<p>Here is a list of schools that commit to meeting a student’s full financial need:</p>
<p>[Universities</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)</p>
<p>Syracuse isn’t on the list. If you look at the [Princeton</a> Review](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/schoolsearch.aspx]Princeton”>College Search | The Princeton Review) website, you’ll see that Syracuse has a financial aid rating of 89. The schools that meet full need generally have a rating of 99.</p>
<p>Schools, like Syracuse, that don’t guarantee to meet full need might meet 100% of Student A’s need, and 0% of Student B’s need. When you take the average of all those awards, that’s where you get the 96% that you saw. But, keep in mind, that this average includes only the awards for students who actually accepted their offers and decided to attend Syracuse. There may be many, many additional students who received offers of $0 who decided not to attend Syracuse (because they couldn’t afford to) - and their offers would not be included in that average.</p>
<p>To get full aid from a school that doesn’t meet full need, you must be one of that school’s strongest applicants. If your GPA and SAT/ACT score are just average for that school, you shouldn’t expect to get much in the way of aid. Focus on schools where your GPA and test scores are well above average for that school - that will increase your chances of getting a good award. But it’s still not guaranteed!</p>
<p>If you need full financial aid, then you should consider the schools that commit to meeting full financial need, like the schools listed above. You might also want to focus on schools that also agree not to include loans in the aid packages of low income students. Those schools are listed here:</p>
<p>[Project</a> on Student Debt: Financial Aid Pledges](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php)</p>
<p>These are the most competitive schools, though - so it’s not easy to get admitted! Keep in mind also that the school’s assessment of your actual need may not agree with your assessment. In other words, the school may decide your family can afford $5k/year, when you think your family can’t pay anything.</p>
<p>Your other best option is to consider schools that will award you a generous award based on your GPA and SAT/ACT score alone, without considering anything else. Those schools are listed here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>