<p>My asian daughter is thinking to apply in many competitive schools. Is there any realistic chance she may get in with some need based aid?</p>
<p>SAT 1: 800M/800V/720 W</p>
<p>SAT II: 800 Physics, 800 Math II, 800 US</p>
<p>APs: BC Calculus, European History, Chemistry, Physics C, US history, World History - all 5.</p>
<p>Next year: AP French, Micro and Macro, Government, Language and other school required courses.</p>
<p>GPA: top 10% very tough course load, competitive school that does not rank. Many students from the school matriculate at Ivy League colleges each year.</p>
<p>Activities: Debate best record and many tournaments win; Model UN - Best Model UN Delegate award; Volunteer work, Choir, science research</p>
<p>National Competitions: Winner of two national essay competition and finalist in other essay competitions. National Leadership award finalist in Volunteer work</p>
<p>Summer activities: Research Science Institute (RSI), some other competitive summer programs.</p>
<p>It matters what you consider "competitive" colleges. If you mean HPYS, the answer is possibly because they only give need-based aid. If you have demonstrated financial need by their criteria and your daughter is accepted, she'll get aid.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, many top state universities, second tier universities and many first tier universities would offer your D generous merit aid. This would depend on wher e she applies, how carefully she does her application, and how much she shows interest (which is important for some colleges that track interest).</p>
<p>I also suggest reviewing the "merit aid" thread that's pinned to the top of this board. It will let you know what scholarships students got and what their stats were.</p>
<p>A probable sure bet for good need-based and merit aid would be your flagship state university. More than likely a stellar student like your D would qualify for their top aid.</p>
<p>Congrats to your D! She has an excellent profile. RSI plus national essays competition awards show that she is well rounded. She should be very competitive at most top schools, and have a very good chance at MIT which admits many RSI graduates. As a female, she would also have an edge there.</p>
<p>You mention need-based aid. Have you done the finaid calculations?
Be aware that even with need-based aid, schools seem to offer different aid packages. MIT has the reputation of being somewhat less generous than others. A young friend of mine was offered $7k less per year at MIT than at Princeton. </p>
<p>If your D opts for merit-aid, she should be looking at schools other than HYPSM.</p>
<p>We did use financail aid calculators and arrived on those numbers. Yes she is applying to many schools as she is looking for a wide variety. She is well aware of our finances situations.</p>
<p>I crossposted with you. I think your D has an excellent chance at most of the top schools. So it is a matter for her to figure out what type of schools she would prefer to attend in terms of size, location, character (techie, liberal arts, research uni, LAC, core curriculum, open curriculum?)</p>
<p>Then draw a list of match schools since all top schools are reaches and a list of safeties. Some excellent state unis have honors programs and rolling admissions. This is the case for Michigan. An early admission at Michigan would be a great way to start the application process and help winnow down the list of schools that your D should apply to. </p>
<p>If you can give us some idea of what your D would prefer studying and what type of schools she is interested in, we could come up with some suggestions.</p>
<p>She loves sloan so applying to MIT EA also. But we are not sure if she will get in as competition is hard as per her GC. Her GC has told us that no matter what the admission is crap shoot and she has to be ready for anything.</p>
<p>Princeton's calculator is supposed to be quite accurate. But, as I said, MIT supposedly does not give as generous aid as Princeton or Harvard, etc... so I am not sure how accurately it would predict the amount of finaid available from MIT.</p>
<p>Excel is right about avoiding ED if you need financial aid. I would make an exception for Princeton, however, because it is known to be generous. </p>
<p>MIT has EA, and this allows the applicant to apply to other EA schools such as Chicago. Harvard and Yale have Single Choice Early Admission; this restricts the student to one single EA application (though the student can apply to other schools RD) but it does allow for applications to rolling admission schools such as Michigan.</p>
<p>She would be applying wharton (she likes it a lot).</p>
<p>Excel: thanks for your input.</p>
<p>Her GC told us not to let her apply ED. Based on last few year school data, she told my daughter that she has great shot in all her school choices but no guranteees. She told her apply and see what happens.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does it lower kid's chances if you want financial aid?</p></li>
<li><p>What would be colleges that could provide business major and chance for science research provided school offers need based or merit aid in order to join?</p></li>
<li><p>College program where there is a chance for going back to asia.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The top schools are need-blind. Needing financial aid should not lower your child's chances of acceptance. </p>
<p>There are not many top schools that have an undergraduate business major. Your D should look into a combination of economics and science. When we toured MIT, a young man explained that she was doing economics and biology, though not through the Sloan school.</p>
<p>Most top colleges encourage their students to study abroad for a semester or a year, usually in the junior year. China is a very popular destination. Yale, Princeton and Harvard all have their own programs, but many others also send undergaduates to China and other countries of Asia.</p>
<p>Check out the admissions and financial aid website of Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Stanford. They all have financial aid initiatives for families whose income is less than $45k or 60k depending on the college.</p>
<p>Also consider having your D apply to schools that give generous merit aid. I'm sure she would qualify at several. Some of my S's friends are attending Duke, another friend is at Chicago, still another at Princeton, all with financial aid/merit aid.</p>
<p>Newparent, when it comes to financial aid -and admissions- for that matter, information is power. For starters, I believe that you should not pay too much attention to the term "crapshoot." The process is actually quite predictable if you trust a system based on good fit. While there are many schools that will value the stellar accomplishments of your daughters and offer admission, others won't -including lesser selective schools. The reality is that the schools are forming classes composed of many different students. This means that there is not a single "perfect" candidate. I truly believe that schools that truly excite your daughter will in turn find her excitement compelling enough to offer admission. One trap to avoid is to apply to TOO many schools and dilute your efforts. If there is ever a crapshoot, chances are that the candidate used a shotgun approach and had a list of target schools directly lifted from the USNews rankings. While it is easier said than done, it is nonetheless important that EACH application looked like it was the ONLY one. </p>
<p>The financial aid process should NOT scare you. The predictors tools are available. For schools that use the federal methodology from the FAFSA, you'll be able to calculate your EFC to the ... penny. This figure will be important because it is EXTREMELY doubtful that you will ever find funding that exceeds your federal EFC -short of 100% full rides. For schools that use the Institutional Methodology but offer 100% of need, you'll be able to pinpoint your aid. Reading the boards AND the college web sites will give you a pretty good idea of what students received in aid. </p>
<p>It is really up to you to define your potential contributions, and it is entirely doable because the information is available. Unless you have a very complicated financial structure (lots of house equity, self-employed, multiple assets, etc) the process is very straightforward. The figures may not yield the results you'd expect, but it will very clear how it was computed. While it is true that the ED application is not recommended to people who depend on financial aid, this may not be entirely true for people with extremely low EFC. The advantages of ED at some schools are ... tremendous.</p>
<p>PS I hate to correct Marite, but Princeton does not offer UG scholarships. I believe she may have had a different school in mind. I do it all the time. :)</p>
<p>Do you give scholarships for academic merit, special talents or athletic ability?
Princeton grant funds are allocated solely on an evaluation of a student's need. *We do not offer merit aid. *</p>