They’re so expensive. I don’t understand. It’s seriously over 30k for one year and that’s without gas money and other stuff I’d be buying while living away from home. Why are they so expensive? My father is a head doctor and my mom used to be a chemist, so we definitely aren’t poor at all, but my parents don’t even think we can afford a private one…so, if we can’t, I’m wondering who in the world can?? 
Many private schools give merit and need based aid to bring the cost down to comparable public schools for some students.
Susquehanna, Muhlenberg, Messiah, and many more LACs for example give generous aid.
Duquesne gives $10,000-$20,000 merit and a scholarship for living on campus.
Run some net price calculators on schools’ websites. Many give merit estimates when you enter GPA and test scores.
But of course if your EFC is high because of parent income and assets, there won’t be much need based aid offered, and you will have to look for schools that offer enough merit to bring the price down.
And look at the public schools in your state as well.
Some students and their families cannot afford expensive private universities. They do not even consider these schools if they are out of budget.
And if you found a private university for $30,000 a year…that is not as costly as many which are over $60,000 a year.
Many of the small private colleges come with big price tags if you consider that you will have to pay the full amount. At most of these schools it isn’t the case. In many cases they offer money to students they wish to attract to their school. Take a close look at their statistics and see what the average student gets in aid. A school that has a full price cost of 36,000 but gives the average student 18,000 in merit money and school aid brings the cost down to 18,000. Now compare that to the large public university that costs 21,000 full pay and offers no merit money or school aid and you actually would be better off at the private college. It requires some homework on your part but it might provide you with some more options then you think you currently have. Best of luck to you!
I guess, but in comparison to public schools, I feel like I’m spending way too much
Thanks! I think I read that Liberty has an average of 6k in aid, which would still have a huge price tag…
The average financial aid means nothing, just your specific price tag.
Look at the College Scorecard that breaks down financial aid by income level. Check the admissions website for automatic freshman merit scholarships. Run the college’s own net price calculator.
And don’t try to force your favorite school to become affordable. Look at multiple schools and go to the school that will put its money where its mouth is when they say they want you.
Since #1 post said about Messiah College, I knew from past summer retreats there, many students there worked in the cafeteria to make up the short fall in aid. So are may high priced top private universities that they offer and expect students to work-study to make up the short fall in EFC and aid. Also some students enroll in ROTC, and I think they got aid from the government in exchange to serve a few years in armed force after graduation.
If the shortfall is anywhere over $10,000, it would be impossible for a student to earn THAT much money working in the dining hall.
Typical work study awards are in the $2000 range with some going up to $4000.
The very first thing any HS student should do when looking for colleges is have a money talk with parents. They need to know what their family can contribute annually to their college costs. Then the family needs to look for colleges where the net cost is within the budget.
In terms of need based aid…every college has a net price calculator on its website. Start there. Actually in some cases, these ask for things like your GPA and SAT or ACT score…and include merit aid as well.
Remember, unless a college has guaranteed merit aid, you won’t know if you are getting it until YOU receive your financial aid award.
In terms of need based aid…the colleges determine your need based on the required financial aid submissions.
There are LOTS of ways to pay for college…lots.
I would suggest you read “Paying for College Without Going Broke”. You might get some tips.
I was just giving examples of schools that seemed to offer good merit and need based aid for OUR situation.
Like I said, use their net price calculators to see if you would qualify for enough aid for YOUR situation.
Also I didn’t say they meet 100% of need. But if parents can contribute some money and the student works and takes loans, they might be affordable.
Our public 4yr schools in PA cost $20-$30k.
Many of the private schools I looked at came in under that (with merit AND need based aid), even though the starting price was $40-$50k.
They were also instate for us, so we would qualify for a state grant there too.
“The very first thing any HS student should do when looking for colleges is have a money talk with parents.”
Yup. You need to know what your budget is.
Another thing that might help is to know what you intend to study. Some fields (such as computer science) you need to budget for 4 years in university. Some fields (medicine, law), you need to budget for somewhat longer in university.
Then you can try to think of what sort of schools you are interested in, find a few to at least think about, and run the NPC and see what they are really likely to cost.
Having a father who is a doctor is likely to make need based financial aid unlikely. I know a few doctors who are still paying off their own student loans, even with kids who are college aged. This can squeeze a family out of being able to afford many private schools.
And keep an open mind. There are a lot of very good universities in the US, and more outside of the US.
Since you mentioned Liberty, I’m guessing that you are okay with schools with a religious bent. You may want to consider schools that are part of the Work College Consortium. Not all are Christian, but many are. Working at the school helps to lower the tuition – more so than regular work-study portions of FA at other schools. The work experience can also give you serious skills for when you graduate.
In addition if you identify as female (not sure from just your avatar) you may want to consider some of the womens colleges. They offer excellent educations and many offer unparalleled aid. Wellesley, for example, makes sure that every student it accepts is able to attend. While many offer 100% of need, how each school calculates need is different. https://www.wellesley.edu/
Consider these schools –
Mills – $28K tuition this year and cross registration at Berkeley – https://www.mills.edu/
Simmons – has some amazing fellowships. One you need to apply for early. http://www.simmons.edu/
Mt. Holyoke – gorgeous campus, empowers women, gracious students, horses–part of the Five College Consortium with free transportation to all other campuses https://www.fivecolleges.edu/
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/
Smith – more politically edgy, but excellent academics and gorgeous campus; part of the Five College Consortium with free transportation to all other campuses https://www.fivecolleges.edu/
https://www.smith.edu/
Bryn Mawr – intellectual, supportive environment academically, campus that literally looks like castles, with crenelation and everything. Also it’s part of a consortium with Haverford and Swarthmore and University of Pennsylvania https://www.brynmawr.edu/
Agnes Scott – great academics, nice merit packages, cross registration at Emory https://www.agnesscott.edu/
St. Mary’s in Indiana–very solid school touting it’s scholarships and grants 100% receive something – https://www.saintmarys.edu/
Sweet Briar – small, gorgeous school, with an ABET accredited engineering program http://sbc.edu/
It looks like Sweet Briar has reset its tuition so that it’s transparent. $21K. http://sbc.edu/reset/
Hollins – solid school with merit, nice in many ways. https://www.hollins.edu/
Scripps – part of the Claremont consortium with some of the top LACs in the country. http://www.claremont.edu/
http://www.scrippscollege.edu/admission/
Here’s a directory of women’s colleges to guide you – http://www.womenscolleges.org/
The OP is. HS senior…so it’s a little late to apply to some of these schools…especially to ones where they hope to receive significant merit aid.
This poster has a head doctor as one parent…so need based aid is unlikely.
You have to decide how much you can pay for college, and then how much you want to pay. You then look for a school that might make up the difference with merit aid or some other type of aid.
The COA for our public schools would have been about $17,000 so my daughter used that as a guide. She found a school she liked at a mere $55k, so she started chipping away: merit scholarship from the school, state merit scholarship, state grant, athletic scholarship. She got the price down to lower than what the public college would have been. By a lot. Plus she gets to play her sport which she couldn’t have done at the public school.
You have to look for the situation that is right for you. You are correct that many middle class families cannot afford a private school without merit aid. Some middle class families also qualify for need based aid at some of the elite colleges.
Are your parents helping you with this application process? Have you applied to your local 4 yr? Your parents are well educated, this process isn’t guess and check, so what do your stats look like? This Is not a senior conversation IMO.
Every private school my daughter has applied to has come in less expensive than the state university. They often give very good merit aid.
@taverngirl That is not universally true. It depends on your state (some have lower tuition or more aid than others), your student’s college list (same deal), and their stats versus the other applicants for merit aid.
OP, ROTC is not a source of financial aid. It is for men and women who more than anything else want to serve their country as an officer. It is a calling. If it’s not what you want to do more than anything don’t do it.
What are your parents saying? How much will they pay each year?
You’re not likely going to qualify for need-based aid. In other threads, it sort of sounds like you wouldn’t qualify for merit aid.
Where all did you apply?
What is your major and career goal