<p>klyn, I would suggest you start by determining what your family’s EFC is likely to be and also do the TAP estimator on the HESC website. “Lower middle class” can mean anything…but if you have an expected EFC we’ll be able to tell you more about what to expect in federal grant aid.</p>
<p>There are some very good SUNY programs out there which are definitely not “subpar”, and you should do a program search at the suny.edu site. Each SUNY has their own scholarship programs and these vary widely by campus, and sometimes by major or income level. For example, Stony Brook has the WISE (women in science and engineering) scholarships, UB has the Acker Scholars (for low income, first generation and/or minority students) as well as other merit programs. The smaller, 4-year SUNYs tend to be easier to get merit money from than the big research universities (StonyBrook, UB, Albany, and Binghamton). Fredonia, Cortland, Plattsburg, and many more give merit aid to students with your stats…it’s a matter of figuring out which one has the program(s) and fit that you are looking for.</p>
<p>For private schools instate, suggest you look at the Automatic/Guaranteed Scholarships thread in this forum as many NY schools and links are listed there.</p>