On a Brighter Note....

[Beth]

My son has now heard from all the colleges he applied to and got 2 scholarships offers yesterday --one a second from the same school he already had one at. We are trying to pare down from our own version of the final four. I don't know if he's going to need shorts and sandals or wool sweaters, but the most stressful part -- waiting -- is mostly behind us now. :)

[wallycat]

CONGRATS!!!!
How exciting it must be for the family!!

[PurplePotato]

Very good news!

I vote for shorts and sandals. Walking across campus in the winter royally s*cks.

[DeeK]

Congrats!

Now the excitement of getting ready to go begins! Have fun! :)

[SDMomChef]

My son has now heard from all the colleges he applied to and got 2 scholarships offers yesterday --one a second from the same school he already had one at. We are trying to pare down from our own version of the final four. I don't know if he's going to need shorts and sandals or wool sweaters, but the most stressful part -- waiting -- is mostly behind us now. :)

Congrats!! That must be a huge relief! Were his scholarships academic, sports or both? Mom needs to brag a little bit more to us! :D

[Beth]

Very good news!

I vote for shorts and sandals. Walking across campus in the winter royally s*cks.

That would be my choice as well. I was telling DH that I didn't think DS realizes he could still be walking to classes in snow and that what he will consider winter will start in September or October. It's one thing to visit a campus and see it in January and another to live with it 6-7 months of the year.

It's funny to hear what his friends are telling him -- go there because it's gorgeous/don't go there because you won't get any work done. :D

[Beth]

He has 3 scholarships on the table. One is academic and another is in music at the same school. The third is merit at a school where he applied under music performance. They give money for National Merit -- so maybe both? Not sure if the other two will offer anything yet, but one recruited him, so I hope they would.

Last night, DS said, money aside, he was probably down to the one that recruited him and one of the two that has money on the table. I hope he can make that choice on a more level playing field, but it will still be a tough choice.

[donleyk]

Great news Beth!

[lindrusso]

Congrats!

Which music school? Or PM if you don't want to list it here.

It's also heartening to hear that he did get some money offers. I have my fingers crossed for us. :)

I can't wait to be where you are next year - finally knowing. :) It's already driving me crazy looking at these astronomical figures for tuition - even for the smaller schools that aren't terribly selective - even of those schools was at about $47k total per year! :eek: If he doesn't get any money thrown at him or if tuition exchange does not work out, it will be a really rough go.

[RiverFarm]

Many congratulations, Beth! What a good feeling to know that that suspense is behind you and he has some excellent choices!

[Beth]

I was going through some paperwork and trying to clear a surface -- I found two others at schools he has crossed off the list. They were the two he never got the music audition recordings to. Audition season is brutal -- at least it was for us.

[SusanL]

What anxiety to go through selecting a college. Congrats and we can't wait to hear the news!

[Jessica]

Congrats! I went to school in Minnesota--sandals would have been nice but sweaters work, too. :)

[SDMomChef]

I was going through some paperwork and trying to clear a surface -- I found two others at schools he has crossed off the list. They were the two he never got the music audition recordings to. Audition season is brutal -- at least it was for us.

Big hand on forehead .... how could I so quickly forget music and arts when I have a flute player on my hands! That's just great - I hope he feels really good about his accomplishments!

[LakeMartinGal]

Congratulations, Beth! That is a big load off your mind, I know. Whatever decision your DS makes, I'm sure it will be the right one for him! Congrats to him for being an outstanding student and musician!!!:cool:

[BarbaraL]

Congratulations to your DS! How exciting!

I'd probably vote for warm and sunny, but I'm from the North. If he's always lived in the South, a change might be fun.

Another thing to consider is the travel expenses, planning, etc. DD didn't want to have to deal with airlines at the big holidays, nor not being able to come home for short breaks. Her college friend from California came home with her for Easter (and other friends for Thanksgiving and other holidays) because it was too short a break to go home.

My friend's daughter and my nephew both opted for far-away schools (Pennsylvania from California, and Texas from Maryland, respectively); they both brought little from home and purchased dorm stuff and supplies locally to avoid shipping. Both love(d) their schools, by the way.

[Beth]

All of the final four are out of state. That seemed to be a top priority. He has 3 in state options, but none are interesting enough to him. Not even when we said we weren't going to buy another car util we saw where he was going to school. In Texas, he'd need one and out of state, probably not. Didn't matter. :D

[syzygy]

Congrats, Beth to your son for his hard-earned accomplishments. What an exciting time! I hope he has an easier time making his decision than my daughter did -- she weighed and waited until the last possible moment between 2 of the schools. It was a very tense time and almost worse, I think, than waiting for the acceptance letters. My son was much easier. He was accepted at all the schools he applied to but had one clear favorite and it was a very simple decision for him.

[tbb113]

Congrats!

Which music school? Or PM if you don't want to list it here.

It's also heartening to hear that he did get some money offers. I have my fingers crossed for us. :)

I can't wait to be where you are next year - finally knowing. :) It's already driving me crazy looking at these astronomical figures for tuition - even for the smaller schools that aren't terribly selective - even of those schools was at about $47k total per year! :eek: If he doesn't get any money thrown at him or if tuition exchange does not work out, it will be a really rough go.

Many private schools come through with hefty financial aid (grants/scholarships). My out of pocket for Alex is 10K plus he has a small federal loan and I have a 4k federal loan. Total cost is estimated at 53K a year for him, so I'm not complaining!

[tbb113]

I was listening to some guy pushing his new book about college selection on the radio over the weekend and thought about you.

He said to make sure your son considers the culture of the college. Is it cool to be smart? Is it the norm to have drunken parties? What happens on the weekends? etc.

Also, he made the point that airfare balanced out the cost of car ownership and that people who don't have cars on campus usually have better grades. Since they can't easily get away, they study more :D

And I agree....shorts and sandals beat cold any day! This is from an ex-Chicagoan who went to Arizona State for college ;)

[swedish cook]

Great news Beth! Congratulations to your DS. It's wonderful to be recruited.
Regarding a car, do you know of any parking limitations on campus?

tbb113, I sure know what you mean about Arizona. DD1 went to college in Chicago. Her first winter included a period when they were checking students for frost-bites as they entered buildings.

[Beth]

And I agree....shorts and sandals beat cold any day! This is from an ex-Chicagoan who went to Arizona State for college ;)

Ah-- Arizona State. Thats another one that would have given him a full scholarship, but he wasn't interested -- for Alysha's note.


Regarding a car, do you know of any parking limitations on campus?

Not looking at it for now, because he won't have a car for at least a year or two at any of them.

As far as being recruited, it was pretty much one school that had a program that got his interest and then others just based on SAT scores as far as we can tell. If we had limited his options to those that would have offered him the most scholarship, he would have a number of good choices -- just not the music ones he wanted.

He talked to a teacher at the school that recruited him tonight. I think he was leaning in that direction, but it doesn't sound like the chances of his getting comparable financial aid are good. We need to look into that further and he needs to talk to some folks at another school too. I think this may be one of those that goes to the last day.

[tbb113]

You might be surprised what the school will offer in financial aid. We live in a very affluent area but my income isn't. Because of this, the HS didn't think to file the papers needed for Alex to qualify for a Cal Grant (nor did we know to file for it). His initial financial award letter included the Cal Grant. We let the school know that Alex didn't get the grant and Chapman came up with an additional grant to make up the shortfall. :)

If the school is his first choice, let them know that and see if they can come up with additional money.

[1grl1by]

It sounds like he is a good place to make decisions. We're two years out from that and already getting anxious! Congratulations to your son!

[Lauren]

Beth - congratulations to your son! My younger son is a senior, so we're going through it, too. He applied to 6 schools for PharmD and got into 5. A merit scholarship helped him to decide between #1 and #2 choices. He's made his decision and we sent in the deposit. Whew!

[Beth]

Congrats to you and your son! I don't know how we are going to get there. If I say more than that I'll rattle on and on. I have to get on to some other things today, but the stress is building again. I've already told my younger son he gets to apply to no more than 3 schools. ;) :D

[BarbaraL]

Could your son contact his high school guidance department, and possibly get the names of previous students attending (or have recently attended) any of the schools he's interested in? Maybe he could speak with some of them and get some insider information.

The college admissions departments may also have names of students he can contact. My DD was a college tour guide, and talked to students on and off her tours about the school.

I'm sure your son will get a great education and have a wonderful time at whichever school he chooses. Stay calm!

[MusicMom]

I've been wondering how the process was going for you. Congrats to him for the offers! Let us know what he decides.

I'm glad to know that people actually get through the whole audition year- it's daunting for us just beginning our visits!