<p>Bang for the buck? DC/surrounding if possible. For example, American is $30k+, but does anyone know if they offer significant merit-based aid?</p>
<p>Hi Uncle Jon! :)</p>
<p>When looking at costs, look at the Cost of Attendance, not just tuition. Tuition is just part of the whole nasty cost. 
</p>
<p>For instance, the COA for American U is …<br>
<a href=“http://www.american.edu/financialaid/freshmanprospects.cfm[/url]”>http://www.american.edu/financialaid/freshmanprospects.cfm</a></p>
<p>American U Total Cost: $47,386
This includes tuition at $34,456; room at $8,630; and board at $4,300</p>
<p>And this is for the current year (2009-2010).<br>
Note that this doesn’t include books (about $1k per year), course fees, travel/misc expenses.</p>
<p>These costs go up every year.</p>
<p>Yes, AU does give some academic merit scholarships for kids with strong stats.<br>
<a href=“http://www.american.edu/financialaid/freshmanscholarships.cfm[/url]”>http://www.american.edu/financialaid/freshmanscholarships.cfm</a></p>
<p>What are the student’s stats (GPA, SAT, ACT)?</p>
<p>Once we know the student’s stats, we can make some better suggestions. :)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>American U’s COA is a little low for a popular private because it neglects to include what other privates include: Tuition, fees, room, board, books, travel, personal expenses. When those are included, the popular privates have COAs about $50k-55k per year. YIKES! lol</p>
<p>Depending on stats, some will give some merit money. Depending on determined need, some will give good financial aid. </p>
<p>COA Private Universities </p>
<p>$50,100, Syracuse
$50,806, SMU
$50,620, Princeton
$55,312, U Miami
$50,436, Case Western
$55,160, Fordham
$50,550, Yale
$52,000, Harvard
$44,278, Worcester
$52,000, MIT
$48,750, Pepperdine
$52,623, Stanford
$52,394, Cornell
$52,132, Emory
$53,000, Boston University
$53,608, Northwestern
$51,300, Notre Dame
$55,368, Vanderbilt
$52,082, Wake Forest
$51,050, Lehigh
$52,973, Dartmouth
$51,140, U Rochester
$52,162, Brandeis
$53,793, NYU
$52,030, Brown
$55,866 Wash U
$53,095, U Penn
$53,390, Duke
$53,618, USC
$54,300, Boston College
$53,390, Johns Hopkins
$54,160, Rensselaer
$55,330, Georgetown
$54,047, U Chicago
$53,660, Carnegie Mellon
$55,125, George Washington
$53,200, Tufts
$52,996, Tulane
$53,644, Columbia</p>
<p>Out of state publics are somewhat cheaper, and some give OOS students merit scholarships…</p>
<p>COA per year for OOS students , State Universities
$25,787, U MINNESOTA
$31,872, VIRGINIA TECH
$31,775, U ALABAMA
$33,800, AUBURN
$34,812, U IOWA
$35,029, U WISCONSIN
$36,210, OHIO STATE
$35,311, U N CAROLINA
$40,086, U GEORGIA
$36,977, RUTGERS
$34,696, TEXAS A&M
$34,922, U DELAWARE
$36,094, U FLORIDA
$32,752, U PITTSBURGH
$37,416, U MARYLAND
$36,985, U WASHINGTON
$37,548, CLEMSON
$36,848, PURDUE
$39,146, U CONNECTICUT
$38,120, GEORGIA TECH
$40,130, U ILLINOIS
$39,510, PENN STATE
$37,644, INDIANA U
$38,566, MICHIGAN ST
$48,041, UC IRVINE
$49,193, UCLA
$50,306, UC BERKELEY
$38,974, WILLIAM & MARY
$43,742, U TEXAS
$49,926, UC S BARBARA
$46,699, UC SAN DIEGO
$48,049, UC DAVIS
$39,483, UC S CRUZ
$42,570, U VIRGINIA
$47,188, U MICHIGAN</p>
<p>Best bang for the buck in the DC metro area is likely to be a public institution if you do not qualify for need-based aid. For example, the University of Maryland’s out-of-state COA is about $37K. About $36K for George Mason.</p>
<p>If you consider the US Naval Academy “DC/surrounding”, well, it’s tuition free (with strings attached.)</p>
<p>What is the student’s resident state? The most economical way may be either going to the state flagship or going to a private with great aid or merit scholarships.</p>
<p>If the student is considering going to law school or some other graduate type of school and loans will be needed for that, it’s best to minimize student loans for undergrad. Otherwise, the student may run out of borrowing power, or end up with a strangling amount of debt.</p>
<p>Indiana but kind of want to get out of the state. Realize IU has a pretty good undergrad program for polysci but if I can find a good school in the DC/Surrounding area, Florida, or midwest I’d spring for that.</p>
<p>Say I apply early decision to… American. If I don’t like the financial aid numbers they give me, can I back out?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>The problem with ED is that you can’t compare the financial packages of all your schools. When money is an issue, it’s not a good idea to apply ED. </p>
<p>What are your stats? If they are strong enough, you can still go out of state, but you should apply to some merit schools, too.</p>
<p>Yes, you can back out of an ED school if the FA package isn’t enough. But, there are problems associated with doing that.</p>
<p>4.0 weighted GPA, junior
(Likely) published political author, find out mid March.
Expect ~1350-1400 SAT
AP US History (3), AP Human Geography (not yet taken), AP Economics and AP Government (both not taken). International Relations (A+, non-AP but IB) as well as possibly independent study senior year.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>*Expect ~1350-1400 SAT
*</p>
<p>:) Well, once you take the SAT (and also take the ACT!!), you’ll have a better idea of where your best choices are for your budget and stats. :)</p>
<p>A 1350-1400 (M + CR) SAT is in the 96-99th percentile. </p>
<p>Since money is an issue, applying ED to a school like American U (which doesn’t meet need without loans), is not a good idea. </p>
<p>You also need to find out what your approx EFC is… [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml)</p>
<p>Now, that won’t tell you the maximum that you’ll be expected to pay. So, don’t let it mislead you. Also, American U is a CSS Profile school, so they will consider things that FAFSA doesn’t.</p>
<p>AU’s Early Decision Plan [Early</a> Decision Plan| Undergraduate Admissions | American University, Washington, DC](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/admissions/freshman/earlydecision.cfm]Early”>Early Decision Plan, American University, Washington, DC | American University, Washington, DC)</p>
<p>The Early Decision Plan at American University is an application option for freshman students for whom American University is their first choice. It is a binding program, which means that when you apply as an Early Decision candidate, you agree to enroll at American University, if admitted, in exchange for receiving your admission decision early.</p>
<p>The deadline for Early Decision is November 15, and students will be notified of their admission decision by December 31. In addition, Early Decision candidates who are eligible are also notified of their financial aid, honors and merit scholarship status at the point of admission.</p>
<p>Remember that as an Early Decision candidate at AU, you may apply to other schools while your application to AU is being reviewed. However, if you are offered admission to AU, you must withdraw applications to all other colleges and universities at that time.</p>
<p>A relative who is a policy wonk for our state’s legislature told us that the vast majority of aides and other early career workers are graduates of the state U located in the city capitol. He was really surprised by this, because this branch of the state U isn’t a highly prestigious school. The local state U students also get a lot of the internship opportunities. </p>
<p>It’s obviously not the same as attending a DC school and getting to take advantage of all the juicy opportunities there, but the statehouse level option is an interesting and cheap possibility.</p>