Any amends to my list?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! Well basically, I want a school that isn't small, and is affordable with financial aid. I also have to be able to get into it (lol). My SATs are pretty good, however my gpa is not (85). The school needs to be on the East Coast (excluding the Carolinas and Georgia). It also can't be too expensive. I'm not sure how much financial aid I'll get considering my household is 5 people my dad earns $80,000 a year pre-taxes, and my mom earns $20,000 a year pre-taxes. We have $10,000 in savings atm. I have a little sister whose only 5. We probably pay about $24,000 a year for rent and electricity, etc.. If it helps, I am Jewish, and the first spoken language in my household isn't English. (Russian). Here is my stat profile. I also want to go into law, but I don't think that matters considering almost any school has political science or a humanities major. So far on my list is CUNY Hunter, Stonybrook, and Binghamton. What are some other suggestions? I was going to apply to BU however it is over $50,000! However, if I could get enough financial aid to make it be $20,000 or less I'd probably apply. The main thing I look for campus-wise, is that it is sufficiently big. If it helps, the school I'm in is in the top 100 US Schools, according to US News (~60). I'll probably also be able to get a letter of recommendation from a Congressman in addition to 2 teachers and my guidance counselor, if that helps.</p>

<p>Student:</p>

<p>User Name: Yakov
Gender: M
Location: Brooklyn, NY
College Class Year: 2014
High School: Public
High School Type: sends many grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 0.00
GPA - Weighted: 3.30
Class Rank: top 25%
Class Size: 1250</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 660
SAT I Critical Reading: 720
SAT I Writing: 730
SAT II U.S. History: 750
SAT II Math Level 1 (IC): 660</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Student Govt (4 years)
Student Leadership (3 years, discont'd Senior Year)
Red Cross (3 years)
Went on a Leadership Field Trip Freshman Year
Leadership positions: Was on a Student Leadership Team Committee for Facilities
Volunteer/Service Work: 500 volunteer hours (150 Internship, 250 as part of work, 100 as Red Cross)
-Internship at a Jewish Center
-Worked as a Camp counselor</p>

<p>Desired College Characteristics:</p>

<p>Location type: Urban, Small City, Rural
Size: Medium Small (2,500 - 5,000), Medium (5,000 - 10,000), Large (10,000 - 18,000), Very Large (Over 18,000)</p>

<p>Area: East Coast
Importance of cost: Very important</p>

2

<p>Heres the list</p>

<p>-Binghamton
-Boston College
-Boston University
-New York University
-Brandeis University
-CUNY Hunter
-NYU
-Northeastern University
-Penn State
-Stonybrook
-SUNY Buffalo</p>

3

<p>Maybe University of Maryland-college park</p>

4

<p>If cost is very important you’re probably looking at a SUNY or CUNY. Are you looking for merit aid or need based?</p>

<p>Schools like NYU, Northeastern and BU will not give you much aid even if you can get in since you’re not at the top of their pool. Full need schools like BC are probably out of reach.</p>

5

<p>Binghamton is a good choice, although with your GPA it might be a reach. You should look into SUNY Albany as a safety. It’s cheap, and it has a good PolySci program with good internship oppurtunities in the state capital.</p>

6

<p>I don’t really care for PolySci, I’ll look into University of Maryland-college park. Any other suggestions?</p>

7

<p>And aid wise, I’m looking for enough aid that will bring the cost to below $20,000 a year.</p>

8

<p>anyone else?</p>

9

<p>…</p>

10

<p>…</p>

11

<p>Again, Yakov, no one can really answer the “how much will I get for financial aid” question. They can help with which schools are not likely to give much money, but only your application and acceptance will tell you the real answer.</p>

<p>That said, as a New York resident, the final cost for these schools will work because their sticker price is below $20,000.</p>

<p>Binghamton (competitive)
CUNY Hunter (competitive)
Stony Brook
UBuffalo</p>

<p>Hmom knows what she is talking about. NYU, BU, BC and Northeastern are schools that are notoriously dicey with financial aid (although I did have a student who got a full tuition scholarship to BU, but she has a very strong arts talent). I also think Penn State is tricky, because when we went there for a tour, the admissions rep pretty much said that they aren’t terribly generous (because they have so many students who REALLY want to be there and will find a way…). I don’t know anything about Brandeis, other than it is a very competitive school.</p>

<p>Have your parents fill out the FASFA 4caster: <a href=“http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov%5B/url%5D”>http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov</a>
That will give you a idea about what you may POSSIBLY get for financial aid. But, again, it will depend on the school.</p>

12

<p>Also, look into University of Rochester, UMass Amherst, and UConn.</p>