<p>I am a little confused too. You said that you probably won’t qualify for need based aid. Yet you are looking at Stanford which does not offer merit aid.</p>
<p>Anyway, Washu has been very generous with my daughter - on the need based side. She also applied for their merit scholarships and did not receive one.</p>
<p>^ OP said with two in college OP will qualify for some need based aid at the more generous schools like Stanford and Ivies.</p>
<p>Our EFC is high…but in this situation, having 2 kids overlapping for 3 yrs in school will help us. While we would be expected to pay just about full cost with one in school, having two in school basically means that we pay half of the EFC per kid, meaning that with good aid (meaning they meet 100% need), a private school can be as “cheap” as the instate flagship. (For example, with one kid in school, EFC might be $1000. So, if tuition is $1000, then we would pay all. With 2, EFC might be $1200…however, that means EFC per kid is $600, and we would qualify for $400 in aid, per kids.) Does that make sense? And Stanford is a school that meets full need, in a generous way. WUSTL is not known for that. For that reason, HYPS are often “cheaper” than schools like WUSTL. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong! But, from running the NPCs, that seems to be correct.</p>
<p>Your observations about Ivy/Stanford good / 100% need are probably right… that matches what I thought for 2 in collegeCertainly kids with high stats can try the merit scholarship path too. </p>
<p>Our kids were further apart. And the older kid was on a college interlude, unsure of return. So we opted to not chase need-base aid… to much pressure on family dynamics. But it did occur to me that you could make a case for older kid cutting back to half time, dragging things out an extra semester or two. I never seriously checked the validity of that idea.</p>
<p>Just want to say that WUSTL was very generous to my D with both merit and need based aid. So although on CC it may have a reputation for not giving good FA, in our case it worked out much better than schools that are known for good FA.</p>
<p>
I don’t think so–OP should take a look at its FA policies.</p>
<p>I would say that if your son is considering Yale, don’t wait until you hear from Stanford to start on the Yale application.</p>
<p>OP here - have spent the day sort of reflecting on various suggestions that have been made. I decided that for MY peace of mind (not his, since he doesn’t seem worried in the slightest!), I need him to apply to at least one more “reach” type of school, and we have got to come up with another safety that he really likes. I think Alabama will most definitely be okay if he were to get accepted to their CBH program - but that’s a reach for anyone. South Carolina looks like it may fit the bill as a second financial safety, but we’ll need to visit. Ran NPCs on many of the suggestions here to figure out what another good reach would be, and Vanderbilt comes in much cheaper than Duke or UNC (which came in at very similar costs). To give some perspective to those that were wondering why we thought Stanford could be affordable - our expected contribution at Duke is $11K higher than at Stanford! Given the potential aid available from the Ivies, I agree with Hunt that he should go ahead and apply to Yale too.</p>
<p>Also, had not run a few of the NPCs since they were updated for the new school year, and now our costs at Emory are significantly higher than when I ran the NPC earlier in the Spring. Interesting.</p>
<p>If you check out USC look at their merit scholarships. DS applied and was accepted and received a merit scholarship making USC a great choice. He ended up elsewhere, but they did offer a good package. Boobyhatch has great points. If you add schools that will interest him and also offer merit scholarships, that would be a good idea. Alabama is an excellent option only if he wants to attend. </p>
<p>I will mention that you need to look closely at Emory’s merit scholarship information. They had a requirement to apply separately and it was a pretty early deadline. DS was accepted there but had missed the deadline for the merit scholarship so that dropped Emory from his top choices. </p>
<p>Also, apply for outside merit scholarships. With his scores, he will be competitive for scholarships. Look for local ones which are many times easier to get than the big name national ones. </p>
<p>Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Just an FYI…Davidson is a fabulous LAC. BUT Admissions there are competitive…much like Amherst and Williams.</p>
<p>There are a LOT of colleges between those tippy top schools, and Alabama. I think you should look at some midrange schools listed here where merit aid would be a good possibility.</p>
<p>If he is sure he will be happy at his financial safety (Alabama), then he is fine, but it looks like he might have several more viable options if he doesn’t mind writing essays for supplements: Oklahoma, ASU Barrett, USC, Tulane, etc. He could throw in a few more reaches just to see whether he is admitted and offered workable FA. Best of luck!</p>
<p>ASU Barretts scholarships require a really high GPA for continuing awards…I want to say 3.5 or close to that. If you are looking at merit awards, make sure you check the conditions of renewal.</p>
<p>I think the list is fine. As long as your son understands that the safeties are probably where he will end up going. Getting into those selective schools is difficult. Getting a good NPC read for some of them even more so, and as a parent, be aware and prepared to pay full amounts when your DD graduates college. </p>
<p>If anything, perhaps add some schools where hefty merit is a possibility. Might cost a bit more the first two years when a full need met school would give fin aid with two in college, but that it will continue for 4 years is a big plus. Also a lot of financial aid for those who are not high need, in particular is comprised of self help which can be a damper if you are counting on the usub version of the Direct loans and for your student to work part time to contribute towards the EFC. When a school throws in the Direct Loans, though on a subsidized basis, and gives workstudy, it’s taking money out where you thought you were going to get something. I see that all of the time.</p>
<p>Seconding Classof2015’s suggestion of Tulane for good merit. Emory is becoming legendary for poor financial aid & even worse, poor communication from that department to families. Duke is worth a shot; it’s good for biochem & his stats are within the range. </p>
<p>Since Stanford & WUSTL are reaches for any applicant, your son probably does want another couple schools on the list and needs to be sure he loves the financial & academic safeties.</p>
<p>Wow, OP here and so nice to see this thread pop up again! I wish I could say that we are certain of how to proceed now, but all I can say that we have decided that it’s better to cast a wide net since $$ is important. DS has the CA completed, with essay that he worked on with his English teacher this summer ready to go. He is working on supplemental essays…or so he says…I keep catching him napping!</p>
<p>He has agreed to visit Vanderbilt in October, when his life gets a bit calmer and I’m still hoping I can convince him to send in the app BEFORE the visit. </p>
<p>I actually saw some enthusiasm for Bama this week too. A professor (?) sent him a handwritten postcard from one of the Bama study abroad locations and DS seemed very impressed with that. He wants to be a Spanish minor and study abroad is a huge consideration for him when looking at a school. And certainly, not many other schools have given him that personal touch, which evidently, he really likes. I did discover in talking with him that he is concerned that Bama might be “too conservative” for him, and I think he felt better when I said that at a university of that size, all kinds of political views would be represented!</p>
<p>Took the in-state LAC off the list. I kept thinking he needed that nearby financial safety in case he had a change of heart and wanted to stay closer to home, but he is itching to leave the state and I don’t see that changing, sadly. :(</p>
<p>Little concerned that I saw in another thread the Richmond is throwing money and attention to their business program, and the sciences seem weak in comparison. Was really kind of thinking that it might end up being the perfect midrange school for him, where he would qualify for some merit. I guess it is worth probing that a little more in the months ahead to see if he would be happy with the opportunities there.</p>
<p>Right now, the list stands as: Stanford (huge reach)
WUSTL (reach, his favorite school though)
Emory (which I am concerned about financially now)
Richmond (which I am concerned about academically)
Yale (another reach, but why not try??)
Alabama (safety, and feeling better about it)
USC (safety, recommended by a science professor friend of ours as a better academic fit than Bama would be in bio/biochem - and would need a visit to help make that decision)
Vanderbilt (?)</p>
<p>I am pushing for Tulane, as well, based on what I have been reading. Seems to me like a good fit from all aspects. Just need to give him some time to warm up to that idea… We can then visit if he gets in.</p>
<p>Interesting fact about WUSTL. They meet full need - but they are need aware. This changes the game because they can pick and choose who they fund based on their level of interest. If your S can build a nice case for himself - really peak their interest and make them want him - then he may fair well.</p>
<p>I think if you can afford the schools on the list and he would be happy attending any of them, then the list if fine. If he will not be happy attending all the schools you need to add more safeties.</p>
<p>
We probably can’t restate that enough on CC threads. With need based FA, it is likely awards will be about the same the next years. With merit awards there is risk of losing it to low GPA… especially in majors such as engineering known for low freshman GPA. </p>
<p>OP - I like the Tulane idea. My cousin from Long Island reports her D is very happy there. My cousin is happy with the school and the scholarship ;)</p>
<p>Kennedy, hmmmm, I hadn’t thought of the need aware impact. I do know when we visited WUSTL, they told us they put a lot of weight on their essay…so I’ll tell him no pressure, but his WUSTL essay needs to be a killer since it could truly be a gamechanger! ;)</p>
<p>USC - safety? No way. They along with WUSTL are two of the more unpredictable schools for admissions in the sense that if you look at a scattergram, except for obvious rejects, statistics don’t seem to play huge role in who gets in. They both waitlist a lot of top applicants. They both admit a fair number of students with good but not stellar
(GPA,SAT)=(3.5,2000) students. WUSTL cares a lot about their yield. </p>
<p>Given his chances at Stanford, I might consider ED to WUSTL and just blow off Stanford, because ED would greatly improve his chances at WUSTL. If you don’t get a package that you can afford at WUSTL then he can apply to Stanford RD.</p>
<p>D was accepted to USC and the financial package was terrible! Probably the lowest of the 6 schools she was accepted to. She missed the deadline for scholarships though - which is Dec 1 or something like that. So definitley make sure he hits that deadline.</p>