<p>Every year deserving kids are accepted at good schools which they cannot afford - it’s heartbreaking. Have you looked into the financial aid situations at these schools? (Some of the college acceptance threads on CC have financial awards.) You have a lot of need, but out-of-state public schools aren’t the best places to find big aid packages. Among the privates, GWU and CMU are notorious for “gapping” their aid - leaving you with lots of loans. </p>
<p>I would also caution against using the ACT numbers from schools where 80% or more submit SATs. They won’t reflect the true range. Use the school’s SAT averages instead and convert them to ACTs for a more realistic view. Finally, your acceptance rates are a year out of date for Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and, I believe, BC and U of C. This was a brutal year, but you have to face that fact.</p>
<p>Keep Vanderbilt, Rice, U Iowa and Madison if you have reciprocity. Take a long, hard look at the others.</p>