@intparent True. We’ve mostly handled FA by now, though.
Thankfully, I got waivers for most apps.
CSS was a hefty sum to pay.
Thankfully, only a few schools need official scores.
More schools near or in cities, that could be matches / low matches / safeties for you, if you’d like any of them more than your current safeties. Run the NPCs on these. For any that are rolling (like Pitt), apply ASAP because merit money gets used up as they go.
University of Pittsburgh
Case Western (Cleveland)
Northeastern (Boston)
Temple (Philly)
Drexel (Philly)
OP, what is the EFC on the FAFSA you submitted? Can your family fund that EFC (which may or may not be close to what each college calculates as your family’s expected contribution)?
For the schools that are matches and safeties on your list, UVA and William and Mary do meet 100% of need (what they think is your need) but do use loans and other forms of self-help (e.g., work study). GMU and Illinois Tech do not meet 100% of need, packages include loans and other types of self-help. You need to be sure that you have at least one safety (including financially) on your list as well.
Lastly, I concur with the poster who said to NOT send in your SATII math 2 score to schools where it is not required or recommended. A significant proportion of MIT and Cal Tech applicants (not just those accepted) will have 800 SAT math scores, as well as 800 SAT II math 2 scores.
Both MIT and CalTech require a math subject test, CalTech specifically requires Math 2. But the OP has already applied there so it’s a moot point.
My family can do our EFC.
However, how do you even go about finding a financial safety?
Looking at GMU and our EFC, even though I’d have to take on some debt or get some scholarships, I think we’d be able to make it work just fine.
Wow, I wish I knew how terrible in comparison my SAT2 was and the importance of it. I guess I’d been figuring with a 770M section on the SAT I’d be fine.
GMU will calculate what your family can pay, and again, they do gap students (do not meet 100% of demonstrated need). On average, GMU meets only 53.8% of demonstrated need of undergraduates with need (section H2, line I of CDS https://irr2.gmu.edu/cds/cds_new/sec_action.cfm?year=2017-18&sec_id=H.)
You can take $5,500 in loans your freshman year. If your parents need to also take a loan to meet GMU’s COA, and/or you are relying on getting competitive merit scholarships, that school is not a financial safety.
Posters can better help you if you let us know what your parents say they will pay and what your FAFSA EFC is.
EFC approx 15,650
Willing to pay is not a definite but I’d say 24k from my parents. Probably flexible depending on what my ultimate options are, but that’s the highest number I think I’ve got a confirmation they’d be able to do. My parents don’t like to talk with me about what they can and cannot afford. They wouldn’t pay $24k to send me to GMU when they say I can attend community college for free, but they would pay it for UPenn or likely any prestigious school.
You are probably going to have to take your federal loans. That is just a fact.
Also. I’d assume you know that each college has their own EFC from their calculator that is probably higher than the FAFSA EFC.
Yes. I have a list of NPC results for each school. I didn’t apply to any school my parents say they couldn’t do according to the calculators.
What do you mean I’m just going to have to take my federal loans? @intparent
I think it’s only the Math SAT II where a 750+ score isn’t considered good. Don’t beat yourself up. You have good stats, you’ve done a lot of work applying, you have two safeties on there right? If you feel like more work, look for some more matches, or just be happy with the chance that you might end up at the safeties.
I mean you very likely may have to take out at least your federal loans to attend college. Even most “meets need” schools will expect that. $5,500 frosh year, $6,500 soph year, $7,500 each jr and sr year. They have a fair number of good protections for you as a borrower. Vs private loans that do not.
Not to change the subject away from financial aid, but can we go back to the gay-friendly piece for a second?
I don’t know if you were focusing on cities because you like cities or because you perceive cities to be more gay-friendly, but there are plenty of LGBTQ friendly schools outside of urban areas. I am posting some lists, and obviously none of them are definitive. (It is notable that some schools are really highly ranked on one list and then don’t show up at all on another list because they are using different criteria.) Nonetheless, I think these lists are useful to peruse. (Then again, at this point, maybe the last thing you need is additional possible schools!)
https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lgbtq-friendly
https://www.advocate.com/youth/2017/8/14/20-most-lgbt-friendly-colleges#media-gallery-media-0
https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/50-great-lgbtq-friendly-colleges/
https://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/best-lgbt-friendly-colleges-and-universities/
I would scrap Harvard and Stanford. For typical “smart” kids (i.e., without world-beating accomplishments), regular admission to those schools has become well nigh impossible.
If you want another elite reach, consider Rice, which is implementing a notably generous new financial aid policy next year. The campus is located in a very nice area of a dynamic, up-and-coming city. FWIW, until recently, the mayor of Houston was an out lesbian . . . and a Rice grad. You would not feel out of place at Rice.