<p>GOB, Many applications ask you to list other schools you are applying to. You don't have to answer that question at all, you can put "to be determined" or words to that effect, you can list some or all of the schools you are applying to. That is one way schools might know where you are applying. There are different points of view on how best to answer (or not answer) that question. I think the most common views I have read here on cc (and I agree with both of these) is to either leave that question blank or to list schools which are "peer" institutions to the one asking the question.</p>
<p>That said, I believe HImom is talking about what happens AFTER you receive your acceptances in April. When you have them all in hand and can see the financial aid packages, you might want to contact a school you would really like to attend and THEN tell them that you have also been accepted to X with a better aid package. The school might then improve the financial package they are offering you. </p>
<p>Plenty of time to address that in April, and we will still be here to help :).</p>
<p>Buffalo, better check the selectivity of the merit awards from UVA and UNC-Ch. You have to be truly tops to be OOS and get any money from them. They are highly selective schools to begin with. Check James Madison, Virginia Tech in Virginia as their sticker prices are far lower than UVA's and the other UNCs. Chapel Hill is a toughie.</p>
<p>Also you can have up to 6 schools get FAFSA info. They all can see each others names. If you want more than 6 schools, you have to wait till the first FAFSA is processed and sent to the first 6 schools, and then "correct" it with info for the next batch of schools, again up to 6 schools.</p>
<p>Can the Fafsa be sent individually to schools? That would prevent each school knowing about the other.</p>
<p>Also, same thing for the Common App. I know if you fill in several schools and hit Submit, the Common App is sent to all. Can each school see the list of recipient schools?</p>
<p>You could probably submit the common app & FAFSA separately for each school, but would need to be SURE to edit carefully so you apply to all the schools you intend.
Some schools also require additional FAid forms (like the Profile, which would list all the schools you're having the report sent to, I believe), so read their requirements carefully.</p>
<p>Let me try to answer your question a bit more analytically. If you have an online subscription to USNews look at each schools financial aid information. Within that page there is a wealth of information. Here is what I think you are looking for:</p>
<ul>
<li>Schools that provide for 100% of financial need</li>
<li>Schools that do not require Plus loans to meet that need</li>
<li>% of student receiving merit aid</li>
<li>Average amount of merit aid</li>
</ul>
<p>Since my 2 boys are in college I did not subscribe to the online edition this year. But from memory here are a few schools that meet 100% of financial need and provide merit scholarships: UChicago, Boston College, Duke, USC, Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>I am sure there are many more . . . the subjective question is what is 100% of financial need. Each school defines it differently. The aid awards my sons got varied by up to $8K/year.</p>
<p>Additionally, you may want to look at some schools that give a good amount of merit aid and some financial aid if your ECs, SATs, GPA and class rank are all fine. The best place to start is Tulane and Emory. Great schools with very good merit programs.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, JMU does have a lower sticker price. However, they are not known for being good with aid. This makes the school a financial bargain for those that will not get financial aid from a private college (or minimal aid) b/c efc is high. For a family with a lower efc, JMU is probably not going to end up being a good financial deal. JMO.</p>
<p>GetoutaBuffalo, I have been following many of your posts, and I did read that you have a low efc, which is why I brought up that I don't think JMU would be a school you would want to consider strictly from a financial standpoint.</p>
<p>Well, I no longer have a subscription to USNews (big help,BTW), but I remember that UDel offers quite a bit of merit aid. As far as financial aid, overall, most state schools save their money for their instate students. I do not kow how UDel is for oos students regarding financial aid. You probably would get your best package through a SUNY if you are a NY state resident. BTW, I understand the nice thing about Sunys, are that if you decide to go to a 2 year Suny community college, and then transfer into a 4 Suny, all of your credits should transfer. I have a relative that did just that (years ago) and he said that all of his credits transferred. That was the cheapest route to take, and he suggested that we take that route with our son. We do not live in NY, so a 2 year Suny would have been oos for us, and we did not consider paying oos for a 2 year Suny. I know another person who wanted to attend NYU, but it was too expensive, so she went to a community college through Suny, and then transferred to NYU.</p>
<p>You would be surprised by the many high caliber students being attracted to community colleges due to the low costs & ability to transfer credits to flagship Us. It is important not to discard them as an option out of hand; several folks I know have taken this route & it has worked very well for them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Northeasmom. I just looked up JMU. It's on my list for my junior---all those colleges on MY list are ones he's never heard of, but are all cost bargains. But you are right for out of staters with financial aid. And, wow, have the costs there gone up since I last checked it out about 5 years ago. And I was wincing at college costs even back then! </p>
<p>Buffalo, you should run through a FAFAS and then see what you can expect in federal money. I am so out of date that I/m not going to be helpful on financial aid, but if you do a run through and post on the CC financial aid board, you can get some idea as to what you can get in grants (PELL and something called FSEOG if you are very needy), subsidized and non subsidized federal loans and workstudy funds. If you can get some idea what that dollar amount is going to be it gives you some start as to how much more you are going to need from the college. Colleges always start with the government money and build on that.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, Yes, JMU has gone up quite a bit! One of the financial aid officers told me that since she has been employed there (4 years), JMU has gone up about 6% per year. For a family that will not receive much in the way of grants from a private college, this school is still priced well, but if it continues to climb at 6%/year, that could change. I will say that it was not my son's least expensive option. He was offered a 13,000 merit scholarship (along with admission to the honors program) at a private college that has a less expensive stickerprice than most private schools (but more costly than oos public colleges). That school would have been our least expensive option, but my S chose JMU. He is very happy.</p>
<p>Congrats, to your son for finding a good match! That's what I want for my third one. We are looking for schools that lower sticker prices than the norm. I also had Richmond and Miami of Ohio on my list, until I checked their updated costs. Whoaaay--way up there now. We may well have another one instate, as it looks like we're not going to come close to those numbers.
Buffalo, we are lucky to be in a state where the costs are still low and with state and financial aid sweetened with some merit money, the SUNYs are a good deal.</p>
<p>except SUNYs are still in NY with really ugly campuses and unfriendly people. Nothing compares to a beautiful, friendly, high caliber academic school like vandy or UVA. :-(</p>
<p>GOB: You are so right about the lack of physical appeal and sketchy funding for the SUNY schools but you still can get a good education. This would be especially true at Geneseo and Binghamton. You cannot argue with their retention and overall graduation rate. Personally, those are one the only ones I would consider except maybe UB but you probably don't want to hear that. </p>
<p>In your research you should already know that admittance to UVA of UNC-CH is VERY SELECTIVE. I found your stats on another thread that you posted and unfortunately no matter how good your EC's are and your rank is VERY good, it will not make up for the 1370 SAT score. UVA wants high EVERYTHING. If you are a minority and have a really low EFC then you definitely have a chance but otherwise it's not likely. </p>
<p>Your profile at Delaware would get you in and some merit money,4-6 thousand maybe. Subtract that from the $23,000 or so it now costs for OOS (you probably know the exact number.) Does your EFC cover the $13,000 at a SUNY school?</p>
<p>A school to consider might be Lafayette in Easton, PA. They have two levels of scholarships but the nice part is that if the scholarship stills leaves a gap then they will cover the rest with grants. So actually, if your receive a scholarship then it is equal to the cost of attendance minus your EFC.</p>
<p>Lafayette would be a good one to consider. A great school, a reach in terms of merit money, but also financial aid packages that are decent to help.<br>
I think looking at the Honors Colleges requirements for a number of state schools is a good idea. That is where the bulk of merit scholarships go. If you are an OOStater, it is rare that you will get merit money or grants from these colleges unless you are in those programs. Pitt is a good one to check out. A good safety for you would be Indiana University of Pennsylvania. They have a great honors program (The Robert Cook Honors School, I believe) and from what I have heard, kids in that program often get full rides. Your numbers put you into a great position to get maximum scholarships there.</p>
<p>See, the big problem you are going to see, Buffalo, is that though your stats are very good, and make you a candidate for any school, they are not in the upper echelons for great merit aid. For even schools that are not well known, the requirements for a near full ride are intimidating. The kids I know who get that kind of money are truly the tops in academic stats. And because state schools are so large, there are a lot of them in number. Though you are likely to get the same federal aid from all of the schools to make up the base of your awards, you also want a school with financial reserves to make up the gap between merit money and the federal package. You just are not going to get many state schools to do that, and with highly selective state schools, the merit money goes to kids with really high stats, and even then you may not get a bonanza. One of my safety schools many years ago was Purdue University, and I did not get a dime from them, whereas I got a very generous package from Lafayette and another private college, where the costs to go to either of them was virtually nothing. So you need to vary your choices.</p>