Financial Aid at Brown and D's other choices

<p>Just curious what kind of financial aid package Brown offers.. are they reasonable? We are Middle Income (100,000/year) two children. Youngest only age 12. D is applying to:</p>

<p>Univ. Of Miami
Southwestern
Duke
UNC/Chapel Hill
Emory
Brown</p>

<p>She will most likely get some nice merit aid from Southwestern and UM but wondering if there would be any way to afford Brown (my favorite for her) if she should get in. He stats are 1400 SAT/ 32 ACT, SATII's: Writing 710, Literature 740, Math 1C 620 (math is always a problem for her but she wants to major in English/WRiting anyway). Lot's of EC's, leadership, etc. </p>

<p>I would appreciate info from anyone who knows about Browns financial aid as well as any comments on D's college choices (would any of these be considered matches?).</p>

<p>Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>

<p>An older guide ( 1999-discounts and deals at top colleges) states Browns average amount of loans for graduating students is $17,500. This is larger than comparable schools. They do meet 100% of need but with two kids and approx $100K income ( assets?) I would bet your EFC is around $18K.
They have gone back and forth on whether they are need blind but I beleive that for now they are , although their endowment is the smallest of the Ivy league schools.
Her SATs are about midrange how are her grades?</p>

<p>She has a 4.17 GPA and is ranked number 1 out of 248 in her public high school. Has also taken most rigorous curriculum (although that curriculum is not all that rigorous i.e. only 4 AP's available this year and one last year).</p>

<p>Brown does not offer any outright merit awards thought there may be merit within need awards that can lower any loan and workstudy amounts. Brown is needblind and gives 100% of demonstrated need, but my experience with them has been that though they are more generous in financial aid than the vast majority of colleges, they are not as generous as HPY. Their formula for aid is a bit stricter and they do not have the endowment that those schools do. </p>

<p>You should look at the list of Emory scholarships and see if your D qualifies for any of those. Some require nomination by your D's school, so you need to coordinate this with her GC. If you don't ask, you may not get. It seems to me that your D has a good spread of schools in selectivity. Is NC your home state? I would not depend on merit aid at any school even if it is a good bet. A state school is always a good additional item in the basket when financial aid is a critical factor in picking the school</p>

<p>She was nominated by her school for the Emory Scholar prgram and she sent in all her stuff last week for that. She really likes that school. In addition, she interviewed at Miami and they said she definitely qualify for some nice merit aid (their website indicates that with her stats she would qualify for the 3/4 tuition scholarship - I don't think that it is guaranteed but from what we have heard she is likely to get that). Southwestern also has their merit scholarships "spelled out" i.e. so much money for 1400 SAT / 32 ACT.. so much for valedictorian, etc. I hate to sound overly confident but not real nervous about these two schools. I think that she will get sufficient merit money to swing them. We are from PA. She does NOT want to stay here (can't blame her, LOL!). So she will not even consider a PA state school. Which I really have no problem with. She has really worked hard in school and all I want is for her to be happy and get a good education. If she wants to leave (although.. gosh I will miss her).. then I can't in good conscience try to keep her here. I really can't wait until this is over.. I am so nervous about what is going to happen and it seems like so long to wait!</p>

<p>Since when is a 1400 on the SAT an average or midrange score? Do you know how much of a joke that test is? The only people who can get near perfect are the people who know what words like "matriculation" and "aspersion" mean. How is vocabulary an indicator of how well you do in college? It is really horrible that colleges base scholarships on that test. The same thing goes for Grad Schools with the GRE. The SAT is supposed to test what you already know...not esoteric vocabulary that you have never heard of before. It's irrelevant. I think Brown will accept...however...since they are IVY league, don't expect too much scholarship money...you probably need like a 1520 SAT unfortunately.</p>

<p>I am referring to the scores of Brown applicants, not to students who are taking the SAT.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Remember that for any of the IVY league schools, many more qualified applicants apply than are admitted as they have a high yield rate. Even acknowledging 1st in class which can't be dismissed and good SAT scores, a competitive school is never a safety and only can be thought of as a good fit where you may or may not get in, depending on the pool. </p>

<p>BROWN
Early decision application deadline: November 1.
The decision is sent by December 15.</p>

<p>Regular decision deadline: January 1. The decision is sent by April 1.
There is no preference between the SAT I and ACT.
SAT I/ACT and SAT II scores must be received by February.
The common application is not used.
Campus visit: recommended.
Interview: may be arranged.
The common application is not accepted.
Transfer application deadline is April 1.
Early action acceptance rate: 28%
Acceptance rate for valedictorians: 33%
SAT I score (25/75 percentile) 1290-1490
Fall 2006 applicants: As of June 1, Brown has not yet determined its policy regarding acceptance of old and new SAT test results!</p>

<p>Financial Aid</p>

<p>Average financial aid package for the Class of 2005: $24,390
Average scholarship grant for the Class of 2005: $20,100</p>

<p>Thanks for the information... we will just have to see how she fares from all of her choices.. and go from there like everyone else. On the one hand I can't wait to see how it works out but on the other hand.. she will be closer to moving out. I am feeling really old lately.</p>

<p>1400 is a midrange or even below average score at some elite colleges. Vocabulary isn't a fantastic predictor of success in college, although it does tend to correlate with how much (and what) you have read and/or how much you are willing to study - both factors which may influence college performance. The validity of the SAT1 would be better discussed in the SAT forum.</p>

<p>Back to lsandin: As noted jamimom, Brown won't offer merit aid. They have a reputation of being a bit stingier with aid than some Ivies, although award packages tend to be comparable. For a quick check of what your possible aid package might look like, calculate your "expected family contribution" (the amount you will have to cough up each year) using the EFC</a> Calculator. The EFC Calculator uses only FAFSA data, so it may not give a very good estimate for Brown. Nevertheless, it should get you in the ballpark. Note that a good chunk of the "aid" you get may well come in the form of loans that must be repaid.</p>

<p>You might also run the Academic</a> Index calculator while you are at it to gauge how competitive your daughter might be at Brown. A big disclaimer is in order - most of the Ivies claim they either don't use AI at all in the non-athletic admission process or use it in some limited manner. Since it doesn't reflect outside accomplishments, it's of limited use for predicting admission chances. Since it's a general measure of academic prowess, though, the lower the AI, the more admission will depend on "hook" factors. </p>

<p>If financial aid is a consideration, consider some safety-level schools known to be generous with aid. The higher your daughter is in their applicant distribution, the more likely it is that they will award substantial grants to attract her (and boost their own stats). Good luck to your daughter.</p>