<p>I was wondering if there's any chance of me getting a decent amount of financial aid for college even though my dad makes over $120K. All the schools I'm applying to are really expensive like Lehigh, Villanova, and F&M plus i have 3 younger siblings (close in age) and a older brother who's in college now. Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>The schools you have listed do offer merit aid to highly qualified students...but it will not be in the "full tuition" department. Will your older brother be in college when you are? Having another sibling in college at the same time as you will help. If your parents have already done finaid forms before, you can guestimate that your EFC with two in college will be a little more than 1/2 for each of you. BUT the colleges will not really take into account those two younger siblings. If finances are REALLY a consideration, and could make or break your college choice, I would suggest that you look at a school that would be a financial safety and add it to your list. This would likely be your flagship instate University. I will tell you from personal experience, your EFC will likely be about $22000. I think only one school on your list guarantees to meet full need (F and M...is that correct anyone??). The others do not. This means that there is no guarantee that your need beyond your EFC will be met. Also, without knowing your specific stats, it is difficult to say whether or not you would be competitive for a scholarship at any of these schools (which have a very competitive applicant pool). And remember too...that schools can meet your "need" with loans. From personal experience (similar income...don't know your assets), your EFC is likely to be in the $22,000 range (for each of the two of you in college). If only one of you is in school, your EFC will be in the $40,000 range. Personally, I think you need to have a financial safety in your mix...and you DO have to have a conversation about school finances with your family so that you will know before you apply what the parents are willing to pay (which is often very different than the calculated EFC). There have been tons of threads here from students who have gotten accepted to their schools only to find out AFTER acceptance that their parents could/would only contribute a certain amount. Don't be in that boat. Find out now.</p>