<p>My D is applying to two state universities (both safeties) and then a number of reaches -- georgetown, uchicago, upenn, unc-chapel hill, BU, Northeastern (the latter a possible safety).</p>
<p>But H and I took a hard look at the finances over the past few days...running the calculators and seeing what we can expect and the answer is hahahhahaha....NO meaningful aid.</p>
<p>So now D and I are looking for options (if possible, she'd like to leave the state)....she has these stats:
33 ACT
3/300
4.0 UW
strong ECs.</p>
<p>School parameters:</p>
<br>
<p>East coast (south or north)....though possibly a bit west (uchicago is on the list now)
urban area (though i'm encouraging not just big cities but right now its the thing)
a big-ish school (more than, say, 7000)
a international relations/affairs program</p>
<br>
<p>And we're looking for tuitions more in the $25,000 to $30,000 range....does this exist? </p>
<p>Don’t think you’ll find anything at that price unless it’s a state school. Your best bet would be to look for merit scholarships. But that may mean going smaller—a lot of LACs can be pretty generous. </p>
<p>@SouthernHope - tuition or total cost of attendance in that price range? Are you wanting to contribute a <em>total</em> of $25,000 - $30,000 per year?</p>
<p>Pitt, for sure, if she can do a BPhil in International and Area Studies. She might get some merit, maybe 5-15K on a cost of attendance of 43K OOS. Pitt also has some unusual Euro languages for a semi-state school.</p>
<p>Hey @Tomofboston, is that right? Now we are not from that region, but when I talk to older people who are (by 'older," I mean maybe 35 or 40-years-old), they seem pretty down on Northeastern and fairly up on BU…Northeastern feels like a school that’s on the way up…but only in the eyes of people who have attended over the past 5 years or so…am I right about this? </p>
<p>northeastern is on the climb. it’s a tougher school to get into these days. there’s talk about BU having improved, but I don’t think that applies to their u/g programs.</p>
<p>North Carolina State’s out of state tuition is less than $24,000 annually It has an interdisciplinary program in International Studies that allows a wide range of options regarding concentrations.</p>
<p>University of Maryland’s tuition for out of state students is less than $30,000 annually and offers proximity to DC. They offer a major in Government and Politics with the ability to minor in International Relations.</p>
<p>Some of the schools that I came across when searching for merit aid not too far from us, were Suny Buffalo, Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, U of Toledo, also U of Rochester and U of Richmond. </p>
<p>Agree with TomofBoston about Northeastern and BU almost trading places. To my very uninformed 22 year old self living in Boston, NE seemed to be more of a commuter school/night school 30 years ago. They have now cobbled together a campus, much more so than BU, which is scattered up and down two miles of Comm Ave.</p>
<p>Northeastern had been offering full tuition to NMF which was then reduced to maybe $38K/year and is now down to $30K/year. (Am not sure if my figures are 100% accurate, as I don’t have anyone applying this year.) They also introduced ED this year after years of only offering EA as their early option. Applicants can now decide to apply EA or ED, although I am wary when colleges offer both simultaneously. </p>
<p>While not satisfying your daughter’s geographic requirements, Tulane may be one to offer her merit aid. They have a Nov 15th EA deadline and I would be surprised if they did not award her $25-$30K/year, based on her stats. (Tulane has either adjusted the award levels or added new ones this year; I have seen $27K as new this year.)</p>
<p>There is a very well-informed poster on the Tulane forum. They are not on CA but their app follows CA format, as best as I can recall. Give serious attention to the Why Tulane essay.</p>
<p>Agree about UMD-CP. Solid $20K less per year for OOS than other privates in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Look at the financial aid pages of some lower tier schools within your state. They might have some in house or department scholarships that will lure your higher stats daughter to the school. I was looking at some in my state. The deadlines are usually Early Action deadlines but some were Nov 15 so you need to hurry. My son has a friend who was offered tuition + room & board at a “third tier” school from a departmental scholarship. </p>
<p>Unversity of South Carolina has #1 ranked International Business school (I know it’s a bit different than the desired major) but she would be eligible for the Cooper scholarship which would take tuition to about 8k. She would also probably get in the honors college which is also ranked very high. Also in the state capital. BUT the application deadline may be past for big scholarships? May want to check quickly. </p>
<p>Agree with PP who suggested American. Ds received $20,000 in merit there with slightly higher stats. Lots of internship opportunities in her area of interest since she would be in DC.</p>
<p>This doesn’t fit the urban area requirement, but Ole Miss has a decent program for International Studies. Check out their Croft Institute. One has to be admitted directly into the program as a freshman, but she should be with her stats as long as she shows some interest. Ole Miss also has a smaller Honors College compared to most big SEC schools. She would get significant merit money there. </p>
<p>Re: Northeastern. The mid 50% of enrolled freshman this year scored 31-33 ACT and 2020-2190 SAT. In addition to the NMF scholarship, they offer the Northeastern Scholars program which includes full tuition and many other perks. It is offered to about 100 of the topmost applicants each year. </p>
<p>Northeastern is and has always been unapologetic about its professional focus. </p>