@ourhouse Take a look at Susquehanna U. DD received 23K merit scholarship without submitting any test scores (3.25 UW GPA with very good service-oriented ECs and I assume great recommendations).
The College of New Jersey, Ursinus
TCNJ ACT middle 50 percentile is 24-29. You expect them to give money to OP’s daughter?
I also suspect that they have money for OOS students. They are really eager to acquire a national profile.
Ramapo was mentioned up thread. It is an underrated NJ college, IMHO. My college prof colleagues , not at Ramapo, have kids attending there, and have been happy. May be worth a look.
My D, also adopted from China, has stats slightly lower and a few LDs to contend with. She was offered merit aid at several small LACs and gets a diversity scholarship from the CTCL school she attends in Virginia. She did write about her identity as an adoptee in her essay. She also looked at some Pennsylvania state schools where your D’s stats are about average and OOS tuition isn’t bad. Some have reduced OOS tuitions based on grades and if you live in a nearby state.
I am curious what those PA schools are. Haven’t heard this before (but am not from PA or a nearby state). Always good to know for future posters.
@intparent I believe Barbalot is referring to the PASSHE system (Bloomsburg, Millersville, East Stroudsburg, Slippery Rock, etc.), which run about $17,000-20,000 or so for OOS tuition and fees, and seem to have opportunities for reduced tuition for out-of-staters. Although I wasn’t aware that any of the reduced OOS tuition scholarships are limited to neighboring states.
http://www.esu.edu/students/enrollment_services/financial_aid/scholarships/out_of_state_tuition_award.cfm
https://www.millersville.edu/admissions/undergrad/out-of-state-residents.php
Go ahead into aren’t, Call me a liar, it’s fine because I totally have a motive for that. Good grief. Apparently sharing experiences that someone doesn’t like makes me a liar.
Google: don’t check Asian… For a list of articles about this phenomenon. These articles came out as my daughter, also Asian and adopted was getting ready to apply. Lucky for her she was female going into stem and had the grades but all of the colleges I mention freely admitted the practice. Others did not. i have five other Asian kids heading off to college in the next few years, one waiting for her ed2 decision as I type this. I am keenly aware that this happens and to deny it does those children a disservice. Do some research. It’s easy to find.
My brother is Chinese, also a B student, and he had great success with selective LACs in the midwest. He definitely brought diversity to the one he attended.
@Britsmum - nothing you are saying is new information to most here, some give the idea that “Asians compete against each other in admissions” more value than others. It’s been discussed many, many times in various areas of this forum. Some insist it happens, some insist it does not, some are skeptical…there’s a range of opinions on it.
Regardless of whether schools actually do it, it would be remarkable indeed for them to tell a parent that they do, since they ALL insist that they do not. That’s where the skepticism is coming from.
@ourhouse , one of my Ds has been pleasantly surprised by the merit offers that have come in so far. She got a 29 on her ACT, so I’d definitely work on raising that. So far she’s gotten the top awards from Ohio Wesleyan, Wells, Agnes Scott, and Allegheny. This amounts to as much as 28,000 per year.
We don’t know definites about need-based aid yet, although I’ve run NPCs so I have an idea of the total picture. I strongly, strongly agree that you should look at the CTCL.
FWIW, my other D (her twin) has stronger stats (higher ACT, etc), and will be starting at Mount Holyoke in the fall. With her, it was pretty much all about the need-based aid as opposed to merit – that’s a difference with a more competitive school. We knew going in not to expect the same merit there that she’d have gotten at a school where the middle range of scores was 23-29, like Allegheny.
The more they want/need you, the more they’ll pay.
They do not “all” insist they do not.
I don’t doubt that it happens at the Ivies and top research universities – there is a cache to those names in Asian countries that is a huge driver of an emphasis on those schools. But I dispute the LAC examples. And NO ONE in their right mind in any admissions department would say it at any college – you must be reading between the lines on something else that was said, and it may not have been their intent at all. Or you read it someplace that someone else heard it, and believe it.
I know that there are NJ public schools - Ramapo for example -, that deserve consideration, but none of them offer a penny of aid. I’m just astonished by this but maybe public universities in all states are the same. I guess the lower tuition is the break we get for paying taxes. But in NJ at least, tuition, room & board, books etc comes to around $30k, plus or minus $5k. Which is more than I can afford. 
Ourhouse - “I know that there are NJ public schools - Ramapo for example -, that deserve consideration, but none of them offer a penny of aid”
Ramapo offers merit money, as does Rowan. There is NJTag (for poorer students) at public schools in NJ.
NJ Stars program offers free community college tuition (although no longer pays fees) if you are top 15% of high school class in EITHER your jr or sr years. So there is money, and considered NJ publics are about 20K or more less expensive that NJ privates, I’d say that is a pretty good start 
Thanks, NJRoadie, but when I enter our numbers into the NPC for Rowan or Ramapo, I get nothing in grants or merit money. Maybe D’s scores aren’t high enough? We wouldn’t qualify for NJ Tag, and I’d like to explore as many other choices before turning to CCs.
I was referring to Indiana University of Pennsylvania with the reduced tuition for certain states, including New Jersey. I hadn’t realized anyone with a 3.0 high school GPA could also qualify. The tuition is $16,185. See http://www.iup.edu/admissions/undergraduate/cost/tuition-reduction/
Slippery Rock also has the 3.0 GPA reduced tuition. See http://www.sru.edu/Documents/admissions/tuition-and-fees/UGNR.pdf.
York College of Pennsylvania, a private, also has fairly low tuition with merit aid that goes to students with lower stats as well: http://www.ycp.edu/admissions/cost-and-financial-aid/scholarships-and-grants/
Ramapo NPC does not ask about academic credentials so it will not show merit money.
All NJ public colleges give out merit money. For example, Rutgers-NB has 100+ full rides and bunch of smaller scholarships (but not for ACT 24)
The main issue is your child’s ACT score. Have her take more practice ACT tests, go over the questions she answered incorrectly and take more practice tests. If she can raise her score to 28, she will qualify for more merit aid. Also, have her try the new SAT practice test.
The NPCs may not take show merit aid. .Rowan’s Financial Aid webpage has a table showing how much merit aid a student may receive based on SAT scores. An ACT score, I think, corresponds to a SAT of 1150 - that means $2000 in merit a year - and the higher the score, the more merit aid a student will receive. The other NJ schools may have a similar table.
Here what you gotta do (in my opinion)
Today:
Let your husband know whats at stake. $40 to $200K in possible financial aid for your daughter.
Show him what will be required so he can get his house in order.
- Make sure your ex-husband is filing taxes. You’ll need that info for the CSS or as close to what should be on his tax form as possible.
- Get a print out of CSS profile questions and get him to answer as best he can. If he doesn’t have much in terms of income or assets this will not hurt you.
- NJ child support agreement last until the child graduates college, correct?
CSS profile schools give the best aid.
I’d focus on the LACs which give nice packages. Some ideas.
Colby Sawyer
Agness Scott
Gouacher
University of San Fransisco (asian is minus here)
Clarke
Hobart and William Smith
Mount Holyoke
Smith
Bates
McCalaster
Spring:
Start showing interest: sign up on the web sites. Visit over spring break. Good to to college fairs.
Your daughter should focus on her grades. Good grades are important.
This summer:
Write 2 essays for use in the common App. Polish Polish Polish. Ask her GC and favorite english teacher to review.
1 essay will be the common app. The other she will pull from for supplemental questions.
Start the common App.
Practice Interviewing skills.
Fall:
Ask for rec letters early. Finish the common App .
Submit to meet all EA deadlines. You’ll get better aid with an EA app.
Does she have a 'passion" that’s she constantly pursued? And can show “evidence” of accomplishment and leadership? LACs love that sorta thing. Especially if she can bring hard copy support to the interview.
Here’s some more.
University of Puget Sound
Lynn University
New College of Florida
Northern Arizona
Loyola Marymount
St Olaf
Dennison
Case Western
RIT
Centenary