Is it a coincidence that my estimated net prices are calculating to be extremely similar?

Paying for College
1

I’ve been running NPCs on the websites of about 10 schools my kids are looking at, and although the schools are all very different, (I think, I could be extremely wrong) the estimated net prices are all pretty close (and relatively high).

We’d like to try to find some schools where the net price would be lower, and thought I would be doing that by looking at our state school and a few academic safeties, but the opposite seems to be true at those places. Is it just that we don’t know what merit aid would be at some of them?

Could someone help educate me, please? I know this is obvious to many of you. Thank you!

2

The quality of NPCs vary widely…the best seem to be at elite schools that are entirely need-based.

If the NPC does not ask for test scores and GPA, then it definitely is not projecting merit aid. The only definitive way to project merit aid is to wade through the college’s web site, and locate the qualifications for various merit scholarships.

I’m sure others will have better answers for you.

3

A few of them asked for grades and test scores, but several did not, and I know a few do not do merit at all. Several are schools that meet 100% need, but they’re the most competitive, and that still leaves a pretty substantial net price.

Academic safeties seem to have fewer funds for need-based aid, and any merit goes to need first, doesn’t it?

4

Generally, merit aid and need-based aid are two separate pools. However, at some private schools that don’t meet full need, I think that “need based” aid will be more generous for more highly qualified applicants.

Upon re-reading, I think I get what you mean. Yes, if you are awarded merit money, that will be considered aid and will reduce your perceived “need” at the school.

Not sure what state you are in, but you should check if there are state programs that hand out money to residents who stay in state - sometimes these are just for the publics, sometimes for all the schools in the state.

5

I have been running (lots of) NPCs as well. About 30 so far. I have found a range of Net Prices from $22K - $37 (plus a couple even higher) and everything in between.

What’s important to me are low NPs to start with, but also the chances for lowering that NP without huge loans (some schools that give you a low EFC, do it with suggested annual loan amounts of $5500-8500 which is more than we want to take out in loans). I don’t mind $3-4K in subsidized loans if necessary (even if not necessary), but I tend to feel that there are so many good schools where my kids won’t have to take on those high loan amounts.

Unfortunately, as you stated, a big unknown is how much Merit Aid a student might receive. If your NP includes a large need-based grant, any Merit Scholarship less than the grant amount will typically just lower your need. It might lower your NP some (but not the full amount of the merit), and/or lower the amount of loans &/or workstudy being suggested to get you to their “EFC”. Some schools spell this out pretty clearly (e.g. University of Rochester), but most do not. If you can identify schools where the chances are good for top merit awards (full tuition, full ride, etc) so that the merit award is more than your need, this will be the best deal financially (of course, the student has to want to attend and it should otherwise be a good fit, etc…). Look at school’s Merit Scholarship pages online, and look at admissions/merit threads here on CC for specific schools to see examples of stats/merit received.

Even if it doesn’t change your NP, lowering your need-based grant and replacing it with merit aid is a good thing because merit is typically guaranteed for all 4 years. If you have other kids that will finish college, or a chance of increases in your overall financial status (more income, etc), your need-based financial aid can change over the years.

6

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1346342-net-price-calculators-that-include-merit-aid-p1.html

7

Like @WhataProcess, I ran a lot of NPCs when DD was a sophomore. Over 40, maybe 50. I got a wide range, anywhere between $25,000 and $67,000 (!). The wealthy meets-full-need schools usually provide need-based aid with very competitive merit-based scholarships while some lower-tier private colleges use the high tuition/high discount business model to draw students. DD wasn’t a high achiever so we looked for colleges where her score was closer to or above the 75th percentile. We looked for relatively little known but well-respected liberal arts colleges (so, pretty much the opposite approach most people on CC take); these are the schools seeking to attract students. She eventually was accepted to all her colleges and received enough merit aid to bring down the direct COA to somewhere between $27,000 and $35,000 (she was accepted to one school where the COA was $45,000 and we tossed that one out immediately). We liked merit aid because if our income goes up, the amount remains the same. The bad news is if tuition goes up (and it will, I’m estimating 5%-7% a year), the amount remains the same.

8

Thank you. The range I’m getting is about 18k to 36k, but they’re almost all around 20k. I’m in MA, and UMass Amherst came in at 24k. The student loan part of the self-help has ranged from 2k-5,500.

We can’t actually pay the 20k cash every year, each (twins), and I don’t want them (or us) to have excessive loans. I guess I still haven’t identified the right schools with top merit awards, although I though I had by looking at ones where their stats were in the top 25%.

9

@BobWallace Thank you – I will spend a lot of time on that thread today!

10

Not all colleges award merit aid to the top 25%, and to get large awards you need to go deep into the percentage who get any award.

See:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17215174/#Comment_17215174

11

You need to find schools that would offer free tuition, could you pay room and board costs for both? Would they consider going to the same school to save on travel costs?

12

Have you tried NPC at Clark? They seemed generous to me and offer merit.

13

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html may be of use when looking for merit scholarships.

14

delete

15

<<<
GPA 3.6 UW, 4.1 W. Top 10% of a class of 500.
APs: US History, Psych, Eng Lit, Eng Lang, BC Calc, Biology
SAT 2000 but hopes to raise it next time

So, can anyone make any suggestions please? We need:

Something in the northeastern US (we’re in MA)
Fewer than about 6000 undergrads>>>

What is the M+CR?

What do you want your net cost to be??

16

Home state is MA.

Daughter 1 – wants med school, will probably major in biology

SAT Math 760, Reading 650, Writing 670 ACT 31
AP: USHistory 3, Psych 5, English Lang 5
GPA UW 3.65, W 4.10

Has a few good things on her resume, including a biophysics lab internship at an Ivy last summer and this summer, where she has been the only high school student ever and from which she’ll get a glowing recommendation.

Daughter 2 – no idea what she wants to do, will be undecided

SAT Math 650, Reading 550, Writing 690 ACT 29
AP: USHistory 3, English Lang 4
GPA UW 3.54, W 4.08

Has been a serious competitive gymnast since she was a toddler, but quit that last year due to injury and will not be doing gym in college. Not a ton of ECs but decent.

Schools they are considering (not necessarily both girls at all schools, and yes, I know many/most are reaches at this point – we are still trying to find academic & financial safeties)

Bryn Mawr
Bates
Mount Holyoke
Smith
Goucher
U Mass
Stevenson
Hobart William Smith
Salisbury
Franklin & Marshall
Dickinson
Ithaca
Kalamazoo
U Conn

We looked at Clark but they really didn’t like it – both are leaning toward smaller schools but not in cities. I’m the one who put UMass and UConn on the list.

Re the money – we can afford to take out loans, but I’m not convinced it’s wise to. We can probably pay about 10k per year cash, and then maybe they’d have 5k per year in loans each and we’d have 10k per year in loans. That’s obviously not ideal, but we can do it. I just want to learn as much as possible because I feel very stupid about everything!

17

Look through that link in post #12.

18

Thank you very much! @ErinsDad , I’m going through it. So far not finding a lot in the northeast, though.

I left a few off of the considering list and I don’t think I can edit a post:

Ursinus (visited and they didn’t love but didn’t actively dislike the way they did Clark)
SUNY Stony Brook & Geneseo

19

Are the numbers you post in #15 (10k per year contribution plus $10k in loans) per kid?

20

@TempeMom , we were thinking about 5k cash per kid per year from us, and they’ll each work for 2-4k per year, so that’s as much as 9k each that they have before loans. Then if they each do the fed loans mentioned in the self-help for about 4-5k, that leaves about 6k that would have to be covered in loans, each kid, each year.

Hope I explained that okay.