I wanted to update all on where we landed on our search for Merit Aid. (yes, it’s worth capping those words! 
To recap:
D is a white female, attending an urban public high school on the east coast
Solid but not superstar stats – 33 ACT, 4.0 UW, 3/300 ranking
Strong ECs
A good writer (her essays boosted the final decisions).
We’re a donut-hole family – we make too much for meaningful financial aid but not enough to pay for private college.
So the first thing that happened was that I spent a lot of time here at CC…understanding where she could get in (I learned on Day 1 here, not Harvard! and where she might find merit aid not tied to need. We made a few missteps (early on…before I figured it out)…but we still landed pretty well…so thank you, dear CCers!
Here are the results…the final cost at the far right is all-in – minus aid – on an annual basis…everything (books, fees, etc) except for airplane travel.
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Our state university (top 60ish school) – 90% tuition covered – $9100 would be our annual cost
UChicago - $4000 aid – $62,520 annual cost
Tufts - No aid (at least, not yet) – $68,940
BU – $20,000 award – $42,957
UNC Chapel Hill - $0 - $50,938
UPittsburgh - $10,000 award – $27,650
Georgia Tech - $6000 award – $38,000
Rhodes College – $23,500 award – $28,400
Northeastern - $15,000 award – $42,406
University of Alabama - full-ride – $7750
UMass Amherst – $12,000 – $29,720
Vanderbilt - waitlisted
Georgetown - waitlisted
UPenn - rejected.
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So as you can see, the differences are NUTS.
A few notes: The only reason Ga Tech was on the radar is because we made a trip to Atlanta to see Emory and that was a bust…so I was all, “hey let’s try this place” and it bounded into our top 3! And Rhodes College is a great little school in Memphis TN that we discovered at a “Colleges that Change Lives” tour and loved too.
And the winner is…we don’t know. But the finalists are BU (expensive…but still in the running), Ga Tech (the surprise) and possibly Northeastern. And, natch, the state option.
Would be happy to answer any questions on how this worked!
But looks like the total should actually be $63,400. Source: 