<p>I know, the title of this thread sounds pathetic.
But, I am really stuck here. BU is my DREAM SCHOOL.
I have an 89 GPA, 2100 SAT, Took the ACT a few days ago and I am taking subject tests next month. I have a ton of EC's and go to a competitive public school.</p>
<p>This issue is: HOW AM I GOING TO PAY? My family's EFC is low (haven't calculated it yet) but both my parents are over 60, we put nearly all our money into our home (constantly renovating), combined income is like 30,000ish, both self employed, and my dad is retired. AND I have a brother who they put through school and I'm first generation. My parents are immigrants.</p>
<p>The thing is, my GPA is a bit low. How will this impact how much aid I get? I need like 20-40,000 a year. :( please, any advice or answers or anything would be so amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH!</p>
<p>I am lost, then. All of my colleges are “unaffordable”. Only ONE is and that’s the in-state school I’m applying to which I have no desire to go to.
What am I supposed to do?</p>
<p>2100 beats their stats. They like A- or better. But, the harder the school, the harder it is to blow out your gpa. They know that. They will lknow your hs. Compare your rank to their info. Lots of ECs is good, especially the kind where you help others. Geographical diversity helps (ie, live outside New England/Mid-Atlantic.) Seems like you could offer ethnic diversity-? And, first-gen.</p>
<p>FA plusses: low income, older parents (over 50.) See if BU has a finaid calculator. Apply.</p>
<p>I would definitely retake the SAT. 2100 is an excellent overall score, but your 1310 CR/M is not as impressive, and many schools ignore the writing score when determining merit awards. A 1350 or higher would probably get you more merit aid. You have nothing to lose if applying to schools that superscore the SAT.</p>
<p>You are so NOT lost. You wrote that your family income is 30k. 60k (twice your income) is the tier where most schools say we’ll do every bit as much for you as we can. (Depending on their $strength and whetever guidleines they have.) Never give up! You’re at a good hs- go see GC. Saying a coll does not guarantee to meet full need misleads many. It could mean their offer is just off by a few thousand. You make up the rest via student loan, summer job, campus job, and other ideas.</p>
<p>I don’t think I will retake the SAT- purely because I took the ACT and if I do well on that then I don’t see a need to retake the SAT.
BU aid is so sporadic… And I have my heart set on going there. Which is terrible for me I heard that they either give you a lot of aid or they give you none.</p>
<p>Thanks lookingforward. Maybe I’m just believing everything I read; but some say that even with their EFC as 0, they got barely any aid from BU.
Sigh</p>
<p>You probably took the SAT about six months ago? You could probably do better on at least the CR part just from normal intellectual growth. Your math might actually go down if you haven’t kept up with it, but if it does, it won’t hurt you with superscoring. But any CR improvement combined with your near perfect writing score (790) could make a big difference at some schools. My son took the SAT in March junior year and got 660 CR, and needed an improvement of ten points in CR or math to qualify for a full-tuition scholarship at the state flagship. His math score went down by thirty points but his CR improved to 730 and he easily got the scholarship. If the school superscores, your 790 writing score gives you an extremely good foundation for hitting an even higher overall SAT score if you can have a good day with the CR portion if you retake it.</p>
<p>Uh, no. Student resources are taken into account when calculating need. When colleges gap, the gap is in addition to subsidized loans and summer/term-time earnings.</p>
<p>OP, you may or may not get enough aid from BU, but it’s better to prepare for the worst than blindly hope for the best and leave disappointed. You need a fallback plan–preferably several. Start looking at schools where your stats are high enough for serious merit aid.</p>
<p>I see the other posts where kids didn’t get enough. You are qualified to apply to BU. If it is your dream, try for it. You don’t know how you truly compare with those other kids on CC. This is what I call, “In the hands of the gods.” Ie, it works out or it doesn’t. Be prepared to deal with the results and make the most of other opps you may have. Mass puts high emphasis on education- BU just happens to be a school with a lot of good local competition.</p>
<p>Is there an evening school with free courses for full-time BU employees?</p>
<p>If so, get a job at the university and work your way through. You won’t have the full “student experience” but will have the classes, professors, and diploma for almost no money. You also won’t have to play the same competitive games to get in.</p>
<p>Haav, diff colls handle the loan issue differently. Some factor in loans from the outset. Others do not, they leave loan decisions to student and family. If they offer 28k aid, 8k loans, they have only offered 28k in scholarship money. Not 36k. Our experience is yes, student jobs before fresh year and on campus are considered a source of funds to pay costs.</p>
<p>I will 100% get a job on campus freshman year AT LEAST. And I’ll try to hope for the best but except the worst kind of thing…I’ve already fallen in love with BU though and I don’t want to fall out of love.
And as for schools where I’ll get alot of merit money…I’m starting to see that maybe I don’t want to go to these schools, just because they are schools that are far below my GPA. I would probably get a ton of aid at the college in my town that’s a step above the community college…but, the thing is, I want to go somewhere where I’m intellectually and socially fulfilled.</p>
<p>Sit down with your parents and crunch your numbers. Find out what your EFC is. Then talk with your parents about just exactly how they plan for you to pay for your education. Are they able and willing to pay your EFC? Are they able and willing to pay more than your EFC? If they aren’t able pay your EFC, what are they able and willing to pay? How do they feel about you taking out student loans? How much work do they expect you to do during the summers and during the school year in order to help meet your expenses?</p>
<p>Until you know about the money, do not fall in love with any one college or university.</p>
<p>For some specific ideas on making your college education affordable, pick up a copy of “Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents” by Zac Bissonnette </p>
<p>“…don’t want to go to these schools, just because they are schools that are far below my GPA.” I would say that only if I were pushing 2400 SATs and had a weighted gpa well over 4.0 and could pay fullfreight . Plenty of very bright motivated kids are wildly “intellectualy and socially” fulfilled at fine, fine LACs. Many of these kids first looked at these because their faculty are tops, course offerings are broad, they can actually get into classes they want/need and they aren’t sitting with 699 other kids in an intro class. Equally important, most top LACs got that way because they are solidly endowed, are committed to giving super fin aid and thus can afford to be quite selective. When you see an avg gpa, it may reflect the number of kids coming from highly competitive super-schools, where courses are tough. Sure, these LACs have kids who got in cuz of legacy, sports, parent works there, some phenomenal accomplishement- or,their particular majors are not as in-demand. You have not completed your research. What you know about a few other schools may not be enough. Your family particulars qualify you for straight aid. Merit would be icing on the cake. And, expect to work every year, not just freshman. Sorry.</p>
<p>Apply to BU for sure. Stop using phrases “dream school” and “heart set on it” – that’s an emotional trap you cannot afford. Being able to fixate on one expensive school is a luxury available to the very affluent. This is not your reality. Apply there and apply widely and keep your mind open. In the spring you can look at real offers and real dollars and then you can make a better judgement about what your best option really is.</p>
<p>It’s okay to have a dream school but you have heard of this thing they call a “safety”, right? ;-)</p>
<p>Seriously, NOBODY ought to be having one and only one school they think they could be happy at, no matter what their stats or financials. It’s simply begging for disappointment.</p>
<p>Schools that have lower stats (such as a state school compared to a private top tier) also have honors programs where their “tippy tops” can go and get more individualized, challenging classes and lots of perks. It’s a good thing for a top student who is at a school where perhaps he or she is in the top percentage of stats. </p>
<p>Apply to BU but start looking around with an open mind and get yourself a list together with at least 2 safeties that you can see yourself attending and happy to do so, even if they weren’t your first choice. You can make yourself miserable by convincing yourself even further that your world is pretty much ended if you don’t get into BU, or you can really push yourself to get in but realize that if you don’t, you still have hundreds of schools in which you can get a great education and have a wonderful time. If you will let yourself.</p>
<p>I get it. Be more realistic. I will do that.
But… what are some of those so-called fabulous LACs in my range? Or any colleges, for that matter?
I’m looking at BU, Northeastern, GWU, Fordham, Loyola Maryland, and UCONN (my state school).
Any others?</p>
I heard that they either give you a lot of aid or they give you none.</p>