of just one
does require planning.
I second (or third) the advice to find a private school with a good endowment where your child is in the top 25% in terms of grades / ACT score. They will likely throw more money or at least a better aid package at your child.
Said another way: A lackluster private college is more likely to give your kid a scholarship than is a state school. This is true, but it usually just brings the cost of the private school down to roughly the same cost as the state school ... but then, you're at a lackluster private college. I'd rather my kids went to the state school; most of the private colleges in my state are lackluster.
However, the good news is that for many (most) careers, this isn't much of a factor.
A 3.9 GPA /29 score is
good but hardly stellar; while it's outstanding in her high school class, it's probably about dead-average for the kids who will attend state universities and will actually stay more than a year. The real questions are, Has she taken lots of honors /AP classes? Does she have good extra-curriculars and particularly leadership experience? Does she have some community service to talk about on applications? Has she dipped her toes into whatever she intends to study in college?
A 3.9 GPA /29 score + some of these things is likely to end up with a modest scholarship. A 3.9 /29 that's
all-grades will probably get nothing.
Edited to add: the best scholarships overwhelmingly come from the schools themselves. There are sites for individual scholarships but most of those will be one time only scholarships.
This may vary from region to region, but this is blatantly false in my area. Schools themselves give out relatively few scholarships. The state gives quite a few, and individual groups give quite a few. OP, you should ask your guidance counselors; even if you don't particularly like them, they can enlighten you on what's typical for your area.
You're right to point out that some schools are one-time only deals. Don't jump for a scholarship that'll allow her to attend her dream school for one year; if you do, you'll just be right back at this point next year ... but it'll be worse because she'll already be entrenched in the dream school.
My kids are 25 and 29, so my experiences are fairly recent, but things may have changed. I personally don't know anyone who did well chasing all those scholarships on the internet.
My experience (not only with my own kids, but with high school seniors for longer than I care to admit) has been the same. Our guidance office posts scholarships every month, and that's a great way to find good options. Three important points:
- Never pay anyone to apply for a scholarship. Those people who "promise" to find you something will just point out FAFSA and loans.
- Create an organizational system and SAVE everything. Often you can tweak an essay and submit it to another scholarship with little effort.
- I have been a part of scholarship committees many times, and the very first thing we do is go through to see which applications are complete -- a shocking number are missing transcripts, essays, whatever -- and we discard without reading all the students who haven't bothered to turn in everything. The next big thing is, It must be NEAT. Imagine you're reading 20-25 essays ... you're only human; you're going to be drawn towards the ones that are easiest to read.
This stuff by high school counselors really gets my goat. I work at a private high school school and see this kind of thing play out with the seniors all the time. Kids are brainwashed to see college as a magical Disney vacation at a name-brand lifestyle school where they learn things without trying, make a million friends, and do very little other than party and self-actualize.
It's not only high school counselors -- friends and parents are worse. MANY of our best students feel that community college isn't "enough", and NOT to go straight to a 4-year university is to admit that you are "lesser". However, at least half of my students who head out to 4-year schools simply aren't ready.
I'm remembering a father who called me on the phone once and asked me point-blank if I thought his son was ready for a university. I took a deep breath before I answered (because I always tell the truth), and I said, "Sir, your son has plenty of academic potential, but I don't see strong motivation on his part. I see that he has ___ missing assignments, and I see that he has missed school ___ times this semester. I see that he participates in class, when it suits him, but he sometimes shirks the more difficult work. I think he could do well in college academically, but I wonder if he is emotionally ready. If he were my child, I'd consider community college -- for a year, for two years -- and then make the jump to a more independent university program." And I held my breath and waited to be told off. Didn't happen. The dad said that I'd just verified his feelings exactly, and he was sure that was the best path. Unfortunately, I don't know the end of the story.
I think for most people going to college from the US is unrealistic. First you have to be accepted. Most 18 year olds are not ready to live in a foreign culture with no supervision. Many European schools do not have dorms, students live with their families or in their own apartments.
Plus you're not going to qualify for anything from FAFSA (not that most thrifty people will be offered anything except loans), and you can't ignore the very real cost of transportation.
Just don't drink too much of that "AP will save you money on college tuition" koolaid.
Dual enrollment between high school and community college is a MUCH better deal than AP classes. Example: My oldest is an excellent English student and took English AP her senior year ... scored a 3 on the AP test, needed a 4 to get credit in college; had she taken it a different day, or had she encountered a different essay question, I am sure she would've passed. 100% of her chance of earning credit was based upon her performance
on one test. In contrast, my youngest, a slightly weaker English student took English 101 at the community college while she was still in high school. She was in complete control of whether she did her reading, turned in her papers, etc. She earned an A and a college credit.
However, many of our upper-academic students "look down upon" the community college option, seeing it as "lesser" than the AP class. And it is, but, still, my point is quite valid ... if you're looking for credit instead of social status.
Oh, and the cost of dual-enrollment: Zero tuition. Parents have to pay for books "up front", but they're reimbursed after the student passes the class.
nd all of those credits have gotten her out of ZERO classes for her major.
Well, um, yeah. All those AP classes /community college classes help students get ahead in general degree requirements. You'll never take college major classes in high school.
Why is it unrealistic? Of course you have to be accepted, but so do you at US universities. How is living in a foreign culture without supervision much different than living in a new city without supervision?
Living in a new country would mean your parents literally cannot drive up for the weekend, so it requires a higher level of independence. It also means learning a new financial currency, navigating a new culture, perhaps dealing with a language other than English ... all while learning to be a college student, manage your own life as an adult -- meaning buying groceries, paying your electrical bill, and remembering to wash your clothes. I'm in the camp of,
Few students are ready for this.
Okay, I've said quite enough, so I'll leave you with one comment: Paying for college has turned out to be easier than expected for us. Both our kids have earned multiple scholarships (not full rides), and we have been able to cash-flow the remainder. We have dipped into savings only once ... and we're almost done: our youngest has two years left. It's do-able.