<p>LC82, it says “(inclusive of the scholarship).” That means that if you didn’t get the scholarship and they were meeting your need anyways, the scholarship would have no effect.</p>
<p>OP, my older son is at Carleton, and we have been very pleased with the FA he receives. Out of eight colleges he was accepted to, Carleton’s offer (about $20 k in grants) was second best, behind only Whitman’s (which included some merit aid). Carleton’s offer was better than Grinnell’s, and much better than Colorado College’s. Bowdoin and Middlebury, which both claimed to be full need, offered him zero FA. </p>
<p>You asked if Beloit is a financial safety. My younger son was accepted at Beloit, and his financial aid offer was mediocre. He received much better offers from Whitman and Lawrence.</p>
<p>I give these specifics to drive home the point that the offers you receive from different schools can vary widely, regardless of any estimates you receive or any claims to meet full need. The best you can do is apply and compare the offers once they come in.</p>
<p>
Not exactly. For those selected as Marquis Scholars, the “need based award” is 100% grants (i.e. no loans) up to demonstrated need. The minimum award is $20,000 per year (exclusive of need).</p>
<p>Yeah, and then suppose you have need greater than 20k, they’ll give you the rest as grants without loans.</p>
<p>sunmachine, thank you for the input. Schools that use the CollegeBoard NPC always give a (much) higher estimate than those that don’t. Kenyon, Macalester, and others give estimates of around 30k, while other schools say 18k. It’s very disappointing. Hopefully, the schools that I need to come through with aid will.</p>
<p>Actually, the above may not be correct. After looking thru previous policy, LC used to state on their website: “Financial aid applicants who are designated as Marquis Scholars, and whose financial need exceeds $20,000 will receive a scholarship up to demonstrated need minus a campus job of $2,000 and a loan depending on family income (no loan for incomes under $50,000; a $3,500 loan per year for incomes above $50,000).”</p>
<p>That statement is no longer on the website. I suggest that applicants ask specifically how merit aid is handled at each college they are considering, if this is important to them.</p>
<p>Okay, great… LOL</p>
<p>Bumppppp…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ditto, that.</p>
<p>I guess that’s my financial strategy (and the reason why my list is so long).</p>
<p>You should probably cross Wes off your list if you are avoiding a big drug scene.</p>
<p>^^followed by Colorado, Whitman, Occidental, Vassar, Oberlin and Pitzer…I mean, c’mon.</p>
<p>Haven’t heard about Pitzer or Vassar but definitely true for the others on your list.</p>
<p>^^How about swarthmore?</p>
<p>Are you asking me if there’s a big drug scene at Swarthmore? If that’s the question I would give a definite no answer. There is a small group of hardcore pot smokers. I’ve met one person who I know has done harder drugs. Drinking is definitely much more prevalent though according to a survey by the college 25% of Swarthmore students never drink and another 25% only occasionally drink.</p>
<p>I’ll leave the money discussion to everyone else. As for cutting down your list…</p>
<p>You say USC is your dream school. Why is that? What is it about the place attracts you? Do any of your LACs recreate some/all of the things that USC offers?</p>
<p>Another question; USC is located in downtown Los Angeles complete with its relentless 75 degree temperatures and cloudless days, yet 3 of your 4 ‘definitely will apply’ schools are in fairly remote locations and all can count on below zero winters. Does climate matter? Also, USC has a larger student population than all your other schools excepting the state flagships; do you really want a bigger environment? </p>
<p>Decide on climate, student body size and surroundings. That should help lop a few off the list.</p>
<p>“I’m looking for a really non-preppy (as Whitman’s propaganda calls it, “unpretentious”) environment, LGBT-friendly, not a huge drinking/drugs scene (though I know this will be difficult to avoid), intellectual but not overly-so kind of schools.”</p>
<p>This sounds a lot like Beloit!! The kids are sooooooo smart but they don’t flaunt it. They’re just chill, cool people. Things like GPAs and test scores from hs are very mundane.</p>
<p>And my friend goes to Vassar and she said that there isn’t a big drug scene there (she’s a part of wellness communities, however)</p>
<p>As for Beloit, it depends on who you know/hang out with. It’s not in-your-face, but they are there. Or so I heard. 
They have wellness housing/groups.</p>
<p>Beloit, St. Olaf, Earlham, Juniata all seem to fit those criteria pretty well :)</p>