<p>Anyone get into their dream school and then not know how to pay for it? How did you do it?</p>
<p>Many, many face this.</p>
<p>There are few financial aid miracles. If you have researched what your family’s contribution would be and you can’t afford it, it’s time to look at other colleges.</p>
<p>xxcollege…I know this isn’t really your question…but the “how to pay for college?” question really should be answered BEFORE you apply to college. Students should discuss college finances with their families. The families need to come to an agreement on how much the will contribute each year (note…not how much they CAN contribute…how much the WILL contribute). From there the student will be able to better craft their decision process regarding where they ultimately go to college.</p>
<p>Re: financing a dream school without the money to do so…I’m hoping some folks post great responses to that question for you.</p>
<p>Depends on your circumstances.</p>
<p>If your dream school is a school at which you are in the top 10% of applicants, you may be awarded a scholarship to attend. That’s what happened to me – well, more or less. My original dreams were schools that I knew my family couldn’t afford even with 100% of need met (because their estimation of need didn’t match my family’s estimation of need) so I shelved those dreams and got some new ones. My new ‘dream school’ gave me a full scholarship to attend.</p>
<p>Others may find a dream school that awards 100% of need and that estimation of need may meet a family’s own estimation of their need.</p>
<p>Others take out massive loans to finance education at a ‘dream school.’ This is generally not a good idea.</p>
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<p>I thought this OP meant that they got into the dream school…and did NOT receive financial aid from the school…and had no way to pay for it. Perhaps the OP could clarily.</p>
<p>If the OP received financial aid…why would they be posing this questions.</p>
<p>From prior posts, looks like OP is a HS junior and interested in Brown.</p>
<p>Julliet gave good advice - there’s no magical way to find college money so a good, realistic college list is a must! Start by getting an estimate of your FAFSA and Profile EFC and research your college choices, particularly the Ave % need met/guarantees to meet 100% need policies. Outside scholarships are another avenue, but you don’t know what you’ll actually win, so it’s risky not to have a financial safety that you like.</p>
<p>Agreed…the college finance plan should be discussed with parents and be in place BEFORE the applications are sent. Then when the final acceptances and financial aid offers are in, there won’t be any surprises. The student will know what the parent expectation is for college costs. AND fully agree…have a financial safety on that list of schools.</p>
<p>As others have said…there is no “tuition/room/board” fairy out there. First obligation is for the family to fund college. If they are eligible for need based aid, the school will award that. Students need to remember the COLLEGE computes need based on the information you provide on the FAFSA/Profle. This amount may not match what your family is actually willing and able to contribute.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t care where that family contribution comes from…but you will not likely receive financial aid for the family contribution.</p>