<p>I'm a rising senior, and I'm starting to narrow down my college list. </p>
<p>A few quick stats:
4.0 UW GPA, 35 ACT, likely NMF
SAT subject tests: 800, 760, 750
Pretty good ECs involving music (All-state level, competition wins), but nothing spectacular</p>
<p>I'm thinking of majoring in chemical engineering, but I may switch to physics/comp sci/whatever. I'm pretty fickle, and I'm expecting to change interests in the next year. </p>
<p>My parents are willing to contribute between 25,000-30,000 per year to my education. </p>
<p>Here's the list, with the EFC result from each school's NPC enclosed in parentheses if applicable. I didn't run NPCs for state schools since I figured they aren't likely to meet need for OOS applicants. A lot of schools I was initially looking at gave crazy EFCs in the high 30 to low 40 thousands, so I removed those from my list.</p>
<p>Stanford (19k)
Rice (21k)
Grinnell (29k)- I know I said engineering, but like I said, I'm fickle. I like having options.
USC (37k)- Ok, maybe I can hope for the Trustee scholarship. It's a stretch, but I love the school.
Case Western (27k)
Northeastern (27k assuming NMF merit scholarship)
Pitt (merit aid??)
UMD College Park (may cut this one, but merit aid? Maybe?)
UMN (hoping for merit aid)
OSU (hoping for merit aid)
U of Alabama (guaranteed Presidential scholarship (full tuition), if not NMF scholarship (full tuition+))</p>
<p>Any more suggestions? Schools I should add, schools I should remove? </p>
<p>UMDCP does have merit scholarships up to a full ride (Bannecker - Key), but expect anything big to be highly competitive. You may want to estimate the range of prices for the state schools based on the range of merit scholarships that you may or may not get. Minnesota is relatively inexpensive at list price even without scholarships.</p>
<p>It does look like Grinnell and Northeastern (and USC to a lesser extent) are rather opposite schools in flavor.</p>
<p>Yes, I may remove Northeastern from the list, although the scholarship is very attractive. I guess in my mind I would prefer an academic, intellectual atmosphere to a more career-oriented one. I love Boston, and I love the campus, but I’m still trying to weigh my options. </p>
<p>It is sort of a weird list. It says to me you need to keep exploring. I don’t know a lot about it but something says WashU if the numbers work. Have you considered Brown (easy to be fickle/explore)? If your EFC is so do-able at many ‘meets needs’ schools then maybe you can splurge on apps and be a little reachy. That is if you decide you are good with a couple of safeties that you would definitely go to. So couple safeties, couple solid states you like best if they are known to give merit or you can afford, a little more reaches/privates.</p>
<p>Read this interesting account, just thougth this in particular might show you one person’s journey and how they evolved in what they decided (not thinking there is everything like you or anything, and he messed up his aid)
<a href=“My college application results and final decision - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>My college application results and final decision - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;
<p>Add Harvey Mudd (or swap for Grinnell)?
What state are you in? </p>
<p>Other schools with engineering that claim to cover 100% of demonstrated need:
Brown (and all the other Ivies), Caltech, Duke, Olin, MIT, Northwestern, Tufts, Vanderbilt, WashU</p>
<p>If you love Boston, Tufts might be a good choice. </p>
<p>Tufts does not give merit aid. </p>
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<p>This does mean swapping a match (or even low match) in Grinnell for a reach (since Mudd is a reach for everyone). And going to guess that Mudd’s EFC will be in those 30s-40s COA ranges she gave, too. Don’t get me wrong, could be a great fit. But not sure it would affoardable, so run the NPC on it.</p>
<p>Did you check your EFC for high-ranking schools that offer no-loan FA packages to ALL students who qualify for FA, not just very low-income students? Even if your EFC is higher at these schools than at others your are considering, your long-term, out-of-pocket costs can be significantly less because you’ll have fewer loans to repay overall. I don’t have an exhaustive list of the high-ranking schools that fit this description. But a quick search suggests it would include Vanderbilt (I’m certain of their no-loan policy because my son attends), Yale, Princeton, Penn, Harvard, Columbia and Stanford. Among the LACs I believe you’ll find Amherst, Bowdoin and Haverford. Granted, these schools are reaches for any student but your stats suggest you’d have a shot at them. So if you haven’t already, run the EFCs and investigate them for fit with your interests. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I ran the NPC for Wash U, and it is around 37k, so that’s probably a no-go. Harvey Mudd looks like a great college, but I don’t really want to attend a STEM-only school. I’ll run the NPCs for some other schools you suggested. </p>
<p>Added Swarthmore and removed Northeastern. I’d be very happy attending either Pitt or UMN, but I’m visiting Alabama later this summer, and I hope my visit will be as good as others’ on CC.</p>
<p>You are likely to get merit aid from Grinnell. Another idea for merit is Smith College, which also has engineering.
Williams is another one that has excellent sciences (no engineering, though) and generous need-based aid. They are especially responsive to music ECs, even if you don’t intend to major in music.</p>
<p>I agree with BrownParent that your list does not appear self consistent. You appear to be in the range of most selective and selective colleges. Your State flagship is a likely safety, but is not clear which that is. The other OOS publics , including Alabama (unless that’s your state of residence) don’t make much sense. If USC best reflects what you are looking for then identify 10 colleges which are similar in size and reputation (either as good or better). In other words restart the list with a different frame of mind. Talk to your high school counselor and plan on some visits. EFC is important but many colleges which are not your list and which on first look would have good or better EFC than those that are.</p>
<p>Did you adjust your USC figures for 1/2 tuition for NMF? Not guaranteed admission but still.</p>
<p>Yes; unfortunately the 1/2 tuition scholarship at USC only lowers the COA from ~$60,000 to $40,000. @fogcity, I’ve run the NPCs for many of the “most selective” colleges, and not many lower the EFC to an amount that my parents are willing to pay. I did mistype- Rice’s EFC came out to around 30k, not 21k. A lot of schools I ran the calculator for (Northwestern, Brown, Cornell, Tufts) gave an EFC of 37k or more, which is not feasible. My state of residence is not Alabama, but Alabama is a fine safety for me (and guaranteed). I’m applying to OOS publics where I believe I’d have a shot at merit aid, since that is looking to be the only way I can bring the COA down to a reasonable amount. For example, at Minnesota, where the total COA is only a little more than $30,000, getting even a little merit (such as the Gold National, bringing tuition down to in-state) would make it affordable. At OSU, I believe I have a shot at the $18,000 National Buckeye, which would bring the COA down to ~$20,000. I’m applying to a few selective colleges that I like and that are on the affordable end, but applying to a bunch that have EFCs much higher than what my parents can afford just doesn’t seem like a good use of time/app fees/emotional investment.</p>
<p>If you have any suggestions for colleges I may have missed, please share. </p>
<p>Schools with unaffordable EFCs based on the NPCs I ran:
-Northwestern
-Cornell
-Tufts
-Rochester
-Wash U
-Brown</p>
<p>A small part of me wonders how accurate these things are. But, my family doesn’t own a business and we are not in some kind of unusual financial situation. My parents make a lower-middle-class income, but they have lots of assets/inheritance/lack of debt which make the EFC shoot up quite a bit. Suggestions are appreciated.</p>
<p>Debt isn’t a factor in efc. Unless you are implying that saving comes from lack of debt. It is mostly income driven with what parent svgs. do you have any income or svgs affecting the efc? some colleges count home equity some not. HYPS, not sure about M, give ‘super aid’ so it is a real lottery win. I think you are wise to rule out unaffordables now, unless they give merit.</p>
<p>Did you try Amherst Williams Dartmouth? Esp dart because engineering?</p>
<p>@BrownParent, oops; I meant to say mortgage, not debt. Home equity hurts us, so the colleges that don’t count it seem to be giving better EFCs. </p>
<p>Thanks for your suggestions!</p>
<p>Ok I don’t know if I was clear, but student earnings and savings add a lot to efc. Is that a factor? </p>
<p>No, not really. I have a bit saved (like, <$2000), but I ran the NPCs with and without my savings and the difference was negligible. Student earnings are not a factor. </p>
<p>Stafford loans are reasonable. Are you including those in your calculations? That could boost your range to 30-35K. Otherwise, you have some nice reaches (Rice, Stanford), and Case Western is pretty close to a safety also. If the numbers come in, that could be an excellent choice. UMN seems affordable on it’s list price. Supposed to be great for ChemE, but not sure how much professor access you get as an undergrad. </p>
<p>I’d be careful about ChemE at Pitt. They have integrated the curriculum to the point where it’s going to be hard to transfer the credits if you don’t like it. It’s hard to know if one would or not. </p>
<p>Otherwise, I think that your list is quite reasonable. </p>