College Search for future Sorority Girl

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by HQWest

Some folks have been unpleasantly surprised to find strict rules on what gpa you must maintain every semester in order to keep your scholarship or that the school can reserve the right reevaluate your financial status - I.e. a merit scholarship to get you there and the amount reduced after your first year.

Yep, the old bait-and-switch. It's fairly common, since schools want to improve their yield (the percentage of accepted students who attend).

I didn't realize that the OP's daughter is an IB student--yay! After finishing the diploma programme, I found college to be a breeze.

Also, I don't feel comfortable providing shameless plugs for either of my alma maters anymore.

[Go Alpha Gam]

Thank you so much for the invaluable information. Yes, my daughter is an IB diploma candidate - very well-rounded and excellent academic ability! I will keep you posted, I do think my daughter has an excellent chance at a full-ride instate, and we will know more in December. Tonight she started more scholarship apps at Alabama (UFE). My Alpha Gam Quarterly arrived today and had a blurb about the new house at U of Alabama, and I made sure my daughter read it!!! I don't want it to sound like I'm pulling teeth for her to attend Alabama, she is definitely interested, but is interested in others at this time, too. Only time will tell . . . and the story continues!! : )

[Go Alpha Gam]

Ok, we are now at a final three and looking for advice! DD was accepted at U of Michigan (have no idea if and when merit aid will be received). If you know of anyone receiving merit aid from Michigan and can let me know approximately when they were awarded it (month, etc.) I would be grateful. Accepted and received full tuition at University of Alabama. Accepted and received the Centralis Scholarship at Central Michigan University (Full Tuition, Room & Board, Books, Partial Study Abroad). She is happy with all three, but if money were no object, I'm sure she would choose U of M. She will be studying Biology and Spanish, with plans on medical school. She is definitely interested in a GLO, and conveniently, all three schools have an Alpha Gam Chapter (just lucky for me). So, any advice would be appreciated on how to go about making this decision! I'm hoping she can figure things out soon, as she needs to let CMU know if she will be attending, and needs to submit housing info for Alabama ASAP if that is where she is going! Thanks everyone!!!

[Titchou]

One thing you might toss into the mix is where she wants to go for med school. Are any of these 3 ones that would help get her into that med school? Just something to think about as she narrows her choices. OR, she might want 2 entirely different experiences. Though if she has any idea of a specialty at this point, that might be a consideration as well.

[DubaiSis]

Wow. Good for her; that's impressive. The good news is she can't go wrong. I'm partial to Big 10, but if memory serves me correctly U of M has a tendency to be a little stingy, and I think finances should play a big role in her decision, especially when all of her choices are good. It will hopefully teach her life lessons about choices and that money matters.

Don't forget travel issues! I just did a cursory check of flights, and remarkably, flights Detroit to Birmingham aren't bad. Expect $400-500 per round trip flight. That still adds up, but at least there are reasonable options.

[Sciencewoman]

U of M is stingy. They don't really need to use merit to lure top students, as they're already the top choice for many strong Michigan students. They do have some merit aid for first generation college students and other underrepresented groups, but the descriptions make it sound like most of those students would also qualify for significant need-based aid. My own experience interviewing students for merit aid has led me to believe that it is mainly used as a lure, not as a reward.

[AGDLynn]

I can't remember if I found what state you are from.

My AGD sister-daughter has a daughter who is also from out of state with acceptance to Alabama.

What a trip if they are in the same NM class!

[Go Alpha Gam]

Originally Posted by Titchou

One thing you might toss into the mix is where she wants to go for med school. Are any of these 3 ones that would help get her into that med school? Just something to think about as she narrows her choices. OR, she might want 2 entirely different experiences. Though if she has any idea of a specialty at this point, that might be a consideration as well.

Thanks, didn't really think of that. Need to start looking into their med-school acceptances from their school. Honestly, what we have heard is that getting into med school is difficult anywhere, so getting in ANYWHERE for med school is a WIN! She has no idea on a specialty yet.

[Go Alpha Gam]

Originally Posted by AGDLynn

I can't remember if I found what state you are from.

My AGD sister-daughter has a daughter who is also from out of state with acceptance to Alabama.

What a trip if they are in the same NM class!

We are from Michigan, a long 12-hour drive to Alabama!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Go Alpha Gam

Ok, we are now at a final three and looking for advice! DD was accepted at U of Michigan (have no idea if and when merit aid will be received). If you know of anyone receiving merit aid from Michigan and can let me know approximately when they were awarded it (month, etc.) I would be grateful. Accepted and received full tuition at University of Alabama. Accepted and received the Centralis Scholarship at Central Michigan University (Full Tuition, Room & Board, Books, Partial Study Abroad). She is happy with all three, but if money were no object, I'm sure she would choose U of M. She will be studying Biology and Spanish, with plans on medical school. She is definitely interested in a GLO, and conveniently, all three schools have an Alpha Gam Chapter (just lucky for me). So, any advice would be appreciated on how to go about making this decision! I'm hoping she can figure things out soon, as she needs to let CMU know if she will be attending, and needs to submit housing info for Alabama ASAP if that is where she is going! Thanks everyone!!!

Congrats to her on the Centralis Scholarship!

At the accepted student days in January and February, they tell you that scholarships will be awarded in February and March. We received our financial aid package in March, I believe. Each college does their merit awards separately so nursing students and engineering students get their scholarship awards at different times.

I don't remember if your daughter did a summer college program out of state, but if she did, you need to fill out the proof of residency forms. They slated Hypo and Sciencewoman's daughter both as non-residents because of their out of state summer college programs.

U of M is stingy. It is unlikely she will get a full ride as she has at Central and 'Bama. How willing are you to lose a couple hundred dollars deposit to give her time to make the decisions?

She would probably get the highest GPA at CMU. But she may also find courses to not be very challenging too. That was my experience at EMU. You might see if you can find stats on MCAT scores from those schools too.

[PhiAlpha05]

Originally Posted by BlueCarnation

Agreed that you don't need recs at Michigan. You just don't.

And if you're from the state of Michigan, why go anywhere else but UofM?

Agreed! (Though if I were her, and if she got into Stanford, I'd have a hard time turning that down...I hate Michigan winters...)

Originally Posted by AGDee

She is NOT going to Ohio State. Just sayin'. LOL

Originally Posted by Go Alpha Gam

Ok, we are now at a final three and looking for advice! DD was accepted at U of Michigan (have no idea if and when merit aid will be received). If you know of anyone receiving merit aid from Michigan and can let me know approximately when they were awarded it (month, etc.) I would be grateful.

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

U of M is stingy. They don't really need to use merit to lure top students, as they're already the top choice for many strong Michigan students.

I wouldn't hold my breath for a lot of money from U of M, honestly. I came in with a 4.0 (not IB, but with several APs, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Finalist, etc), 33 ACT, 1420 SAT, double alumni legacy (from the Dearborn campus, maybe, but they didn't make that distinction in the 70s) and all I got from them was a $1500 flat scholarship. Luckily, my parents were dead set on my attending U of M so they were willing to help out, but I definitely would've gotten a lot more money elsewhere (AZ State wanted to pay my way completely just for the Nat'l Merit thing, for example)

[gamecockgirl]

I may be a little bias..but I say U of SC! (South Carolina, that is)! Greek life is huge, the Greek Village is amazing (google it), and the Biology department is well respected as well! There are huge scholarship opportunities. If she is interested in schools like Duke and Vanderbilt, I'm assuming she's got top notch grades, meaning I could almost assure you Carolina would give her enough scholarship money to allow her to be paying SC in-state tuition. Just a suggestion!

[Go Alpha Gam]

Happy New Year Everyone! My daughter is definitely going to either University of Alabama or Central Michigan University. I know these two schools are so different, especially the Greek Systems at each school! I thought she was sold on Bama but she is still not sure. I'm sure the distance from home is playing into her decision. She is finishing her sorority resume and securing recs in case she goes to Alabama (which I think is likely), and we are hoping to attend Alabama's Preview Weekend in February (she has a conflict which we are waiting on). Thank you so much for everyone's support and suggestions. Either way, I can't wait to share my DD's recruitment story (after it is over, of course!) Will keep you posted when she makes the FINAL decision. Then I will go out and buy everything for that school . . . can't wait!

[Old_Row]

Originally Posted by Go Alpha Gam

Happy New Year Everyone! My daughter is definitely going to either University of Alabama or Central Michigan University. I know these two schools are so different, especially the Greek Systems at each school! I thought she was sold on Bama but she is still not sure. I'm sure the distance from home is playing into her decision. She is finishing her sorority resume and securing recs in case she goes to Alabama (which I think is likely), and we are hoping to attend Alabama's Preview Weekend in February (she has a conflict which we are waiting on). Thank you so much for everyone's support and suggestions. Either way, I can't wait to share my DD's recruitment story (after it is over, of course!) Will keep you posted when she makes the FINAL decision. Then I will go out and buy everything for that school . . . can't wait!

I don't think there's any choice here.

[AGDee]

And there are Alpha Gam chapters at both schools I must say, I'm a little envious of that!