<p>Hello everyone, I'm a junior in NJ and i have started to pick out my colleges. I'm at the top of my class and do a ton of extracurricular activities, most of them long term, not one year things. The majors im looking into are applied physics, or physics, but I"m also interested in mathematics, and i know at leas ta few programs I've looked into have a double major between physics and mathematics. The schools I've looked into that i am pretty sure would either accept me or give me money based on my grades are NJIT, TCNJ, Rensselaer Polytech, Stevens, and Rutgers. My number one school is Cornell, because their physics program is pretty awesome and very adaptable to what the student is interested in, at least from what I've read. Other top schools I consider are Harvard and Mit, mostly from hype. Anyway, my parents paid for some college planning thing, and they recommend 10 to 12 schools to apply to, so... any suggestions? If you can, keep the suggestions closer to NJ, no Caltech or anything, and im not looking for any more "Ivy League" schools, mostly because i want to limit myself to the more practical choices, and not put all my eggs in a very exclusive basket, so to speak.</p>
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<p>What type of physics are you interested in? Astrophysics is different from particle physics. You mention an interest in “applied physics.” What do you mean by this?</p>
<p>What is the depth of your involvement in your ECs? Do you have any leadership positions?</p>
<p>What financial limitations?</p>
<p>Would you be willing to go to the midwest? Minnesota Twin Cities may be good for math and physics but has a lower list price than most OOS publics.</p>
<p>Stony Brook is worth a look in your region; it has a good math and physics reputation even though its overall reputation is not that good.</p>
<p>Maryland College Park also, but it may be more expensive.</p>
<p>To Lookingin, from what i have been looking at, applied physics is somewhat of a mix between engineering and physics, some schools even call it engineering physics. I liked that because it seemed to be a flexible major in that it covers a wide variety of physics, and on the collegeboard site, it says it is a major that provides a lot of flexibility in the work market. </p>
<p>And i have quite an extensive list of EC’s, i am president of my schools environmental club, executive co-chair of one of our community service clubs, I’m the school liaison to the townships environmental board. I am also in math league, and im in line to have an officer position next year. I’m also involved in a leadership building program for my county called student ocean advocates. I also do tae kwon do, and was the first student in the history of our organization to get my third degree black belt before the age of 18. Oh, and i volunteer at a tutoring program at the library over the summer as well, and worked as a councilor at a summer camp over the summer as well. </p>
<p>And to ucbalumnus, I am not quite sure of the financial limitations, but i do have a younger brother and sister, and my brother and I will have two years of college overlapping, and even thought they colleges will five you a little break, not nearly enough. They also know I’m the kid who will be getting the big money from some of the better schools, so they really want me to choose a school we can get something from. Though, they aren’t totally focused on money, and if i get into my number one school, Cornell, there will be much nagging until they let me go.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the help, and keep the suggestions coming!</p>
<p>You said you were interested in colleges near NJ, but I’m suggesting one further away that has a good Physics dept…Vanderbilt. Maybe too far for you, but it could be an alternative to Cornell. In the other direction, a lot of people who look at and apply to Stevens & RPI also apply to WPI. Not sure about their Physics Dept., but it’s Math certainly has a fabulous reputation. Another suggestion would be the Univ. of Rochester. Very highly rated Sciences programs.</p>
<p>You need to talk to your parents about financial limitations so that you won’t apply to unaffordable schools, or leave your parents with nothing to help your younger siblings or their own retirement needs. Or incorrectly assume that a given school is too expensive and pass up a chance to go there.</p>
<p>For each school, put “net price calculator” or “financial aid estimator” in its web site search box. Then use these to get estimates of cost and financial aid so that you and your parents have an idea of what to expect.</p>
<p>@ ucbalumnus , i did some more digging around and my parents through their college planning program calculated their expected family contribution. For profile schools it would be 23K, and for Fafsa(?) it is around 34K, so they obviously want me to look at profile schools that have a good chance at giving me free money, or other schools that i could get some merit aid from. The program they signed up for has given them a very good understanding of how they are going to pay for college. Right now i am just in the stage of looking at schools that i would like going to, and am not applying yet (only junior year). I will narrow it down later.</p>
<p>@ cookie, thanks for the recommendations, i looked at all of the programs and they all look like good candidates for me to consider.</p>
<p>I think your parents need to recalculate. it’s only in very rare situations that a Profike EFC is lower than a FAFSA one. They need to understand that each Profile school calculates differently, and what they get from HYPS is a whole different story than what they’ll get from everyone else.</p>
<p>I encourage your family to really get their hands around college costs so that you can apply appropriately.</p>
<p>Waverly, I will be sure to check with my parents again as i have no idea how the financial aid system works. However, i do know that whatever program we have been using has done a lot of research into our situation, and they made the calculations, not my parents. As far as i know (basically what my dad told me) , the Profile system is different from FAFSA in that it takes into account certain areas that FAFSA doesn’t, one off the top of my head is how much someone owes on a house. Anyway, they helped us to move around our money to get us more financial aid. Anyway, they have a good record of saving people money. Though if you wouldn’t mind, what are some of the differences in FASFA and Profile?</p>
<p>FAFSA is much simpler. It does not count the equity in your primary home, it doesn’t look at small business ownership and it only looks at custodial parent in the case of divorce.</p>
<p>Profile and different forms schools use like Profile, does count primary home equity, does look at business ownership and in general counts more assets.</p>
<p>It’s important to get the calculations right so you know whether you’re aiming at need based aid or merit aid.</p>
<p>*I am not quite sure of the financial limitations, but i do have a younger brother and sister, and my brother and I will have two years of college overlapping, and even thought they colleges will five you a little break, not nearly enough. They also know I’m the kid who will be getting the big money from some of the better schools, so they really want me to choose a school we can get something from. Though, they aren’t totally focused on money, and if i get into my number one school, Cornell, there will be much nagging until they let me go.
*</p>
<p>Waverly is right. It’s doubtful that your CSS will be lower than your FAFSA EFC. It’s often the other way around since CSS counts things that FAFSA doesn’t. CSS may ask what your mortgage is, but you don’t get much consideration there because pricey homes are a luxury choice. </p>
<p>How much have your parents said that they will pay? </p>
<p>You’re overlooking the fact that while some FAFSA only schools may not give you much need-based aid, they might give you huge merit scholarships…more than a CSS school will give you. </p>
<p>My sister’s children didn’t get a dime from CSS schools. However, both kids were awarded huge merit scholarships from FAFSA schools. </p>
<p>Anyway…you need to talk to your parents about how much they can spend each year (without hurting their ability to also help pay for the younger kids). NJ is a pricey place to live, so many who live there (or the tri-state area) often find that they can’t afford their EFCs.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I know that my parents recently took a second mortgage out on our house, mostly to get more aid and to have more money for college. I was talking to my parents yesterday, and my dad said he would be able to pay the 23k need. He also discussed the possibility of taking a student loan, which he said might be an option to pay for my last year of college. Talking to some of my teachers i have become antiquated with, one struck a chord with me, saying the only bill she doesn’t mind paying every month is her student loan. So that makes the concept of a loan much less daunting, because i am confident i will come out of college with a job (hopefully a well paying one).</p>