ZoneClub said:

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The Galen Brown's and the individual that runs the Terry Foundation are from the same area of Houston. I'd reach out to both. PM me for their contact info.

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Pretty sure the Terry Scholars have to be Texas residents and have graduated from a Texas High School.

Yes that is correct for Terry.

This is Colonel Sam Hawes from Corps of Cadets recruiting. It is not too late for him to be considered for Corps Scholarships and with his credentials I'm sure he would do great on our scholarship board. He does not need to have any previous JROTC experience and there is no military obligation for joining. 31% of our cadets are in the College of Engineering and we have many honors students as well. 20% of our cadets are out of state and we'd love to have him as well. He can contact me directly at shawes@corps.tamu.edu if he wants more info.

Howdy, Yes the Corps of Cadets has scholarships, over 2,000 total starting at $1,200 per year and up to over $4,000 per year. They are competitive university scholarships and count towards the $4k in state tuition waiver. As long as the student completed the scholarship application (sounds like he did), he can be considered.
FYI: this year's freshman class for the Corps is 44% Engineer, and our cadets get better grades than the rest of the university.

Thank y'all so much. Up to this point, he has not felt like the Corps would be a fit for him, but we will talk about it some more. We've read up on it quite a bit, and we do agree that it is an amazing institution, even if he chooses not to take that route.

Prescient said:

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The Student Financial Aid Office still will be your best resource, and I would be absolutely stunned if they didn't guide you to the Brown Scholars program.

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Since your post last week, we've been going nonstop for my son's robotics competition. We just got in, and it was a great experience. They didn't place as well as they did last year, but they learned new things with each match, and they came home happy, feeling pretty good about it, in general. We were running on very little sleep the entire time, but in his spare moments, he's done a little research to find contact information for Craig Brown, but will look harder tonight and tomorrow, now that he's home. He has a letter ready to send (he excitedly wrote it on the drive to competition), and he is considering just mailing it if he doesn't make any headway on finding an email address. Email would be so much faster, but a nice, hard copy might be nice as well. We will see how it goes now that he can focus and look.

I just wanted to mention that we have not contacted the SFAID office again since Aggieland Saturday. Prior to that day, he called several times to ask for options or advice, but felt he was a bother and was given the exact same answer, whether by email, phone, or in person. They just kept saying that they were sorry, but all of the University funds had been awarded, and his only hope would be a departmental scholarship from general engineering. They never suggested the Brown Scholars program, and although it is a glimmer of hope, we know this is very late in the process.

I would imagine that departmental scholarships will have to go out really soon, and we haven't seen anything, nor have we heard of any others who are also hoping for something. I know the waivers can only be given to 5% of students, so we're hoping they aren't all given out yet. Again, not giving up hope until there is no other choice.

Good morning, and thank you. You're right that he should probably see it up close before making his final decision. It's been so difficult to watch this play out, and I really do appreciate your help and advice.

This has been interesting for me to read.
I'm familiar with a similar situation for someone who has similar scores to your son....they think they will be very close to the $4000 mark, out of state student that wants to be at A&M, 35 on ACT, but not an engineering interest, and generally frustrated with the jump from $1000 to $4000.

As of now, they are leaning TCU because of the Chancellor's Award providing a complete tuition scholarship.
However, they are still waiting on A&M.

It is definitely a tough situation, especially for our kids who would have more than satisfied the requirement had this been a year ago. It changed the week after he sent in his application. Pretty disheartening.

I spoke with someone in the Financial Aid office today who said that most of the out of state kids he's received calls from since the major scholarships were awarded are saying that they received 0-$2000, and he's only had 2-3 say they were as close to the $4000 mark as my son and the student you know. I'd love to know how many are within a few hundred dollars. All I can think is that they are letting the departments decide if the students are up to the challenge. My son is ready to accept that challenge. And if he gets there and finds that he isn't as ready as he thinks, he's so crazy tenacious and smart that he will work hard to do what it takes. But, he is up for it. He just needs to be given the chance to prove it. When I see how determined he is with such a full plate, I can't help but go to bat for him. He never backs down on his commitments. He keeps a full schedule with his EC's and volunteer work and somehow still manages straight A's in all AP and DE classes this year. I wear something maroon every day (including toenail polish), hoping Karma can sense how badly he wants this. I know....it's making me crazy.

Unfortunately the Brown scholarships are by invitation; they involve an interview and they have all been awarded already.

Yes, that's correct about the Brown Scholars. More than anything, we're just looking for ideas that we may have not thought of. Keeping fingers crossed that things go well with the departmental ones and that we know soon.

I strongly encourage you to evaluate the requirements that are attached to each one. Many of those academic scholarships come with a GPA requirement, and some are as high as a 3.5. I know many believe their child can obtain and maintain that for the duration of their college career. However, when I was there, our data showed about 65% of the students who were awarded as freshmen retained those awards for all four years.

Now that is excellent considering about 17-18% of the student body earns a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. So this is something to consider when you do make your final decision.

Also, for the family deciding between a full ride at TCU or TAMU, go with TCU. It's become a hotbed for out of state talent, and they're quickly growing their facilities. The only edge TAMU has over them are our STEM majors. Outside of that, the school is situated in a very beautiful part of town, gorgeous campus, small classes, big time athletics, and has a small campus of 12,000 students. TCU is making a conscious effort to limit their undergraduate enrollment to 10,000, thus becoming more selective with each passing year. There are very few schools that fit this profile, and the Chancellor's Award is an excellent program for those selected.

Yes, we have really kept an eye on the 3.5 GPA requirement, and even though he can't make a decision to attend until we know about the waiver, he's already started doing his homework, asking current students for their advice on keeping his GPA above a 3.5. We've heard horror stories of kids who were at the top of their high school classes struggling in engineering , but even if he struggles, he feels confident that he can do this and is striving for an even higher GPA to pad for upper level classes. I really do believe that intelligence is only one part of the battle. His hard work and tenacity is what's going to push him over the top. He has the natural ability to excel academically, but he brings a serious amount of grit to the table. He doesn't give up when he encounters a problem, and that characteristic also applies to his schoolwork. When he feels that he is missing something, he goes over it and over it until he has that foundation and then moves forward.

Still, you are absolutely correct in that it is not an easy task. The last thing he would want to do is drop below a 3.5 and lose his scholarships. It's just not him. As a mom watching this from the outside, part of me also thinks the rigor and high expectations contribute greatly to the reasons he wants to be there. High standards in a high achieving environment is what really makes him bring his best. It's evident from his grades in high school going up as his classes became more challenging. I really appreciate your comments, because not everyone realizes the difficulty involved with keeping those scholarships!

Congrats!

Friend asked about Aggieland Bound Scholarship, and I thought I'd share for those who need a little extra. It's not considered competitive, so it doesn't count toward the OOS waiver, but it does add a little extra, and every bit helps!! My son received it in his portal and I called to confirm why he received it. It was in response to a letter we emailed SFAID showing an offer from an in state school, and when I called to ask for more details, they said that they award these on a first come first served basis. He was very happy to receive it for sure!

I got confirmation that the engineering departmental scholarships are pushed back again, but they say offers will be made this week, and we should all know for sure by the end of next week. I know we're not the only ones who check the Financial Portal like crazy, so I thought I'd share for others waiting.

The Corps of Cadets is the best decision I ever made. If he wants to be an Aggie so bad, I don't understand why not the Corps?

I have a 5 year old and twin 3year old. I live in Kansas City and hope they change the $4000 requirement in the next 12 years.

Sad for a lot of us Ags who live out of state due to military service or corporate America moving us around...I was 8 years USAF Pilot, 10 years with JNJ and moved more with JNJ.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice! We definitely take it all to heart!!

The CORPS also get to take very easy military science courses that help to inflate the GPA.

All I know is that with all of this talk, I want to go back in time 25 years and be an Aggie! So many things to be proud of! Thanks again, everyone!

ZoneClub said:

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Because being an Aggie and being in the CORPS are mutually exclusive events. Being in the CORPS doesn't make you more of an Aggie.

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Never said it didn't?

It's like saying you are starving, but don't want to eat the brussel sprouts. You're not as hungry as you think you are.

This kid has an easy way to get out of state tuition and REALLY wants to go to A&M (Sul Ross Scholarship)

In this case, if he doesn't want to be in the Corps and get the scholarship, he either:

A) doesn't like A&M as much as he thinks, or
B) wants his parents to pay out of state tuition.

Bump...how did it all end for rvhappynow's son?

My daughter who is a sophomore in High School now and we live out of state, but she is dead set on being an Aggie. Like other posters have said, joining the Corp with the scholarships available would be the most direct path to avoid out of state tuition. Appears getting $4k/year in competitive scholarships is next to impossible for out of state students.

jsc8116 said:

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Bump...how did it all end for rvhappynow's son?

My daughter who is a sophomore in High School now and we live out of state, but she is dead set on being an Aggie. Like other posters have said, joining the Corp with the scholarships available would be the most direct path to avoid out of state tuition. Appears getting $4k/year in competitive scholarships is next to impossible for out of state students.

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Has she taken a practice PSAT? If she gets over a 1300 I would invest in preparation for the PSAT and trying to get National Merit. If it is below that the odds aren't good. NM is the easiest path if you can make the score, Corps is next.

She hasnt but I will look into that.