Help me make a list of schools for little sister?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi guys!

I’m through the college process (thank God), but my little sister is just getting started. I’m trying to help her put together a realistic list, and would love input if you all have any recommendations. I’ll list her stats, what she likes, additional info. She’s just finishing sophomore year so some of these are speculative, but bear with me.

NY resident, white female
GPA: 97/100 UW (school doesn’t weight, not a 4.0 scale)
SAT/ACT: 30-32. Not official, she took one earlier this year totally cold (no studying, no idea of format) and got a 26. I’m confident by end of junior year she could hit 30 at least with studying (I know you can’t really guess but we’ll roll with this for now).
Class rigor/schedule: all Honors classes, advanced a year in math & science; no AP’s yet (though I’m desperately encouraging her)
Activities: all-star cheerleading team, VP of student government, prom co-chair, part-time job, religious ed., some volunteering

What she likes/wants:
Ideal major: Marketing/merchandising, general business
Ideal location: She loves California especially, and warm places in general; NYC also, and the Northeast/mid-atlantic is safe too
What she wants: Medium-sized to larger school (just nothing SUPER tiny), she’s super social so nowhere where everyone is a hermit, she’s interested in Greek life, would love a school with good career services/job placement

What we’re looking for (her family)… somewhere semi-affordable, whether that be through good financial aid, aiming at lower schools for bigger merit scholarships, or in-state. EFC will be roughly 20-25k though we’d love to spend less.

Thoughts so far:
Occidental College (as a match, supposedly really good fin. aid)
Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC (NY state school)
University of Southern California (fits her socially, but probably unaffordable, and hard to get into?)
Alabama (auto-merit scholarship/Honors program, school spirit/Greek life)
Penn State University Park (seems like a good fit socially & for career services, but unaffordable for OOS?)

Any comments on whether those schools match my criteria would be super helpful, I’m just going off my Princeton Review book! And I would LOVE more suggestions, particularly a few in California (and some with good aid/merit money).

Thank you!

2

Before we can tell whether a school is affordable or not, can you tell us what your family’s budget is (as well as your EFC if you know it?)
Suggestions: Look into Oneonta/FIT and Marist.

3

Yes Penn State is unaffordable OOS. I’m not sure even if she got the half tuition at USC it would be affordable. What is your home state?

4

I included EFC as well as home state in the original post. EFC of roughly 20-25k, NY resident.

5

@novafan1225, The EFC (estimated family contribution) and your family budget is different.

EFC is the number you get if you complete the FAFSA. If the EFC is low ($5k or less) a student may qualify for a federal Pell grant (up to about $5k/year). The Pell grant is phased out at an EFC of about $5k, so a student whose EFC is $0 will get the whole Pell grant, but a student with an EFC around $5k probably won’t qualify for more than a few hundred dollars, if that.

If a student’s EFC (as calculated by the federal government) is low enough she’d qualify for a Pell grant AND, as a NYS resident, for a NYS TAP (tuition assistance) grant. That’s important because together they can add up to about $10k/year for low income student. (In NYS that can be stretched far enough to pay to commute to a local SUNY).

6

Ah. Saw the EFC and missed the home state. Since you say your family can afford the expected $20-25K EFC I doubt you’ll be getting a Pell Grant. For general business look at Baruch.

7

@austinmshauri Not sure what you’re getting at? I mentioned the EFC, about 20-25k; we don’t even come close to qualifying for the Pell grant or the TAP grant.

Like I said in the post, EFC is 20-25k though we’d love to spend less. Meaning, my family can afford that with manageable loans though we’d of course love suggestions of less to minimize those loans.

8

Will look into Baruch, thanks!

9

Clemson, possibly? You’d need to run the EFC, but it would seem to suit her in most other respects.

10

Clemson is very expensive OOS. Don’t think she’d get COA down to the family goal.

11

@Novafan1225, Someone upthread asked your EFC (“estimated financial contribution.”) You don’t calculate your EFC; that’s a number the government arrives at when you fill out the FAFSA (based on your income) to determine whether or not your family qualifies for a Pell grant.

Since you don’t qualify for TAP or Pell, you need schools where the COA is within your stated $25k+/- budget or one that offers merit aid based on stats (SAT/ACT and GPA). If your family’s actual EFC is $25k, I don’t think you’ll qualify for much/any need based aid at most schools.

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@austinmshauri right, but I DO know what my EFC is because I am currently in college. And that’s calculated with 2 kids in school, me and older sister, which will be the same when younger sister enters as my older sister will have graduated undergrad by then. It is just under 20k from FAFSA but my school determined we could pay approx. 22k so I gave a range to account for minor fluctuations.

Given that COA at most schools is pushing high 50k-low 60k, I’m not sure why we wouldn’t qualify for need based aid? Unless I’m missing something. Both my sister and I received need-based aid when I entered school (not before, as my sister was the only child in school and so our EFC was double).

Does anyone know where I can find the list of schools that meet full need?

13

Need based aid depends on the school. I think the colleges with the best need based aid are pretty competitive. Check the threads at the top of the financial aid forum for schools that cost $25k or less, and for the threads about schools with good need based aid. Line up some where she’s competitive with her current 26 ACT and some where she’ll be competitive if she reaches her goal of a 30-32.

14

Since ranking is not a major concern, consider looking on this list http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html#latest

It offers automatic tuition given criteria are met. If nothing else, it is a good list of financial and academic safeties.

15

Very few schools “meet need”; there are only about 60-80 colleges that promise to meet 100%. The others pick and choose who they’re going to “gap” and who they’re going to entice with merit scholarships. The former tend to be those in the bottom 50% for stats, the latter tend to be those in the top 5-10% for stats, and everyone else must hope the NPC results were accurate. The only financial aid everyone’s sure of if the fereal loans for 5.5K a year.
You have them here:
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need?int=970708&int=970708
Note that for public universities “meets demonstrated need” is to be understood "for in-state applicants).
Run the NPC on Oneonta (and look into the program with FIT) as well as Marist.
Check out the scholarships at Miami-Ohio and UAlabama, which sound like they’d be good fits, too.

16

Except for UNC-CH and UVA which meet need for all students.

17

At this exact moment, the ACT is low. I know you said projected 30-32 but the bottom line is right now, she has a 26. I definitely recommend keeping the grid in-state. SUNY’s are solid schools with good business programs.

18

Check out Macaulay Honors College which offers a program at Baruch. As a NYS resident, she would receive free tuition, a laptop and some other extras.

19

@TheDidactic completely agree, I hate to speculate as I know that’s a relatively big jump but I do think that’s at least in reach for her with studying over the next year. Do you recommend a specific SUNY for business?

@midatlmom definitely will, thanks!

20

Binghamton is the best but a bit of a reach. Look into New Paltz, University of Buffalo, University of Albany, Oneonta, Old Westbury, and Oswego.