<p>If you have the stats to get into Cornell you can get at least a modest amount of merit aid at many other excellent colleges. Start by looking at schools that offer good aid to NM Scholars – for example U.S.C. (California) offers a 50% tuition scholarship worth about $21K a year – I’m sure there must be a thread on this board somewhere that list all the colleges with strong merit aid. I think Vandy is also known for strong merit aid. These are god schools and your parents are financially strong enough that they are going to be able to pay, but obviously if you can shave $20K a year off the costs with a merit award, that will ease their burden. </p>
<p>In any case, don’t apply ED to Cornell. If it really is a top choice for you, then keep it on your list for RD–but make the decision in the spring when you also have merit offers in hand. </p>