A&M is highly competitive, and things have changed a lot. I was one of a handful of National Merits when I entered in 1967, and I had money thrown at me - true, tuition was only $50/semester - but I actually got money back each semester, and it increased each year.

Now I am teaching part-time at A&M, and I know that there is actually MORE money given out to students based on their A&M grades.

We fight for great students, and everything beyond admission (including scholarships) are competitive. The indicators about OP's kid show he will be successful at A&M, and if he is as involved in extracurricular as he is in class, he will be a super star, and his life will be one of hard work and great rewards.

He's standing on the shoulders of giants, he's not suffering financially, and he's about to become a golden guy if he continues his effort at the same level he had in HS. His glass is more than half-full, if he will only measure it.

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And, the Terry itself claims (in writing) 1 in 2 of every interview will receive some sort of award/aid.
- Neither my son nor his 2 classmates received anything which bucks Terry's own numbers.

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So your kid gets his brains from his mother, eh?



Seriously though I feel your pain but that's what sucks about other people's money, they make the rules. I think I'm gonna make my girls stay out on the tennis court for hours and never do homework while in high school. Seems like athletic schollies may be a littler easier to land.

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There are far too few merit based scholarships based on excellence now. And too many scholarships wasting dollars on feel good social programs.

That is a reflection on our society now though.

[This message has been edited by Gap (edited 6/3/2013 5:38p).]

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Every student at A&M already subsidizes one scholarship program or another. Actually, that is how all the schools do in nowadays. Take a bit of the tuition dollars to create their scholarship pool.

I seem to have limped back to this thread labeled as everything from "dead-on" to a "whiner"...

Texag_89 Jr. finished with about 70-75% of his potential college-cost nut covered, and I am damn proud of the Proudest Member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '17!!

Between future work study and undergrad research, he should be able to pay his way through - what a blessing!!

Thanks, Gig Em and BTHO Fish Year!

_89

OP,

What school does he go to? I might have missed it, but this is a big factor in determining how relevant that #1 ranking is. I hope your son isn't one of those people that "worked too hard in high school" and wants to take it easy in college (saw a few of those in my day). It's important to realize once he leaves college, nobody will care at all about high school.

The demand this year was higher than ever - thanks in part to JFF and the Heisman - and many scholarships are need-based. BUT, there are also a lot of scholarships and grants awarded to students who show great achievement WHILE at A&M. And of course the job options he'll have with an EE degree will in and of themselves make his choice an excellent one.

A&M offers a great value for its students, and I know there is some kind of automatic scholarship for valedictorians, the Terry scholarship is for those of limited means. I've known several Terry recipients who have used the opportunity to attend A&M to become tremendous successes in their fields.

This post mostly shows the need for more scholarship support by former students. The more we give, the more they can give away.

Get this...

Parents don't pay for a cent of my school. Parents can't claim me on their taxes but I have to claim them on financial aid. End result I get a better tax refund but still not enough money for school because the federal gov thinks my parents are gonna help out.

The criteria for being "independent" isn't consistent. The age for auto "independent" status is 23 btw otherwise you have to report your parents financial income no matter how much or little they give you.

GunRunner has it right...but, you'll find many more folks who would rather just lower interest rates as if that solves anything...

And, schools are pressured by society to have a 'social justice' impact. So, they will all have several academic merit-based scholarships to keep up the appearance of competitiveness. What they really want/need is full pay students - those independently wealthy enough to afford college. Until, of course, other pressures from the states will reduce the higher education state divestment (i.e., medicare, obamacare).

That's why you also see lots of schools heavily recruiting out of state, which you won't see in Texas because of the 10% rule. Instead, they'll just accept more and more students (over 10,000 incoming freshmen this year - also due to the 'Flutie Effect,' though).

Not saying it's fair, but the competing interests are causing it, not the schools themselves...

I don't get why more people don't go after local scholarships. Dumb smart kids I guess.

I applied for over 70+ scholarships and spent over $300 in transcripts. None of those were ones awarded by Texas A&M. I received two (a Presidential and another annual) from A&M. I ended up with another 9 scholarships from local places. I received a Business Women's scholarship and a Physicians for [insert town name here] as an incoming male business student.

I guess its a different view now than the one where I was going door to door selling Scout Show tickets to Texas Stadium. Do what you have to do and find a workaround.

I thought with a student body of 58k we were becoming a diploma mill?

[This message has been edited by E (edited 9/27/2013 10:55a).]

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He even heard in the before mentioned interview: “must be really nice to have such nice and rich relatives!!!!” Wow... Yep, they saved up a dozen or so thousand dollars over 20 years to help their grandchildren/great-nephew/great-niece with a little of their education – Rich my A$$!

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I'm not involved in interviews, but this is the kind of thing I might ask to see how the kid responded. If any hint of the "I should have coasted" post-interview attitude you describe came through during the interview, he might have sunk himself.

Claiming yourself independent of parent income is possible, it is just difficult to do.

I did it, but I had to show evidence I supported my parents with income (I had a business at the age of 18) and was no longer residing with them whatsoever.

The FAFSA website to this date still has this asterisk*

**If you do not have a determination that you are homeless, but you believe you are an unaccompanied youth who is homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, answer “No” to the FAFSA questions concerning being homeless. Then contact your financial aid office to explain your situation.

I havent lived with my mom since I was 16, and was taken in by my aunt and uncle (never adopted by them), but they pay for my school and everything. I still use my mom's <30,000$ federal taxes to apply for financial aid and I get some, but not much.

Just because I have an aunt and uncle with no children helping pay for school, doesnt mean I always want them to do so but I don't want massive debt. I wish there was more Merit based out there, regardless of race/socio-economic factors.

I dated a terry award recipient.

She was from rural New York. Raised on a dairy farm. Graduated valedictorian, played violin, ran track (and won), ran cross country (and won), scored a 15-something on the SAT, parents were dirt poor (I bought her groceries because she was broke), she worked two jobs at once (one for the school, tended bar for the other) to make it.

I'm sorry, but if you're as badass as that...I can understand making the award need-based.

[This message has been edited by boxerCX (edited 10/24/2013 8:53p).]

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I dated a terry award recipient.

She was from rural New York. Raised on a dairy farm. Graduated valedictorian, played violin, ran track (and won), ran cross country (and won), scored a 15-something on the SAT, parents were dirt poor (I bought her groceries because she was broke), she worked two jobs at once (one for the school, tended bar for the other) to make it.

I'm sorry, but if you're as badass as that...I can understand making the award need-based.

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Agreed. I scored a 1510 on the SAT and continuously got crap for being a minority (never claimed it, I am only slightly tanned) or an Athlete (1 yr), even though I was admitted post Hopwood where affirmative action was deemed illegal for admission.

For being such a great university, we do produce a bunch of entitlement whiners.

I had 40k in loans after graduating, best investment ever made. People think everything should be free for some reason.

Baby boomers are the biggest culprit of this and their kids take years if not decades to get sense knocked into them.

Ok.... OP here:

Said son, '89 jr, Class of '17, graduates tomorrow with a 3.98 in EE and with no debt and many thousands of dollars in his pocket, so I might have been a little miffed and perhaps over-reacted to the FASFA issue and perceived lack of merit-based scholarship opportunities..... My bad.

Congrats to all who become Former Students this weekend.

_89

A blue 'parachute' for you, parent! Many folks (especially on the anonymous internet) rush to judge, few admit when they've judged in error. While the system in place is not perfect, it does try to provide opportunities to students who come from all types of backgrounds. For some the opportunity needs to be at the very outset, for others (like your graduate) after admittance.

Congratulations to the graduate!

Golden boy only got a 3.98? Why no 4.0?

The OP is as embarrassing as I remember.

Congrats to your son.

Took him 4.5 years? Unless there was a semester off for a co-op, maybe the Terry Foundation was right.

Just realized this is all over with, congratulations on graduating.

I hope all of that hard work pays off for your son, and it WILL if not immediately. He has a very bright future ahead of him and (one more thing), he has EXCEPTIONAL parents and is a very lucky person. Best of luck, but he won't need it. :-)

aggie-master said:

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Once your kid turns 16 you should make them file their own taxes.

They would make them independent from their parents and therefore not associated with the parents income status.

If they are going to screw people out of scholarships then the screwing should go both ways.

A kid who has no financial backing, is all on his own, and has those grades/scores is basically guaranteed a full ride. Throw on a little brown blush before an interview and viola, you've just added diversity to your awesome list of accomplishments.

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That wouldn't work. He could do a murder/suicide to make the kid an orphan or encourage his kid to have a child or get married while in high school. Those things would allow him to exclude income from his parents on his FAFSA.

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Wow