<p>I really want to go to Cali for college but need substantial financial aid. I know the public schools are out but what are the financial packages at the private schools. I am from CT attending a very good boarding school in Pa.. I have a 3.7 GPA and SAT 2060. I'm in student gov't, play several sports and very involved in many leadership activities in school.
My mother has sole custody of me and with her work and some money from my Dad, she makes $36,000 per year and really can't afford much. My boarding school gave me $49,000 our of $52,000 in financial aid. Any thoughts.. could use some good insight</p>
<p>They would run the spectrum just like schools anywhere. Stanford, Pomona, Claremont, I believe guarantee to meet need and are quite generous. YMMV elsewhere as most schools do not guarantee to meet need. But in your case with a NCP situation, you may not get what you need even from schools that do guarantee to meet need since most will insist on your paren’ts financials. I believe USC is the most generous in that category.</p>
<p>However, just because a school does not guarantee to meet full need, does not mean it will not in certain situations. If you are a hot prospect for them, you could end up with a more generous package from a school that overall does not meet most need than from one that does guarantee to meet it all. Especially in your case, where you may have a better chance of getting more need from a FAFSA only school that won’t ask for UCP info as opposed to those PROFILE schools that usually do.</p>
<p>Most schools that give the best aid will look at both your mom AND dad’s income. How much does your dad earn? Will he help pay for college?</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter that your mom has “sole custody”, your dad’s income will be considered by the nearly all the schools that promise to “meet need”. If your dad has remarried, then his wife’s income will be included as well. </p>
<p>The few Calif schools that “meet need” (USC, Stanford, and maybe a couple more) are the hardest to get into. Your SAT score probably needs to be higher to get into Stanford or USC. Both schools like very high test scores. </p>
<p>Most schools do NOT meet need. Most will probably gap your need. Try using the Net Price Calculators on a few schools’ websites. Don’t rely on Stanford’s because it has unusually high aid and will not be nearly true for the other schools.</p>
<p>Try using the NPCs on websites like: Santa Clara U, Loyola Marymount, U San Francisco, U San Diego, USC, etc.</p>
<p>Since money will be a huge concern for you be sure to have a few financial safety schools. These are schools that you can afford because of ASSURED grants or scholarships. </p>
<p>What is your Math + CR score? Will you test again? Take the ACT as well. Some do better on that. You need the highest scores possible to get the best chances at the best aid.</p>
<p>sorry - dont understand … what is YMMV, NCP, UCP?? Will these private schools treat acceptance and financial aid issues similarly for residents and OOS?</p>
<p>My Mom’s income without my Dad’s support is $20,000 and my Dad’s is $49,000. My Math was 670 and CR 650. Do you know about the financial aid for OSS at Pepperdine? Yes I will take SAT again. How much higher on the SAT will make a real difference in FA? Thanks for your insight.</p>
<p>Private schools don’t care whether you are instate or OOS for aid purposes. Sometimes being OOS can be an admissions edge (if you are from a very underrepresented state at their school). But there is usually no difference in aid or cost of attendance for OOS students at private universities.</p>
<p>Are there NO affordable options in your home state? What aid is available for low income students in YOUR home state? That is worth checking. California isn’t going to float into the ocean in the near future. You can always go there for a job or grad school.</p>
<p>NPC- Net price calculator</p>
<p>UCP- UC Pomona</p>
<p>YMMV- Your mileage may vary</p>
<p>yes… UCONN is a real option and I will apply. My Dad lives in Maryland so U of Maryland may be another good option. I really wanted to see if going to California was a real possibility…</p>
<p>If you run your numbers through the NPC for Pomona College which guarantees to meet all need and has no merit awards, you can get what a best case scenario probably will be with a private school that is generous with need. Getting into Pomona…well, that 's an issue. From there, you can look at some other schools and see what you may get, but with merit and not meeting full need, you may be getting averages. </p>
<p>If you are a top student with very high test scores, give it a go at those schools. But more importantly , make sure you have also selected some schools that will definitely take you and that you know are affordable. That is where you should put the most effort in your school search.</p>
<p>There is no UC Pomona (only Cal Poly Pomona), but I don’t think that’s what cpt was talking about. I’m not sure what the U stands for but I think cpt was referring to something about custodial parents (ie. FAFSA only asks for financial info from the custodial parent while Profile requires both parents).</p>
<p>Also in that post, I believe cpt is referring to Claremont McKenna College (CMC) when they said Claremont.</p>
<p>x-posted w/OP & cpt</p>
<p>I looked at Pomona and it looks like a reach… so i do want to be more realistic and look at options that are legit… I will focus more on the second tier schools. Thanks for your help</p>
<p>Yes, I was referring to Pomona College, part of the Claremont College group. Stanford would also give a good read for the NPC. </p>
<p>Sitler, the reason I referred you to Pomona for the NPC is because it is most accurate when the school guarantees to meet full need and has no merit money. Otherwise, what happens, when you plug in another school that, say meets X% of need and Y% of the kids get an average of $Z in merit money, is that often times the averages are thrown in there. With Pomona, you won’t get that distraction and get a dollar amount expected for your family to pay as a pretty good minimum at such schools, just as the EFC is a the minimum you are likely expected to pay at non PROFILE schools. Now getting accepted to a school that will honor that maximum is a whole other story.</p>
<p>I agree that with your stats, Pomona, Stanford and other such schools that will guarantee meeting full need is a stretch. When you start looking at those school where you become a viable candidate, you have to understand that not only do you have to be admissable, you need to also be in the upper echolons of the student pool to get the upper amounts of aid and/or merit money. </p>
<p>There are a number of LACs and Catholic schools in CA that are excellent and where you could be a good candidate. Do include a number of them on your list and see how it goes. As long as you have the sure things, the ones that you know you can afford and that will take you on your list, go ahead and give the others a whirl. You never know.</p>
<p>I agree that you’ll get a good feel for aid from a generous college when you run your parents’ income and asset numbers through the Pomona net price calculator, so you should start there. However you mentioned looking to go down a tier from the Stanford/CMC/Pomona level. Pepperdine doesn’t require the non-custodial parent’s information, but it’s still very expensive. </p>
<p>[Net</a> Price Calculator](<a href=“http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/financialassistance/costs/net-price-calculator/npcalc.htm]Net”>http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/financialassistance/costs/net-price-calculator/npcalc.htm)</p>
<p>Other schools that give good aid and don’t necessarily require non-custodial parent information include:</p>
<p>Cal Lutheran
University of Redlands
Whittier
Occidental (PROFILE requires non-custodial parent)
University of San Francisco (PROFILE requires non-custodial parent)
Pitzer (PROFILE requires non-custodial parent, slightly less selective than Pomona)
La Verne</p>
<p>You might find that all of these schools are simply beyond your reach, but better to know that now rather than after all the applications are in and you’re having to scramble for a more affordable option.</p>
<p>Occidental and Pitzer and good suggestions, less selective than Stanford and Pomona but meet full need - also Thomas Aquinas College.</p>
<p>Being OOS for a Calif private can make a difference with aid. Instate lower income students get Cal Grants towards their Calif private schools. That can mean that an OOS student will get less aid at a private that doesn’t promise to meet need. </p>
<p>NCP = non custodial parent.</p>
<p>You need to find out if Maryland will consider you a resident for instate rates because of your dad. Some states will do this, some won’t. </p>
<p>Be sure to have a couple of financial safeties that you LIKE and will happily attend. </p>
<p>Will your dad help pay for college?</p>
<p>Going to college across the country is very expensive. Just flying back and forth in the fall, at Christmas, and in the spring can cost a lot of money. It sounds like your mom will lose child support once you’re in college. She may not be able to pay for your flights back and forth.</p>
<p>What is your likely major and careeer interest?</p>
<p>What is your interest in Calf schools? Is it just that it’s “Calif”???</p>
<p>*My Mom’s income without my Dad’s support is $20,000 and my Dad’s is $49,000.</p>
<p>My Math was 670 and CR 650*</p>
<p>Your M+CR is 1320. Right now, that’s not likely high enough for the schools that give the best aid. For schools like Stanford, Pomona, USC, you’d need a M+CR around 1450+ to have better chances. </p>
<p>To get good merit (or good aid pkgs) at schools like USD, USF, etc, you’d likely need a M+CR of about 1400+ or ACT 32+. But, no guarantees that your need would be met. </p>
<p>Your problem is that the schools that will likely accept you will ALREADY have loans in the FA pkgs, therefore you won’t be able to borrow to cover any gaps, which you’ll likely have. </p>
<p>Again, try the NPCs at some schools like USF , USD, Redlands, etc.</p>
<p>I put in your info on U San Diego’s NPC and the results were:</p>
<p>COA = $55,000</p>
<p>Your aid:
$10k merit</p>
<h2>$15k in Pell and school grants</h2>
<p>$25k in “free money”</p>
<p>$8300 in loans and work study</p>
<p>After the above aid, your family would still have to pay $22,000 per year.</p>
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<p>Thanks m2ck! I was having a senior moment 
.</p>
<p>yes… my dad will help with college. The money he has been given my mother for child support he will continue to give for our education… I had a 740 in creative writing and ab;have excellent grades in english and languages. I will probably concentrate in those areas. My mother grew up in LA and graduated from Berkeley and my grandmother and uncle still live there. That is why I am interested in California.</p>
<p>Will you be living with your relatives while in college? If so, that would save some money but will limit where you can go to school. What cities are they in? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that Calif is huge, so you may not see your relatives much at all if they are more than a couple of hours away from your campus. It’s not like your home state where traveling around the state doesn’t take that long.</p>
<p>my dad will help with college. The money he has been given my mother for child support he will continue to give for our education</p>
<p>You need to talk to your mom. Does she use/need that money for rent and other home expenses? If so, then she may not be able to give you much of that money towards college. You say that she only earns $20k per year, so it sounds like she needs that child support to go towards the household expenses. </p>
<p>Does your dad provide for you and another sibling? </p>
<p>Again, ask your mom how much of the child support can go towards YOUR college costs each month.</p>