If price is a concern, there are a number of excellent schools that are not “big name” schools that will want you and be willing to offer merit aid. Consider what you are looking for in a school, ignore the list prices, and convince a few schools that you are unique and offer something if they can get you. This will be difficult in north east schools, as they have plenty of applicants who look like you. There are excellent schools in other places though where you would stand out. Consider if a diversity of students or different area of the country would actually broaden your perspective. Consider what type of environment you want to be in. My daughters ended up at Earlham in the midwest. At a school like that, you would stand out as an applicant, but also look at their outcomes. It would be hard to find a school that provides a better education. The trend now is to look at schools in major cities. If you are willing to see the benefits of being contrarian and look at schools outside of the north east and outside of major cities, you might find that you can get better value for the money.