<p>U Chicago is a great school, but merit aid is hard to come by.....</p>
<p>I would encourage you to look at Kalamazoo College if you are looking for an "intellectual atmosphere". The studies that measure the percentage of kids who go on to get doctorates rank Kalamazoo vrey highly, usually about equal to Brown.</p>
<p>Your father will pay $12,000. He is a corporate executive. These facts must form the basis of your search.</p>
<p>If your father's income is over 100,000 a year with some savings and he is willing to submit the necessary financial paperwork - this is the situation you face.</p>
<p>Grinnell, Carleton, U of Chicago are at the higher end of total costs. Currently they are both about $44,000 a year in total cost including T/R&B/books/trans/spending cash.</p>
<p>Beloit, Illinois Wesleyan, Lawrence U, Earlham, St. Olaf, Knox are all about $36,000 - 38,000 a year in total cost.</p>
<p>Therefore, you need somewhere between $24,000 to 32,000 to be able to attend a private LAC midwest College/University.</p>
<p>My D has applied to and been accepted at Beloit/Lawrence/Illinois Wesleyan/St. Olaf/Earlham and is waiting to hear from Carleton, so I am very familiar with the available scholarships at these schools. </p>
<p>Merit Scholarships are offered by Beloit/St Olaf/Lawrence/Earlham and Illinois Wesleyan in varied amounts based promarily on GPA (usually 3.5 or 3.6 in academic subjects) and SAT/ACT (usually 1250/29 and above).</p>
<p>The $$$ range from 7500 to 12,500, rarely any amount higher.</p>
<p>In some rare and very limited cases, their could be a full tuition scholarship for special talents (music usually).</p>
<p>Now, if your family's income and assets are more modest say in the area of income $40 - 50,000 income and limited real assets, then you might qualify for need-based aid in addition to the merit scholarship aid.</p>
<p>Frankly, unless your family's financial situation qualifies you for need-based aid, these private LAC will be out of your reach financially. $12,000 + a good scholarship will leave you $10-20,000 short. Carleton gives little merit-based aid, most is need-based.</p>
<p>By the way, $12,000 is probably not enough for T/R&B/books/expenses/fees/and spending $ at a state university in today's market.</p>
<p>Suggest you and your parents have a full and honest discussion ASAP before you finish your Junior year as to your aspirations and their willingness to help you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not Grinnell. Grinnell continues to be one of the better bargains in private education. OP, as we discussed privately-double check everything people say. There are values to be found that defy common perceptions. Grinnell's comprehensive fee this year is $34,800. That does not include book/trans/spending cash. </p>
<p>Is it a financial reach? Sure. Is it possible? Absolutely. (Every school my daughter has applied to with one exception has been a financial reach. So far she is 6 for 6 on making them doable with merit aid alone, and my number is not that far off from your dad's.) </p>
<p>Looking at Grinnell, $35k-$15k=$20K, $20K-$12k=$8k, $8k-$2625 Stafford first year= $5325. You are short $5325 first year. As I suggested to you , that is a reasonable number to work your tail off for in scholarship searches and doubling up on a summmer job (this summer and next). Who knows? If dear old dad sees you busting your chops, maybe a few shekels will fall out. LOL. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.grinnell.edu/admission/tuifees/%5B/url%5D">http://www.grinnell.edu/admission/tuifees/</a></p>
<p>Additionally, these are the scholarships listed. I have not checked, call and see if you can stack a Trustee's with a National Merit. That gets you even closer. Good luck. Go for it. Just have some of the safer merit plays we talked about. </p>
<p>Grinnell Trustee Honor Scholarship</p>
<p>Institutional scholarship based on merit
Highly competitive, based on an admission evaluation
Ranges up to $15,000
Grinnell College's Designated and Endowed Scholarships</p>
<p>Institutional scholarships funded by friends and alumni of the college and based on need and merit
Ranges from $600 to $10,000 per year
Grinnell Sponsored National Merit Scholarship </p>
<p>Institutional scholarship for National Merit Scholarship finalists
Renewable for three years
$2,000 per year for all eligible students</p>
<p>I love Grinnell. What an awesome university. And given their huge endowment (over $1 billion), it is not surprising that it can be so generous with aid.</p>
<p>Alexander, I agree with your assessment of Grinnell. I would offer one slight correction, however: Grinnell is a liberal arts college, not a university. :)</p>
<p>LoveLearning, I second the recommendation for Case. It's a strong pre-med school, and it offers an international studies degree. With the Cleveland Art Museum, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Natural History Museum, and a botanical garden on campus (as well as the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Art Institute), there's plenty of opportunity for intellectual stimulation.<br>
<a href="http://www.universitycircle.org/uc_about.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.universitycircle.org/uc_about.asp</a></p>
<p>They are also very generous with merit aid.</p>
<p>I have often heard Mac mentioned as a having good merit aid. When I checked their website last year they listed four scholarships ranging from 3 - 5k per year. The cost of attending Mac this year is 39k and their new policy which is hidden away in their fin aid section is given below. Based on this, I would be careful in assuming Mac will offer substantial merit aid.</p>
<p>A Note on Merit-Based Scholarships: Some colleges may offer you merit-based scholarships instead of or in addition to need-based awards. Macalester does have some merit-based scholarships. The primary focus of our financial aid program, however, is need-based aid, which makes Macalester accessible to talented students from a variety of economic backgrounds. </p>
<p>The vast majority of Macalester students would qualify for merit-based scholarships at many other institutions. They choose Macalester because they recognize the value of Macalester education. This means that you will be studying with other students who have significant academic achievements and who made their college decision based on value. It also means that additional dollars are available for teaching and research.</p>
<p>Could be they've changed, but they offered my daughter more than that two years ago along with her National Merit scholarship. It was the best offer she got. (Well except for the free ride at a state U). Don't recall how they categorized it though.</p>
<p>Not sure what the last paragraph is for, but the OP says he just isn't going to get the dough from his family to swing it otherwise. Sometimes, when selecting among a number of schools, all of whom have students who have significant academic achievements, and appear to have somewhat comparable value to their educational product, financial considerations can be highly relevant. Especially when you simply don't have access to the money otherwise, and won't be able to go.</p>
<p>The last paragraph is from the Mac website.</p>
<p>curmudgeon: Your assessment of Grinnell is a bit off. If you haven't noticed, Grinnell's costs have been steeply rising for the past ten or so years -- between 5-8%. You cannot judge Grinnell's cost as a static figure, as many students did several years ago to sad results. Some very fine students were attracted to Grinnell by merit aid, only to have most of the merit aid's power erode as costs ballooned. Grinnell's tuition and room and board is around $35 for the 05-06 year, where it was only around $30K just for the 02-03 year, so graduating seniors are paying $5K more just for their final year than they had when they first entered. This isn't bad in and of itself, but Grinnell College has not been offsetting the increasing fees with increased grants--the difference is expected to be made up by more loans.</p>
<p>Here is an article by the student-run paper the S&B nearly five years ago. I'm quite sad that the myth of Grinnell's generosity hasn't been slain as many graduating seniors are embittered and resentful (a recent B&S editorial passingly asked for restitution checks for seniors; one of the ideas being tossed around the B&S--a satire newspaper, not to be confused with the S&B--is the idea that Russell K. Osgood "grows a heart" and refunds tuition). Note that in this article (written nearly four years ago) shows that students even then had troubles with the financial aid office shifting the increasing tuition on students. (Search the S&B for numerous disparaging references by students regarding Grinnell's financial aid.) </p>
<p>In short, Grinnell has not been generous nor fair with its massive endowment. The current administration has rapidly increased Grinnell's fees without cushioning students with grant aid.</p>
<p>The stinginess of Grinnell is also reflected by its rather high cumulative debt its students graduate with--$16,744 for the graduating cohort, which is, as you should note, more than 50% higher than the cumulative debt for the truly top LACs such as Amherst ($12,109), Williams ($10,900) and Swarthmore ($12,413).</p>
<p>Even more damning are the numbers. Let me compare Grinnell with Williams, for example. According to Grinnells 05-06 Common Data Set, it spent $21.6 million on grant aid. Grinnells total of financial aid recipients is 846. In contrast, according to its 05-06 CDS Williams College spent approximately $24.4 million on grant aid. Williams total of financial aid recipients is 870. When controlling for Williams cost ($40K) and Grinnells cost ($35K), and their respective sizes, Williams is only slightly below Grinnell in terms of grant aid per financial aid applicant as a percentage of total cost (70% to 72%). However, Williams also have a much wealthier student population, and even their financial aid recipients are very likely, on average, wealthier than Grinnells financial aid recipients, which tilts the favor away from Grinnell. Even more damning is that Grinnells merit aid is roughly seven times Williams merit aid expenditures (6.7 million to 1 million), which means that Williams grant aid is going to its neediest applicants while a hefty chunk of Grinnells unexceptional spending is being distributed as merit aid (helping the wealthiest students). </p>
<p>Please, please, please do not misrepresent Grinnell College's financial aid policy. Even people getting a "deal"--their merit aid--will probably be burned by an administration that is committed to bring Grinnell's cost in line with its "value." That is, Grinnell College will probably continue to increase its costs until around the $40K barrier. There is good reason to believe this. In a recent discussion Jim Sumner had with some representatives of the student government he said that Grinnell used to be in the low tuition niche, but that it's moving out of it (Grinnell, according to him, having failed to succeed as a low tuition school).</p>
<p>The sad thing is that Grinnell doesn't have to be so stingy with its massive endowment.</p>
<p>HTH</p>
<p>I haven't misrepresented anything. I'm sorry you are having such a horrible time at Grinnell. Your perspective as a disgruntled current student adds a lot to the discussion, and I'm glad you posted. Many schools have had tuition increases similar to Grinnell. Some that make Grinnell's pale in comparison (Richmond). Rising, ridiculous tuition increases are most everywhere. Your entreatment to view tuition increases as opposed to considering the 05-06 costs as static is wise. Now, I DO think you could be a bit more upfront about your own situation and perspective. You hate the weather, hate the fact that you are "teaching yourself", hate paying for Grinnell. I'm sorry you haven't found what you expected. </p>
<p>Grinnell starts out several thousand dollars lower than most LAC's ranked near it. That coupled with merit aid possibilities make it far more affordable to some students than other choices. Exe here is a near zero EFC student who has had a bad FA experience . In their opinion , it sucked as did the Iowa weather. Pay attention . If you are in that same situation, pay even closer attention to the warnings. If you are however a student whose FA will be configured like the OP, with zero institutionally found need, the increase in unsub Stafford loans over the 4 year period of time will do some (not all) to offset the immediate impact of those tuition increases.</p>
<p>I stand by my position that for the OP and for many others (full fare and substantially full fare folks especially), Grinnell can be considered a value leader. Do your homework to see how it works for your family.</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve is very generous with merit money. Classmates of my DS have also gotten good merit awards from Tulane, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>For a safety look at Ball State (IN). You would qualify for full tuition.</p>
<p>Alma Mater of David Letterman..........Cardinals. Red White Red White</p>
<p>A bit more upfront? How much more upfront can I be when I clearly wrote that as an unhappy student? I did not write as an third party, as I clearly had intimate knowledge usually only students would have. I am aware of the find more posts by this user function.</p>
<p>You are right that zero need families may find Grinnell a reasonable value with enough merit aid. However, to call Grinnell a "value leader" is a bit misleading because it neglects the logarithmic nature of how prestige is distributed among the colleges. The most prestigious university in the world, Harvard, is known hundreds of times more than, say, the number seven university. Grinnell may end up being $20K cheaper for a top student, but if that student gave up, say, Princeton, to attend Grinnell, he would almost certainly lose opportunities that may be worth more than $20K (he will have an almost impossible time getting certain high-prestige positions). Unless one is sure of not caring about certain jobs, and a certain intellectual environment that can only exist among the real top, then Grinnell can be a fine choice for the wealthy, especially ones looking for Grinnell's unique qualities.</p>
<p>Also, I'm curious as to why you linked to that specific post of mine. Are you making the implication that Grinnell is giving me generous scholarships? (When in fact I was referring to my outside ones.)</p>
<p>Finally, your point about Grinnell's tuition raises as being typical is quite wrong. The University of Richmond is the most extreme example. Most of Grinnell's peers have not been elevating rates at levels comparable to Grinnell so consistently, and neither have the top national universities.</p>
<p>Your father is being aggressively unrealistic about the cost of a college education these days. Even most relatively low cost state U's cost more than $12,000 a year for in-state residents. However, if your father won't budge, I suggest you look for a large university with a decent Honors program that's trying to use scholarship money to attract top students. The University of Pittsburgh comes immediately to mind. There are dozens and dozens of others. You won't get the overall intellectual atmosphere you seem to want, but the Honors program and the kids in it will at least give some of what you crave.</p>
<p>Also, just as an aside. You probably have the GPA and will probably have the SAT scores to be a competitive candidate for WashU, but, given the level of competition there, probably won't have what's needed to win a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Amptron, the cost at Nebraska's state universities truly is $12,000 a year, in state. As much as I feel sympathy for the OP, I don't see her winning the public-versus-private school argument with her dad.</p>
<p>However, if she is thinking of med school, dad's planning may be the best plan for the future. There's nothing wrong with graduating with little or no debt.</p>
<p>Hi everyone! i'm needing some more help...</p>
<p>So many of you have so much knowledge about colleges! would you pick you brain a bit more for me? you know what i'm looking for: a midwestern school with an intellectual, stimulating atmosphere, quirkiness, AND affordability/scholarships (i'm first in my class of 70 at an "academically rigorous" girls' school, psat 220 - hopefully national merit?!, act of 32 (o gosh, not very good...hopefully i'll do better on my next try) AND my dad will only pay $12K/year). o yes, and i'm pretty sure that i want to major in neuroscience, cognitive developement, biopsychology, or something similar that mixes biology, chemistry, and neurology with psychology. i would also like to be premed.</p>
<p>my list of potentials is pretty extensive right now, but the stumbling block is the money thing! I can safely say that i've now spent quite a bit of time on CC now, finding peoples' thoughts from visits so i can get an idea of the atmospheres at colleges. my mom and me are planning a trip north to look at colleges over easter - we just want to do a small area at first because we'll be driving in between them after we fly up there. i had told her we should go to Case Western Reserve, Ohio Wesleyan, Hiram College, and Earlham College. however, i hadn't realised how much of a "big deal" Case Western was...WOW...i saw that they gave great aid, but later found that its for VERY few people; do you think its worth my time (i mean, its an AMAZING school, but is there any possibility i could get money there?). other schools in ohio i was looking at visiting were Wooster, Denison, and Kenyon and in indiana, hanover. what do you think of these? any suggestions? any suggestions for my college search in general?</p>
<p>my "interested" list is:
Hendrix (oh my gosh, i'm so excited to visit Hendrix - i'm going in april)
Emory U
Chicago University
Loyola University
Lake Forest College
Knox
Earlham
Hanover
Grinnell
Cornell
Kalamazoo
Hope College
Wash U
SLU
Case Western Reserve
Ohio Wesleyan
Hiram
College of Wooster
Denison
Kenyon
Trinity University (not quirky, but my counselor loves it, so i'm looking)
Beliot
Ripon</p>
<p>wow, sorry its so long -notice that they're grouped according to state, hehe! thanks so much for your help and input!</p>
<p>LoveLearning?!, glad you're going to visit Hendrix! It's a great school and generous with financial aid. Please post your impressions after you visit. C'mon over to the Hendrix board (here on CC) and join in the discussions!</p>
<p>lovelearning: </p>
<p>For scholarship money in Ohio your best bets are Case Western (they actually give out lots of money) and Denison. Both are very fine schools. Case is a univeristy and Denison is a liberal arts college. Case is in a fairly urban setting near art museums and the performing arts center where the Cleveland Orchestra plays, and Denison is perched on a lovely hill adjacent to a really beautiful small town where you'll swear you're in New England. </p>
<p>Also for affordability, why not look at a good public while you're there? Swing through Ohio Univeristy in Athens or Miami University (yes, that's in Ohio). They are both very nice schools with lovely campuses.</p>
<p>Wouldn't Miami or Ohio State be expensive for an OOS ???</p>