@parentofd22, some schools have better FA than others, and some consider assets like housing equity while others do not. Check out the Princeton FA calculator as an example of good FA. I found USC FA good, and they also have some excellent merit awards. Have you considered Rice? I agree one should avoid undergraduate loans at all costs, esp if she is considering med school. Med schools don’t care what college you went to. They care about GPA and MCAT scores. With those stats, she could attend many schools at low cost which would get her into medical school and prepare her well, such as Alabama (lots of Texans there), FSU, South Carolina, Arkansas, etc…
LOL! My S22 has “currentgirlfrienditis” and he insists he wants to live and work in her home state, which means applying to public universities there (paying OOS tuition) when we have perfectly good in-state options. Thankfully we have lots of time yet. 
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@parentofd22 with those stats your D might be in the top 6% of her HS class and an auto admit to UTA? I’m in TX too. My oldest D19 was not in the top 6% of her class at a highly competitive HS in TX, so not an auto admit to UTA. They don’t offer auto merit but is more affordable than Baylor. If my D22 gets in to UTA she’s going there!
Thanks Jellybean.
Yes. She is currently 9th out of 550 kids (top 2%) so she is definitely getting auto-admit. I am going to be torn between UTD paying full scholarship and UTA where we will probably need to pay full 
Thanks Vistajay. I had not looked at the options you suggested and will add those colleges to the list and also check the Princeton FA Calculator. Luckily D22 is not hell bent on any particular college and so I have some scope 
We have considered Rice as well but I do worry about their fees. It almost seems like the Education system is designed to bring the Financial condition of someone making 200K at the same level as someone making 120K by making the 200K family pay for all tuition and the 120K family getting full waiver (I am hearing Biden is bringing an EO in the first 100 days to get students full waiver to Public colleges if they make 120K or less)
That’s the catch for many people @parentofd22. I think your best bet is to look thoughtfully at your finances and your priorities and decide how much you can pay and where you want to spend it. If you are upfront with your student about the situation and don’t put things on the table at all if they are not viable financially, I think it can work out.
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Also is that a typo for her PSAT. Is she a National Merit finalist? Well, take a look and see what her major path looks like at each school, they might be different. We live in San Antonio, so I would be thrilled if my kid could go to school in Austin. My D19 goes to school in Arizona 
Her PSAT score is 213 but we are in TX and last year I believe the cut off was 219. She is in the 99th percentile (per collegeboard) and so I think she will be in the Commended category.
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That is a high score ranking of some sort? LOL I don’t know about those types of numbers. The numbers I know resemble SAT score numbers. I would hope she is in the commended category if she’s in the 99th percentile! Congratulations that your D22 has already taken and earned an amazing SAT score. My D22 definitely won’t be taking the SAT until maybe springtime.
Hi there, the 213 is the selection index score in the national merit competition. This is how that gets calculated: " To determine who qualifies for National Merit, NMSC uses a scale called the Selection Index. To get this, NMSC adds your Math, Reading, and Writing section scores, which each fall between 8 and 38, and then multiplies that sum by 2. Thus, the PSAT NMSC Selection Index ranges from 48 to 228."
S22 has his first round of scores back. He did well, but plans to retake in the spring to nudge them up just a bit. He got a 1480 SAT and a 34 ACT. He’d like to get over 1500 and a 35.
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@parentofd22 I’ve started looking at pricing and savings, etc too. Can you save the money somewhere other than in the property? If you can cash flow $50k/year that should work for many, many places. We have some saved in 529s, but not nearly enough. We plan to cash flow some, have kids in loans if needed, and are looking for scholarships too.
Great scores @vistajay!
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@Luanne- That is what we did for child No. 1, who fell in love with one of the most expensive schools out there: USC. She got about a 2/3 tuition merit scholarship, we took out a small loan in her name which we are paying off, and we cash flowed the rest while dipping into our HELOC when needed. That turned out to be a bit stressful, as using our home equity line was not a sustainable plan for all 3 kids. So with child No. 2, we chased bigger scholarships. He ended up with a full ride to a school he loved that was perfect for his major. S22 is the caboose. He could get a full ride (or near it) and that would be nice for our finances of course, but since he’s the last maybe we stretch a bit more for his dream school?
@vistajay we also have 3, with the others in 7th and 9th grade now. One of our thoughts is to lower the amount put into 401k and Roth IRAs if we need more cash flow, especially when we have 2 in college (I’m hoping not to have all 3 at once!). We are both over 50 and our contributions make less of a dent in our balances than they did 10 years ago. Trying to plan it out is difficult, to say the least. Likely, my spouse will retire while S26, and maybe D24, is in college as well.
Hi, all. Happy to have found this thread. My daughter will also be applying to college next fall, We are based in the UK (but I grew up and attended college in the US) and I am trying to get up to speed on the college admission process, college options, college financing, etc.
My D22 has taken the PSAT and SAT but we’re not sure whether she will also need to take SAT subject tests. I know it has been deemphasized in recent years (particularly this application cycle) and a few people on CC have said it is not necessary for my D to take it. But I have also read that subject tests are expected from students who are not economically disadvantaged. What is your position on this? Thanks.
That was true a few years ago, maybe even last year, when many schools “recommended” them. Which mean they expected them unless there was a reason not to.
Certainly for this application year they are purely supplemental. Many students can’t get SAT test dates, so Subject Tests are a minor “nice to have”, maybe. Several schools - MIT, Caltech, CMU, have permanently removed Subject Test from the evaluation process - they won’t consider them even if supplied.
For next Fall, there will likely still be a small number of schools where they are considered, though probably still not “strongly recommended”. If she can take them, and do well, and it looking at top-20-type universtiies, they may come in handy. But they’re nowhere near as meaningful as just last year, IMHO.
Personally - my D, who will also be applying next fall, took her Math2 a few year ago. Chemistry was cancelled this last June - I’m still up in the air as to whether to have her take it again (she’s in AP Chem this year), or maybe US History (after APUSH). In the spring, we’ll probably look at calendars, look at the material on the test vs. what she’s studied in class, and make a call based on availability, conflicts and effort required.
Thanks. My D is planning to apply to T20 schools and likely to major in a STEM subject. If she does sit the exam, is doing 3 subjects in one sitting okay/normal? She’s currently taking math, chemistry and physics at school and so is thinking of doing subject tests in all three in May (although she might swap either chemistry or physics for English Literature).
My DS will do a number of subject tests because he may apply in the UK and subject tests and/or APs are needed for that process. Otherwise, I agree with Rich that they are likely unnecessary most places.
Thanks, @christinelin. My D22 will also apply to UK universities so feel free to reach out if you have any questions (I’ll try my best to answer!).
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