Comments on: Do not assume that a scholarship will be given to current college student for being on dean s list

By: williAm

williAm — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:58:15 +0000

I felt bad, but also surprised because we were at an accepted students’ revisit day for an outstanding university. The father was well dressed with a professional appearance.

By: miss_Saraswati

miss_Saraswati — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:57:53 +0000

I can’t believe that parents actually believe this. Shows how out of touch I am. I guess magical thinking abounds.

By: cassi

cassi — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:57:01 +0000

I wonder if any high school guidance counselors routinely follow CC? It should be required! There is a lot of really good information here. I’ve attended more than one “college night” for D15 and now D19, and they are so basic that they aren’t really helpful. I really feel for kids that have no parent advocates – the process is fairly consuming. I also remember how clueless my parents were when it came to my kids – they assumed simply because we had smart African American daughters money would fall from the trees. I had to tell my Dad to stop filling my kids heads with visions of ivy leagues, because that was NOT our budget, and we would be considered full pay. Then I had to explain to them that our philosophy is even if we are full pay doesn’t mean we want to pay $280K for 1 kid (4 year ivy) versus $200K for 2 kids (4 yr in-state). I have had more than one passionate discussion with coworkers about the subject too.

By: flagg

flagg — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:56:34 +0000

More to the point: parents should expect their costs to increase over the time the student is in college. Tuition and room/board increase each year but merit scholarships at most schools stay fixed at the amount offered with the acceptance letter. (There are some schools that guarantee tuition stays the same all four years. And need-based aid will vary each year based on family income, of course. But generally you should expect to pay more senior year than you did freshman year.)

By: Pavlinka

Pavlinka — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:55:12 +0000

This process can be extremely stressful, especially considering how outrageous college costs have become. Couple that with most parents being guilty of thinking their kid is “special” (we all do it!) and problems can and do arise!
I’d like to add that what helped us was running the NPC for all the schools with our son. We were very upfront with him about what we’ve saved and the budget.
I think what has also helped is that we’ve been nothing but positive- we have no illusions of “prestige “ and having to get into a top school. He’s worked very hard and his application is very strong – he will thrive wherever he ends up. We just made it clear that finances must be considered, but that doesn’t equate to going to a lesser school. Also, you cant assume you’ll get merit.
Also, we didn’t have to contend with any dream school talk.

By: RefrainsFromPartakin

RefrainsFromPartakin — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 18:47:24 +0000

I don’t either!! That’s why this strange expectation was a surprise. And I’m not really saying that being on the Dean’s List is “the trigger for merit”. There was just an expectation that a high GPA would get rewarded by the school.

That said, I have seen parents and students post in the past asking if there would be a tuition reduction/scholarship for good grades in college. I don’t know if that happens in foreign colleges because often that question comes from int’l parents/students. They’ll say something like, “we can scrape together the costs for the first year, but after good grades freshman year, won’t the school give a scholarship?” Uh no.