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RednBlue11 wrote:

tristatecoog wrote:Calallen, what qualifies as a full ride? Full tuition or including R&B? Did you get a sense that Tulane was working hard to get its competitiveness back up after Katrina or that it hasn't missed a beat?

the two highest scholarships at SMU are the presidential and the Hunt

Presidential = Tuition paid in full including R&B

Hunt = Equivalent of in-state tuition for wherever that individual is coming from and i believe (but i am not sure) R&B.

I did not know SMU had instate and out of state costs

tristatecoog wrote:Calallen, what qualifies as a full ride? Full tuition or including R&B? Did you get a sense that Tulane was working hard to get its competitiveness back up after Katrina or that it hasn't missed a beat?

Tulane definitely worked hard to keep its competitiveness at the same level, but I would say that it has not dropped significantly in the post-Katrina landscape (probably due to that hard work).

I consider a full ride to be full tuition - too many students live off campus to consider room and board as part of a full ride - I consider R&B to be more than a full ride. At SMU, I received the Hunt Scholarship plus several smaller scholarships that brought the level of aid to the amount of the President's Scholarship (I interviewed for both and the school wanted to give me the President's Scholarship, but Nancy Hunt was in my interview for the Hunt Scholarship and told the school that she wanted me in her program).

smupony94 - SMU doesn't have in-state and out-of-state costs; however, the Hunt Scholarship decreases the tuition liability of its honorees to the level of the in-state tuition at the leading public university in the state of the student's residence (for Texas, UT-Austin is used).

Good info. I recruit BBAs at SMU and couldn't figure out the ranking of the different scholarships. Same is true for MBAs, unless someone says full tuition scholarship.

BTW, it still seems that SMU is cool for those with money. In 1986, no one from my high school (Lufkin) went to SMU, but someone with lots of $$ went to SMU from Henderson HS around that time. Of course, Brookshire is one of the big wig donors to the football program.

Good article. I went to UH on a big scholarship after my dad said that private school is better suited for grad school (when it counts). It was sort of similar to Alanna in the article because I went into the Honors College. An HC at a public university is a great option. That said, a school like UNT or UH doesn't get anywhere close to the quality of companies recruiting on campus that SMU or UT does. And SMU offers a lot more personal attention than UT.

Community college is a cheap but tough option. You're surrounded by a lot of people that do not plan to go to the next level and you miss out on two great years that could've been spent at a four year university. Also, community college doesn't really prepare you for the rigors of a four year university. A relative of mine that lives in Bryan plans to go the Blinn route for the first two years. Are we doing better than our parents?

Peruna2001 wrote:Interesting article...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/062909dnmetcollegedreams.41de16b.html

It seems like a lot of Dallas kids are having to settle for UNT because of cost.

I've got some problems with the first girl profiled in this DMN story. First, if she scored "almost perfectly" on her SAT, then there should be lots of schools offering her scholarships. Think maybe she's exaggerating about that "almost perfect" SAT score? You'd think UT-Tyler would be falling all over themselves to get a kid with a near-perfect SAT. (Sounds to me like she put all her eggs into William and Mary and didn't have much of a backup plan)

And then the mom said she thought sending her kids to such a "superlative" school system would help them get into college. Frisco???? I'm sure it's a nice school system - you could certainly do a lot worse - but I doubt it's considered one of the premiere ISDs in the Dallas area. Or even in Collin County.

And Wakeland HS is fairly new. It probably doesn't have much of a track record with colleges yet. Parents, at least those who can choose where they move, really need to do their homework. Just because an area is a booming suburb with lots of nice, new houses doesn't guarantee a great school system. A district like Frisco, where they open a new high school every year, is just trying to catch up to its population.

I have no doubt it's a much tougher economic climate for prospective college students these days, but that first profile of the Frisco kid doesn't quite add up. A kid like that should have better options than Quad-C, or else her guidance counselor really screwed up. I don't think it's just the economy.

The first girl with the near-perfect SAT could have found a school that gives a full scholarship based solely on high SAT scores (those do exist, and W&M is not one of them - neither is SMU).

Sounds to me like she was all SAT scores and AP classes and nothing else. It takes more than great stats - you also have to be very involved in extracurriculars as well as gifted in communication skills - the most important aspect of receiving a scholarship at a highly selective university like W&M (or moderate-to-high like SMU) is communication. There are 100 other students whose stats look the same as yours - what sets you apart?

1) Your essay
2) Your interview
(and, of course, extracurriculars, which function mostly as talking points for your interview, as the interviewers probe your interests)

Parents who are preparing your children for college, please take note: the thing that will increase your child's chances for a scholarship is allowing them to follow their passions, because those stories will play out in the essay and the interview. Grades and test scores are important, but if your child focuses on grades and test scores at the expense of their passions, it will cost them in the long run.

One other thing, don't buy "How to Go to College Almost for Free" by Kaplan. I read bits of that in a bookstore, and it was full of things like "On your application, write that you wish to pursue a major that the school doesn't have many students in." Did it earn the author $1 million in scholarship offers? Yes. But it was also dishonest. I earned $1.2 million in scholarship offers, and I did it the honest way.

Sadly, the economy has hit a lot of schools giving scholarships this year in addition to the families. True, I think that the first girl probably could have done a little more to get some money if her scores on her tests were outstanding. However, a lot of schools probably didn't give money to those that didn't have the "need". If her family had medical expenses, the schools might have not considered that while awarding scholarships. The FAFSA is based off of last year's income. That income could be significantly different than this year's. While you can resubmit if there is a significant difference, not all families know that.

Either way, it's not as easy for the middle class and upper-middle class to go to private schools as it might have been a few years ago. I know of a couple of kids that wanted to go to SMU, but the money wasn't coming for them.

Ya'll may want my 2 cents as a resident of Atlanta and a parent of 2 high school children. My kids attend one of the top private high schools in Atlanta. I have had numerous conversations with parents and students regarding their college choices since my son went through the process this year. I'm here to report that from my perspective, SMU is very much a "cool" school.

SMU is a very popular choice for Atlanta kids. At my children's high school, 10 or so kids apply each year and 4 or 5 regularly attend the school. The academic reputation, the small size and Dallas are the main draws. Rice and SMU are the only schools in Texas that attract much local interest. Austin is obviously a great school but it is viewed as only a school for Texans. (TCU is not on the radar screen for the students and parents I talk to). SMU recruited my son, an engineering major, very hard and I was extremely impressed with the school during the process. Ultimately he decided to attend Georgia Tech but I gained an appreciation of SMU in the process.

On the other hand, my younger daughter's first, second and third choices for college are SMU. She is an aspiring dance major and dreams of attending the Meadows School of Arts. One of her dance instructors is an alumus and is selling the school hard. I look forward to visiiting the school with her.

Finally, as a UNC alum, I'm following closely the coaching career of Matt Doherty. I am a classmate of his.

Cheers

As a recent graduate of SMU (Class of 2006) and someone who came from a middle class family background, the commitment my folks made in terms of money that wasn't covered by my scholarships was still VERY significant. However, within three years of graduating I am at a position in my career here in Dallas that I would have never dreamed possible as a senior in high school. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it doable? Completely doable. If you can see the value in an education that goes beyond the classroom and into real-world use (i.e. job interviews, networking, etc.) then you will have no problem forking over the money. SMU charges what they do b/c there is a market out there who is willing to pay it. Not to mention us alumni are seeing the value of our education rise by the day with the wonderful additions being made to campus.