Hello! Fairly new to College Confidential. I am creating this thread to document my journey and share it with you all! I’ll tell you a little but about me. I am a senior at a small public school, they do not disclose rank.
SAT Score: CR- 670 M- 630 (Blehh) W-670 (1970 total)
GPA: 3.75 (No weighted GPA available)
APs: Because my school is small, we have very little access. I have taken 2, which is max
Essay: Not bragging, but they are really really good. I am a writer as well and I spent a lot of time with teachers who helped me edit them along with the supplements.
Extracurricular activities: Won’t be specific because I don’t want my identity to be discovered, but I used to have a well respected private consultant who said they were amazing.
Letters of Rec- Amazing
And now, the list!
Reach:
University of Southern California
Northwestern University
Match:
Northeastern University
University of Miami
University of Florida
Syracuse University
Safeties:
University of Alabama
University of Minnesota
SUNY Albany
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY Buffalo
As you can see, I have a very balanced list and I will update you all as I get news and updates.
I’ve finished the CSS Profile and I’m waiting to complete the FASFA!
Parents Income~ $240,000
Will be applying for aid at every school except for my safety schools. Our income sounds high, but I have a sibling in a 4 year college and the cost of living where I live is very high, so I’m hoping that impacts my package And a lot of what I get will come in the form of merit at some schools.
Happy Holidays! I’m excited to be on this journey with you!
@TomSrOfBoston Thanks for the reply! There also some other little things that affect my aid like my sibling being in college, my parents will likely be retired by the time i’m a junior, we are supporting elders, my parents pay about $50,000 is taxes yearly, so there are other things involved that I think will at least give me aid to lessen the burden on my parents Everyone’s situation is different and Northeastern gives merit aid that isn’t only based on SAT scores. I’m counting on the $5,000 per year.
And thanks for the tip on where to categorize Northeastern unfortunately, I can’t edit it. I had 26 secs and I couldn’t edit it lol.
@CaliCash not trying to extend this into financial aid more, but I do want you to know your family “situation” will not be taken into account for need based aid. They sadly don’t care, and they’ve heard it all. The only hardship you mentioned that’s covered in FAFSA is how many kids in college. We have two in college and a similar income with some extremely compelling financial exceptions- and we got $3500 need based aid for one kid. I just don’t want you to expect to be able to go in and explain your situation and get money. Doesn’t happen.
You’re obviously a great candidate for Merit aid, and very organized. Good for you, and keep us updated! Good luck!
CaliCash, you are being a little naive here. Colleges don’t care if your parents are supporting elders or paying high taxes or living in a high cost-of-living area. Those are all choices. If they make $240,000 a year, you won’t see any need-based FA.
You said you are new to this forum. You may be confusing terms. Need based aid is just that, for students who NEED it. You won’t get any from the schools you listed. Merit based aid is based on your scores, major, gpa, class rank. You will get some. A few schools and scholarships are based on a combo, that only certain students with need are considered, and then the award goes to the most qualified of that group. It’s unlikely you’d get that.
If your parents are retired when you are a junior, your package for that year may change, but even that is unlikely. Aid is based on the previous year’s income, so if they were working and then retired, nothing would change for that year. Even for your senior year nothing may change if their retirement income and assets are still high. Schools don’t care about what might happen, only about the current situation.
For federal aid (Pell, Stafford) there is no consideration given for where you live and the COL. Income is income, assets are assets. On the other hand, having a sibling in college counts the same whether you are paying $2k in tuition or $50k.
Okay, just completed the FASFA and I’m so happy because my EFC is WAYY less than I thought it would be. It’s 35,000 and people on CC made me think it would be like $65,000. But now, I’m off to submit my financial aid documents. Hopefully, I get into a school that will meet that demonstrated need because if so, I can get a work study job, take out a student loan and all of a sudden, college seems much more affordable Stay tuned!
Wow! How did that happen? Sorry OP, I know you don’t want it to turn into a financial aid thread but at $240,000 you get an EFC of $35,000! Would like you to pass tips to the rest of us! Wish you the best and let us know where you land!
@goingnutsmom lol well, it might have something to do with having a sibling in college. Luckily, my sibling has two full years left and they will be attending a commuter school which is $7000 per year AND they will be paying my parents back when they graduate (Notarized letter and all). In addition, I’m gonna get some money from an elder in 2017, so that will help my parents pay too!
w/ 35k EFC you do not qualify for any federal aid which is basically the key benefit of FAFSA. Schools will also expect you to take on the max amount of fed loans–5,5k in your name and 4k in your parents name–before they even consider need-based grants or scholarships. So your ‘true’ EPC is 44.5k. BTW USC-who uses CSS profile, won’t cut your EPC in half because your sibling attends a 7k/yr school. So expect an EFC higher than the COA there.
Not like it really matters tho. It’s 100% impossible that you will get any need-based aid so it’s a waste of time filling out these forms. Especially CSS which requires a ton of 1040 tax info along with a trained accountant to understand all the categories and exclusions and signed 1040 copies sent to the school.
You should ask your reaches to change your application to no need-based aid because it might improve your chances and you will still be eligible for merit-based aid which is all you can get anyways.
And a lot of what I get will come in the form of merit at some schools.
Stay tuned!