<p>My kid’s friend from CA is going to attend UIUC, I believe he must have received some need-based aid. So if you need aid, UIUC is a good choice. From my googling, 69% percent receives aid.</p>
<p>that 69% stat is meaningless for an OOS student. 69% may have received some aid, but what aid was it? A stafford loan? </p>
<p>and, any stat that lists % of need met is also meaningless for OOS students. The stat only includes those who ENROLLED…and of course, it’s mostly instate kids who have lower COAs. It doesn’t include the many OOS kids who applied, got lousy FA pkgs, and didn’t enroll.</p>
<p>I suspect that many of the OOS kids at UIUC are either full pay, near-full pay, or got some rare scholarship…maybe a female in engineering scholarship. </p>
<p>UIUC would not be a great place for someone with need and is OOS. Heck, it’s not great with need for Instate kids.</p>
<p>And the sticker price is very high for an instate public institution - compared to some of the options in neighboring states for the kids in those states. My D is going to an OOS public with a $7,000 sticker price (tuition+fees+room+board) lower than she’d pay instate for UIUC. And getting a small merit award on top of that.</p>
<p>We don’t need that much clarification, although it might be nice.
If your parents make over 150k, then publics or top 10s are the best economical option.
If your parents make under 100k, then privates (preferably those with huge endowments) are the best economical option. </p>
<p>The reasoning behind this: Publics almost always have lousy FA, bar some great ones like UMich. But if your family makes over 150k, you won’t be receiving financial aid anyways, and the full sticker price is lower at a public than a private, regardless of whether it is out of state. If your family makes under 100k, the publics lousy FA will almost always gap you in your FA package or offer extensive loans. The privates will offer more grant aid and quite a few selective schools commit to meeting 100%. </p>
<p>Evaluate your individual circumstance and cast a wide net. That is the best advice. You really want to have a lot of options. You might change the major you want to pursue, you might be rejected at a school where you thought you would be a shoo-in, and you might actually be admitted and stick with the major yet receive atrocious FA from your dream school. Have options! The schools sure do.</p>
<p>That is not necessarily true. There are many factors that OP should take into account. For example, if you have a sibling in college as well, there’s significant leeway. Other factors include family medical conditions, etc.</p>
<p>You may be able to catch some aid even up to 200k family income, depending on the circumstances, and depending on how generous the school is (some top tier privates tend to be more generous).</p>
<p>Yeah good point. There is certainly no set standard for all schools, and I’m sorry if I made it sound that way. I was only trying to present a VERY rough guideline.
A sibling in college cuts EFC in half, but only for the limited years said sibling remains enrolled.
No sibling and income greater than 200k STILL probably pulls SOME aid from top 10s.</p>
<p>*mom, I don’t know the specifics, but I doubt that they are full pay considering the cost and what I know about her friend.
*</p>
<p>This student may have somehow snagged a rare large merit scholarship or talent award (what is the major…male or female)? But since that would be an exception, and certainly not the rule, an OOS student with a lot of need should not expect much/any help from UIUC…or even expect much/any merit. </p>
<p>Again, UIUC is lousy with awards for instate students as well…merit or need-based.</p>
<p>There’s a reason why there are a large number of Illinois students attending my kids’ flagship…they can get good merit scholarships and their remaining cost is lower than UIUC.</p>
<p>Nihility…maybe for HYPS…and that’s a big maybe…but for the rest of the top 10, a student without a sib in college isn’t likely going to get ANY aid with an income greater than $200k.</p>
<p>After the input from this thread, we had a family discussion on the topic. My family makes a tad more than 150K currently. So, it seems I won’t get any/much financial aid in any case. At a high level, there are two options: go to in-state public university or go out-of-state/private. If I go out-of-state/private, it seems the bill is approx $150-200K for 4 years of college. If I get into UT Austin, that would be the best thing. Next best will be to get admitted into one of the top rank private colleges (Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Olin etc.) - my family is considering financial options to pay the full tab for such a college. Otherwise, it will have to be TAMU or UTD. Let us see how it goes. Thanks.</p>
<p>annasdad - thanks. Could you please give me examples of “less-selective private colleges where with your stats you would qualify for significant merit aid”?</p>
<p>I know that USC gives significant merit aid and has a good CS program. Note that USC has a special deadline for scholarship eligibility.
Harvey Mudd gives some merit aid, but is pretty selective.</p>
<p>Even with a family income of 150k, some wealthy top tier schools (top 10) might give you a little need-based aid, so you should definitely apply for financial aid everywhere you apply for college.</p>
<p>USC might give merit…it can be hard to predict…don’t know if you have to “show interest” or not. I was surprised when my friend’s D didn’t get any merit from USC with an ACT 35 and Sal of her class. I thought she’d get at least half tuition award or something. She’s now at MIT.</p>
<p>$150,000 annual income may get some financial aid at the very generous schools (e.g. Stanford). Check the net price calculators, but don’t be too optimistic.</p>
<p>Estimates of prices for four years, assuming no aid or scholarships unless otherwise noted:</p>
<p>Expensive private: $220,000 to $240,000
Less expensive private[1]: $160,000
Expensive OOS public[2]: $180,000 to $220,000
Moderate price OOS public[3]: $120,000 to $140,000
Cheap OOS public[4]: $64,000 to $92,000
UT Austin in-state: $100,000
Texas A&M in-state: $84,000
Alabama with full tuition + $2,500/yr engineering scholarship: $50,000</p>
<p>[1] Olin with automatic half tuition scholarship, USC with (not guaranteed) half tuition scholarship, etc.
[2] UIUC, Michigan, UCs, etc.
[3] Minnesota, Stony Brook, Virginia Tech, NCSU, Cal Poly SLO, Iowa State, etc.
[4] Minnesota - Morris, South Dakota State, etc.</p>
<p>Half-tuition scholarship at USC is guaranteed for National Merit Finalists who declare (around first semester of senior year) on the NMF forms that USC is their first choice college (only USC will see this).</p>