<p>My parents make just over 40,000, so we are kind of in purgatory. According to my counselor free and reduced lunch was the only way I could receive fee waivers, as we own a home and also I did not receive a SAT/ACT app wavier. As for my new list I’m just applying to colleges that have a low net price, I had Temple as a backup but 15,000 a year would too expensive for my family. I don’t know where I can find an affordable safety college without going over 10,000 a year in net price. </p>
<p>You definitely need a safety. Take a look at California University of Pennsylvania. They have an Honors program that might suit you.</p>
<p>Your counselor’s wrong… seriously, if $15,000 a year is too much, you qualify for a fee waiver.
The commonapp now makes it very easy to check the “fee waiver” box for the counselor. That’s why colleges are more reluctant to grant special fee waivers - basically anyone who needs one can be covered through the commonapp’s counselor box. Essentially, the colleges you’re interested in WANT you to apply and don’t want to not apply there because the fee is a legitimate financial concern.</p>
<p>Can you work and save the money to add a few schools? </p>
<p>Do you qualify financially for Berea? (It’d be in your net cost final price range, it’s free to apply and you can see if you qualify here:
<a href=“Berea College - Quick Estimator - Net Price Calculator”>https://www.berea.edu/admissions/quick-estimator/</a>
I entered a 47,000 income and 119,000 in assets/house, and that person would be eligible.)</p>
<p>I do have a job but get paid the 5th of every month and my counselor wants me get all my applications finished before thanks giving break. </p>
<p>One more money saving thought- if you are successful in your APs, you may have enough credits to shave off a semester, saving you a bunch of tuition. Take a look at the AP policies of each school to maximize their benefit. I am guessing that less selective publics are going to give you more credits for APs than your more selective LACs.</p>
<p>Tell your counselor that you dont have enough money to pay for the application fees. Indicate you’ve already submitted and paid for the ones you could afford, but for the rest, you either need a fee waiver to submit before Thanksgiving, or you’ll be able to use your salary, which will be paid December 5th, to pay for some of the rest, and even then you can’t apply to all of those you’d decided on together because your dad said there wasn’t enough money.
make it clear what’s at stake.</p>
<p>I totally agree with the above. A stubborn counselor should not get in the way of a need based kid applying to colleges. You qualify for the waivers. Do you have someone to advocate for you?</p>
<p>Other than my counselor I wouldn’t have anyone that would be able to advocate for me. Also, while filling out the CSS profile this morning with my dad, we discovered that we would have to pay another $105 to submit the profile. As for our income level my parents income was 44,000 with a household of 4, which is too much for the fee waivers. I feel like I’m stuck in financial purgatory. </p>
<p>No, it’s not too high for the fee waivers. It’s too high for an AUTOMATIC fee waiver, but it’s not too high per se. Counselors have a leeway between the 37k and below level (automatic) and 60-75k (where factors such as cost of living in the area, family resources/assets/expenses, any medical problems, even the student making a good-faith effort to pay but being unable to, are supposed to be taken into account.) The CommonApp makes it very easy for counselors to take personal circumstances into account.
CSS Profile fee waivers exist also, but they’re stricter and you wouldn’t qualify. This is the report for 2012-2013
<a href=“https://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/PROFILE_fees.pdf”>https://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/PROFILE_fees.pdf</a></p>
<p>Explain the situation, in plain language, to your guidance counselor. That if she can check the fee waiver forms, you can apply before Thanksgiving, but if she can’t, then you don’t have enough money to apply, and you’ll be able to use part of your salary to pay for some of the fees but you’re only paid on December 5th so you won’t be able to apply before the 6th. Can a parent come with you to the school to explain the situation? I get that no one likes to say “we don’t have the money”, but you’re a bright student and you are being blocked for an unfair, redtapy reason…!! Doesn’t your guidance counselor realize how much money the LACs you’re considering have spent to attract applications from students just like you, whose family’s earned between 40 and 60 or 75k, have good grades, good curriculum rigor, and have shown they can succeed at the highest level? This makes no sense… </p>
<p>Hey, I haven’t gotten to speak to my counselor yet, but I have put in a request to see her. But my question today is should I send me SAT scores along with my ACT? I just got my new SAT scores and they were 640 CR 720 M 540 R. I improved my writing and math from my original which was 660 CR 640 M 510 R. So should i send my SATs along with the ACT?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year? </p>
<p>your safety has to be affordable.</p>
<p>My parents can’t really afford to pay much for college. According to federal methodology our EFC is around $2250. I hope to fund my entire education through loans and that’s why I’m only applying to colleges that offer generous financial aid. I don’t want to have to pay more than $10000 per year. </p>
<p>It won’t matter if they are generous with aid if you don’t get in. Please review your list to make sure you have a safety. </p>
<p>You can’t fund your education through loans. As a freshman, you can only have $5,500. If your parents are not financially reliable and are turned down for PLUS, you can get $4,000 more, that’s it.
Taking loans is “paying”, you just pay a bit later. To give you an idea, it’ll take you probably 2 years of full time work at a decent salary just to pay back the $5,500 for your first year…
People have listed many colleges here - have you run the Net Price calculators? What are the results?</p>
<p>I have run net price calculators on ever college listed here, my list was developed with prices in mind. I have posted net prices of each college on my old list, which was much more extensive than the current one and includes all the colleges I’m applying to. I’ll copy and paste that part from the old post in here. My current question pertains to whether I should submit my ACT and SAT scores or just the ACT? Also, I was wondering whether or not I should apply ED II to better my chance at admission? And are there schools like Reed that are very intellectually focused and quirky, but in a 5 hour radius of Philadelphia? I really don’t want to have a social scene dominated by drinking and Greek life?</p>
<p>Potential Colleges - Net Price</p>
<p>Haverford College - $4355
Hamilton College - $5430
Franklin & Marshall - $6470
Trinity College - $9950
Boston College - $10860
Lafayette College - $7660
Gettysburg College - $8830
Skidmore College - $9800
Dickinson College - $ 9550
Temple University - $15600</p>
<p>Did all of those NPC results already include Direct Loans?
Can you copy/paste some results?</p>
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<p>This is NOT a safety if you can’t pay for it. You can’t borrow that cost, so it’s not affordable…therefore not a safety.</p>
<p>Haverford doesn’t offer ED2. But you might consider applying ED2 to the lowest EFC school that you would be perfectly happy attending - in this case the first candidate would be Hamilton, which is known for generous FA. But would you be okay going there? </p>
<p>If your goal is low cost and you would either be perfectly happy there or would be willing to compromise somewhat to get low cost, it would be worth trying ED2.</p>
<p>If your ACT score is 28 or below, submit your SAT score too.</p>
<p>What did your GC say about the fee waivers?</p>
<p>Applying ED2 to Hamilton (and to the colleges that are under $10,000 net price + Temple) would make sense.
Have you run the Net Price Calculators for Muhlenberg or Goucher? These may be better than Temple cost-wise.</p>
<p>A 30 ACT is equivalent to low 2000s SAT, about 200 pts higher than your 1840 SAT score. Just submit your ACT and your SATII which is over 700.</p>
<p>Westnext, if you feel strongly that Greek life and a big drinking scene are not acceptable, I think you can take Gettysburg, Franklin & Marshall and Lafayette from your PA list. You might consider replacing with Ursinus or Muhlenberg. Best of luck to you! </p>