<p>The problem is I can't afford any of the schools in my list without financial aid/scholarships. And no school will definitely give me aid, so I want to increase the probability that I'll get enough aid from at least one school.
And two schools on my list, Colby and Grinnell, according to their NPCs, would be affordable for me. But they're rural. And I hate rural. Like, HATE. But what if I got into open or the other and they offered me enough aid?</p>
<p>The other schools on my list are Mount Holyoke, St Olaf, College of Wooster, and Champlain (which would be affordable with merit money, but their NPC won't even give me a ballpark figure on how much that would even be).</p>
<p>How much, exactly, is your family ready, willing, and able to pay?</p>
<p>What, exactly, are you looking for in a college or university? Do you have a specific major, or do you just want an LAC?</p>
<p>What are your grades and test scores like?</p>
<p>Many of the NPCs are unreliable. Ask in the Financial Aid Forum about the accuracy of the ones that you’ve tried running. It could be that none of these institutions would be affordable even if you were to be admitted.</p>
<p>Oh, and do spend some time pinning down a couple of safeties where you know you can get in for dead certain, that you can pay for without any aid other than federal aid that you qualify for, and where you know you can be happy. If you are a viable applicant for MHC and the rest, there are places that could be free or almost free. Read through the Merit Aid threads in the financial aid forum for ideas.</p>
<p>Did you ever calculate your EFC as I suggested on another thread, “How do people pay for college?” </p>
<p>It is fine for you to say 5k-6k is what your parents are willing to pay, but until you actually have some kind of EFC that you have calculated, like on the College Board website, then you do not know what your family is up against financially. </p>
<p>As you know the colleges determine your need after they evaluate your parents’ numbers with FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE (if PROFILE is required, and it is at some privates) </p>
<p>So few schools meet 100% of need and the ones that do are difficult to get into. </p>
<p>I suggest your parents buy “Paying For College Without Going Broke” Princeton Review, by Kalman Chany, read it, and do the worksheets in the back of the book. </p>
<p>Erin’s Dad, I believe the OP has stated before that NY is state of residence.</p>
<p>In NY there are the CUNYs (not rural) which are well priced. Staying instate allows you to get TAP. For SUNYs there are Buffalo, Stony Brook, Albany…</p>
<p>I have calculated my EFC- it’s 1500, but I’m not sure why- perhaps the calculator downplays the amount my parents are willing to take out of their savings to pay.</p>
<p>I think you should give this some more thought. It seems to me that there is not a great divide on your list between the rural and non-rural schools. Most schools on your list tend to be “bubbles,” in that the students stay mostly on campus and the surrounding community isn’t particularly relevant to most students’ daily or social lives. </p>
<p>I would, for example, consider St. Olaf and Grinnell relatively comparable in terms of daily and weekend student free time activities (other than with respect to alcohol policies). Going to Grinnell is not at all like living out in the country in an isolated rural environment. I don’t think you’ll find that many students from St. Olaf actually head up to the Twin Cities on a regular basis, and during the cold months they don’t even make it down the hill to Northfield all that often.<br>
Have you had an opportunity to visit some of these small liberal arts schools? I think you’ll find that students primarily take advantage of the many social opportunities on campus.</p>
<p>I rally don’t care what other students do though- I need to be around more than 2,000 people at once. If I went to St Olaf, I’d go up to Twin Cities alone if no one actually wanted to go. I need to be in more than a cornfield.</p>
<p>Then don’t even put it on your list in the first place. Look in your own state for affordable options, and make an effort to pull up your ACT/SAT score into the range of some of the guaranteed merit colleges and universities from the lists in the Fin Aid forum.</p>
<p>Grinnell and St Olaf are not that rural. I live in a suburb of a major city and drive as far to go to the movies or shopping, as you would have to drive to go to Des Moines. Plus, the town of Grinnell is not rural.</p>
<p>St Olaf is in Northfield. Definitely not rural. It is about an hour from MPLS/St. Paul. So it is a further drive to a metropolitan area. But Northfield is nice. And with 2 top colleges right there, there is plenty of social life and things going on. I do not know anything about the other schools. But, when there is less town and more campus, the campuses tend to have a lot going on around the campus, way more than schools in major cities.</p>
<p>I kind of think perhaps you are not really understanding how things are in college. When you go to what is called a residential college, which is what the schools you list are, there is an entire campus life revolving around doing stuff with other students and around campus. The college my son had had as his first choice…Cornell College…had things going on every weekend! From late night breakfasts (seemed spur of the moment) to just a wide variety of other things. I wish I had gone to school there. You are only in college for 4 short years. That time flies so quickly. You should enjoy the college life as much as you can, because when it is done, it is done.</p>
<p>I would say yes, that rural schools would be worth considering, BUT your scores definitely do not assure you entrance into Grinnell or Colby, as both are very selective and I think your stats are somewhat below their averages… This being said, I agree with above posters who say you need an ABSOLUTE safety, both financially and acceptance-wise, and preferably one in an area you like, too (even if it isnt as “renowned”)</p>
This is a non-problem. If you hate rural schools, take them off your list and substitute schools that would be both affordable and appealing to you. Ta da.</p>
<p>It is odd to be talking about selective, expensive schools like Colby and Grinnell as if they are safeties you’d only reluctantly attend. They do have good aid. In this respect they might be safer than an OOS public university that won’t give you adequate aid. They might even be cheaper after aid than your state flagship. However, your stats aren’t high enough even to make them likely “match” schools. </p>
<p>Unless you raise your grades and scores, you probably won’t have a good shot at substantial merit aid from a public school that offers it to OOS students. Alabama has one of the most generous merit aid programs for OOS students. There, a 3.5 GPA and 1400 M+CR would qualify you for a merit scholarship covering the value of OOS tuition. That still leaves you with room, board and other expenses.</p>
<p>So, what are your in-state public options?
Every state has public schools that are less selective, and cheaper (before aid if not after), than Grinnell or Colby. If you can’t get enough need-based aid from your state flagship, you could attend a nearby, less expensive school and commute from home for a year or more to cut costs. If that puts you closer to the urban environment you want, would it be more desirable than a rural school that gives you the aid you need?</p>
<p>If you’re looking for more urban LACs, they do exist. Check out Barnard, Goucher, Macalester, Occidental, Rhodes, and Trinity. Unfortunately, none of these is a sure thing for both admission and sufficient aid.</p>
<p>I never said that I consider Grinnell or Colby as matches, where did you get that from? I said the chances of getting into one of my schools with good financial aid is increased if I apply to more places.</p>
<p>And I don’t get everyone saying my instate schools are cheaper- they are NOT. Maybe all of your kids had a 3.8 GPA and a 2200 SAT which allowed them to get a lot of merit money from their state schools, but I obviously don’t have that.</p>
<p>Please take a step back and look at the responses from parents. These are senior CC members with thousands of posts that have taken time to help you. You made some rather broad and somewhat conflicting statements in your first post. Take some time to re-read the responses and follow the advise, then, come back and parents are more than happy to try to help guide you. We can go step by step as to what you are looking for in a college, your possible major, tuition cost, what grades and scores meet merit awards at various institutions, family financial contribution, and location of schools. We really do want to help!</p>
<p>What you’re really asking is this: Should I be in a school environment I hate just because I can afford it? The obvious answer to this is no. It will be your home for the next 4 years. You don’t want to hate living there.</p>
<p>So start your search over and look for schools that give good financial aid and are not in rural areas. Start with the college match tool on this website and then narrow down your choices.</p>