<p>you might want to add another great Economics “Intellectual” LAC and with great financial aid, Grinnell, to this group</p>
<p>School / middle 50% SAT CR+M / acceptance rate</p>
<p>University of Chicago / 1370-1560 / 27%
Williams / 1330-1530 / 20%
Swarthmore / 1340-1530 / 17%
Haverford / 1300-1480 / 25%
CMC / 1310-1510 / 16%
Macalester / 1290-1450 / 46%
Grinnell/1220-1470/43%</p>
<p>^^ And Grinnell does have a fabulous FA program. OP, one of the reasons that my son did NOT go to Chicago was their offer of FA was pathetic compared to other schools- they have a reputation for being very stingy re: FA. Now this was 5 years ago and maybe things have changed, but for us, Chicago offered only 1K in LOANS and every other college my son was accepted to offered us 15-25K in GRANTS. Quite a difference…So be careful in pinning all your hopes on Chicago- you may be accepted but might not be able to afford to go. That is a big reason you need to find safeties that offer you the classes you want, at a price you can afford.</p>
<p>For average need-based aid, Chicago (at $33K) would appear to be more generous than Brown, Cornell, Georgetown, Penn, WUSTL, JHU, Tufts, ND, Northwestern, or Rice. Unlike any of the Ivies, it also offers merit scholarships, a few for full tuition and more of them for $10K. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Chicago’s average debt at graduation (~$24K) is higher than any of the Ivies. This may be due to different demographics or to different policies. In any case, to judge from some of the CC posts as well as statistics, Chicago does seem to be a little quirky in how it distributes aid.</p>
<p>The LAC with the highest average need-based aid is Amherst (at $39K). About 20 other LACs average ~$30K-$35K, with full costs slightly cheaper than Chicago and lower average debt at graduation. YMMV.</p>
<p>([Kiplinger.com](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/]Kiplinger.com[/url]”>College Rankings | Kiplinger)</a>)</p>
<p>We’re getting a bit far from the OP here, but yes, as it happens, I enrolled at Shimer at age 16 through the [early</a> entrance program](<a href=“http://www.shimer.edu/academicprograms/undergraduate/earlyentrantprogram.cfm"]early”>http://www.shimer.edu/academicprograms/undergraduate/earlyentrantprogram.cfm). (Early entrants account for about 20% of the student body, and also make up a majority of Shimer’s notable alumni, though I’m afraid I am not among those.) I recommend early entrance in the highest possible terms to anyone for whom it is an option. Grading by examination has gone by the wayside, however – there is still a system of comprehensive exams, but it has changed enormously from the original Hutchins vision. </p>
<p>It is probably (regrettably) true that the Hutchins vision was never a good match for the U of C or any comparable institution. But like many Shimer graduates, I count myself fortunate that his vision had time to flower, and drop at least one seed on fertile ground, before it met the reaper’s scythe.</p>
<p>[College</a> Search - Amherst College - Cost & Financial Aid](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>[College</a> Search - Williams College - Cost & Financial Aid](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p><a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board;
<p>Average Financial Aid Package
$41,672 - Williams
$40,441 - Amherst
$38,991 - Chicago</p>
<p>“so getting accepted into a private college with a fairly large endowment is preferable”</p>
<p>If you don’t expect merit money, schools that meet full need make endowment irrelevant.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>and many of the schools that meet full need tend to have the higher endowment/student</p>
<p>'If you don’t expect merit money, schools that meet full need make endowment irrelevant."
Wait a minute. “Full Need” can mean lots of LOANS! Which a student must pay back! Unless a college specifically has stated that a students “financial need” will be met ENTIRELY with Grants, [ as HYS have done] then meeting a students “need” can mean taking on thousands of dollars of debt, which is not smart no matter your future profession. Some colleges have recently pulled back from their "no loan FA " pledges made a few years ago- Dartmouth did recently. So be very careful to fall for the “I can relax because the college says they meets full need” trap. Read the fine print.</p>
<p>gadad: saltwater and freshwater are two schools of economic thought. I have heard them referred to with other terms as well, sometimes with Univ of Chicago as the reference for freshwater and Keynesian for saltwater. I harken to the saltwater school, personally.</p>
<p>Woow, so many responses, thanks for all the input guys! I’m going to try to respond systematically to the points brought up in discussion.</p>
<p>About the weather, I’m a San Diego local, so I know how it is :D. One could argue however, that I don’t understand how bad the weather is outside of SoCal and will be miserable in a place in the far east.</p>
<p>I do plan to go to grad school, and many have said grad school acceptance rates are higher from LACs. Definitely something i’ll look into.</p>
<p>FA is definitely a concern for me, for, as I have said, my family income is really low. On the flip side of that coin, wouldn’t that mean regardless of Chicago’s purported stinginess I would be able to have my need met? I’m talking like $25,000 for a family of four. Needless to say the economy has been rough on us.</p>
<p>To help guide discussions, please attempt to refrain from trying to convince me to choose a school besides UoC as my primary. I have researched to topic fairly well, and I am convinced it is the right school for me. Remember the topic, a good fallback for University of Chicago (I’m not referring to any of you specifically, but more the general atmosphere that seems to be creeping into this discussion).</p>
<p>Once again, thank you for all the input. You’ve got me convinced to take a much more serious look at LACs, and probably choose a couple good ones as my fallbacks should I not get accepted to Univ of Chicago, though, judging by the looks of things, the top tier LACs (Claremont Mckenna, Swarthmore) are not much easier to get into than University of Chicago (making schools like Grinnel or Macalester more fit for my particular needs in this situation).</p>
<p>More than anything, this discussion has helped me learn more about various colleges and dissipated some of the rumors and assumptions that I had. Any more input would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Paul Krugman wrote a terrific essay in the NY Times Magazine explaining the divide between the freshwater economists and the saltwater economists.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html</a></p>
<p>“many of the schools that meet full need tend to have the higher endowment/student”</p>
<p>Using the high endowment criterion can miss schools that meet full need with a lower endowment (they’re likely need-aware, also irrelevant to applicants).</p>
<p>““Full Need” can mean lots of LOANS!”</p>
<p>Full Need legitimately means only Federal loans, usually somewhere around 10% of COA. Anyone who sees a school claim Full Need but packages more than Federal loans should point it out to the rest of us!</p>
<p>Don’t get me started on Krugman, but lets keep this a discussion of colleges rather than an intellectual debate ;)</p>
<p>OP, I think you need to visit the CC U Chicago forums frequently , starting now, and pay lots of attention to discussions regarding older and new threads regarding any FA packages that Chicago offers accepted students . It may reassure you or open your eyes . Good luck.</p>
<p>When MIT had its Economic and Financial symposium, Krugman and Mankiw were in a panel together (And Romner). It was hilarious watching them/hearing them. This was about a month ago. I enjoyed the event. Good times.</p>
<p>All the schools mentioned above (Chicago, Williams, Reed, Grinnell, etc.) award millions of dollars each year in financial aid. If your family of 4 has an income of $25K/year and you are a competitive applicant, you can expect generous aid offers. Still, some offers may have significant gaps, so you can’t afford to be dead set on one school or type of school. Try to keep an open mind about LACs, Ivies, state schools, etc., at this stage when you are still shopping around. </p>
<p>Haverford and Davidson are two excellent LACs with good aid in warmer areas than Iowa (Grinnell), Chicago, or Minnesota (Macalester). You won’t hear much about **Centre College<a href=“Kentucky”>/b</a> but it’s worth a close look for quality and value in a less selective school.
[Centre</a> College: Forbes names Centre best college in the South](<a href=“http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2010/forbes_best_in_south.html]Centre”>http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2010/forbes_best_in_south.html)
[Centre</a> College: Centre ranked No. 1 educational value in U.S. by Consumers Digest](<a href=“http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2008/consumers_digest08.html]Centre”>http://www.centre.edu/web/news/2008/consumers_digest08.html)</p>
<p>Tanker999 wrote:
</p>
<p>OK… Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, Rochester, and U. Minnesota are/were the bastions of freshwater economics.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon has a reputation for inconsistent financial aid, though it might be generous if it really wants you. Rochester awards lots of medium-sized merit scholarships and a few big ones. Be sure to submit your application early to be in the running for the big ones. U. Minnesota has low out-of-state tuition, though it might not be low enough to compete with colleges that offer generous need-based financial aid.</p>
<p>All of these freshwater universities are up north where the winters are long and cold. Chicago lives up to its moniker, the Windy City. I don’t think that you should pick a college based on the weather, but be forewarned that you are going to experience something different from San Diego.</p>