You’d be wise to rank your priorities at this point. It’s a good thing to list all the things you want; it’s a necessary thing to list all of the things you need; it’s imperative to list the things you can afford.
Somewhere there may be a single point of intersection for all three. Or there may not be.
There are a number of schools that will give in-state tuition rates for ACT scores in the upper 20’s. These are not “prestigious” schools, but that’s OK - you can’t eat prestige (which is ironic, in that it may be the first thing you have to chew to bits). These probably are not along the East Coast (although you might look at some of the smaller state U’s in Maine). And these may not offer exactly the major you want.
If you really really want a business degree from an accredited university at 20k / year, I’m pretty sure that can happen, but in Michigan, in Kansas, in Louisiana, in Alabama, in New Mexico and similar. I’m much less optimistic about that happening in NY, NJ, PA, VA, etc. and I’m all but certain it won’t happen if the school list is too narrow.
I hate to say it this way, but balancing our needs and our means sometimes takes both creativity and an open mind.
I know for sure there’s a 95% chance I can afford FIU and Baruch.
American University
Babson College
Bentley University
Fordham University
Miami University (Ohio)
Northeastern University
Occidental College
Rollins College
Stevens Institute of Technology
University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth Honors
University of Vermont
Baruch College
Macaulay Honors at Baruch
Rutgers Honors
Cal Poly SLO
San Diego State University
Cal Poly Pomona Honors
Florida International University Honors
Penn State Schreyer Honors
Arizona State Barrett Honors
Cal State Long Beach
SUNY Binghampton
University of South Florida
Okay. So you need to get your parents to sit down and run the net price calculators on ALL these schools so you can see what the cost is likely to be, plus somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 for health care. I really think that is your next step. You could do it in a couple of hours – quite a few schools link into the College Board Calculator from their websites, so you don’t have to keep reentering the numbers. I would print the results of each run if I were you for future reference. Be sure you mark that you are out of state on all the public universities. If your parents resist, tell them that you don’t want to waste any more time looking at schools that are unaffordable. These calculators weren’t around when they went to college, so they may not realize that will just a few minutes on each college they can figure out if it even makes sense to continue researching or applying to it. It also can help you if they start to see what it really costs to go to college in the US now (many parents really haven’t been hit with the reality of how much more expensive it was when they went to school).
I understand that I probably won’t get much need-based aid and that the ACT is crucial. I’m concerned that the calculators obviously don’t factor in intangibles. For instance, with some of the schools on the list, I would think they would be inclined to award me scholarships because how often is someone from France with a 29/30 ACT (from Baron’s practice tests) going to apply. I’m talking strictly about schools with little or no international reputation.
I’ll run the calc but I have extremely busy parents and without my score yet (test on Sept 12th), they’re reluctant to take the time do so.
With that type of income, receiving any financial aid is iffy and running the NPCs is a must. You have to target schools where you will receive significant merit money and with your current stats (I assume you currently have an ACT score under 27), there will be few schools that will give you what you need. Macauley, which is on your list, is a good idea, although with your current ACT score, it is a reach, and as an OOS student, you will have to pay part-tuition (but your total, assuming you get housing aid from the program, would probably be under $20,000).
University of Tampa (as dadof1 has suggested) has a relatively low total COA and depending on your ACT score, you might be able to get merit aid that will lower you cost down to the $20,000-$25,000 a year range. Clark University in Worcestor has the Presidential LEEP scholarship (a full ride). It’s not offered to many students, but if your ACT was higher and you wrote a strong essay, it’s not impossible.
If you the only or top applicant from a particular country I would think it is. It didn’t say it would I was merely implying that it could make you more appealing as an applicant.
On one hand I hear “no more than 20k/yr” and everything is out of state.
Then schools with tuitions of 15-18k and another 10-15k in food & shelter are absolutely affordable.
I guess there might be relatives or residency angles in play that are quite rightly private, but barring that …
Also, I don’t think Miami U will be less than 30k. Half OOS tuition is still 15k with a similar amount needed for fees and R & B. I think the half to full tuition scholarships start at 32.
If the top amount of merit money offered by a school is not enough to bring costs down to about $20-$25,000 a year, then being a dual citizen will not help. If large merit scholarships are generally based on high stats, then being a dual citizen will not help. While I think that many of the schools on your list will find you an attractive candidate and will welcome your dual citizenship, they can’t give you money they don’t have and they may not be able to give you enough money if your stats are not up to snuff.
If you look at Baruch, the OOS tuition is about $16-17,000 per year and the cost of housing, room and board etc. is estimated at $20,000 per year - it is not necessarily affordable for you unless you receive merit aid. FIU looks to have a total cost, including room and board of $26-27,000. While your current ACT score would not qualify for merit aid, that could change and you could probably also make this school work financially regardless.
The reason the NPC calculators don’t factor in those “intangibles” is because the schools don’t care about them for FA or merit aid. They don’t matter. Posters here are trying to help you figure out what you need to do and what schools will work within your cost constraints.
I am not trying to be mean here, but it looks like you are trying to eat caviar on deviled egg budget.
I feel your pain. We are in a similar financial situation. Too much income for need and too little to just write a check. Not willing to mortgage the family’s future for high levels of debt due to college.
D1 is doing the searches now. You are going to come to the realization at some point that you either need to adjust your targets or get used to some disappointment. There are a great many schools that will give you money with decent grades (3.5+) and a 27+ ACT. They are willing to give money because they may be in seemingly less desirable areas.
Maybe you should consider actually looking at Tuscaloosa or one of the many other great college towns in the Central US. You may discover that they are not the backwaters you seem to think they are. Keep an open mind, it will serve you well.
Widening your net as torveaux just suggested is a great idea.
If your parents don’t have the time to run every NPC with you, ask them to go through a couple of them with you. Write down their financial information required for the NPCs, and then run them yourself.
I would like to point out that a lot of my safeties are in Canada because being a French citizen gets you a huge discount on Quebec due to international agreements between both governments.
I will not even entertain the thought of paying anything for schools that aren’t good just because they’re affordable.
I know keeping an open mind is important but location is probably my number one factor in the search and frankly
Montreal > South Dakota.
Though going to a US school is very important to me, I won’t go if it means attending a subpar institution.
Easy. I grew up in South Dakota and while it is certainly different than Montreal, comparing the two is like comparing a great white wine to a great red wine…it all depends upon what you eat with it.
Now, comparing Montreal to someplace like Minneapolis is an entirely different situation. The Twin Cities are an outstanding place to live for many people and there is no only UMinn (an academically rigorous institution), but many smaller LACs that are highly rated as well. Given that you speak French you may feel more comfortable in Montreal, but that would be the case in nearly every US city. Maybe you could consider Louisiana. There is a sizable French-speaking population there as well. New Orleans has its own type of charm.
Like many students looking at colleges, you seem to have a somewhat twisted view of the quality of the institutions. Depending upon the choice of major, schools like Nevada-Las Vegas could be a top choice (one of the best Hotel Management schools in the world). You will also learn over time that within many larger Universities you will find a smaller enclave such as an Honor’s College that would compete with many elite schools. Keep an open mind are do some unbiased research. You may actually find that a city like St. Louis or Milwaukee or Denver has the charm of the city and nearby colleges that are outstanding if you look.
One of the many problems with the comparisons is that schools like Harvard educate about 1000-1500 students from each graduating class. Large public universities educate 10-20 times as many students. The statistics are diluted by the larger population. If, however, you were to compare the top 1000-1500 students at Alabama or Oklahoma or Missouri, etc. you would find that they are every bit as competitive and capable as those at high prestige schools. They also do just as well after graduation.
I had to go back and look at your major choices…If you could get into a school like Texas, the business school is first-rate and Austin would surprise you in terms of being a city in which you would be comfortable. The problem there is more about whether you would even be admitted and they do not provide much in the way of money. UT-Dallas is a rapidly rising school that awards a lot more money. Downtown Dallas is much like the downtown areas in many major cities. Lots of art and culture and trendy shops.
I implore you to do yourself a favor and not judge a city based on the opinion of others or what you may have heard in France. Visit the central US and I think you will be surprised at how cosmopolitan the downtown areas of many US cities can be.
McGill looks to be affordable for you as a French citizen, assuming you have met the requisite French Baccalaureate standards. It’s a very good school and to be honest, I can’t see attending some of the other schools on your list of that we have been mentioning over McGill. is it a safe option for you academically?
McGill won’t work academically but some others will and they’re still better than some of the schools on my list. Regardless of financials, my top three choices are Fordham, Babson and Macaulay Honors at Baruch. @Torveaux The reason why I want to avoid the midwest is simply because it would be hard to get a job in NYC from there. Also, I’m always disappointed when visiting other cities because none are walkable like New York is.
Furthermore, I fully understand the concept of Honors Colleges and as you can see I’ve included some on my list.
I really think you need to do more research on the schools on your list. For example Umass Amherst Honors College is vey hard to get into. If fact, I think 27 ACT is about average for Umass Amherst as a whole. You will not get into the honors college with that, and a 30 may not even be good enough. Umass costs over $25k for in state students so it will be more than that for you. They are not generous with aid. Finally, the school is located in western Mass in a small town located in a semi-rural area. It is not urban which you indicate you want.
You also have Penn State Honors College on your list. I understand that is also very difficult to get into. PA schools are expensive for out of state and don’t give much aid. Finally, we drove by it recently (didn’t visit) and the one thing my D commented on was that there way too many cows around. It is also not urban.
These are just two examples, but I think your list probably has more issues like this. You have too may schools that you either can’t afford or that you can’t get into.
Will it really be easier to get into NYC from a Canadian university than from 'Bama or other non-east coast US schools? Not a lot of Canadian universities have the same recognition in the US as the US universities that have been suggested.
The last guy I knew who went to NYC graduated from either Texas Tech or NM State, I believe. Mostly the rest of the country has kind of a take it or leave it attitude about NYC, which combined with the cost of living, is a much more effective deterrent than regionalism.
