I agree Rowan might be a good option, also TCNJ, Ohio University.
Duquesne used to give minimum $10k merit. That would bring the price down around $35k
Where is your twin applying?
@mommdc she is applying to mostly in-state nursing schools. So Ramapo, Stockton, TCNJ, etc. We are pretty much the exact opposite in terms of what we want in a college. I want a large research university in/near a city, she wants a smaller school thats close to home.
I don’t think the American award is off. You have top grades and good scores.
I think you’d get a lot of merit aid from Vermont. It’s expensive, but they give merit aid.
@jjohnross have your parents actually told you that $30-$40K per year is affordable for them? Will the cost for your twin also be in that ballpark? A total yearly cost for 2 of you of $60 - $80 K seems like way too much for an income of $100K. Hopefully they are not planning to take out huge Parent Plus loans. make sure you discuss the details with your parents, have they looked at the NPC results, too? Some parents don’t want to share the full financial picture with their kids because they don’t want to create disappointment, but that will not help you build a realistic list.
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Im a senior who has already applied to the majority of colleges on that list.
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Ok…but don’t apply to the rest of your list.
And …
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Merit Schools I've added are Boston College, maybe University of Richmond. I might add Penn State or Delaware since their oos tuition is around 40k as compared to 60k for a lot of my other colleges. <<<
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good heavens! NO!!! You won’t get merit from BC or Penn State! You probably wouldn’t get much/any from URich or UDel either. Who the heck is advising you?
You need to add some schools that FOR SURE will give you merit for an ACT 30.
I think he would get money at Delaware and might from the others. He’s first in his class and has good scores.
I seriously doubt he will get merit aid from BC. Richmond is not likely either.
Make sure you spend the $50K inheritance first because there is a much larger penalty for money in your name than in your parent’s name. You have time before RD and you have a reasonable budget of around $35K if you include working over the summer and a few hours a week during school. Find a few schools you like that fit that budget without merit or need based FA just in case the others don’t work out.
most people on this thread have given good advice! thank you!
To the passive aggressive advice-givers, theres a way to give advice without being rude. its very hard being the first to go to college WHILE being first generation. I have done this entire process almost all by myself!! I’m applying to every college I listed no matter what, scores have been sent, I’ve visited them all. Its too late to start over, and saying that isn’t advice. Thats just putting even more stressful thoughts into my head. I will apply to a few schools I know I can afford, thats already been established. This thread was only meant to understand my EFC, not to have a full blown analysis of my entire college process based on other posts here on CC.
Thank you.
I don’t think the intent is to hurt you at all. What often happens is that students do not apply to schools they like and will realistically be able to afford. The folks who posted warnings are trying to keep you from being one of the students who posts next spring saying that they can’t afford any of the schools they got into. If it comes across as being rude, please know that this was probably not the intent.
You are getting $50,000 and your parent’s got a $650,000 property…you have an interesting concept of “screwed over.”
We’re not trying to hurt you. We’re trying to prevent you from feeling terrible next spring when you don’t have affordable schools.
It sounds like you’re just applying to schools you like, but have no evidence that they’re affordable
Boston U has very few merit scholarships, so they would be awarding them to hooked or high stats students.
It also sounds like you don’t understand who merit is awarded.
@mom2collegekids I’m struggling with finding schools that have the aspects of the college experience I want that I would be awarded a scholarship or money from. Advice on this thread has made it sound like there is 0 hope and no purpose of me even applying to the schools I like which is extremely un-motivating.
What private schools would you recommend? Is somewhere like Trinity College a good fit? Anything in the northeast with good academics, nice campus, near a city or in a nice area is what I’m looking for
I think OP posted here to get some great suggestions for programs he/she may have overlooked. If you get merit at some of your applied to/dream schools, great. The experienced CC posters here do know the 411 - however your specifics can perhaps have something work at a school that has very limited scholarships for merit. It just does help to open yourself up to some additional choices - which may financially work for you, and you adjust your attitude/take another look. You want to be mature about the process. The parents on this thread are not social media throw out negative messages kind of people. No need to get your ego bruised; not intended.
OP, sounds like you have a lot of emotion invested in this decision - emotion placed there in part because of a message you may have bought into that now you find there is a different paradigm.
In addition to some of the things you place high on your list for school type (big university, big city, etc) you want to finish UG with as little debt as possible.
My DD decided to stay at her campus summer after her first year of college, and it cost her $2K for housing. So she now has finished UG, decided to do a mission trip, delayed professional licensing and job. Now she will start her professional paying career mid-December, has a wedding next summer, and fiscally is in a hole. Does she regret her decision to spend that $2K? Heck yes. (she could have done the same courses with same college network and live at home that summer). We have a budget for the wedding and she is happy we are being generous enough. Last fall she was pressuring us to help her buy a vehicle/loan her the money (we have been letting her use one of our vehicles). Tried to explain that cars depreciate and she could not afford a vehicle - she countered with “you are not helping me pursuing my goals”. We have helped w/o ‘enabling’ - and we have to be fair to both our DDs. She sees how much her car insurance is; her fiance’ and she do need to have their budget work. H and I started with less; our parents did what they could - college was important and they were supportive. H and I shared a vehicle, and H then had a very cheap drive to work vehicle that worked out well.
Lucky you to have some generous relatives able to help financially. There is something called cost/benefit analysis.
You do not want a lot of debt after UG. So hopefully you can and will apply to enough schools so you have some options that are financially friendly.
What is your intended major and what are your career goals?
@SOSConcern My intended major is business or communications. I would like to work in management or marketing. I am still somewhat unsure and want a large school with a lot of majors just incase I do change my mind.
I do have a lot of emotion invested in this decision. Nobody in my family has gone to college before and all through high school I’ve tried to do my best to get into one of the colleges on my list. My school is very competitive, and a lot of my peers are applying to the same colleges as me. Im just really nervous that I won’t be able to fulfill what I’ve been focusing on for the past 4 years, while a lot of my peers will, who put in a lot of the same effort I did. The anxiety of it all is really getting to me (hence my previous post on this thread).
I don’t mean to sound entitled or whiny, but this process really just means a lot to me and I hope it all works out. Sorry for so many posts!
You might get enough merit at Providence, Scranton, St. Joe’s or Siena to come in around $35,000/yr. Seton Hall has good merit and a good business program. What about TCNJ which also has a good B school?
@jjohnross a couple more Philly area schools which might be good financial safeties for you. First is La Salle University, COA approx $43K, with merit$ could be affordable for you. They have a good business school and it is a nice medium sized school, around 4000 undergrads.
If you are willing to consider a smaller school, approx. 1700 students, Ursinus College, in a suburb outside of Philly is a wonderful college, and is one of the CTCL (Colleges That Change Lives) schools. They recently announced a new “Gateway” scholarship program which you would be eligible for, so with a COA of $63K less the $30K scholarship, it might get you to a price you can afford. It is still very important to have that discussion with your parents!! How much can they pay each year for yourself and your twin? Make sure they are not counting on you to take out big loans, since the max. you can borrow yourself is $5500 year1, $6500 year2, $7500 years 3 and 4. Any more than that would need to be borrowed by them. Can/will they take home equity loans on the beach house? Are they counting on your $50K to be spent on college, etc. Discuss those details now, so that you are all on the same page, and so that you really understand what your target cost is. The posters here just want you to end up with acceptances that you can afford come next spring 
From the Ursinus website:
"Ursinus College has announced a new scholarship program that guarantees eligible students $30,000 per year for four years, which nearly cuts the annual cost of attending Ursinus in half.
Every student who applies to Ursinus will be considered for the scholarship. To be eligible for the financial support, at the time of admission students must meet Ursinus’s college prep-level course requirements and present a minimum of an ACT composite score of 28, or a combined 1260 on the critical reading and math section of the SAT.
What are the college prep-level requirements?
Four years of English
Four years of math
Three years of lab science
Three years of social science
Two years of foreign language
Two years of academic electives"