Yup. My d had to leave a T30 college due to a massive reduction in FA (due to a parental bonus - not apples to apples). Make sure your parents can afford and are willing to pay all four years regardless of income.
ASU is good as well.
I didn’t see any mention of PA schools for match or maybe a reach. Not sure of exact numbers, but some can be generous with financial aid. A lot of NJ kids attend places like Lafayette, Lehigh, Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, etc. Yeah, they’re all small LAC’s. Bigger schools in PA are Temple, Drexel, Penn State, Pittsburgh, etc. Probably all matches or some safeties?
I agree that UVA and UMich are slight reaches, based on sub-25% accept rates and OOS, even if stats align.
I can only speak to the CS side, as that’s what I’ve been researching - Maryland, Wisconsin, Purdue, Penn State are T30 CS schools with 45-60% acceptance rates and 1400s or lower SAT averages (your SAT concords to about 1540). CS majors may be a bit higher, but you’re still very competitive at all of them.
I don’t see many others that would be a better option than Rutgers. And at the price difference, even the above may not be better.
Lafayette, Lehigh, Dickinson, F&M all cost more than $70k so I think you would need a lot of financial aid given your $15-20k budget.
There is a long thread in the Financial Aid forum discussing one family’s search for the merit-based aid that the student needed. The student was a truly exceptional applicant, so some of the advice may not apply to you, however the strategies discussed could help you. For the parent’s summary see posts #1578-1580 on p. 79. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2154331-looking-for-advice-in-merit-aid-for-a-top-1-student.html#latest
Given your financial situation you should select affordable possibilities because MANY families applying for 2021-2022 financial aid will be in the same boat as yours because of COVID-19.
That said…
Villanova, Stockton University, SUNY Buffalo, Clarkson University, Marist College, U of Maryland-Baltimore County, Northeastern University, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, George Mason University, George Washington University, Macalester College, St. Olaf College.
Here are some very fine colleges out west in Stanford’s backyard, academically speaking. They admit high caliber students; Willamette University, Lewis and Clark College. Also among western Catholic colleges, U of San Diego has a reputation for good financial aid (with a good dose of religion classes in the core, for better or worse).
Also, one of my favorite STEM universities is South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, in the Black Hills region. SDSM&T is well respected by national STEM companies. Academics are top notch, including Computer Science. The school aggressively seeks to attract more female applicants. SDSM&T alumni have been hired by the likes of Boeing, Google and NASA. My contacts tell me that recent female graduates of SDSM&T were hired by Azko Nobel, The Smithsonian Institution and the ATF in Washington DC. Tuition is fairly cheap. Rapid City is a fun small town. Lots of recreation nearby. Unfortunately, it is about a 10-hour drive from Denver or Minneapolis, which are the nearest major metropolitan centers.
@LakeWashington It’s Akzonobel not Azkonobel. Sorry if this is really technical!
I think you should consider University of Rochester along with Rowan in-state.
@octahate You may be able to find your answer in this recent article from College Confidential, which covered this topic in depth. You can read it here: https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/how-to-choose-dream-target-and-safety-schools
What was your parents’ income in 2019? What will it be for 2020 since they’re both unemployed? Do you know your 2019-based EFC… and your 2020-based EFC?
UMichigan will offer financial aid if your parents make less than 95K. UVA offers financial aid but admits VERY VERY few OOS applicants (and they’re need aware so probably even fewer that require extensive FA due to parents being dislocated workers or unemployed).
UCs are legally prohibited from offering financial aid to OOS students so cross them out.
Apply to Rowan, TCNJ, and either NJIT or another NJ public university.
@MYOS1634 UVA is need blind as opposed to “need aware” as far as I know. Do you have other info on that?
AFAIK, UVA meets 100% need for all admitted students; but is need blind instate/need aware OOS; and meets full need without loans instate, but does package loans OOS. I’ll check.
UVA has loan limits based on instate/out of state status these days. Some kids may still have minimal loans as far as I know. Let us know what you find out after you check!
I had this question come up separately, and maybe you can clarify. Does UVA offer students loans thru the school, above and beyond the Federal Direct Student Loan? Or does it replace the fed loan?
I have no idea. That seems like UVA financial services people need to answer that detail for you.
I could only find a document from 2014 that stated they were need blind for OOS applicants too, but that the OOS loan cap was a bit higher ($7,000).
However I could have sworn the “need aware for OOS applicants” bit was genuine, so either I’m confusing UVA with UMichigan, or it’s been changed in the past couple years but I’m not finding it (and can’t spend more time looking :s).
UVA has been need blind for many years, both instate and out of state as far as I know. It is important to put correct info out there. If not very sure with your info, best to say so .
Well…where will you end up, octahate?