Looking for a good college for undergrad Psych

College Search & Selection
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<p>As the title says, I am looking for a good college for undergraduate psychology. I also want to know about the quality and more importantly the style of other classes. Please refrain from posting posts talking about which one ranks higher on whatever scale, this information to me is irrelevant. What is relevant to me is the way people who have attended the college (preferably as psych majors) perceive the style/quality of the psychology/other courses.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your time, I appreciate it.</p>

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<p>What kind of college environment are you interested in? Big/small? Urban/rural? Part of the country? Greek life or no? Money an object? [sorry for beating you to the punch mom :wink: ]</p>

3

<p>Big/small? Don’t really care, matters little to me whether there are a ton of people or few as long as there is ample opportunity for research side projects. All other things equal I would go for small, but its one of those factors that only comes into play if its about 50-50</p>

<p>Urban/rural? I don’t care, once again if its about 50-50 with another college all other things considered I would prefer suburban.</p>

<p>Part of the country? same thing as above, preference being colleges in relatively warm climates (from CA so its what im used to).</p>

<p>Greek Life? Don’t really care at all, not a particularly sociable person.</p>

<p>Money an object? Financial aid is an object, I do not know exactly how much my family can afford to pay, but im positive it can’t be too much more than 10,000 a year (Right now my mom and dad together make about 70k a year, my mom may get a more consistent job [she is a substitute teacher for the most part] and then we would have more many). However we do have some relatively wealthy relatives who could pitch in if is necessary. In other words the financial aid must be reasonably good.</p>

4

<p>There are a couple of pinned threads around here about colleges which are known for offering good aid.</p>

<p>You need to have a conversation with your parents about college finances. Guessing is no good; ask them for a firm figure which they are able to contribute each year. Also, don’t assume that those wealthy relatives are going to be willing to finance you. If you really believe that they will, then you need to ask them for firm numbers as well. Only when you have this information will you be able to see what schools you can apply to.</p>

<p>You also need to run one of the FAFSA forecasters if you haven’t already.</p>

5

<p>Actually when I wrote that last post, when I got to the financial aid part and talked to my parents they could not provide me with firm numbers.</p>

<p>I just took the FAFSA, my estimated EFC is 18926. Eligible for: 3500$ subsidized stafford loan, 2000$ unsubsidized stafford loan, 1455$ work-study, 1575$ Perkins loan.</p>

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<p>Still waiting for a post where someone describes the academic style/feel of x college.</p>

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<p>Emory has a great undergrad psych program… however, I am not a student there yet so post on the Emory subforum and you will get responses.</p>

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<p>Almost every college has a solid undergraduate Psychology program. Psych majors are a dime a dozen.</p>

<p>But absolute best? Historically, Stanford.</p>

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<p>You can’t just gloss over the finances of college, Irrelevant. It’s expensive and you need to know how you’re going to pay for it. I’m not sure what you meant about your parents not being able to give you a firm number, but it’s a vitally important thing you need to know. But just going off your previous post, you thought they might be able to kick in no more than $10K, and yet your EFC is $19K. That’s a $9K gap IF the college meets full need – many do not. Your first step should be to find a financial safety, a school where you would be able to attend if you don’t get a dime in aid anywhere. Only after you’ve made that decision should you start thinking about pricey private colleges.</p>

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<p>I did not intend to ignore finances, I came to this forum in hopes of having people describe various colleges so I know what some of my more desirable options are. Honestly I would contend that more expensive colleges are not necessarily better, so there should be some in the mix that are potential fallbacks.</p>

<p>Also my mother has composed a list of colleges with reportedly good financial aide for me to check out, the list includes: Albion, Berea, Bethany, Centre, Coe, Doane, Erskine, Hastings, Hendrix, Hillsdale, Lyon, Millsaps, Randolph, Ripon, Salem, Wabash, Wells, and Wesleyan</p>

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<p>OK, lecture over. :)</p>

<p>Based on your list, some of these colleges might interest you as well:</p>

<p>[Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>

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<p>I have one burning question regarding financial aid. Lets assume my college provided 100% of my demonstrated need, would I still be eligible for the Federal aid listed above, or can you not receive aid past 100% of your demonstrated financial aid from the federal government?</p>

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<p>About Colleges That Change Lives:</p>

<p>I have that book lying around my house, it does provide me with a wealth of useful information on a number of colleges and I am grateful for that. But I wouldn’t want to make my choices solely off any one source, the more information the better.</p>

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<p>Regarding financial aid: There are a couple of FA pro’s around here and I’m not one of them, but here’s what I do know.</p>

<p>Each college has a Cost of Attendance which you can find on its website. Your EFC remains fixed. The difference between COA and EFC is Demonstrated Need, which will be different for each college depending on its COA. The idea is that if the college wants you, it would need to come up with some FA package in the amount of your Demonstrated Need. You would then come up with the EFC, and boom, you’re able to attend. That’s the theory.</p>

<p>In practice it’s a little more complicated. For starters, most people find that their EFC is a ridiculously large number which they can’t possibly pay out of current income. The student and family then need to decide if/how much they are willing to take out of savings and/or borrow – in order to meet the EFC. That’s where the conversation with your parents comes in.</p>

<p>On the college’s side there are complications as well. Many colleges do not make any pretense about meeting Demonstrated Need. In those cases, you’d need to come up with more than your EFC, possibly much more. Remember that EFC is probably the minimum you’d need to come up with. </p>

<p>Another thing that can happen is that the college puts together a package which technically meets your Demonstrated Need. But here’s where it gets even tricker. Not all aid packages are created equal – the makeup of the package is critical. Some schools will offer you a package that is mostly loans. Sure, that will get you in the door, but then you’ll be saddled with a terrible load of debt for decades. (IMO that’s not aid, and the colleges do you a disservice when they include it in “aid” packages.) </p>

<p>The best outcome is if the college offers you a package that fully meets your Demonstrated Need, AND is mostly grants and scholarships. Your federal loans will be a part of that package (maximum $5500 the first year), with the rest being “gift” aid – money you’ll never have to pay back. For our family those federal loans are the only loans we want our daughter to have when she graduates – private loans on top of the federal loans would just be too much. </p>

<p>Regarding CTCL: I agree, you shouldn’t make your college decision based on that list, or any single source. Several of the colleges you listed are CTCL colleges, so if you’re wanting to go in that direction, the CTCL list may give you some more leads to schools you hadn’t thought about.</p>

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<p>Thank you for that information, however I am still confused about whether I can get the federal loans if 100% of my demonstrated need has been met by the college. If it cannot then I would assume that for the most part my family is just going to be on their own with paying off the EFC.</p>

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<p>The federal loans would be part of the package offered. They are not something you can go to a bank and get, for example; those are private loans. They are also not something you can use to meet EFC. The federal loans are offered through the school, as part of the package. Here’s an example:</p>

<p>COA = $100
EFC = $25
So Need would be $75</p>

<p>Now, if you’re lucky, the college might offer you something like this:</p>

<p>Scholarship: $30
Grant: $40
Federal loans: $5
Total aid package: $75 – your demonstrated need is met. You still need to come up with the $25 EFC. Most families do this through a combination of current income (reducing spending around the house), taking money out of savings, and some borrowing via private loans. The parents can borrow, or the student can borrow, or both.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that EFC is “Expected Family Contribution.” So this is money that the college expects the student and/or the student’s familly to come up with. Neither the college or the federal government is going to help you with this part of college costs, in most cases.</p>

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<p>Thanks, just wanted to clarify that.</p>

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<p>No problem, and good luck to you. :)</p>

<p>If you have more FA questions, go ahead and post them over in the Financial Aid forum. That’s where the real experts hang out.</p>