<p>Hi people, I was wondering if you guys had suggestions for top colleges (if you could just list some that'd be great) that have relatively low costs. I'm not qualified for financial aid, but money is still pretty important.</p>
<p>Also, I'm not sure exactly what merit scholarship means. I'm in the top 18% of my class, so I'm not exactly strong academically, but I do have good ECs. Do admissions officers consider EC when determining (merit) scholarships?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>If you can stand an extremely conservative Christian college, Grove City in PA has a COA of $22,000. It’s not for everyone, not somewhere I could see myself, but it is cheap.</p>
<p>Oh god. No lol. I’m thinking of like colleges that are well-known and is not THAT costly for those who don’t qualify for financial aid. I was hoping people could respond with names like Carnegie Mellon, Villanova, University of Michigan, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t have that much time to research, so I was hoping CC people would be experienced enough to think of good value colleges (which would probably give good scholarships) easily.</p>
<p>i’m not sure if it’s completely true, but i always here University of Pittsburgh is a good deal, especially if you’re in Pennsylvania (which it sounds like you might be, having just listed Carnegie Mellon and Villanova). i suppose it’s not really a “top college” but it seems to be the nicest of Pennsylvania’s semi state supported schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The above was from another thread by the OP. Also he posts elsewhere that he lives in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylania. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So let me rephrase your question…and please correct me if I’m wrong. You are looking for a top 20 or top 50 school that isn’t very expensive.</p>
<p>Well…if you are instate for UMich…it would be a good buy.</p>
<p>If you are instate for UNC-Chapel Hill, it would be a good buy.</p>
<p>If you are instate for UVA, it would be a good buy.</p>
<p>If you are instate for the SUNY schools (Bing and Geneseo are considered very good) they would be a good buy…OOS costs are reasonable too.</p>
<p>If you are instate for Pitt, it’s a good buy (and you are). If you are a top applicant (doesn’t sound like you are) they also offer some great scholarships. I don’t think top 10% of your class will put you in the running for a lot of money but perhaps your SAT scores are very high…don’t know those.</p>
<p>If you are Out of State for any of the public universities listed above (except SUNY), the costs will be in high $40K close to $50K per year.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, and the others you listed…very costly.</p>
<p>YOU will be going to college, not the folks here on this forum. I would suggest that you find some time to do some research yourself. Only you know the locations, major, size of schools, your home state and costs your family can bear. We don’t have those answers.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that you have a discussion with your parents ASAP about college finances to find out what they are planning to contribute to your college costs each year. You might also want to have a chat with your high school guidance counselor about schools that interest you. If your school uses Naviance, you might be able to see if you are in the “range” for possible admission to these schools.</p>
<p>OP…you are a high school senior NOW. You have applied ED to Brown and have sent applications to Pitt and Penn State. Those last two would be your best bet financially as you are instate for those schools. </p>
<p>If you are looking for significant MERIT aid (Not need based), the most signiificant awards usually have an application deadline of December 1. You have missed that. There are some schools where scholarships are determined by your applicationonly, no separate application…but even many of THOSE require an admissions application that is done on the early side.</p>
<p>Is there some reason why you are looking for additional schools now? Your previous posts indicate that you had a list of schools…ED to Brown and the Pitt, and Penn State. Others were mentioned too.</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>If there were top schools that didn’t cost much, everyone be applyng to those schools.</p>
<p>As Thumper noted, if you’re instate for a top public, that is a cheaper option for you.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships are typically awarded by test scores and GPA. Typically, lots of ECs cannot compensate stats that aren’t high for the school.</p>
<p>What state are you in? </p>
<p>How much will your parents pay?</p>
<p>What are your stats (include SAT breakdown) and GPA.</p>
<p>ECs are over-rated for merit scholarships. Yes, they might tip the scales in your favor when compared to other students with similar stats. But, generally the purpose of merit scholarships is to purchase kids with high stats to help a school with its ranking.</p>
<p>I already applied to Pitt.</p>
<p>Thumper: I know. I completely understand your point, but I was hoping you, amongst other CCer could help me, because I do not have all the time in the world.</p>
<p>Also, when you say most school’s scholarship deadline is Dec.1, do the colleges post their deadlines on their respective websites? Because as I said, I already applied to UPitt and, I’m pretty sure I would have been accepted if the admissions staff saw my SAT scores, but as it turns out, it takes over a month to send the score. I had NO idea. By the time Pitt received my SAT received my SAT scores, they already sent me a letter stating I need to send a mid-year report. Damnit! So because of this, does that mean Pitt wold offer me very limited scholarship at this point?</p>
<p>I was also thinking of applying to Lehigh University, because I live right by it. I can’t seem to find a scholarship deadline on it’s website. So it means there is none right? (crosses fingers)</p>
<p>Mom: Hey. You know my stats hah. I’ve conversed with you before, and I was going to some more, but then your inbox was full, and that was that hah. Neverthless, I thought people wouldn’t apply to those schools because they’re very competitive, not because of the cost.</p>
<p>2 Years ago URichmond’s merit deadline was Dec 15-- I know someone who squeeked their application in (no separate app needed for merit)-- yes indeed he got the big prize $! Otherwise it’s 50K+</p>
<p>OP, merit aid is awarded by schools to try to lure high-stats students. “High” stats differ from school to school; without your GPA and SAT/ACT grades, we can’t recommend schools that would be a good merit match for you. You need to find schools where your stats will put you at the top of the heap. See <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html</a> for some ideas. </p>
<p>Many schools, especially the best-known ones, don’t offer merit aid. The Ivy League schools do not offer merit money. You say that you don’t qualify for need-based aid. What is your family’s EFC? Most importantly, how much will they be willing to pay a year? Since you are applying to Brown ED, that implies that your family is willing to pay over $50k a year for your college education. </p>
<p>
Searching on scholarship site:lehigh.edu leads you to [Lehigh</a> University: Undergraduate Admissions: Tuition & Financial Aid: Types of Aid](<a href=“http://www4.lehigh.edu/admissions/undergrad/tuition/aidtypes.aspx#scholarships]Lehigh”>http://www4.lehigh.edu/admissions/undergrad/tuition/aidtypes.aspx#scholarships) That took me under a minute. You can make similar searches yourself to check on other schools that are of interest.</p>
<p>Yeah I saw the Lehigh U page, then and now, and I still can’t find out whether or not it has a scholarship deadline. Since it doesn’t say so, it means there is none, right?</p>
<p>And regarding financial aid stuff, I can probably tell you in pm if you really want to know.</p>
<p>What do you want to study?</p>
<p>U Minnesota is a very good bargain.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would never assume that just because it doesn’t say there’s a deadline that it means there’s no deadline. Finding the answer is YOUR job. You get to be the one to email Lehigh, or (better yet) call the admissions office and ask them. Or, you can go on the Lehigh forum here on CC and ask there, or search the archives. This isn’t a difficult research problem, and it’s not specialized knowledge that you can only find out by asking here. You are about to be a college student. That means you should be capable of finding out answers to questions, especially after you’ve been given a pointer. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The reason that I and other posters are asking for this information is so that we can help YOU. Telling us your EFC gives us an idea of how much need-based aid you might be eligible for. Telling us how much your family is willing to pay lets us know if you must look for merit aid or for a lower-cost school. Telling us your stats helps people identify schools where you’d be a good candidate for merit aid. You asked about Carnegie Mellon, Villanova, University of Michigan. Without your stats, we don’t even know if these schools are acceptance reaches, matches, or safeties for you, let alone for merit aid. Though it’s common for people to PM highly personal identifying information, things like GPA, test scores, EFC and family contribution are generic enough that they won’t identify you. It is unreasonable for you to expect posters to help you without this information. Even if you PM just me or a few other posters on this thread, you’re going to be missing the valuable input from other people on CC.</p>
<p>qweasd…refresh my memory…I don’t remember what your stats or situation is.</p>
<p>Just so we’re clear – this is all moot until you hear from Brown, right? I mean, ED is binding, is it not? </p>
<p>And BTW, UMich is one of the most expensive out-of-state public universities (eg. about $48,000) and you need very very top drawer stats to get much in merit. Unless your school is super competitive/medal-winning school, they typically only take students in about the top 10% of a given school’s pool, so merit might be a real reach there.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>This student may be concerned that even if he gets into Brown ED, the FA package may not be affordable. If that’s the case, he doesn’t have to accept.</p>
<p>The whole “binding” ED thing has become a bit of a joke because unless the person is given a full-ride, he can claim it’s not affordable and turn it down.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well the thing is…the financial aid package the ED school gives COULD be the best one of all. If the student turns it down, he might find he has less attractive offers at other schools. That is why ED when financial aid is an issue is not always the best idea. Sure, he can turn down Brown if he doesn’t get sufficient aid, but the other schools on his list don’t meet full need (Pitt, Penn State)…so he might find himself with a BIGGER gap than the one Brown gives him.</p>
<p>And just FYI…all schools will expect the student and family to pay his/her family contribution so if they can’t do that for Brown, they probably can’t do it for any other school.</p>
<p>OOS tuition + room + board combined are in the low $30Ks at UNC-CH, Wisconsin, and Penn State. They’re in the high $20Ks at Kansas and LSU.</p>
<p>*Sure, he can turn down Brown if he doesn’t get sufficient aid, but the other schools on his list don’t meet full need (Pitt, Penn State)…so he might find himself with a BIGGER gap than the one Brown gives him.</p>
<p>And just FYI…all schools will expect the student and family to pay his/her family contribution so if they can’t do that for Brown, they probably can’t do it for any other school.*</p>
<p>True…his best aid package could be from Brown…</p>
<p>But, if his “family contribution” is unaffordable because of an NCP with high income who won’t pay, or some other issue (like high equity), then another school could be cheaper - especially if big merit is offered, the COA is less than “family contribution,” or the school meets need without NCP info. </p>
<p>Some kids are applying ED knowing that they have unaffordable EFCs, but just to see if by some miracle they get an amazing FA package. And, if it doesn’t work out, they have financial safeties as back-ups.</p>
<p>OOS tuition + room + board combined are in the low $30Ks at UNC-CH, Wisconsin, and Penn State</p>
<p>GaDad… Penn St is not in the low $30ks. Soon, it’s going to be in the low $40ks. </p>
<p>Penn State 2010-11 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees: $27,114<br>
Room and board: …$9,030 </p>
<h2>Books and supplies:… $1,264 </h2>
<p>Approx cost …$37,000 (plus transportation and personal expenses)</p>
<p>And…this is for the current year…next year and later years will be higher.</p>
<p>Mom2, this student is IN STATE for Penn State, lives in PA.</p>