Thank you for the link! I’m not sure what I’m interested, but I’m learning towards Urban Studies right now (that’ll definitely change soon enough). I’m not sure if I want to go to grad school.
Truth be told, I don’t think I want to deviate too much from the Northeast or smaller schools. Thanks anyways 
I’ve tried looking for merit scholarships, but I’ve had trouble finding too many online. Do you have any links? If not, that’s completely ok
Re: merit - not any where the deadlines haven’t passed already, sorry.
Sticking to your criteria for size and location is what’s limiting your merit awards. I am not saying this as a criticism at all: it’s just a matter of choices. If you want more merit, you’ll need to broaden your school search. If you don’t want to broaden your school search, then you’ll need to choose from the list you already have. Best wishes either way.
You asked about community colleges - quality of education varies widely, and CCs may charge you OOS tuition. IMHO, they’re not worth the OOS tuition, and I say that as a parent whose son has a full year’s worth of CC credits at an excellent CA CC. I would NOT have paid OOS tuition for those credits.
Look into NCF and Wilkes Honors college. Both are small and offer great scholarships.
Refusing to look at UNM (which is a small flagship) is not wise.
The money would come from my parent’s savings and from their yearly salary. I’ll definitely look into “I messed up.” Thanks for suggesting it
I’ve also considered going to Dickinson for a year. I could see if I like it (and if I think it’s worth the cost), and then I could apply to cheaper schools. It’d be an alternative to a gap year.
I didn’t fully understand what you meant by the list of colleges that miscalculated yield. Are you saying that schools will still be accepting students and will be offering more scholarship money?
@MYOS1634 @DiotimaDM
I’m looking into UNM right now. I have some family there, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst option. Thank you!
Your best bet is as a freshman - transfers get lousy aid and there’s basically no merit scholarships for them. 
Yes that’s exactly what I’m saying.
Colleges have enrollment algorithms.* But adolescents are fickle creatures that don’t match algorithms. And so some colleges (including up to 20 or 25 truly excellent colleges that everyone’s surprised to see on the list ) see fewer students enroll than predicted. Their financial aid is there to give, too. But the spots at these colleges go fast so your common app must be ready to go.
First, you contact the rep whose name is on he list, introduce yourself, explain what you like about their college (they’re small and liberal arts focused for instance … ) say you feel so lucky there’s still a couple places in the freshman class there, ask if the places have all been snapped up or if you can still apply and whether there’s still financial aid available.
If the rep answers yes to both questions, send the app immediately and send an email to explain you did.
You’ll hear back quickly and will know whether it’s a possibility or not.
@danisonder Hey, sorry if I came as I was judging your parents! It’s just that in my home country it’s mandatory (it’s a law) that parents pay for their kids’ college until they are 23 in the case of undergrad and even Grad School if they are under 26 and have B average. So it was kind of hard for me to understand, but I am sure your parents are wonderful
^ several European countries have suxxh provisions indeed.
However to be fair college there isn’t as expensive as in the US.
[/quote]
Did the estimates turn out to be very far off?
Well, kinda yes & kinda no. Two problems:
Is your Portuguese (or other European language) (written / aural / oral) fluent enough to go to university in that language? typically they expect B2 level:
=Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialization.
=Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
=Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.)?
If not, your choices are limited to those that teach in English.
For university in the UK or Ireland you have to have been tax-resident in the EU for the last 3 years (and changes are coming for the UK, obvs), or you pay international fees that will not be that much cheaper than the options you have in the US.
There are a small number of courses taught in English (mostly in Germany and Holland) which are very cheap (even for non-EU citizens), but that leads to the second issue:
As you noted, EU schools typically expect you to have already chosen your core academic subject, and (in most cases) have some background in it, in the form of standardized testing. The courses that are available to you are highly prescriptive.
There is also the obvious point that this was a discussion / decision that should have been had last autumn, when you were applying, but I know that isn’t helpful- except to your younger brother 
If you are intelligent enough & accomplished enough to be admitted to Brown, then academically speaking it is by far your best choice.
IMO the education at Brown- while excellent- is not worth almost 2x what an education at Dickinson is worth, and is definitley not worth $70K extra in debt.
If your parents will pay $20k without making you borrow it, apply to a SUNY. Their OOS rate is $30k. With $20k from your parents + the ~$5500/year federal a student loan and ~$3k earnings if you work summers, you’d only have to borrow ~$2k/year from your parents (less if you work part-time during the year or longer hours in the summer). If you want to borrow $40k from your parents, I’d do it for grad school.
Are any of the SUNY’s still taking applications?
Some SUNYs have rolling admissions, I think. A few generally end up on the NACAC list on May 1st, too, @gallentjill.
Derp. Wrong thread.
It’s not worth the money going to Brown. You would need to co-sign some pretty significant debt to pay for it, and I’m doubting he would be willing to do that. If you’re getting $80k for your degree, that’s basically a full ride. Take it. Be happy!
@danisonder: did you end up choosing Dickinson?
just in case, the NACAC list is out and there are lots of excellent colleges with financial aid likely to place them within budget like University of South Florida, NCF, DePauw, Beloit…
Just a little update: I appealed to Brown for more financial aid (twice), and I finally got enough. I’m not sure if I’ll be getting enough aid in future years, but at least for next year, I’ll be at Brown.
Thanks for everyone’s help and advice. I’m very excited
Congratulations!