I visited Carleton last spring and had a fantastic time. My tour guides were friendly and just a little quirky, which is exactly what I was looking for. The campus was beautiful, especially the church. The college also has an excellent academic reputation.
My only dilemma is that I will most likely not receive financial aid, and my parents do not plan to pay for my college (at all). Carleton doesn’t not give out merit scholarships, so I am looking for a college with a similar feel, size, and academic strength as Carleton. I am also planning on attending grad school/law school after getting my undergrad, so I need a college that costs less than $15,000-$20,000 per year.
If your parents are unwilling to contribute anything to your college costs, then you are severely restricted. What are your stats. There are threads of automatic merit for certain stats. But those schools will not be Carlton tier level. Even if you apply to an LAC that gives you merit based aid, they will want your parents financial information. You are needing a full ride or almost full ride. Why are your parents not willing to help out with your college costs?
ACT: 33
Unweighted GPA: 3.98
(School does not offer weighted GPA)
AP: World History (5), United States Government (5)
School prefers to offer dual credit instead of AP
Dual Credit: Calculus, Literature, Composition, United States History
My parents don’t think that it is their responsibility to pay for my education. They believe it will be worth more if I pay for it myself. Also, we live on a farm so FAFSA still counts my dad’s income even though most of it is invested in the farm. I guess I didn’t really mean that they aren’t contributing at all; they have a couple thousand saved for me, but that is all. I guess I was planning on taking out loans and working?
you’ll need to lower your sights if you want to get a college education at little or no cost.
there ARE very good colleges/ U’s that will pay you to go to college. start here:
repost your query and your stats on the financial aid/ scholarships forum- there are LOTS of VERY knowledgeable people there that can give you suggestions and guidance- BOB WALLACE and Mom2collegekids in particular.
You should provide this link to your parents. It may not make any difference, but might help them decide to help out a little more. Maybe at least enough to make your state flagship affordable.
Your stats are good enough to get full tuition plus $2,500 at UAlabama if you apply by Dec 1. I know it isn’t Carleton… but given your financial issues, you likely aren’t going to be able to afford it or schools much like it.
Are you in MN or WI? U-MN Morris has an LAC-like feel.
Consider applying to Denison and the College of Wooster. While neither is a top 10 LAC, you would receive an outstanding education at either one, and you would receive significant merit aid with your stats.
I really appreciate the help! I have looked at U-MN Morris and I plan to apply there. There is a liberal arts school in South Dakota, Augustana University, that offers quite a bit of merit, but I’m not sure that it will be enough. I am also applying for the full tuition scholarship at Tulane. It can’t hurt, right?
Also, my parents think it is really easy to get a full-ride
"Also, my parents think it is really easy to get a full-ride "
your parents are using “magical thinking” to avoid the reality of how much it really does cost to go to college these days.
It is NOT easy to get a FULL RIDE, which means free tuition, room and board, +books. They are rare and offered only to tip top students- i.e ACT scores of 35-35 and 4.0 GPA’s
There ARE colleges where you can get full tuition scholarships. Any additional costs will probably have to be paid for by them and you . Loans can cover some of the costs.
Also consider UAH (University of Alabama in Huntsville). Granted, this seems to be more of a STEM driven school but Dr. Wilkerson is doing some neat things with their Honors College. You have the stats for full tuition (not full ride) and they also have competitive scholarships. This is a smaller school. Not for everyone but definitely worth a look. Be very aware that they deadlines are looming close on the horizon.
Take a look at Grinnell. Lots of cross-applicants with Carleton and they do offer merit aid. Will it be enough? Depends on if you get the President’s or Dean’s Scholarship: https://www.grinnell.edu/financial-aid/merit-scholarships
Look at St. John’s in MN. I had slightly less impressive stats than you have and I got both of their two biggest merit scholarships (Trustees and FoCUS) without having to do much of anything at all. As far as education goes, it’s no Carleton, but it’s heavily respected in Minnesota and has a good rep in the rest of the Midwest. It sounds like you’re from MN so you probably already know that. Also, I encourage you to apply to Carleton and at least take a look at what financial package they offer you. I chose Carleton partly because it ended up being cheaper for me than my other options which included UofMinn and St. John’s with both of those two offering me merit (that might also be slightly skewed because I was a recruited athlete. If you play a sport, e-mail the Carleton coach, it can’t hurt). Best of luck to you, you’ll turn out fine whatever you do.
So sorry to hear about your dilemma, Uponatime. My husband grew up on a farm too, and his parents had a similar attitude. But college was a lot less expensive back then. U of M Morris is a great option for you. I agree that you should go ahead and apply to Carleton, and see what they say. My son is awaiting a response to his ED application, so maybe you’ll both end up there next year! We looked at several schools that have the Carleton feel, and would definitely recommend Grinnell, Denison and College of Wooster, which have already been suggested by others. I would also add three more (also from the Colleges that Change Lives book): Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI (both are connected to nice, small cities) and Beloit College, Beloit, WI. We didn’t visit it, but Knox College in Illinois is also supposed to have nice merit aid packages. So you have lots of options. Just check them out, and start applying. I like Niche.com for student reviews about their experiences at these schools. Good luck!
