I am sorry to hear that she is gone as it appeared you had a good relationship.
In the absence of support how have your grades done and did you take the ACT?
As mentioned before your application given the relatively poor early academic performance with support would benefit greatly from a strong upward trend and a high test score if possible to highlight your abilities.
I think several of the SUNY schools would be good fits but there are several other privates given your financial flexibility that could make sense.
Iâve maintained a 4.0 GPA this year, with the addition of an AP and honors course. Iâm yet to see how my midterm exam performance may have affected that, but itâs unlikely to have had that much of an effect.
Somewhat regrettably, I didnât take the ACT. My administration had me convinced that it wouldnât move the needle much at the LACâs Iâd considered. I donât know if the absence of a score was behind my Hamilton rejection, but a good score wouldâve helped. The time constraint and cramming effort needed to score highly on it now would probably be the exact thing responsible for a low score. All I can say is that I wish Iâd known about the ACT earlier, as practice tests indicated it being a far easier exam than the SAT. At this point I think itâd be of no use.
By the way, my financial situation isnât all that at the moment. My father has been unemployed nearly a year, and I live a pretty crappy existence in a cluttered city apartment. We have a lake house that weâll lodge in over the summer (wasnât my idea, Iâm a minimalist), but itâs been tough to even keep my grades where they are. At the behest of my parents, I ended up applying for financial aid at Hamilton, but the assets page of the CSS and FAFSA made me cringe at the fact that I was asking for aid. Nevertheless, income and cash are legitimately low in my family, so getting some tuition covered would really help.
But if you canât genuinely afford full-pay at Hamilton, and your financial documentation doesnât make the case for need-based aid, then not having a binding offer from an expensive school might be a blessing in disguise. You do have excellent options in the NY publics.
I am very sorry to hear all that you are taking on right now and you should be very proud of your academic performance and evolution. Your resilience as described throughout high school will serve you well now.
I suspect your current âcash squeezeâ but ownership of lake houses will make receiving aid a challenge. I would be looking throughout the SUNY system and add to Binghamton, Purchase (writing program mentioned above), Stony Brook, Buffalo and Albany. They are all highly thought of for creative writing. At each school you will find excellent students and a price point that may work. Once at one of these schools get off to a strong academic start.
Once again it stinks to have gotten rejected but you have plenty of opportunities in front of you.
Thatâs correct, they own it, and it isnât a cottage up in Maine. Itâs in one of the premier areas of the Poconos and somewhere in the ballpark of $1 million. Itâs one of the reasons I was cringing when filling out the CSS, since such an asset doesnât indicate a genuine need for aid.
I will consider adding two of those options: Purchase and Buffalo. I visited Albany for my cousin and I really hated the school. It was your typical 1950s government building type campus with a somber feeling all around.
Iâm most interested in Binghamton, though. Itâs a top public university with a nice campus in a town I quite like. I even tried some of the food nearby and was blown away (I believe it was a sandwich called a spiedie, but thatâs besides the point).
I will also have great transfer options within the SUNY system for certain Cornell and Columbia colleges, although I donât see the need to pay so much more if I really enjoy the life at Binghamton, which is somewhat prestige itself.
Actually it does indicate genuine need. Most families with financial need donât have a $1,000,000 asset. Are you suggesting that you should get need based aid because your family would like to hold on to a $1 million asset? Thatâs not how need based aid works.
Is your family income under $29,999? If soâŚ.let us know.
If not, merit aid will be your friend as it doesnât consider income or assets.
As a NY resident, if you are low incomeâŚyou would qualify for TAP, or Excelsior. @sybbie719 do these awards consider $1 million assets in their awards?
The auto $0 EFC and Simplified needs tests for the FAFSA would not require listing assets on the FAFSA. They have income limits. We donât know family income so donât know if this applies.
HOWEVER, the auto $0 and simplified needs tests donât exist at all on the Profile, so for those schools, this second home will need to be reported.
This is one reason why the net price calculators is sometimes not accurate for folks who own a home in addition to their primary residence.
The OP appears, correctly, to have recognized that an asset on this level indicates the financial means to pay substantially for college, and therefore applied for financial aid with personal reluctance.
Precisely. This is yet another reason I am seeking admission to SUNY schools. They have reduced tuition, as I am in-state, without me needing financial aid.
Well, today I was actually admitted to my main safety, the University of Hartford. I was awarded the President Scholarship (~$30k/yr, ~120k total) and admission to their Honors Program. I really like the location (Connecticut) and will be visiting in two weeks. I am still waiting to hear back from the following schools:
I still havenât applied to Marist but will do so in the coming weeks. Not too hung up on the list or decisions as I know that after one year of proving myself, I have abundant opportunities to transfer. Itâs about maximizing the potential of the first year, and finding the place Iâd be most likely to remain in for four years. Right now my top choice in this respect is Bates.