<p>Re: ACS approval</p>
<p>ACS approval indicates that the chemistry major meets ACS’ minimum standards. A non-approved major may (but may not have sought approval), or may not.</p>
<p>Grinnell had good merit aid for high stat applicants.</p>
<p>Update:
My parents and I were able to sit down and run the NPCs for Princeton, Williams, and U Chicago. The EFC estimates ranged from $45,000 to $50,000, which is double what we are able to afford. </p>
<p>So I guess my new question is, should I cut all need-only schools from the list? My new reaches, presumably, would be highly competitive merit scholarships (Washington & Lee’s Johnson, etc.)</p>
<p>I would. Good that you are thinking practically now rather than after you do all your applications.</p>
<p>A few points. If you used your father’s income tax return reflecting the higher income before he left his job, the EFC will obviously be higher. On the other hand, the self-employed often are screwed by FA calculators, which add back in legitimate business expenses as income. You mentioned that you have younger siblings? Taking the longer view, if this high EFC is the result of substantial non-retirement savings, the schools could be expecting 80% of it to be spent over 4 years. If it is used up by you, then the EFC for your sibs would be significantly lower. The same may be true if the EFC reflects ownership of real estate other than the family home.</p>
<p>On the other hand, that would probably depend on your sibs being able to get into the deep-pockets schools, and there is no guarantee of that.</p>
<p>I think that you should run the NPC for Yale or Harvard, just in case. It wouldn’t take much time, now that you have the figures in hand. </p>
<p>You might want to run this by the people on the FA forum here, who really know a lot about it.</p>
<p>I would be inclined to leave one or two Ivy-level reaches on the list, just in case. You never know. FA awards can be appealed. Also, consider applying for some of the big scholarships that can be used anywhere, such as Lowe’s and Pepsi.</p>
<p>But if you do leave those schools on the list, just don’t get attached to the idea of going. That can be hard to do.</p>
<p>sally305-- agreed. It was nice to have a reality check.</p>
<p>Consolation-- interesting. I believe my parents used their estimated income for the next year, so the new situation is factored in. I doubt the difference due to business expenses will make up a ~25k difference in EFC.</p>
<p>While the EFCs for my siblings may be lower, I don’t want to ask my parents to pay more for my college in anticipation of that possibility.</p>
<p>I’m not planning on applying to Harvard or Yale-- are their NPCs more accurate?</p>
<p>Their FA is the most generous.</p>
<p>I take your point about asking your parents to pay more for you, and I think you are correct. It would be up to them to make that determination, and many a family has come to grief by blowing the budget on the oldest child. On the other hand, it is not at all uncommon for parents to end up spending wildly varying amounts, according to the needs and desires and accomplishments of each child in the family. It has been discussed here many times. Unfortunately, no one can see into the future very accurately, which makes it difficult.</p>
<p>^Very true. For a family with financial concerns, it often makes sense to have the first child accept merit offers (if he or she has them) so there is more left over for the siblings. I am expecting to be able to transfer some of my son’s 529 funds to my daughter, who is unlikely to have the options her brother did.</p>
<p>I highly recommend applying to CMC by December 1 to be eligible for their merit scholarships. There is full tuition Seaver Leadership (approx 4 each) and 10k merit McKenna Achievement and lastly the ISS (interdisciplinary science scholarship) which is full tuition. They also award $2k per year for National Merit (if you have need) and $1k for NM for no need students. In our case the NM award was applied to the student earnings portion of financial aid.</p>
<p>My D1 just graduated from CMC and loved her time there. The political scene is not as liberal as most LAC’s. I think your stats would put you in good standing for merit $$. My D had the $10k award and she had friends who received the other merit awards. If you are interested in Chem & Econ you could get the ISS.</p>
<p>BTW, I have the impression that you are interested in Princeton among the Ivies because you have the impression that they combine good FA with a more conservative atmosphere. I think that you would be making a mistake to discount Yale and Harvard on those grounds. Both have a very diverse student population in all ways, including a substantial conservative presence, especially in the sense of financial/economic conservatism. (The same is true of all of the Ivies. Do you think that Wharton, for example, is full of committed socialists? 
I just concentrate on H and Y because I think they are more likely to give FA to families with income in the $150-200K bracket.)</p>
<p>Although I’m pushing for you to keep one or two of these schools in the mix, I think that the advice you have received to apply early to certain schools to be in the hunt for big merit scholarships is very sound. I may have said it before, but I think you should consider UPitt in that regard. I’m quite sure that you would be in their well-regarded Honors College, and that you would be a strong candidate–if not a shoo-in–for the very substantial merit money they have available for high stats OOS students.</p>
<p>W&L may be less Greek than previously, but it’s on top ten lists for Greek campuses and is at least 75% Greek, also more preppy than average. Lexington is a cute town, the area is gorgeous. VMI is also in town, adding to the conservative vibe of the area.</p>
<p>Most universities, even with a liberal bent, have a pretty big conservative populations especially on money issues. Grover Norquist went to Harvard.</p>