I just didn’t think I had great chances at the schools that did offer good aid. I see your point though, and I definitely wouldn’t mind saving $140 or however much it would be. I started another thread for this because I thought this one was finished, but do you think Georgia Tech would be a good decision?
Try the net price calculators to see what financial aid you may get. Be prepared to see high prices at most out of state publics.
Try the net price calculators to see what financial aid you may get. Be prepared to see high prices at most out of state publics.
Seems like all these threads are all about what you can afford to pay while the most competitive schools are now providing decent aid. The OP did not start out asking specifically about the funding. Yet the assumption by some posters seems to be that students don’t know what their family can afford so let’s bring them down a notch and highlight that. It is true that many students don’t know what their parents can afford. But that isn’t an issue here. This student wants Computer science and engineering and seems to have the credentials to get into one of the very top schools. Lets look at the #1 school for that-MIT, also on OP’s list. What I say is true for Harvard and many others on the list. Many of these schools have their own formula. They require the CSS and each considers different factors. So, you can’t necessarily know ahead of time-as you could if talking about typical state schools and the FaFSA
If MIT wants you, they will make it happen. They will provide the aid that meets need. Do they meet want? No. But they do take a lot into consideration. Parents with a gross income of 100K will likely qualify for a considerable amount of aid from a school like MIT-even if they wouldn’t qualify for federal aid of any sort. Factors like how close to retirement parents are and how many siblings are factored in also. Since the OP has credentials to make entry into one of these top schools possible, I’d advise loading up on those schools. I’d not consider schools that would give you merit aid-if that means you’d be at a less highly ranked school. If you are certain about engineering and computer sc, another thing to consider is that loans will not be the type of burden they would be if you had a different sort of major. By their 2nd summer before junior year, students from top engineering schools are getting 15K for summer internships. And I don’t mean just a few of the students with top grades. I mean that the students from top schools can figure that into the equation. So go for it!!
By highly rated I mean in engineering and/or computer science.
@lostaccount thank you for the very informed input! I was thinking the same thing about financial aid and loans. My plan was to load up on those schools and see who accepted me, and I think I have good back-ups otherwise.
Georgia Tech: I think it’s cheaper than Michigan or Berkeley. Can you afford it with little to no aid? I’m not sure. You have to run the numbers.
It sounds to me like $65k/year may be an issue. On a $100k/year income, $30k could prove to be a problem too. It’s not like no teen has ever assured CC’ers that their parents made decent money and would pay for these high cost schools only to find out later that they really won’t. Better to err on the side of caution so the children have options. Even a $90k college fund can disappear quickly if the familiy can’t, or won’t, pay its EFC.
Have your parents agreed to cosign loans for you? Students can only borrow ~$5500/year on their own.
@austinmshauri Yes, we have spoken about loans and everything. It will be stable and I am not worried
I think the OP has done an excellent job of researching schools & is very realistic in all of their posts. VERY impressed with this student & the mature dialog they have engaged in with posters on this thread. Well above the quaility of most students posters!
@csdad Thanks a lot; I really appreciate that!