<p>Hi, I am just wondering what my chances are of getting financial aid to an Ivy League school, specifically uPenn. My parents make around a total of 150,000 a year. I have 2 siblings. One of them is in college, and the other is in middle school. My parents are not going to pay for my schooling if i go to a school such as Penn. If anybody could tell me my chances of getting financial aid it would be much appreciated. Also, neither of my parents graduated from college, but i do not know if that makes a difference. I really want to go to a school like this!!!</p>
<p>ACT- 30
GPA- 4.09
Class Rank- 1/307
Activities- Football, baseball, National Honor Society, Mayors Youth Commission, Big brothers big Sisters.</p>
<p>We’d need to know more than just income. Penn also looks at assets such as home equity and other investments. It is not the best of the ivies where aid is concerned. Try some calculators such as the one on this site to see what your family would be expected to pay.</p>
<p>or on the college board site. It gets realyl complicated once you factor in other siblings, especially in college. you should use a fin aid calculator</p>
<p>With you financial situation, it is likely that you would qualify for a modest grant while your sibling is in college. By modest I mean that your parents would not have to pay the full cost, but they still would have to pay a substantial amount.</p>
<p>What type of college does your sibling attend? (public/private/community college, etc.). How is that paid for? Are you parents willing to provide any support at all? If so, how much (in terms of dollars)?</p>
<p>“My parents are not going to pay for my schooling if i go to a school such as Penn.”</p>
<p>Define. Do you mean your parents will not pay a dime for you to go to college, period? Because most every private college in the nation will ask a family making $150,00 per year to pay at least something. The only way around that would be 100% merit aid, and none of the Ivies give merit aid. Furthermore, even if you applied to a few privates that do, there’s no guaranteeing you’ll be both accepted as well as the recipient of a free ride via merit. If your schooling HAS to be completely free (of course, you could always take out loans …), at your family’s income level, your best bet would be an in-state public.</p>
<p>My brother attends a public university and my parents pay for it with cash. My parents will probably give me 5-10 thousand dollars a year, but that is no where near the 50,000 needed to pay for a school such as penn.</p>
<p>You need to enter your numbers into one of the finaid calculators using the institutional methodology. IF one of your schools has a calculator on their website, use that one. If the amount your family is expected to contribute exceeds the amount they are willing to give you, you will have to discuss this with them. If they are willing to contribute more, fine. If not, you will either need to figure out another way to pay the college bills OR also apply to other more affordable schools.</p>
<p>Some of the Ivies have terrific financial aid incentives. Others are less attractive. If it were me, and I were you…I would be applying to a range of schools including ones where affordability is NOT an issue. </p>
<p>Perhaps in the end, one of the Ivies will give you need based aid to pay your bills…but if they don’t (and to be honest, I don’t think it’s likely that you will get $40,000 a year in need based aid with a family income of $150,000) you want to have some options.</p>
<p>It’s interesting reading if nothing else. If your parents don’t have have unusual assets this will give you an idea of what Harvard will expect them to pay. Yale has a similar financial aid policy, I think Princeton does too. Of course these schools are really difficult to get into but you’re first in your class. Also, you’re parents not having gone to college will help you as a hook.</p>
<p>As far as the other schools go like Penn, like the other posters have said, you need to figure out what your EFC is, but I think it will be high. Your parents are in a tough income bracket, they make too much to qualify for need-assistance but they can’t afford to full sticker price of a private school.</p>
<p>I think you need to broaden your thinking a little bit. There are a lot of good schools that offer merit scholarships, Johns Hopkins comes to mind.</p>
<p>I could have phrased this better. This you will give you an idea of what your parents will be expected to contribute from their income. Harvard will consider their assets separately.</p>
<p>Scott…I don’t think this student has enough information here tom make any judgements about financial aid. IF this student’s FAFSA EFC or a finaid calculator EFC using institutional methodology comes out in the $20,000 range…this student will have some difficulty meeting expenses at a private school IF the parents are going to give $5K to $10K per year. </p>
<p>I also think this student has a great GPA and great class rank to be competitive for merit types of aid at some schools…but personally, I do not see that ACT score as a standout score. I would suggest a retake and a taking of the SAT.</p>
<p>At schools that do not have fabulous need based financial aid incentives (i.e. those schools that give need based aid to families with incomes above $150,000)…this student’s EFC is likely to be between $17,500 and $22,500 (that is assuming TWO student in college at the same time) which exceeds the $5k-$10K that the student’s parents will contribute. If the student gets merit aid, that would decrease their NEED by that amount.</p>
<p>Please explain how the non-Ivy privates would be a better bet.</p>
<p>A 30 on the ACT and 4.0+ GPA will get more merit money (and often lower out of pocket costs) from similarly competitive private schools compared to public schools.</p>
<p>For example, a student with such numbers applies to the University of Illinois, Illinois State, Millikin, Bradley, and Coe. I’d bet one of those privates would be the least out of pocket. Two of the privates would be near equivalent to ISU. And Illinois would likely be the highest out of pocket of the five.</p>
<p>That’s just been my experience over the years.</p>
<p>Well…yes…I would say that a student who is competitive for admissions to the Ivies would receive favorable merit aid from the above privates. But I will also venture that many students who are Ivy competitive are not looking at these schools.</p>
<p>Of course, I think that if finances ARE a consideration, highly competitive students SHOULD take a look at some of these less competitive schools as those are places where their merit aid prospects are the best.</p>
<p>I keep referring folks to post by Momfromtexas who found some great schools with great merit aid for her kiddos. Not the Ivies…but good schools with very favorable merit aid.</p>
<p>I agree that a 30 ACT score, regardless of GPA/class rank, is a long shot for the Ivies. That is why I suggested that this student retake the ACT and/or take the SAT.</p>
<p>you suggest retaking it? i did not study for the act so i guess the there is room for improvement. is one or two points on the act gonna make that big of difference? or are you thinking i retake and get a 34+?</p>
<p>Well…it depends on how high you are aiming. A one or two point improvement COULD affect merit aid at some school. Getting your ACT as close to 36 as possible would be a good thing if you are aiming for Ivy consideration. A 36 (perfect score) might not be essential, but a 30 is sort of on the lowish side for Ivy League schools, at least I THINK it is.</p>
<p>I remember someone telling me that typical improvement on a retake is about 2 points. I have had a client that had a 6 point improvement however.</p>