Financial Safeties??

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I need financial safety schools and I have no idea where to look. Other schools I'm applying to include Yale, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Davidson, Tufts, etc. I live in Missouri...but I don't think I really want to go to a big state school (MU/KU). What schools should I be looking at?</p>

<p>What I do want in a school:
A traditional campus. I didn't like BU for that reason
Not too big, but not too small. My high school which has only three grades has over 2000 people, and I don't want to go smaller than that.
Strong study abroad</p>

<p>My Stats:
white female
4.0 GPA
35 ACT
780 SAT II-Math Level 2
680 SAT II-English (retaking in Jan)
also will be taking SAT II Spanish and Chemistry
5 AP classes + 2 foreign languages + more "college-level" classes
gifted student
I've done ballet for ten years, community service, NHS, varsity track, etc</p>

2

<p>There are no universal ‘financial safeties’. We can point you towards merit aid schools, but your current list suggests you may qualify for need based aid which would probably be the most secure way to go.</p>

<p>Without knowing your EFC and how much your family is willing to pay, you won’t get quality input.</p>

3

<p>It’s somewhat confusing. My parents are divorced and both make a decent amount but my mom (custodial parent) has zero assets and is still paying for her student loans and overall my college fund amounts to zero.</p>

4

<p>You should still run some EFC calculators. FAFSA should be pretty straight forward since only your mom counts and she doesn’t have any assets; debts I’m afraid won’t be calculated into the equation. You will need your dad’s information for the Profile, but you should be able to get a decent estimate unless his finances are complicated (eg. small business owner). Have you sat down and talked to your parents about how much they can afford for your college each year? What are MU or KU going to cost you per year? </p>

<p>Your stats are great and it looks like you have some dedicated ECs so you have a good shot at getting merit aid from match or safety level schools. There are sticky threads on the FA & Scholarship and Parents forums about merit aid schools. However, the a major problem with merit aid is that unless it’s guaranteed, you usually don’t find out scholarship decisions until quite late in the process, so they are really not safeties.</p>

5

<p>OP, are you by any chance a National Merit Semifinalist? There are some great scholarships for finalists.</p>

6

<p>Since the OP’s list of schools consists of PROFILE schools, her dad’s income/assets will be considered - even if he won’t pay. That could be a huge problem. Her family could end up with a hefty EFC that it can’t/won’t pay - and then FA will be inadequate.</p>

<p>I don’t think the fact that her mom has student loans will help the situation. FA doesn’t care about people’s debts unless they were from medical issues. FA considers debt as a “lifestyle choice.”</p>

<p>PROFILE doesn’t care who is the custodial parent for income purposes - they’re going to look at all income and assets - including any stepparents’ income.</p>

<p>The OP needs to apply to some merit schools. </p>

<p>Since you’re a girl, let me warn you about a possible hazard with smaller schools. Some girls on CC have complained that smaller schools often seem to breed those same bratty “mean girls” that can dominate high schools and middle schools. It’s probably because the small size colleges empower them to behave that way. At bigger schools, such girls can’t ever wield that kind of power.</p>

<p>Just something to keep in mind.</p>

<p>Don’t let the bigger schools “scare you off” :slight_smile: There are many advantages to going to bigger schools. At small schools, typically they only have one prof teaching each class. So, if you don’t like a particular prof, but you need to take a certain class, there’s no way to avoid the prof. At bigger schools, they often have 2 or more profs teaching various classes. So, you can often avoid a prof that you don’t like. </p>

<p>Bigger schools often have honors colleges that give you the “small school within a big school” feel.</p>

<p>Bigger schools usually have many more choices for dining venues. Smaller schools often just have one dining hall and few other choices.</p>

<p>So… :slight_smile: you need some suggestions for merit schools - schools that you would enjoy attending :)</p>

<p>And…ditto to Erin’s Dad’s question…are you a NMSF?</p>

<p>And, what do you think that you’ll major in???</p>

<p>And, importantly, do you know how much your parents are willing to contribute each year? What have they said?</p>

7

<p>You really have to do some extensive work here to make sure you fully understand the process. At schools like Yale and Dartmouth, both parent’s income will count and debt will not. If either remarried, their spouses info will also be looked at.</p>

<p>For many, it’s a shock to find out what even the most generous aid colleges expect them to pay. They expect parents to have saved and whether savings are there or not, it’s still part of their formula. They also expect most parents will borrow even if they don’t have assets to borrow against–thus the invention of the Parent Plus loan.</p>

<p>It’s important that you understand now whether you can afford the need based aid schools by figuring out what they expect (use their online calculators or the ones on this site and college board) and whether your parents can pay that amount.</p>

<p>If it turns out you need merit aid, you need to get busy now! Many scholarship deadlines have already passed. You have great stats and should get good offers at many schools.</p>

8

<p>hmom is right…read her wise advice twice! :)</p>

9

<p>Holy Cross(near Boston) very vice campus and good financial aid. HC is not that religious and similar to Davidson.</p>

10

<p>No national merit…but I probably want to major in English or something with foreign languages. Thanks for all the advice :)</p>

11

<p>OK…</p>

<p>With your stats, you could still get some fabulous merit scholarships. You need to pursue those ASAP (deadlines are approaching!) These need to be your financial safeties.</p>

<p>Your dad’s income will count at private schools, so many of those will be unaffordable because your FA won’t meet your “real need” (demonstrated need + parents unpaid portion). Schools only consider “demonstrated need.”</p>

<p>What schools are you applying to that you’re CERTAIN will give you lots of merit (such as free tuition or more)? I’m not talking about competitive scholarships; I’m talking about scholarships that you will certainly get if you apply on time with your great stats.</p>

<p>:)</p>

12

<p>Truman State…but I’m kind of not too excited because I really want to go out of state</p>

13

<p>This may come as a sad realization, but you may well be priced out of most colleges based on your parents’ finances. Fortunately, you have the stats for good merit scholarships, although few of these are “full ride,” and they can be extremely competitive.</p>

<p>Have you looked at the generous scholarships at Wash U and Vanderbilt? Note that you need to apply earlier than the RD deadlines for some of these.</p>

<p>Have you considered high quality schools in the midwest that are known for merit awards? I’m thinking of Beloit, Rhodes, Denison, DePauw, Creighton, St. Louis U. Grinnell has given a generous amount to a 36 ACT student from our HS. You do need to make the money hunt your top priority, and try not to let small objections cloud your decision.</p>