<p>NYU does give out grants and scholarship money. Since collegekid18 has 2 siblings that will be attending college at the same time, it is likely that the EFC will not be $50,000 - if accepted - they will probably provide some grant money - though in all likelihood not nearly enough. 2 of my D’s classmates that had a zero EFC with solid but not stellar stats, both received merit awards.</p>
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<p>It sounds like you and your mom need to have a serious and honest conversation about how much she can afford to give you for school. Keep in mind that you’ll need that much money every semester.</p>
<p>NYU is insanely expensive, and based on everything I’ve read about that school and people’s troubles with financial aid I don’t see how you’ll “only” have $30K in debt after graduation. Keep in mind the high cost of living in New York. Are you going to be able to afford housing, food, and books every semester too?</p>
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<p>Honestly I think you have the wrong idea about NYU. At a tuition price $20K per term that’s a school you go to when you a.) absolutely, positively, know what it is that you want to do with your life and b.) NYU has something that will be highly beneficial to helping that career. </p>
<p>If you don’t even know which college you’re going to apply to within NYU, I assume you don’t know exactly what you want to major in? That’s okay, a lot of students don’t, but I wouldn’t really recommend somewhere like NYU for someone who’s really undecided. For starters, you’ll be competing with the best of the best in each of those majors. Also, if it is true that you don’t know what your career might be (again, perfectly normal) how can you be so sure your starting salary will be $50K? </p>
<p>You have a lot of research left to do. Make sure you know exactly how much going to NYU and living in New York will cost. Research, research, research student loans and the consequences of student debt. $30K is STILL a lot of debt. The sad thing about financial aid is that it makes debt for college seem okay and a lot of students don’t take it seriously.</p>
<p>Find out exactly how much your family will be able to contribute and if they will be able to contribute this for every year. </p>
<p>Start making a list of what careers you see yourself having and find out what the starting salaries are. Don’t just go for the ‘average’ salary because this could be after 10 years of working in the field. </p>
<p>Look at the big picture. How will taking out loans effect you for the next four years and 10-15 years after graduation? It’s always nice to have a dream school, but that shouldn’t be your only dream. You want to make sure that you’ll be able to pursue that career instead of being just another article we read about someone who’s trapped in student debt.</p>
<p>^ Excellent advice. I pray for the OP that s/he takes it.</p>
<p>It’s good you are thinking about this now, Collegekid, and getting solid advice from some of the seasoned CC posters.</p>
<p>BTW, I’m from the Boston area and have seen MANY locals from my area disappointed that BU admitted them this spring but then gave them almost NO financial aid beyond loans…and these are not kids from wealthy families. Do not consider a school like BU a financial backup as it is VERY expensive…</p>
<p>If all three of you are applying to NYU, that can be very daunting for your mom, becuse they are not going to meet need for any of you. You absoultely need to have a conversation with your mom about how much she is able or willing to pay every year. You cannot guess or assume what she will pay. Merit aid is very rare and they say they are needs driven, but I dont think that is true. As far as Native American, you have to have proof and documentation and be enrolled in a nationally recognized tribe for that to mean anything. Good luck.</p>
<p>When you do your research you have see the look at the size of the endowment of these schools - NYU has $2.4B to spread over 40,000 plus students - and BU has $1B for over 30,000 students. Your slice of that pie will be awfully small.</p>
<p>Schools that can offer you a lot of financial aid have large endowments and have meets full need/need blind policies.</p>
<p>NYU may be your dream school but you better put a number of realistically affordable schools on the list.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the replies! I just know I need to keep on working on my scores to get more money. I figure if I keep on working hard, it will pay off!</p>
<p>Collegekid18…I think everyone who has posted here has made it very clear that NYU doesn’t meet full need. Nor does GW, BU, Syracuse or American. None of these schools for you are safeties in anyway…either academically or financially.</p>
<p>Getting your SAT or ACT scores up may help you get into these schools, but with a GPA of 3.5 you are not going to end up a top candidate. The vast majority of candidates who are tippy top (ivy level) may still not get their financial needs met. Not getting your full need met can leave you with very substantial debt!</p>
<p>I think you really need to go over carefully what everyone has said on this thread about financial aid. You have been given a lot of excellent advice. I don’t remember anyone giving you the impression that higher tests scores will help you get any significant sum of money from NYU or any other school for that matter.</p>
<p>Certainly you can try and apply. But it seems that you need to re-think the reality of affording most of the schools you mentioned without incurring much more than $30K worth of debt.</p>
<p>Good luck and happy reading!</p>
<p>I just know I need to keep on working on my scores to get more money. I figure if I keep on working hard, it will pay off!</p>
<p>I have a 3.5 gpa with a 27 on my act.</p>
<p>It’s always good to try to improve your scores because it may help you with merit at other schools. Since you have an ACT 27 now, it’s unlikely you’d raise it to the level that NYU would give you merit scholarship money. There have been kids who’ve posted in the past that have gotten an ACT 33 and got NO merit. </p>
<p>And…as already mentioned, your GPA will be a problem as well.</p>
<p>What is your intended major/career?</p>
<p>NYU merit awards are VERY hard to qualify for and I am not saying this to be negative or nasty, but a 30 ACT will not make it and neither will a 3.5 GPA. </p>
<p>If you need Merit Aid, you need to look at other schools.</p>
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<p>I don’t know where you got this information, but CAS is quite competitive to get in to. I can’t comment on Gallatin.</p>
<p>I guess I should just give up on NYU.</p>
<p>you don’t have to give up on it, still apply. But apply to schools that you know you will be able to pay for. There’s nothing wrong with trying, just make sure that you find other schools that you’ll be able to afford</p>
<p>The point we are making is yes, improve your scores. And yes, apply because you never know. But you still seriously need to re-think your entire list of private colleges because even though naviance from your school may show you have a good shot of getting in, it does not mean the schools will come up with the money you need to attend. And you are still on the low end for all the schools you have listed, thus making big grants unlikely.</p>
<p>I would explore state schools that are a little less competitive that may offer scholarships to out of state students with your stats. Or private schools where your stats put you at the 75th %ile of their admitted students, thus making you that top student that they want to woo. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>