<p>I have pretty much narrowed down my list of colleges to five schools that I really like. However, my parents insist that I add one more PRIVATE school to the list, because apparently they give better aid (because all the schools on my list are public state schools-- UIUC, Mizzou, and Indiana U are my top 3 favorites).</p>
<p>I have literally searched forever to find a school that matches my criteria! I like large schools in a college town with a lively social scene (students love going to football/basketball games, parties on the weekends). I hate the thought of going to a school with only like 4,000 people in it...that's way too small. I'm only looking in the midwest because I'd prefer to be no more than a 6-7 hour drive from home (I'm from IL). </p>
<p>I just feel like there are no private schools that would be a good fit for me. The ones I dislike the least are Marquette and Depaul, but those are both in big cities. Does anyone have any suggestions? This always causes an argument because my parents feel like I don't care, but in reality I just can't find one that I like!</p>
<p>The truth is that out-of-state public universities can be more expensive than private ones. You need to find out how much your parents can pay, and how much they expect you to pay with a summer job and college loans. The OOS universities on your list might not fit in your family’s budget.</p>
<p>*my parents insist that I add one more PRIVATE school to the list, because apparently they give better aid (because all the schools on my list are public state schools-- UIUC, Mizzou, and Indiana U are my top 3 favorites).
*</p>
<p>None of those schools give good aid. Most will probably expect you to pay full-freight. </p>
<p>You are instate for UIUC…however, that school is expensive for instate students AND it doesn’t give much aid. So, it may not be affordable either.</p>
<p>Have you asked your parents how much they can pay each year? If not, you need to do that. That info will likely determine where you should apply.</p>
<p>Picking schools to apply to does NOT just mean picking schools that you “like”…You may like schools that are NOT affordable. So, what good will it be to have a handfull of acceptances only to have your parents say…we can’t afford ANY of those schools.</p>
<p>So, how much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>*I have literally searched forever to find a school that matches my criteria! *</p>
<p>Sorry, but this is meaningless unless you know that these schools are affordable. I could search “forever” for the perfect house or car to buy, but if I ignored the issue of PAYING for that house or car, I would be ignoring a VERY important detail.</p>
<p>The fact that your parents are concerned about FA speaks loudly that they can’t afford to pay what you may think that they can pay. You need to get an amount from them.</p>
<p>Seems like you and your parents want to visit the financial aid forum to find out which schools (whether public or private) are generous in need and merit aid, so that you can estimate net cost after non-loan financial aid for each one (including the ones that you have already listed). You’ll want to include at least one school that you are willing to attend which is both an admissions safety and a financial safety.</p>
<p>The schools I listed are all within my family’s budget, with Mizzou being the most affordable. We have talked about it many times and affordability was a large factor in why I chose these schools.</p>
<p>That’s why I feel like I don’t need to add the private. These schools are at the top end of our budget, but my parents WILL be able to pay it if that’s what it comes down to. Obviously they would rather fork out $20k a year than $30k, and I think that’s why they want me to check out a private school with more aid. </p>
<p>Stats:
ACT: 30
GPA: 3.8 W (idk UW)
I’m a junior, mostly AP/honors courses
In a handful of clubs</p>
<p>Do any of you have any recommendations as far as private schools go? I’m not so much looking to cross off any schools from my list, I’m looking to add one. Thanks for your feedback! :)</p>
<p>Public/private classification is not a good way to determine the level of financial aid that will be available. Some public schools give a lot of merit aid. Some private schools give a lot of merit aid. In general, if you are OOS you will find private schools more generous with need-based aid. But remember that need-based aid is based on what the college decides you need, not what you or your parents think you need.</p>
<p>Step 1 is finding out from your parents exactly how much they are willing/able to contribute to your education.</p>
<p>Step 3 is finding at least one (preferably two or more) schools where you are essentially guaranteed admission and essentially guaranteed to be affordable. This is your safety.</p>
<p>Step 4 is looking for schools that will a) meet your demonstrated financial need - probably private and likely selective, b) provide enough merit aid to be affordable - could be public or private, or c) are affordable without any financial assistance - probably public.</p>
<p>Okay so I know it isn’t in the midwest, but it’s directly below you. </p>
<p>Definitely check out Tulane! It is smaller, with about 6k kids, but its in new orleans, which is a great town. They give awesome merit aid, especially if you apply early (the application this year was free and didn’t require any essays, just a short thing on why you want to go to tulane).</p>
<p>It’s nice and warm. It’s BEAUTIFUL.</p>
<p>feel free to pm me if you have any questions!! I’d love to help out!</p>
<p>Northwestern is pretty unrealistic for a 30ACT and 3.8WGPA. However, Northeastern and BU are privates known to give full ride merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Drake may not be quite as big as you’d like, but it used to be totally sports mad, and I doubt that has change much over the years. [Drake</a> University](<a href=“http://www.drake.edu/]Drake”>http://www.drake.edu/)</p>
<p>Of those you listed, only Notre Dame and Northwestern meet the OP’s criteria.</p>
<p>Millikin is a tiny Division III school (2,400 students). The other three schools are either basketball-only or have a small-scale non-scholarship football program (Drake). They’re also quite small, enrollmentwise - Bradley 5,400, Drake 5,000, Butler 4,500.</p>
<p>AND you can use that as an example of how the “List” Cost Of Attendance is much less important than NET Cost Of Attendance</p>
<p>The private schools that provide more aid also tend to a lot more, so it can be cheaper to go to a state school that gives little aid compared to a private school that provides a lot of aid</p>
<p>Examples . . and these assume that your family income qualifies you for need-based aid . . . 2 schools, a private one that gives ~$30k in aid and a public one that only gives ~$17k in aid:</p>
<p>1- Syracuse University list COA $51k
average need-based aid: 22.7k
average non-need based aid: 7.8k
Average NET COA: $22.5k</p>
<p>2- Indiana University: OOS list COA: $36k
average need-based aid: 10.8k
average non-need based aid: 6.6k
Average NET COA: $18.6k</p>
<p>(All data from the college board site)</p>
<p>There are 2 larger issues here:
1- how much do your folks think they can afford
2- based on the FAFSA, how much will schools expect your folks to spend </p>
I didn’t get the impression that the OP necessarily wanted BOTH programs though I could see that. My thought was University of Dayton. Great basketball, strong Div 1 FBS football, 11K students.</p>
<p>Have you thought about Notre Dame, Purdue, U Miami Ohio, or Syracuse? UWisconsin-Madison? I don’t know that you’ll get much in the way of merit money…</p>
Notre Dame fits well with this. However, it is Catholic, and many people don’t want religious/Catholic schools. Also, it depends on your UW GPA, since your weighted tells us nothing out of context, and you’d probably need to raise your ACT.</p>
<p>
“Financial aid” doesn’t mean that everything will be covered. If your parents are able to pay $30,000/year, then colleges will likely see and expect that, unless it’s somewhere very generous, or if $30k would actually be a huge stretch, and you’re misrepresenting that.</p>
<p>Syracuse University meets all of your criteria and is private. Full-time undergraduate enrollment, 13,504; part-time undergraduate enrollment, 697; full-time graduate and law school enrollment, 4,381; part-time graduate and law school enrollment, 1,825.</p>
<p>*Northwestern is pretty unrealistic for a 30ACT and 3.8WGPA. However, Northeastern and BU are privates known to give full ride merit scholarships. *</p>
<p>I doubt you’d get a full-ride or even full tuition with an ACT 30 at BU or NEU. You probably wouldn’t even get half tuition. An ACT 30 isn’t even in the top 25% for EITHER school.</p>
<p>To get good merit, the students’ stats need to be within the top 10% of the school.</p>
<p>*I like large schools in a college town with a lively social scene (students love going to football/basketball games, parties on the weekends). I hate the thought of going to a school with only like 4,000 people in it…that’s way too small. *</p>
<p>I think we need some clarification from the OP…</p>
<p>Does he want big Div 1 football and basketball…like Big 10, SEC, etc? Does he prefer big football? </p>
<p>The statement regarding students wanting to go to games eliminates some schools that may have Div 1 sports, but poor attendance at games.</p>