Together my parents make ~$80,000/year, but they were never married and live separately. How would this factor into deciding EFC / need based aid
Also, based on what I’ve said, would I be competitive for any universities that are considered to “meet full need” or close to it?
For schools that use FAFSA only, or explicitly state that they do not use non-custodial parent information, your financial aid would be based on the parent you live with. For other schools (i.e. that use CSS Profile including non-custodial parent information), your financial aid would be based on both parents. Note that income and wealth of current spouses (if any) of your parents are also included.
Note that many of the “meet full need” schools do require CSS Profile with non-custodial parent information. Also note that “meet full need” schools vary greatly in terms of how much financial aid they may give, since each can define “need” any way it wants, and each may have a different student contribution (student loan + student work). Run the net price calculator on each school’s web site to get an idea of what it is likely to offer (and pay attention as to whether to use one parent or both parents for the net price calculator each school). If the net price calculator indicates an unaffordable amount, then you need to check whether you can get a large-enough merit scholarship at the school.
We were in a similar situation to yours this year and came up with the following list of selective, but not ridiculously so, schools that have been known to give near full need aid to strong students (good rigor and test scores) with less than perfect GPAs: Case Western, U of Rochester, Tulane, Brandeis, U of Miami, RPI, and Trinity U (TX). DS was admitted to four and each met or came very close to EFC with merit/need aid combination. We didn’t really look at LACs, but many of the Colleges That Change Lives such as Centre College, the College of Wooster, and Denison University offer similar types of aid. As suggested, use the Net Price Calculators to identify schools that are likely to offer the aid you need.
U of Chicago and Harvey Mudd have miniscule acceptance rates; you have almost no chance at either unhooked with a subpar GPA and 33 ACT. Pick one or two high reaches if you feel you must (I believe U of Chicago waives the application fee at your income level), but you should use the majority of your limited resources to target the more realistic, but still great, options that are out there.
does anyone know if the GPA will truly drag down this student, considering the rigor of his math schedule?
I’d be interested in hearing the replies for this, for obvious reasons. I’m still unsure as to how high I can aspire, within reasonable limits
UChicago only uses custodial parent income and would be free to apply; if you enjoy truly original essay prompts, you’ll love their application supplements (and if you don’t, it’s probably a sign UChicago isn’t a good fit for you).
I’d include UChicago, HarveyMudd, and Northwestern*, even if they’re big reaches.
Are you involved on your university’s campus, with a professor, in a lab, with mathematical research? If not, look into it tomorrwo and pursue it seriously.
- You'll probably be interested in the MENU sequence http://www.math.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/first-year-focus/
I was going to do a project with a professor involving 3D printing, but I think I might not be eligible because I’m still in HS
If you’re enrolled in the college, you should be eligible. Do participate, it’ll matter a lot to colleges.
The situation is unusual, where a somewhat lower HS GPA and a 4.0 college GPA in many advanced college courses (not just frosh-level ones) are presented. There have been reports of students with such a credentials being admitted to super-selective schools, but it is likely much less predictable whether any given super-selective school will consider the student an admissible applicant.
Probably the safest thing to do is find affordable safeties where the student is reasonably certain of admission with overall GPA (including the worse HS GPA as well as the better college GPA) to start off the list, but also consider highly selective schools as reach possibilities. However, the divorced parent situation complicates matters for the need-only schools that require both parents’ information.
Chicago might be worth a look from a financial standpoint (does not require non-custodial parent information for need-based aid, and also has a few merit scholarships), but no idea on whether it would consider the OP’s academic profile to be competitive.
@ucbalumnus what sort of schools should I consider as ‘safeties’? I live in northern ky, so I know I could attend UCinci at instate tuition while living at home making it very cheap, so it’s the only safety I’ve considered
Ohio State will probably offer you their National Buckeye award, essentially giving you in-state tution, at a minimum. That’s a nice option compared to Cincy and UK. Depending upon your best test scores, Pitt may offer you a good need/merit combo as well. I implore you to look at Iowa’s NPC based upon our own experience, as well. They have been exceedingly generous and compare favorably to your local options.
Your GPA is totally fine… but colleges will also take into account of where you want to school and how you stand against your peers - class rank or not.
Are top-tiers out of the question? Of course not. No matter what people tell you, it is possible.
Unfortunately, there are schools that prioritize students that are out-of-staters and can pay full tuition. An example of this is UCLA. Someone that is friends with an admissions officer there says that there’s a separate pile for them, due to the budget crisis that UC’s are going through. - But it is possible.
Take a step back though and find a college where you will be happy - don’t let top-tier be a factor for deciding unless you are sincerely passionate about the school in all due respect.
Now, MIT. MIT is special. I do not know why but some people here believe that you need a perfect GPA and a near perfect SAT score to even be considered. GPA and SAT scores are possibly the least considered things in the admissions process at MIT. If you do not believe me, go on MIT’s website.
To conclude, admissions officers don’t look for reasons to reject you, rather they look for things to move you up in the admissions process, contrary to what the internet does.
For safeties…
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ indicates that there are some full tuition and full ride scholarships that you may be eligible for. However, you need to check each school’s math offerings to see if it is suitable.
If you get a decent amount of Pell grant (based only on FAFSA, so only the parent you live with; see https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm ), then a full tuition scholarship may be barely enough if you add a Pell grant, federal direct loan, and some work earnings to cover living expenses (net price < $15,000). Otherwise, you may need more than full tuition to make a school affordable (net price < $10,000).
You may also want to check your in-state public schools to see if their net price calculators indicate affordability (net price < $10,000).