<p>What colleges (aside from the obvious Harvard and Princeton) would you recommend for a low income applicant that needs a good financial aid package but also wants to attend a prestigious university. </p>
<p>I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA, top 3 in class, 30 ACT, good ecs, and take many AP classes. I hope to get my ACT up to at least a 32.</p>
<p>there are so many to choose from. do you want a big or small school? what part of the country? one with sports and school spirit? how do you define prestigious? etc.</p>
<p>I do prefer a larger school, but it doesn't have to be downright huge. My definition of prestigious: well known by people throughout the country for excellence in academics. The quality of a school's sports program doesn't really matter to me; however, a lack of school spirit isn't very appealing either. I prefer universities on the East or West coast or in larger cities like Chicago. I guess that narrows it done quite a bit :)</p>
<p>here is a list you might find useful (from US News)</p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, Williams, and Stanford give great finaid package.</p>
<p>There are not "so many to choose from" that meet need. The top schools that give generous aid are reaches for him with current stats. There are many second and third tier schools that should give nice merit aid to someone with his stats, especially with a high ACT. For that there's a list on the parent's board.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins probably isn't a reach unless he's a pre-med.</p>
<p>Are there any LACs that are known for great aid? I've heard good things about Macalester, but what about Pomona, Denison, Muhlenberg, and Bucknell? I realize those aren't all first-tier institutions...</p>