<p>Quick background: Family of 4, income around $20k, sister graduated from college, Asian-Thai, CA resident</p>
<p>My sister graduated from Berkeley a couple years ago and her financial aid throughout her education was generous. The budget for 1 academic year at Berkeley was roughly $20k. My sister received about $13k in grants, $2k for work-study, and $5k in loans. I know the only reason she received such a nice package was due to our family's financial situation.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure if I go to one of the UCs the financial package will be similar because our family gross income is still the same. I wanted to know if I decided to attend a private school (in my title) would I get some help from them? My sister's friend went to Stanford and her family income is similar to ours. Stanford is around $50k a year. Do you think her loans will be around $10k or around $30K?</p>
<p>I know all those schools (Duke, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley) will be great to attend. Where will I get the best value given that I am a low-income student?</p>
<p>if you don't own a million dollar house or equally valuable assets, you should get the equivalent of a full ride at Stanford. They recently instituted a new policy that makes the family contribution 0 for students with an EFC of 0. I think you qualify if your income is truly $20K and all other information corresponds to this. That means you will have apprx. $2500 in work study a year (which is part of any finaid package!) and the rest is grants (a package of Cal Grants and the Federal Pell Grants, and money from Stanford Fund and University Scholarship) except the minimum student contribution of $1700. </p>
<p>So if you get into Stanford, you'll be going there for $1700 a year. </p>
<p>Doesn't that sound just awesome? (Much better than taking out $5K in loans?)</p>
<p>(Note: Duke doesn't have this policy. Only Harvard, Yale, Princeton (? I think), Stanford, and UPenn. And I think it might only count if you are a US citizen...)</p>
<p>my mother is a house-cleaner and dad is a waiter at a Thai restaurant. we have been in the States for 11 years (with US Citizenship 5 months ago). I've been making some money at a part-time job to help. As you can see, I am taking my academics seriously since this is the only way to help my family out of our current situation. Hopefully, I can get through college and get a good-job just like my sister.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input!</p>
<p>What if I don't get into one of the HYPS schools? How would schools like Northwestern, Rice, USC? Would I be looking at much higher loans?</p>
<p>I thought if you get into Stanford, and ur family makes under 40k/yr then u get a free ride, its mostly like that for prestigious private schools like harvard, stanford and stuff b/c they know that most low income students don't get high grades and scores b/c they dont have money to go to private schools and stuff so thats y they're doing that.</p>
<p>If you have the smarts to get into HYPS, you will succeed at Berkeley. If there is a huge price difference, I'd encourage you to go to Berkeley. It is an awesome school. You can head somewhere else for graduate school. It will be much easier to justify the extra expense for the graduate degree.</p>
<p>The top liberal arts colleges and top universities have great packages for lower income students. My families income is around 30,000 in the bay area for 3 people and I received amazing financial aid. I got full rides from swarthmore and pomona with a promise of no loans from both schools. So I would apply to privates, they usually meet more of your need.</p>
<p>Check the colleges' financial aid pages for info. Also check under the CC boards for the specific colleges. </p>
<p>Check on the colleges' web pages to see if:
1. The colleges guarantee to meet 100% of students' documented financial need.
2. The colleges are need blind.</p>
<p>Check with CC and sites like the US News Ultimate College Guide (well worth it to pay the $15 to access the complete site) to find out more details about the colleges' financial aid. Even among colleges guaranteeing to meet 100% of students' documented financial need, packages can vary. For instance, one college could choose to have you take out $20,000 in loans a year to help meet your need. Another might require minimal loans from you or even no loans.</p>