College costs: Test scores make a difference!

[TexasHusker]

This probably isn't news to a lot of people, but it was certainly an eye opener to me: ACT and SAT scores translate into big bucks in scholarships.

My son is a high school senior, in approximately the top 25% of his high school in rank. Nothing to write home about. I just assumed we would be paying full retail for college as our income is too high.

Wrong.

He scored a 27 on a practice ACT, which translated into scholarships of anywhere from $4000 to $30,000 per year depending on the school.

So...we hired an ACT tutor for $1600 this summer to see if we could achieve a score of 30 on the ACT, which means A LOT more money.

He took it on Saturday and we should know his score on the 19th of September.

One school we were looking at is a very good state university but it is out of state. But even with only a 27 or 28 on the ACT, he could qualify for as much as $18,000 a year scholarship, bringing the bill down from $36,000 a year for everything, down to $18,000 a year. Incredible!

Test scores matter!

[disneysteve]

I just assumed we would be paying full retail for college

Virtually nobody pays "sticker price" for college. At most schools somewhere around 95% of students get some sort of aid.

Our daughter got a $19,000 merit scholarship based on grades/test scores. The school also has a grant they give each year starting in year 2 if you maintain a certain GPA. I think that was a couple thousand. She's also twice gotten a $3,000 English department scholarship based on her performance there.

I've told many people who are entering the college search process to pretty much ignore the listed price. Don't be scared off by that thinking you can't possibly afford it because odds are you won't actually pay anywhere near that amount.

[snafu]

Wishing DS well on ACT and SAT scores. Added to that, there are thousands and thousands of small awards and scholarships available that get very little attention. Nearly any application will result in some cash for very little effort but it's helpful to begin the process now. Further, it's far less expensive to take general curriculum for first two years at a local community college, having 1st verified all credit will l transfer to a 4 year program at the university of choice.
That step is critical. The local college is often a better transition choice for students who are easily 'beaten down' by the volume of responsibility piled on, away from home feeling everyone wants something and no one gives a dam in their new environment.

[Singuy]

Virtually nobody pays "sticker price" for college. At most schools somewhere around 95% of students get some sort of aid.

Our daughter got a $19,000 merit scholarship based on grades/test scores. The school also has a grant they give each year starting in year 2 if you maintain a certain GPA. I think that was a couple thousand. She's also twice gotten a $3,000 English department scholarship based on her performance there.

I've told many people who are entering the college search process to pretty much ignore the listed price. Don't be scared off by that thinking you can't possibly afford it because odds are you won't actually pay anywhere near that amount.

You are right that most students doesn't go to school paying sticker price. The sad part to that equation is that a lot of student do end up losing their scholarships because they can't maintain the gpa threshold after the first year. The lack of hand holding, extra credit, home works padding grades, and all that freedom/distractions really take a toll on new students.

[disneysteve]

The sad part to that equation is that a lot of student do end up losing their scholarships because they can't maintain the gpa threshold after the first year. The lack of hand holding, extra credit, home works padding grades, and all that freedom/distractions really take a toll on new students.

Any links to support that? I'd be interested in seeing the stats on how many students lose their scholarships.

At least in our case, our daughter was quite clear on the fact that if she lost her scholarship, she could not continue at that school. No way we would make up that $19,000/year for her. Thankfully, it hasn't been an issue. She had one rough semester where she was teetering on the 3.2 cutoff but she made it and has continued to improve since then. her GPA has risen each year and she should be graduating with honors in May.

[Singuy]

Here is just one type of scholarship called HOPE I found where massive amount of recipients lose their scholarship by the time they graduate. Roughly 3/10 keeps it throughout their college career, and 50% of the students lose it their first year.

http://www.ajc.com/news/local/few-hold-onto-hope-for-whole-time-college/PbzRQqroWD8XhHpqon5DbL/

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Good luck. Wow Singuy I had heard that people as well.

[TexasHusker]

Most of the scholarships we are looking at require that you keep a 3.0. That is a B average. He knows if he can't manage that, it's move-back-home time and attend locally.

Averaging a B at a university can't be that difficult.

[Nutria]

Here is just one type of scholarship called HOPE I found where massive amount of recipients lose their scholarship by the time they graduate. Roughly 3/10 keeps it throughout their college career, and 50% of the students lose it their first year.

http://www.ajc.com/news/local/few-ho...D8XhHpqon5DbL/

Speaking of hand holding... from the article: "our colleges are failing these students ... Georgia Gwinnett College, Southern Polytechnic and others require professors to call students, send e-mails or at least follow up when they don't show up for class or fall behind on assignments."

[disneysteve]

Most of the scholarships we are looking at require that you keep a 3.0. That is a B average. He knows if he can't manage that, it's move-back-home time and attend locally.

Averaging a B at a university can't be that difficult.

Our daughter has to maintain a 3.2 so the bar is slightly higher.

Sorry, but if you can't maintain a B average you probably don't belong there.

[moneybags]

One school we were looking at is a very good state university but it is out of state. But even with only a 27 or 28 on the ACT, he could qualify for as much as $18,000 a year scholarship, bringing the bill down from $36,000 a year for everything, down to $18,000 a year. Incredible!

Test scores matter!

FYI - when he applies and has all his scholarship offers, you can request additional scholarship funds or ask your school of choice to match your other offer(s). We did this with both kids. First try, top 20 university, did not work. Second try, less prestigious school, he got bumped up to the next level scholarship.

[disneysteve]

FYI - when he applies and has all his scholarship offers, you can request additional scholarship funds or ask your school of choice to match your other offer(s). We did this with both kids. First try, top 20 university, did not work. Second try, less prestigious school, he got bumped up to the next level scholarship.

Also be aware that this is one of the places where private schools often make more sense than public schools. Many private schools have huge endowments and really robust scholarship programs. In the end, the "expensive" private school may turn out to be about the same price as the "cheaper" public school.

[TexasHusker]

Also be aware that this is one of the places where private schools often make more sense than public schools. Many private schools have huge endowments and really robust scholarship programs. In the end, the "expensive" private school may turn out to be about the same price as the "cheaper" public school.

We have found this to be true to an extent. But the "big" privates in Texas - TCU, SMU, Baylor, Trinity, and Rice, are all big bucks regardless.

He qualifies for $20,000 a year from SMU, which takes his cost from $74K to only $54K. Obviously he's not attending SMU.

In November, he is taking a comprehensive battery of aptitude/interest tests. Apparently, this series of tests also identifies what environment that you learn the best, which helps you identify colleges that you prefer, versus those that you might not.

A friend of mine, his son was set on going to the University of Texas. But he took this same battery of tests, and it showed he did much better in small classrooms, with more hands-on and visual learning than auditory. It also showed that he had a strong love for music but he had no aptitude for it. Be he did have an aptitude for business. So...he ended up at Belmont University in Nashville with a degree in Music Business! He's become a very successful businessman in the Nashville music scene, so that is a success story!

[disneysteve]

We have found this to be true to an extent. But the "big" privates in Texas - TCU, SMU, Baylor, Trinity, and Rice, are all big bucks regardless.

He qualifies for $20,000 a year from SMU, which takes his cost from $74K to only $54K. Obviously he's not attending SMU.

And if I'm not mistaken, aren't state schools in Texas very inexpensive?

For us, DD's private university is 52K. The nearby state school is about 34K. HOWEVER, DD gets a $19,000 merit scholarship along with a couple of smaller things. So in the end, we're actually probably paying a bit less for the small private university than we would be paying for the huge state school.

[TexasHusker]

And if I'm not mistaken, aren't state schools in Texas very inexpensive?

For us, DD's private university is 52K. The nearby state school is about 34K. HOWEVER, DD gets a $19,000 merit scholarship along with a couple of smaller things. So in the end, we're actually probably paying a bit less for the small private university than we would be paying for the huge state school.

The state schools here are quite reasonable - anywhere from $16-$25K depending on which one.

But you only get $3-4K a year for your test scores.

We are actually looking at Oklahoma State. It would be around $35K a year, but he would likely get at least $10K of that knocked off for scholarships, and as much as $18K if he qualifies for a specific scholarship.

University of Nebraska is $34K but after scholarships he could get it down to around $23K. That's a 10 hour drive though so I'm not real hip on that one.

There is a good, medium sized university (10K enrollment) about 15 miles from here. Selfishly I'd love for him to attend there because I could see him all the time and it would be a lot cheaper, but I don't know that that is good for him.