<p>Have them check the Net Price calculator on every website (each university calculates differently). You don’t need to ask that the results are but do have them work with a budget and see whether they can meet EFC.</p>
<p>UNebraska Lincoln would probably give him a nice big scholarship for an ACT 32. That would be a big university in a big city… but are those his most pressing criteria? Could he like better a good music program and a more intellectual student body, even if the university’s small or medium-sized? What about living in a city - is a suburb okay? Is less than 1 hour from a major city okay? </p>
<p>Fact is, for an Ivy candidate, his stats would NOT be fantastic, he’d actually be below average, except 1° he’s applying from a rural state that’s not very represented in elite schools so they know that he really is exceptional compared to his peer group and 2° he’s not applying to Ivies.</p>
<p>I would recommend he applied to private universities and LACs ranked 10-50, though, paying attention to vibe.</p>
<p>Can you please ask him/them to detail what among his criteria is a “need” (must-have, otherwise won’t consider the school; I assume that financial aid is one) and what is a “want” (would be cool to have but if I have to make a trade off, that’ll go).</p>