<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>I'm currently a junior, and I'm looking to go (hopefully!) to a top-tier college/university. My family's income is <20,000, and I was wondering how hefty of a financial aid package I can expect to get from these private colleges...I'm looking at majoring in chemistry and going on to grad school, and I think I would prefer a liberal arts college (like Amherst or Swarthmore...if those are even in my reach) over a research university, at least for my undergraduate. My ACT score is a 32, and I go to one of the best schools in my state. I just don't want to waste time delving into these top-tier colleges if I'm not going to be able to afford them anyway. So back to the main question: how much financial aid should I expect to get from these liberal arts colleges? What about major research universities? Is a 32 too low of a score to even consider these? (That was more like the main three questions....sorry!) Thank you all so much!</p>
<p>Do you have a non-custodial parent?</p>
<p>If your income is that low, and you don’t have a NCP, then you’d get full aid from a school like Swat or Amherst.</p>
<p>However, there are many schools that might gap you.</p>
<p>You should look at the list of need blind schools. You wi be amazed at the number of schools you can attend at no cost. Agree about Swarthmore and Amherst being top schools you should look at.</p>
<p>Good luck and congratulations on a 32!</p>
<p>How many times have you taken the ACT? You could try it again with some prep and try to bump it up. A 32 is great but every little bit can help. You could also try the SAT, some do better on it, some not. The schools that are hardest to get into generally have the best aid, so keep up the GPA and see what you can do with the test scores.</p>
<p>This is a clarification of what lacrossemom wrote. Many folks use these terms interchangeably…but they really have two very different meanings!</p>
<p>Need Blind is an admissions term. It means that financial need is not taken into consideration when the admissions decision is made. It has nothing to do with financial aid awards at all.</p>
<p>Meets Full Need- this is a financial aid term. It means that IF admitted the school pledges to meet the full need of all accepted students using the school’s formula to compute need.</p>
<p>MOST schools are need blind for admissions. About 50 or so schools guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students. Swat and Amherst have the policy to meet full need.</p>
<p>The most important thing is to find a few colleges that you absolutely know will accept you and that you can afford. Those may be your locals state schools. Your GC might also have a line on some schools that have been generous to students with your stats from your high school. Those are the base of you list on which you can then start building by including other schools where admissions is not so assured, and maybe a small chance, and those where getting full need met is a lottery ticket.</p>
<p>There are some schools that guarantee to meet full need. That means if you get accepted to those schools, they will give you the money that you need to go there BY THEIR OWN CALCULATIONS. But these schools are usually the most difficult to gain entry, and no one can count on getting accepted to them.</p>
<p>But a lot of schools will give good aid to the students they want the most, so that the more of an academic standout you are in a pool, the chances go up as to whether they will give you a good financial aid package or not. These schools do not guarantee to meet full need, and they usually don’t, but they do for a select group of the students they want the most. So do include some of these schools on your list too.</p>
<p>As stated above, Swat and Amherst guarantee to meet full need and are need blind. But take a look at their acceptance rates. Therein lies the problem.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.questbridge.org”>www.questbridge.org</a></p>
<p>It’s a scholarship program for low-income, high achieving students. This will be perfect for you. If you become a finalist, you can rank up to 8 schools out of their 35 partner schools. Princeton, Yale, USC–even Amherst & Swathmore are some of the schools on the list. If you get matched, you receive a full ride scholarship to which ever school you ranked matched you. It’s such an amazing program. To find out more info, check that link out. It’ll tell you more than I can. You can also sign up for the College Prep Scholarship which is for juniors. The app is due on the 27th. Just check out the website and do some research on it. I will participating as well. I hope this helped! PM if you need anything :$</p>
<p>Resources that might help you:</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/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)</p>
<p>[Colleges</a> that meet full need without loans](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Colleges”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php)</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>
<p><a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>The first two are lists of schools that meet full need. Great schools - hard to get into!</p>
<p>The last two are lists of schools that offer full tuition and full ride scholarships based on merit, rather than need. These are less competitive schools, and one of the “automatic full ride” schools would be a great safety school for you. (Automatic means that the scholarship is guaranteed for any candidate with qualifying SAT/ACT scores and GPA. So you know ahead of time if you qualify for the scholarship.)</p>
<p>Any other private school you look at that does not meet full need is a crapshoot - if you’re one of the school’s top candidates, they could give you terrific aid . . . but if you’re not, you could get nothing. If you look at the financial aid ratings on the [Princeton</a> Review](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/schoolsearch.aspx]Princeton”>College Search | The Princeton Review) website, you’ll see schools that meet “86%” of student need or “71%” of student need. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. That doesn’t mean that that’s how much they give each student. It’s just the average, so some students will get much more, and others will get much less. Still, an average of 86% is better than an average of 26%!</p>
<p>P.S. I strongly second the recommendation to look at [Questbridge[/url</a>]. That might be a great resource for you! And the deadline for the College Prep scholarship is coming up soon - don’t miss it! You can find out more about the Questbridge programs here on CC: [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/]Questbridge”>Questbridge Programs - College Confidential Forums]Questbridge</a> Programs](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/][b]Questbridge[/b][/url”>http://www.questbridge.org/).</p>
<p>Notre Dame says it meets 100% of students needs…hmmm…and I’m low income as well</p>