<p>HYPS are within potential reach for me. Obviously, I will not just be applying to HYPS schools, but generally the top 25 is my match area. 1/4 of the kids at my school matriculate at Ivies, and 1/2 matriculate at other Top 35 colleges, and most of the rest go to LACs or state publics.</p>
<p>I am sure we would not have to pay 1/3 of our income at HYPS. Maybe at a school with a smaller endowment. </p>
<p>For Ohio State, I got:</p>
<p>$23,590</p>
<p>For University of Michigan, I got:</p>
<p>No Aid</p>
<p>For Boston University, I got:</p>
<p>$7,000 (They ask for your SAT/ACT scores and GPA, as well as extracurriculars. I think this helped a lot here)</p>
<p>George Washington:</p>
<p>$5,038…wow, if this is true…</p>
<p>Also, what are some schools that guarantee aid for National Merit, GPA, and extracurriculars?</p>
<p>You cannot afford UofM…period. Even the Schipman does not cover half of the $50,000 it costs to attend UofM from out of state. You might be able to gain a number of scholarship that reduce your cost but if your budget is $7000 forget about it. You could certainly apply but do not get your hopes up that it will be affordable. If you are in-state for Michigan they guarantee to meet need…but your expected family contribution will be more than $7000. Is Vermont or Michigan your in-state flagship?</p>
<p>Read the posts. Out of state schools are going to expect your parents to pay more than you/they can afford. So if you want a big public, pick one in your state. </p>
<p>Read what annasdad is saying. Parents make choices every day about how they spend their money. That includes houses, cars, private school educations and yes how much they are willing to spend at the vet, the dentist and the orthodontist. This impacts what can be spent on college because in this day and age colleges expect parents to have saved some money to send their kids off to college.</p>
<p>You have time to put together a well thought out list. But you need to consider the finances much more heavily than you are considering. </p>
<p>Schools that “meet need” mean your FAFSA EFC and in the case of most of your list your Institutional contribution…they do NOT mean they will meet what your parents are saying is their budget. You need is without a doubt much greater than their definition of need. </p>
<p>So find places with guaranteed scholarships (like Alabama and other big publics that post on their website what their automatic discounts/scholarships are) and then find other schools that are known for good merit aid and your test scores and GPA put you in the top 25% if not tippy top. Frankly if your parents are firm about $7000 even the Ivy Leagues are out of reach for you financially with an income over $100,000. If your budget for four years truly is $28000 + Federal Direct Loans you are much better off getting two years under your belt somewhere you can commute to and then transfer to one of the big publics. Frankly, $7000 a year won’t even cover your freshman room and board.</p>
<p>I cross posted with your post. Now you’ve got a start. There are stickies/posts at the top of the forum that will answer your questions about merit aid, NM scholars etc.</p>
<p>What can I do to convince my parents to save for me? They tell me that they had to work for their education, and I should have to as well (financially). I think that they may be able to pay a little more than that…considering the fact that that is what they pay for my private school, and they will not have to pay for me at home, so they could maybe pay $10,000/year. Obviously out-of-state publics (each one I listed is out of state…) are out of the question. </p>
<p>Are the BU and GW estimates accurate? Should I bother getting my hopes up? They most likely would give me that aid because of my outstanding academic standing.</p>
<p>How, you asked? Well, since your parents have likely worked hard and made great sacrifices to reach this point, they get to continue doing just that. It’s the reward of being upper middle class. Do they pay more taxes and get less benefits? Do they shoulder other people’s healthcare cost? Same thing.</p>
<p>Your parents can mortgage the house, work another job, cash in their retirement savings, or take on a heavy debt. The elite colleges want to effect social changes, and their policy of high tuition with no merit aid is one way to achieve it. By the time you graduate, you too will be from a low-income family just like some of your fellow students who got a full ride due to their parents’ income status. Equality achieved.</p>
<p>Or, you can go to an inexpensive school or fight for the merit scholarships at “lesser” schools. Sure, this is unfair to you since you have done nothing wrong (and neither have your parents), and shold not have some options taken away from you, but that’s life. Just like the URM aspect, it’s not what you do that counts, it’s what you are. Get used to it.</p>
<p>If you think this is wrong, use that anger to work hard and achieve success on your own. Then, effect your own social change.</p>
<p>nobreaks, you have a chip on your shoulder, apparently seeming to feel entitled to whatever. You’ve probably been listening to Rush and Hannity too long. Sigh.</p>
<p>Your list of “good financial aid” schools is solid . . . but your expectation that you’d qualify for any kind of significant aid at those schools is pure fantasy. With your parents’ income and assets, they’re going to expect you to pay your way.</p>
<p>Yes, you’ve gotten a break thus far with the private school tuitions your parents have been paying, but colleges aren’t going to give you that break. Your parents will have a choice - pay for day school for your sibling(s) or pay for college. No college is going to foot the bill so that your siblings can attend a private day school!</p>
<p>As for schools that will give you merit aid, as already noted, you need to focus on schools that will GUARANTEE merit aid, based on GPA and test scores . . . not schools where 1 out of a 100 kids has a chance at a scholarship!</p>
<p>I think, FlowerGirl145, that you have to sit down with your parents and show them what it costs to go to various schools and what schools are going to expect your family to pay against those costs. They may not understand (though they will, soon enough, if they open their eyes) how much more expensive college is now than when they went to school. But you really, really need to consider your in-state options, if that’s what they’re telling you they want you to look at.</p>
<p>“Beginning with the class of 2016, those parents with annual incomes between $65,000 and $150,000 are asked to contribute from zero to ten percent of their income.” -Harvard Website</p>
<p>Is this just an exaggeration for marketing? Or is it actually true? </p>
<p>My parents pretty much refuse to talk to me about colleges. My mom also complains all the time about our financial situation and how she sacrifices so much for us and that she can’t keep doing it while I’m in college. </p>
<p>Really, I just don’t know how to approach the situation.</p>
<p>When the schools are asking you for grades and scores, they are probably estimating <em>merit</em> aid. None of the NPC information is guaranteed but we found the estimates were close. Also go on each school’s financial aid website to see what scholarships they have. BU has a clear chart with merit scholarship info while Michigan is unlikely to give you much of anything. </p>
<p>If you really have the stats and grades for Harvard, there are schools that will give you merit but you have to look for them; they’re not always schools people think are good about $. One of my relatives got NYU’s top scholarship and turned it down for an ivy-- but NYU is the kind of school where most people get terrible aid. It has a very selective, very generous scholarship.</p>
<p>Oh, about Harvard… yes, what they wrote is true IF you have what they consider to be normal assets for that income (I’m not sure what that means) HOWEVER realize that Harvard is Harvard and it has the most generous financial aid program in the country. A few other schools- Stanford, Yale, Princeton, I believe-- try to match it but most schools can’t touch Harvard $ with a ten foot pole. So just because Harvard says you would have to pay X doesn’t mean that a uni ranked 25 is going to give you anything. Now, once you’re talking a uni ranked 75, you may be looking at guaranteed merit.</p>
<p>My best advice to you is to search carefully but include some financial safeties where you would really want to go. Oh, and don’t slack on your AP classes because you may be able to shave some time off and consider getting a job. If you can’t get approach the subject with your parents, do your research and, with it in hand, talk to your guidance counselor and ask for the counselor to call a meeting with your parents. Sit there with the NPC results of different schools and say, “This is what we would have to pay here, and here, and here. Nothing is coming up close to $7K. What do you want me to do?”</p>
<p>So basically, it comes down to Harvard or a lower ranked school with merit?</p>
<p>By the way, my parents will not let me to the college other than in the northeast or the eastern parts of the midwest because they do not want to have to pay for travel costs or want me far from home. So everyone who is talking about the University of Alabama: it is a moot point for me.</p>
<p>It looks like I could get some good merit + a little bit of aid at Boston and GW, but it would be the same as HYP. Or I could attend a state school…</p>
<p>@FlowerGirl145, as many people make the same mistake when reading harvard’s financial aid policy, make sure to read the rest of the paragraph:</p>
<p>“Families at all incomes who have significant assets will continue to pay more than those in less fortunate circumstances. Students are also asked to contribute to the cost of their education through term-time and summer work.”</p>
<p>The reality is that the only schools that will give “merit” scholarships are what many would consider 2nd tier schools, like Alabama. Given your family’s income level, it is unlikely that you’ll get enough “merit” scholarships (read discounts) to allow you to be able to attend. I am not well versed like the wise posters over here, but my own experience with my 2nd son, who is graduating HS this year, has been just that, that “merit” scholarships are merely a discount to get closer to the state’s flagships. Even so, it is still more economical go to the state school route. My own opinion is that paying for a private school is only worth it for an elite schoool.</p>
<p>What state are you in and what are your stats? Also, is your private school religious? Sometimes, religious schools are very good at getting students into schools of that religion and there may be $ there. </p>
<p>Regarding the geographic restriction, it’s a bit unrealistic right now. I would START by figuring out where you could get enough $ and then go back to your parents with that info. If they’re basically not paying for school, they can’t realistically dictate that you give up a lot of $ somewhere because it’s too far. Unless they kick in a lot more $, you would be foolish not to include a guaranteed merit school no matter where it is because, if they stick to their guns about the $, you probably can’t even afford your instate unless you get merit. First, research your possibilities, then go back to them.</p>
<p>I do not think, FlowerGirl145, that Harvard is likely to exaggerate its financial aid policies for marketing purposes. But what is your point? If you want to take a shot at Harvard, go for it. You are going to want a back up, though. I hear it’s hard to get in.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry your parents are not open to discussion about college. But maybe you should consider whether you’ve been open to their point of view. You started this thread saying your parents were pointing to state schools. You seem entirely uninterested in these options, even though the state options seem to be your best options financially. </p>
<p>Make a spreadsheet (a big one!) with the ACTUAL cost for you to attend several dozen different schools (including Alabama with all its “travel costs”). Run the financial aid calculators for the schools and look at the guaranteed merit aid that’s available. Then sit down with your parents and show them the options. The cost of travel to Alabama (for example) will be trivial next to the cost of having to pay full tuition at a school that’s closer to home.</p>
<p>Put it on paper, put it in front of them, and then tell them what you want to do. What can you offer your parents? (1) Get a summer job and start contributing; (2) commit to maintaining your grades and getting good test scores; (3) agree to borrow up to X amount and pay it back without parental assistance in order to assume some of the burden; (4) agree to take on a work/study commitment once you’re in college.</p>
<p>The last two (taking out loans and doing work/study) are going to be part of the package no matter where you attend school . . . but it’s important for your parents to see that you’ve thought about this, you understand what a significant financial commitment this is, and you’re willing to assume some of the burden. Stop being their “baby” daughter who’s always asking for things, and show them you’re ready to grow up.</p>
<p>Note to anxiousfather: The merit aid offered at Alabama is just that, merit aid. Family income is irrelevant.</p>
<p>FlowerGirl145
do your parents realize that room and board alone will cost around 12-15 K per year? schools that offer full tuition merit scholarships often dont include full room and board too. that being said, are you a junior ? have you taken the PSAT yet ?
If yes did you score above your states NMSF cut off number??
If you end up as a NMSF that opens up LOTS of possibilities for merit $$. BUT they are almost all at colleges below the top 25- U of Southern Calif being the exception. So you will have t o cast a wide net and apply to lots of colleges that are not as highly ranked.
re USC- be SURE to apply before their Dec 1 cut off date for merit scholarship consideration. AND show your passion for learning and for USC in your essays. They do not hand out their 200 Full Tuition scholarships to students whose applications suggests that they might go elsewhere. They, like Wash U., like to “feel the love”. But know that only 5% of early applicants advance to scholarship finalist status, much like your chances of acceptance at Harvard. So give it a go- there is nothing to lose by trying.</p>