<p>Hello all:
As I posted on my thread, <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662399-chances-at-yale-brown-uchicago-upenn-bowdoin-grinnell-macalester.html#latest">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662399-chances-at-yale-brown-uchicago-upenn-bowdoin-grinnell-macalester.html#latest</a>, I plan on applying to several ivies and top liberal arts colleges. I would appreciate some suggestions of good "safety" or "match" schools. I have a cumulative GPA of 3.95 with an upward trend, a 32 on the ACT (35 English, 30 Math, 36 Reading, 27 Science), 5's on AP Lang & Comp and European History Exams, a 740 on the SAT II Literature test, and an 800 on the SAT II US History test.
Currently, I have UW-Madison, my state school, as a safety, but I would like other options, preferably with smaller class sizes, excellent political science & history departments, great professors and a student body that truly loves learning.<br>
Thanks! </p>
<p>What can your family afford? A safety has to be affordable.</p>
<p>Well, my father makes somewhere in the vicinity of $90,000 a year, but my mother doesn’t work and I have three younger siblings, so we have a very high cost of living. I really don’t know how much my parents are willing to spend, but I want a school that is a lot less than $50,000 a year to attend and has good financial aid and maybe scholarship opportunities.</p>
<p>the next step is to ask your family how much it can contribute each year, and then do your search (using the net price calculators) based on that figure. no sense applying to schools you have little chance of paying for. college is extremely expensive.</p>
<p>Miami University in Ohio (honors program)? If money is a consideration, they offer pretty decent merit aid: <a href=“http://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-grid/index.html”>Scholarships | Costs and Financial Aid | Miami University;
<p>For those schools that meet 100% financial need, your family contribution can be expected at the range of about $15,000 to $25,000 a year and those schools are highly competitive in admission. I would not take any of the school on the list as a safety. There are some matches for you on the list (<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014</a>) like Macalester Grinnell, and Tufts (maybe a high match?). </p>
<p>UW Madison is your true safety and the academic quality there is good. You may want to look at the “second tier” LACs (which does not mean second rate in academics), Colleges That Change Lives, to look for big merit scholarship. However, you always have to pay the family contribution expected by the college, unless you get a full-ride or a full-tuition scholarship. Do check the NPC of each college you are interested in.</p>
<p>Use the College Navigator to search for your matches and safeties. Pay attention to the FA and Net Price info but remember that figures are averages so they can vary by individual situations.
<a href=“College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics”>http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/</a></p>