<p>As a dedicated student, it was tough to come to the realization that despite my countless hours of hard work, I might not be able to attend a school that I desire due to financial reasons. This is due mainly to the fact that my parents have capped the amount they are willing to spend on college, which is understandable, but it leaves me the choice of attending a lesser quality state school or graduating with excessive amounts of debt. As a New York state resident I am aware of the Cornell option, though I am struggling to find back up plans that I feel reflect the amount of effort I have put into the college admissions process (which, similar to most of the people on here, I have been working hard at since a young age). I was wondering if anyone knows of schools that are generous with money (for example, a friend of mine was offered a incredibly generous scholarship from Davidson even though his application was that of a similar caliber to many of the students they accepted), or that may not be upper tier but are still schools that will supply me with a good education. I have an interest in business, though I am undecided where in business I wish to specialize.</p>
<p>I have done my homework and consider myself fairly well versed in the college admittance/selection process, though every time I visit this site I seem to learn something new. Any advice or ideas would be of great help, thanks.</p>
<p>Cooper Union and Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering are both free-tuition engineering schools. One is in NYC, and the other in Needham, MA.</p>
<p>Hockeyfan - Welcome to CC! Some of the better schools that are cited from time to time as being good with merit aid include Pitt, Tulane, Denison, Wooster, Miami (FL), Tulsa, and if you have a 1400 / 1600 SAT, Alabama. I think that other posters on the CC Financial Aid forum can give you other leads.</p>
<p>I think you mean that you need merit scholarship generous schools. “Aid generous” schools base aid on “need.” It sounds like you don’t have much/any need, so you need big merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Then get off the computer and go give your parents a big hug and kiss, and thank them for telling you the truth about how much they are willing to pay. Too many parents don’t figure that out until after the college acceptances and financial aid packages have come in. Yours are brave and kind. They have made certain that you have enough time to find affordable opportunities for yourself.</p>
<p>Alfred University (NY), established in 1836. </p>
<p>Princeton Review’s Best 373
Fiske Guide 2011
Fiske Best Value
Fiske Small schools strong in Art & Design
Fiske Small schools strong in Engineering
USNWR’s Great Schools Great Prices
Princeton Review’s Best 300 Business Schools </p>
<p>About 2300 undergrads, small classes-know your professors, Division III Athletics, Housing for all 4 years, no Greek Life, small charming village of Alfred, NY, friendly people.</p>
<p>School of Art & Design
School of Business
College of Liberal Arts
School of Engineering </p>
<p>First of all, what does the government think your parents should pay? Run the numbers through the FAFSA estimators and see what your family’s Expected Family Contribution is approximately. Also, how about how much are your parents willing to pay? If your parents are in the financial bracket that financial aid is not a possibility, then you need to look at schools with costs within what they will pay for you and what you can come up with on your own, and for merit awards. </p>
<p>There are a number of links as prior posters have mentioned in terms of merit awards. Also look at the the UNWR listing of schools that give out merit money, so you can see which schools do. Ivies don’t, nor do a number of the more selective school. Those would go off of your list. The land grant schools of Cornell have reduced tuition, but they are still pricey and there is no merit money forthcoming from them either. Are your parents will in to pay up to what those costs are? Because if so, that would pretty much cover all of your in state public universities and most OOS publics as well. Not a bad ceiling, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the advice, I will try to answer the questions posed to me, I really am getting quite an education reading this.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids - the title change was done by a moderator (my title was a bit too broad), but you are correct that I am seeking merit scholarships. My family is willing to pay 75K total towards three years (with me paying for the first in its entirety), and will not contribute anything to grad school (thus I really hope to get a job out of undergrad). My stats are decent, 94UW 99W with very diverse, high quality extra curriculars (class president, part time job, member of a congressional committee, very successful athlete, and member of my church board of directors to name a few). I am currently waiting to hear back about my SATs (currently have a 2000) and plan on giving the ACT a try; I hope to major somewhere in the business field.</p>
<p>@mtpaper - I am referring to the land-grant schools at Cornell with have reduced tuition. I am in no way trying to knock Binghamton and Geneseo, both really are fantastic schools, its just that I really would like to go to school out of state. Coming out of Long Island, both schools seem to have a very homey feel, while I’m seeking to branch out from what is currently the norm.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse - I have ran the numbers through FAFSA and I will not qualify for any aid, and even with OOS schools I will graduate with debt though it is certainly more manageable. I really enjoyed UNC-Chapel Hill and UVA though I fear that as an OOS applicant, they will be less concerned with my extra curriculars (my aforementioned strong suit) and more concerned with my not-as-impressive grades and board scores. And even if I were to be accepted to say UVA, I would graduate with approx 93k in debt/loans.</p>
<p>Thank you again everyone for the advice, its remarkable how hours of research using google and the sort is quickly outdone by one CC post.</p>
<p>*My family is willing to pay 75K total towards three years (with me paying for the first in its entirety), and will not contribute anything to grad school (thus I really hope to get a job out of undergrad). My stats are decent, 94UW 99W with very diverse, high quality extra curriculars (class president, part time job, member of a congressional committee, very successful athlete, and member of my church board of directors to name a few). I am currently waiting to hear back about my SATs (currently have a 2000) and plan on giving the ACT a try; I hope to major somewhere in the business field.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>And you say that your family won’t qualify for any aid.</p>
<p>Well, since YOU can’t borrow much, you really have your hands tied for freshman year unless you get huge merit scholarships. You’ll be in a similar boat for the later years, if your parents will only pay $25k per year and a school costs much more than that.</p>
<p>You can only borrow 5500 for frosh year. and not a lot more for later years, either.</p>
<p>What is your parents reason for funding soph year on? Do they not trust you to do well frosh year? </p>
<p>*I really enjoyed UNC-Chapel Hill and UVA *</p>
<p>Since you won’t qualify for aid, then those schools won’t be affordable.</p>
<p>You will be limited to schools that give large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>You need to retest both the SAT and ACT…you need the highest scores possible.</p>
<p>What is your parents expectation of how you will pay for freshman year? Do you have savings in your name? </p>
<p>Can you use the $75k over 4 years, or will they really not contribute towards the 1st year?</p>
<p>The plan of attack I’d take:
3 or so SUNYs. Yes, I know you don’t want to attend a SUNY, but it makes the most sense financially, and you surely need to include them on the list. There are many many students at these schools in exactly the same boat you are in. I grew up on LI. Neither Binghamton nor Geneseo are like LI. Go cheap as possible for u/g, and save the money and experience for grad school, and life after grad school.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Cornell only if you are 100% committed to staying in the designated major; if you switch majors, you’ll be paying full freight…</p></li>
<li><p>play the lottery with additional applications to schools that award automatic merit scholarships based on stats, keeping an eye on the potential cost of attendance net of the award. Read thru prior posts to see stats and scholarships; some threads have been mentioned and here are 2 more. In order to qualify for the merit money and get you out of NYS, some schools may be ranked lower than the SUNYs.</p></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Keep an open mind. Living on a campus is not like living at home and going to h.s. The grass is not that much greener outside of NYS.</li>
</ul>
<p>While playing the lottery, which should be the last thing you do AFTER you cover you bases with likely schools that are affordable, you can look at some selective schools with highly selective scholarships and give it a try. There is Georgia Tech with their Presidential award, Davidson and Wake Forest have some awards, as do a number of highly selective schools. But they are truly lottery tickets.</p>
<p>It is a problem that you will need a full ride the first year since a number of awards are half tuition or of amounts that still would require about $25K which you say you will have for future years but not freshman year. Would your parents borrow that amount freshman year for you via PLUS that you can repay through the Staffords that you can get in your own name? That would cover your first year cost of $25K and you could repay your parents even while in school since you are entitled to borrow more than that over the 4 years, but only $5500 the first year.</p>
<p>*My stats are decent, 94UW 99W with very diverse, high quality extra curriculars (class president, part time job, member of a congressional committee, very successful athlete, and member of my church board of directors to name a few). I am currently waiting to hear back about my SATs (currently have a 2000) and plan on giving the ACT a try; I hope to major somewhere in the business field.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Strategy…</p>
<p>1) Explain to your parents that you are only allowed to borrow the following amounts each year:</p>
<p>5500 frosh
6500 soph
7500 jr
7500 sr</p>
<p>Your parents may not know that. But those are the limits for Federal Stafford Direct student loans.</p>
<p>2) Tell them that transfer students cannot get much in scholarships because schools only give big scholarships to incoming freshmen so that they can have the best frosh class to help them with ranking. (Your parents may be thinking that you can go to a CC the first year and then transfer and get scholarships.)</p>
<p>3) Tell them that if you get a full tuition scholarship as an incoming freshmen then their $75k contribution will be more than enough, and that you can actually SAVE them money…BUT, you will need about $15k for each of your 4 years…$60k total…savings of $15k. The $15k per year would cover room, board, books, transportation. You could cover personal expenses with earnings from a summer job. If your parents will not agree to letting you have $15k for your first year, THEN ask for $10k for freshman year, and then you can take out a loan up to $5500 to cover the rest. </p>
<p>4) Now…YOU…you need to study/retake the SAT and ACT to get at least a 32 ACT or a 1400 Math + Critical reading. Those scores will often get you into the “full tuition scholarship” range for some of the schools that give them. Of course, if you get higher than that, there will be MORE schools that might work for you.</p>
<p>The reason you need to take both the ACT and SAT is because some kids do better on one than the other…and you won’t know which you do better on until you take both. It can be a nice surprise!!!</p>
<p>What area of business are you interested?</p>
<p>Frankly, if you are able to snag a full tuition scholarship which will bring down your total costs, I don’t see how your parents could not agree to letting you have some of your college money for frosh year.</p>
<p>Here’s a better link that tells you about ASSURED scholarships from various colleges. If you have the stats, you get the money. :)</p>
<p>wow thanks again everyone for all the advise. I’d like to apologize though for not being clear about how much money I have to spend on college, as it is evident that I failed to do so in a comprehensible manner. I currently have approx. 25k saved up on my own that I plan to pay for the first year with (accumulated from years of gifts from family member’s, including a generous contribution from my parents every year), and I know that my parents will let me borrow money from them (with interest and the sort) so I really do have the ability to fund any school, its simply that anything over 100K for an education will result in debt. </p>
<p>I know my circumstance is a bit out of the ordinary; its centered around the fact that my parents can fund my college education, they just don’t intend on working extra years beyond their hopeful retirement ages to do so (hence the 75k for three years cap). They are really willing to let me do whatever I wish (though strongly advise against me going into serious debt), leaving me to contemplate the value of ‘stronger’ top tier education as opposed to a SUNY education or the equivalent, which is another debate in itself. </p>
<p>I really hope to get a job out of undergrad, as every cent that goes to grad school will be coming out of my pocket. Thus, playing the SUNY vs. Top-Tier is more interesting as I feel top-tier will give me a better shot, though naturally it offers no guarantees, and I could find myself in need of a grad degree and already in debt. I hope to find myself somewhere in the business world, though my ambivalence restricts me from distinguishing any further. For this reason though I see Binghamton as a good option, as it offers the perk of having a top 50 business school. </p>
<p>The links everyone has posted really are really informative, I tried to find another thread similar to this one but couldn’t do so using the search box so I had to start my own. If anyone could expand on the “playing the lottery” tactic that would really be great, I’m assuming that it means to apply to a certain school in the hopes of receiving one of their ‘lottery’ scholarships but I am not certain. I really can’t thank all of you enough for your help.</p>
<p>I recommend that you start paying your parents for living expenses and taking care of needs with that savings in your name. Perhaps your parent can start a college fund in their names for you as you pay down your savings. I say this because some PROFILE schools, the ones most generous with financial aid, will not only hit your savings with a bigger % (FAFSA does the same 20% vs 5.6%) but will make you liable for that percentage or more for all four years, reducing flexibility greatly. That is a cardinal rule for financial aid kids, by the way–spend down student savings.</p>
<p>* I currently have approx. 25k saved up on my own that I plan to pay for the first year with (accumulated from years of gifts from family member’s, including a generous contribution from my parents every year), and I know that my parents will let me borrow money from them (with interest and the sort) so I really do have the ability to fund any school, its simply that anything over 100K for an education will result in debt. </p>
<p>I know my circumstance is a bit out of the ordinary; its centered around the fact that my parents can fund my college education, they just don’t intend on working extra years beyond their hopeful retirement ages to do so (hence the 75k for three years cap).*</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents have enough earnings and savings that you won’t qualify for any need-based aid from any school.</p>
<p>Can you further clarify…</p>
<p>Are you saying that you have about $25k and your parents have agreed to contribute $75k. Who stipulated the “3 years” thing? Is that a rule or is that just a number that comes from “doing the math” of $25k from you and $75k from parents…so 1 year from you and 3 years from parents. </p>
<p>Anyway…you sound like a level-headed young person, so with the $25k for each year and some merit scholarships from the schools that give them, you could graduate debt-free from a number of schools.</p>
<p>You could apply to some reach schools just to see what would happen, but I don’t see how you’d qualify for aid and certainly borrowing $25k per year to attend them is not a good idea.</p>
<p>@HockeyFan29 - I commend you and your parents for the open communication you have regarding college finances. You know your budget, you recognize that you want to avoid debt, and are looking for your options. Much better to know this now than in April of senior year. You might want to take the conversation a step further with them - are they expecting to pick up any of the out-of-pocket personal expenses (such as travel, books, laptop, spending money etc) beyond the $25k per year contribution</p>
<p>I don’t understand how the Cornell option would be suitable for your end result in business… </p>
<p>To repeat what’s been said, your list should include: </p>
<p>A: several SUNYs</p>
<p>B: schools which offer substantial merit scholarships which are not automatic based on stats; you are playing the lottery since the scholarship is not guaranteed based on stats. An example would be University of Miami in Florida, where scholarship eligibility is based on:</p>
<pre><code>
</p>
<p>COA for 2011-2012 is 51,182, with 38,440 of it from tuition. UM might be do-able for you if you won the lottery for the Singer/Stamps at full tuition or University at $24k/year. If, however, you won the lottery for the Dickinson at $20k/year or the Deans at $16k/year, you’d pat yourself on the back, and not attend.</p>
<p>C: schools with automatic merit based on your stats. Remember that the merit you receive is of less importance than the balance you need to pay. If possible, keep your eye geared to scholarships which are based on full tuition, or a percentage of tuition, rather than a flat dollar figure (because tuition will increase, and you’d like the scholarship to increase as well). An example of a school with automatic scholarship is Indiana University; out-of-state COA (excluding expenses you can control for books, travel, etc) is 37,561; they award an automatic scholarship of 9000/year based on a minimum ACT of 30 or SAT of 1340, and minimum GPA of 3.8, which brings COA down to 27,561. Not exactly the $25k you talk about, but certainly within reach.</p>
<p>D. you might want to look at schools in Canada… COA at McGill for 2011-2012 is $33,645/CND, substantially lower than schools here. I don’t know any numbers for other Canadian schools. If you pursue any school in Canada, do so with the assumption that you will not get any merit scholarships at all.</p>
<p>Note that I am not recommending or suggesting University of Miami, Indiana University or McGill for you, nor have I looked at your stats to see if you’d qualify. I am merely using them as examples of Playing the Lottery (Miami) vs Automatic Merit (Indiana) vs Canadian.</p>
<p>Lastly, note that the numbers I’ve quoted here are for 2011-2012. COA when you attend will be higher and increase each year.</p>
<p>PS: set up a spreadsheet with a column for each school. Down the left, enter rows for Fees, room and board, Tuition and any other fixed expenses that you’ll be billed from the university. Make a sub-total for COA. Then enter rows for the value of the scholarship. And then add another row for Adjusted COA (ie, COA less scholarship value). Further down on the worksheet, add a section for Variable expenses, such as books, personal, transportation etc. </p>
<p>After the discussion with your parents, you’ll know whether you are trying to get Adjusted COA to be $25k/year or if you need to include variable expenses in the $25k</p>
The $15k per year would cover room, board, books, transportation. You could cover personal expenses with earnings from a summer job. If your parents will not agree to letting you have $15k for your first year, THEN ask for $10k for freshman year, and then you can take out a loan up to $5500 to cover the rest. </p>