<p>Just wondering, if parents make 140 thousand a year together, but with one other person in college and in bankruptcy, what are the chances of getting good financial aid at any of these colleges?</p>
<p>University of Rochester
University of Richmond
Macalester College
Reed College
Brandeis University<br>
Earlham College
Lawrence University
Oberlin College</p>
<p>I'm hoping that I would be able to afford some of these schools, but my parents have told me that they would not be able to give me much money (assuming they can give me about a thousand dollars per year, maybe two thousand). I'm thinking that maybe Liberal Arts Colleges are best at financial aid since they are a lot smaller, and some of the better ones have more money. Is true when comparing the financial aid of liberal arts colleges to other private and public schools?</p>
<p>If your parents cannot pay much toward your education, then you need to look for places that will offer you merit-based aid, or you will have to find a cheap place that you can commute to from home. There are a number of threads on that topic in the Financial Aid Forum. Scroll down there to find them.</p>
LACs frequently do have more $ for aid, but with parents making $140K it is very doubtful you would get any. If your parents really can only afford $1-2K then you should be looking at CCs in your area or schools that will offer merit aid. Read through posts on the FA forum.</p>
<p>I don’t think the schools will care that your family is in bankruptcy unless maybe it’s because of HUGE medical bills. </p>
<p>Even with a sibling in college, most schools (even LACs) will expect your family to contribute a good amount.</p>
<p>How much money is your family giving your sibling for his/her college expenses? Will your parents be able to pay twice that (same for sibling PLUS same for you)…or will they have to split that amount amongst the two of you?</p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they can give YOU alone for college costs.</p>
<p>Are you a junior or senior? If you’re a junior, then you probably need to look for schools that will give you strong merit scholarships for your stats</p>
<p>First find out just how much your parents will/can contribute to your education and then assemble a list of possible colleges accordingly. Hopefully you are a junior!</p>
<p>Schools:
–University of Iowa (instate)
–Boston University
–University of Rochester
–Case Western Reserve University
–Wake Forest University
–Brandeis University
–University of Richmond*</p>
<p>Some/all of those schools don’t meet need. </p>
<p>Does Iowa give merit? If so, do you know how much you’d get? Did you apply to ISU as well?</p>
<p>You need to retake the ACT and also take the SAT…study for both.</p>
<p>And include some schools that you know FOR SURE will give you HUGE merit…not just half tuition…HUGE…like full tuition or more.</p>
<p>And find out NOW how much your parents can contribute…you need to know that ASAP</p>
<p>UI and ISU give very little in the way of merit aid, maybe up to $2000 a year. There are a handful of full tuition scholarships, maybe twenty or so for a feshman class of thousands. Not good odds, and a 3.5 probably isn’t a high enough GPA to be competative. </p>
<p>Total in-state direct costs are around $20K. Unless OP lives in Iowa City or Ames/Ankeny, commuting isn’t likely an option. UNI, the only other state 4 year school is a little less expensive, but historically it was the teacher’s college. It is smaller and offers fewer majors. If the OP’s mom and dad can truly contribute only 1 or 2 thousand a year, the state schools are not good options.</p>
<p>If the op really has parent income of $140,000 for the year, the private schools on his list will not offer him enough need based aid to attend… If his parents can only pay $2000 or so. An income of $140k would yield a family contribution of about $30,000 for the year… Maybe a little less , but not $2000.</p>
<p>$140,000 will yield an EFC of about $33,000 — and that is without assets over the threshold. Best to concentrate on schools with significant merit for the stats.</p>
<p>Yes, there are some very competitive schools that give students need based aid with incomes in the $140K range. Students would, however, be expected to pay 10% of the cost of attending (at least) even at these school. Minimally, that would be $14,000. The OP says his/her parents can only pay $2000. </p>
<p>I do not believe there is a college where this student will get NEED BASED aid that will leave him/her with ONLY a $2000 out of pocket cost per year.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, if the student is willing to look further afield, they could find a college where they could get merit aid.</p>
<p>Do a search for the thread by momfromtexas about the college search. The thread is VERY old now and many of the schools not in the same siuation now… but the techniques are the same. She found full ride scholarships for both of her kids and she tells how she did this.</p>
<p>I would recommend trying out each school’s Net Price Calculator first to see what you could potentially be offered from each school. </p>
<p>University of Rochester’s Net Price Calculator can be found at [University</a> of Rochester : Financial Aid Estimator for First-Year Students](<a href=“http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/estimator/]University”>http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/estimator/). Keep in mind that the Net Price Calculator can’t take into account special circumstances like a bankruptcy, but it’s definitely worth it to speak to a financial aid counselor to see if that information can be taken into consideration.</p>