I have a college that I would love to go to picked out, but I also would like some options just in case their financial aid isn’t enough for my family.
ACT:34
GPA:~3.7 uw, ~3.85w
The northeast is my preferred location, but anywhere but the far South is okay. I would like a liberal environment with a total undergrad of 5k-15k.
I don’t want to be picky, just trying to find any colleges that would cost <15k/year that I would be happy at. (Iowa resident)
What is your favorite school? What are the characteristics that you are seeking?
My favorite is RPI. When I said liberal, I basically meant not conservative haha the middle-ground is okay. I like RPI for its very strong STEM programs, its location in NY, its environment (students are, in general, slightly nerdy which I like), and its bioinformatics/molecular bio major. Some things I don’t want are a super big/small college- I’m not opposed to LACs, but many are much smaller than 5,000 students- and colleges that don’t have solid research program. Top ~200 on USNWR preferably, I’m not big into rankings but that narrows it down. @shoot4moon
Case Western, URochester, and WPI all come to mind for good merit schools. A few of my friends have gotten >20k in merit from those schools with stats similar to yours. I’ve vaguely heard about Wentworth Polytechnic too. I know they’re easier to get into but idk about money there. I’d also look at RIT
^ Yeah, but getting enough merit to make total costs <15K would be tough. You’d essentially need all tuition covered. So something like a full-tuition scholarship from Stevens (competitive to get).
Do you qualify for fin aid? Have you run NPCs?
Honestly, getting scholarships to your in-state publics may be your best bet.
Cost is going to be tuition, fees, room, board, plus 1-2k for books, plus a couple $ per mile distant from home, plus $40-200 /month spending.
Some places have expensive housing, and some places have more expensive off campus entertainment than others.
Case.will have a.total cost of attendance of around.70k/year. R&B will be around 13-14 of that. Figure that even with full tuition, it’s going to be 17-20 per year depending on your spending habits and social budget.
I don’t get the bias against a.whole.geographic area, unless you prefer snowy winters. Geography is a poor predictor of social climate.
MI Tech, Miami, Louisville, Bradley, some of the Dakotas, may come close to 15k. So might U New Mexico.
Not a lot of bargains to be found in the NE. Maybe Maine or URI?
Oh, right, you could look in to competitive full-tuition scholarships at schools like Illinois College and Maryville.
Many publics in the Dakotas are fairly cheap even for OOS, but I believe above $15K total.
U of Maine offers in-state rates to many (I think you’d qualify), but total costs would still be above $15K.
My in-state (university of Iowa) would cost about 9k a year - I would be okay with going there, but it’s so big and definitely is a party school (although I’m sure I could get away from that). It’s definitely on my list, but I’m just trying to find some other schools that cost a similar amount and might be a better fit. My EFC is slightly less than 40k a year cries but my family really can’t afford much more than 20k which is pretty difficult to find most of the time. I would love to not have a ton of debt before grad school, which is why I’m looking for <15k. @PurpleTitan @50N40W
Anything in these lists of interest?
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ (if National Merit)
However, these lists are a few years old; check on the colleges’ web sites for any changes.
If you combine it with an external scholarship, Brandeis is known for giving generous merit aid. Otherwise, it fits your criteria perfectly: northeastern location, medium sized, liberal, slightly nerdy, high ranking, and strong biology program.
Getting below $15K in the Northeast may be almost impossible for a strong STEM school. RPI is a great school, but I would be astonished if you can get it for that price threshold.
Iowa State is your best bet, and check out pricing for the U of MN as well.
I like how Miami of Ohio sums it up in one simple chart: