Need help finding affordable undergrad biz schools with good aid

College Search & Selection
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<p>My son would like to be going off the 4-year college next fall, not sticking around to go to community college, which unfortunately looks the most affordable right now. </p>

<p>His second set of SAT scores are: 710 Crit Reading, 650 Math, 730 Writing. Weighted GPA 4.06, unweighted 3.76. He's taken AP English, AP History and now AP Econ, but he's also only in Trig as a senior and is not taking AP English again (only senior English). So his acadmic record is not stellar but he is in the top 9% of his large high school. He was a delegate to California Boys State this summer, which is a big honor (only 1 boy per high school chosen in Calif.). He plays football, works part-time and prior to working put in many community service hours. </p>

<p>He wants to go to a university that offers a major in business (not econ at a liberal arts college), with a view toward marketing and green business -- this is the only requirement for what we're looking for. He'd prefer to stay on the west coast, but I'm not finding many options here. And having stayed in California myself and attended a liberal arts college, I don't have much knowledge of business schools anywhere. While he likes the idea of a big university with sports teams, he also does well in small classes with lots of dicussion, so I'm getting confused as to what would be best. </p>

<p>I just returned from a free session with a financial planner who showed us how the different schools he was planning to apply to would look financially. We will qualify for a lot of aid, but still so many schools expect students/families to take out large loans! Our EFC will be around $3000-$4000 with parental income around 50,000. For instance USC says it meets full financial need, but in the financial approximation based on past history that the planner provided us with, USC would expect us to take $15,000 in loans per year, which is totally unrealistic for us. Even the least expensive state colleges (ie Chico State) would cost $14,000+ per year including EFC, unmet need and $9,000 in loans.</p>

<p>I would love to hear suggestions of good business school prospects where my son could get admitted; and also prospects where he would be a desirable candidate and receive a better financial aid package, or even a full ride? (our dream!)</p>

<p>Until now our list has been: Cal Poly SLO, USC, Claremont McKenna, Chico State, though of those, only CMC looks like the financial aid package would be do-able, and I know we can't put all our eggs in that one basket! </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help and ideas! I hope I've given enough info here to get you started.</p>

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<p>I doubt USC would expect the parents to take out a $15k per year loan if the parents’ income is $50k and they don’t have a lot of assets.</p>

<p>That said, YOUR CHILD may be expected to take out Stafford loans, but those won’t be $15k per year. </p>

<p>You son would qualify for Blue and Gold, so he should apply to all the UCs with business.</p>

<p>Also apply to Chapman.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t trust those financial planners. Use the Net Price Calculators that are on each school’s website. Try USC’s NPC yourself and post the results.</p>

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<p>With those scores and grades I would look at the stickied threads in the Financial Aid forum for schools with merit aid.</p>

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<p>That does not sound right at all. Does your financial planner have any training or experience with college financing in particular?</p>

<p>Many colleges publish a “Common Data Set” file containing all sorts of information about admission and aid. I cannot find a CDS for USC. For Duke University, according to its 2012-13 CDS section H2, the average need-based loan was $3502/year (for recipients of need-based aid who were awarded “self help” aid). That amount seems to be fairly typical of selective private schools. At Vanderbilt in 2011-12, the average was $2955. At Johns Hopkins for 2012-13, the average was $3332. Maybe your planner is citing a different kind of number? A 4-year total?</p>

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<p>Your son is absolutely qualified for a 4-year school and with his stats, especially since your income is $50,000, you should look at the UC’s (which will be quite cheap with State Grants, etc), as well as colleges that meet 100% need. Some of these schools may end up cheaper than your state schools - the top ones typically don’t require loans if the family makes less than $60-75,000/year for example.
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)
He should absolutely apply to a few of these - then compare financial aid packages and go where it’s the best fit for the lowest cost.
Do run the NPC’s on each website. If you care to, you can post some results here and some people would be able to advise you better.
What the financial planner said doesn’t sound right.
What majors do you associate with “Green Business”? Economics + Sustainability/development?</p>

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<p>[FinAid</a> | Answering Your Questions | No Loans for Low Income Students](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid)</p>

<p>At some of these schools, loans are capped even on incomes exceeding $100K. At a few, loans are not part of any financial aid offer regardless of income.</p>

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<p>OP responding to all the helpful posts so far:</p>

<p>Re: mom2collegekids</p>

<p>I ran the USC net price calculator, and it came up with much more reasonable numbers. The self-help aid category totalled $8000, which included $5,500 Stafford Loan and $2,500 work-study. I imagine the higher number I posted initially included work-study, and now I know where that gets classified.</p>

<p>We will add UC’s and Chapman to our list.</p>

<p>Re: tk21769 and others</p>

<p>The consultant we met with does specialize in helping with finances for college, and had nothing to gain from giving us higher numbers. He said his results were based off of past history of financial packages from the colleges.</p>

<p>The numbers he gave us for CMC were similar to the Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins numbers tk21769 posted; those all look do-able. </p>

<p>I’ve been struggling to find more places on the west coast offering those kinds of packages. I’m familiar with the Claremont Consortium and USC, but beyond that haven’t been sure what else to look at for quality business education that will also provide full aid. I’d love more suggestions on this, and if not on the west coast, then recommendations for other places and why. </p>

<p>My son had been looking at the state colleges because of the emphasis on hands-on, practical education rather than grad school prep; I’d love to know where else we might be able to find this.</p>

<p>Re: MYOS1634</p>

<p>He is most interested in Business Marketing, and thinks to take that into some green business field. But most important is any type of Business Marketing. I think only UCLA and UCB have Business schools, and are highly competitive. The other UC’s only offer an Econ major, which they call a pre-MBA course of study. My son’s hope has been to get lots of education and experience during undergrad time to go into the workforce with a bachelor’s degree, and go for an MBA later, rather than immediately.</p>

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<p>You kinda have to fill out your FAFSA and wait. Apply to all the schools your son is interested in then do the math based on the results. A few additional privates to consider are Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount. They might give significant grants to a bright, hard working kid like yours. UOP is also know to be very generous with merit scholarships. </p>

<p>I theory, CA will have a ‘middle classs scholarship’ begining next year that should take a big bite out of the tuition bill for a family like yours.<br>
[California</a> Middle Class Scholarships soon available for college students - San Jose Mercury News](<a href=“California Middle Class Scholarships soon available for college students – The Mercury News”>California Middle Class Scholarships soon available for college students – The Mercury News)
Unfortunately, it won’t help with room and board. My son is a freshman @ Chico state Tuition and all the fees is about $7,500. Room and board in a 2 person room is about $10,500. Of course, he’s no longer at home leaving lights on and drinking my milk so, there is some offset. The room and board will be cheaper next year when he’s in an apartment. </p>

<p>SLO is a couple $k more because of their quarter schedule and the local cost of living. Curiously, Monterey is the cheapest CSU but that probaly doesn’t interest your son. </p>

<p>Most motivated kids can make $5k or more a year with an on-campus job. Don’t forget to factor that in.</p>

<p>My son loves Chico and they have a solid and well respected Bus program. (He’s an econ major considering switching to Bus) I can’t tell you how impressed I’ve been with the school, staff and programs. Tour the campus and attend some of their recruiting events and you’ll see what I mean. They also have an honors program for kids with higher than average stats. My son is really getting a lot out of it, including priority registration. There’s a supplemental ap you need to complete.
[Honors</a> Program - Honors Program - CSU, Chico](<a href=“http://www.csuchico.edu/honors/]Honors”>University Honors Program – Chico State)</p>

<p>Other CSUs have similar programs.</p>

<p>We planned and saved for a long time. I am paying 100% of the bill right now, that will taper off a bit for his 2nd 3rd and 4th year. </p>

<p>Given everything I know, I’d pay $2k more per year to send him to SLO (he didn’t get in so, its a mute point). I wouldn’t pay $8k/yr more for him to go to Davis. (if he were a STEM major, i might think differently) Chico is a great school but, the same degree from SLO is worth the extra cost (basically, a high milage 10 year old Civic).</p>

<p>Obviously, your situation is very different and your true net costs could drive a different decision. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>OP says: thanks for the great links too!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the great info on Chico and SLO, NCalRent. Very helpful!</p>

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<p>The problem isn’t that you aren’t looking hard enough.
Those kinds of packages (meeting full need with minimal loans) are offered by highly selective private schools (the Ivies, Vanderbilt, LACs such as the Claremont schools, etc.) Typically, these schools focus on the arts, sciences, and in some cases engineering, but often do not not offer undergraduate business (/managemnt/marketing/accounting) degree programs. Exceptions include UPenn/Wharton, MIT, Notre Dame, … and USC.
[Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014)</p>

<p>Less selective schools are more likely to offer accounting and marketing majors. Especially the public schools among them will have lower sticker prices. They also will have much less generous need-based aid packages with a greater percentage of the package covered by loans. </p>

<p>So if you want a full-need, no-loan/low-loan college, but also want to major in management/marketing/accounting, your options are limited to a few very selective schools.
Your financing strategy should put more emphasis on finding schools with low sticker prices (possibly including local commuter or suitcase schools). Another strategy is to identify schools with big merit scholarships.</p>

<p>[National</a> Universities That Offer Full Ride Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.thecollegiateblog.org/2012/12/09/national-universities-that-offer-full-ride-scholarship/]National”>http://www.thecollegiateblog.org/2012/12/09/national-universities-that-offer-full-ride-scholarship/)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html#post16451378[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html#post16451378&lt;/a&gt; (post #300)
Check out the “Charger Distinction” full tuition award at Alabama-Huntsville, which offers management, marketing, finance, and accounting majors. Looks like room & board is under $10K/year.</p>

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<p>Check out the “Charger Distinction” full tuition award at Alabama-Huntsville, which offers management, marketing, finance, and accounting majors. Looks like room & board is under $10K/year.</p>

<p>I live near UAH and it really has a good business dept. The school is strong in eng’g, nursing, business, and the sciences. The school is lovely and well funded. It’s also located in Cummings Research Park, so there are many Fortune 500 companies there.</p>

<p>If he were to retest in Dec and get a 1400+ M+CR or an ACT 32, then he’d get free tuition at Alabama, which also has a very good B-school.
Must apply to the school by Dec 15th for merit.
<a href=“Home - The Culverhouse College of Business”>Home - The Culverhouse College of Business;

<p>that said, since he would qualify for Blue and Gold at the UCs (CSUs don’t have this), he needs to apply to every UC that has his major. He’ll get AT LEAST free tuition, and likely more.</p>

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<p>OP here. </p>

<p>I can’t wait to look at these links you have posted tk21769. It’s so good to know why I’ve been stumped. I’d read many threads here in the last 6 mos. and am so grateful I finally posted.</p>

<p>mom2collegekids: Thanks again, and can you tell me why it’s important to apply to “every” UC that has his major?</p>

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<p>OP, have you gone on the USC website and used THEIR Financial Aid calculator? Don’t just take someone elses word -
“but in the financial approximation based on past history that the planner provided us” which I think you are doing, when you can run the numbers yourself.</p>

<p>“why it’s important to apply to “every” UC that has his major?”
Because the admissions decisions of various UC’s can be so arbitrary. ANY UC that has the program he wants will probably be cheaper for you than any other University.</p>

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<p>@menloparkmom: I did use the USC calculator later and posted the (much more favorable) results above. Thanks for the insight into the UC’s. We really hadn’t been looking at the UC’s because they’re so geared toward grad school and most don’t have business majors. We will look into them further now.</p>