<p>Which schools have the best financial Aid? I thought Boston College was up there but then someone told me that was overall, not by student. What does it mean by student? Endowment by student I mean...</p>
<p>The ivies and Stanford have great FA. Rice and WashU do as well. there may be a few others.</p>
<p>That said, these schools are very hard to get into and typically require very high stats.</p>
<p>If these are your stats, you’re going to have to get them higher for the schools that give the best aid. Being a URM can be a help, but I think you’d still need to be at least a 2000 SAT.</p>
<p>Since you say that your family will pay about $50k per year, it doesn’t sound like you’d have the economically-disadvantaged hook that helps some URMs get admitted.</p>
<p>BTW…since your family will pay that much, you probably won’t qualify for FA. Schools that give “great aid” do not give it to families who can pay.</p>
<hr>
<p>Here are my stats, what college would fit me in your opinion?
Gpa: 3.88
Rank: N/A
State: WA
Gender: Female
Race: black, parents were born in Nigeria
SAT: CR 580 Math 440 W 500
This was my first time taking them in January, I WILL get them up. Right now I’m doing practice tests and getting 1800, I didn’t study for the one 's in January.</p>
<p>We were pleasantly surprised to learn my son was offered a $72,000 Godman Scholarship from Ohio Wesleyan University. Combining the $18K annually with a generous institutional grant and Federal financial assistance, the total financial aid package makes attending Ohio Wesleyan comparable in cost to attending the University of Vermont as an in-state student! Check them out!</p>
<p>What were your son’s stats?</p>
<p>Here is a great link to check out.</p>
<p>[Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php)</p>
<p>I have one thing to mention. I have worked at a large private school and now a large public school. At both schools I have seen instances of really great first year packages, which were then significantly decreased 2nd year- with family income pretty much the same and the student grades above average. Not to be negative, but I do think that first year financial aid package can entice those of us with limited funds… I am in this boat. However, I will make sure to fully investigate how the first year award will compare to future year awards. Is it a committment for all 4 years dependent on income and student grades, or is is re-determined each year, based on the institutional availability of funds. Good Luck!</p>
<p>In my experience, Williams, Davidson, and UNC Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Since it sounds like this student’s family has a high income (family will pay $50k per year), the only schools that might give “good aid” would be the 4-5 that give “super aid”…H Y P S…and maybe Williams. </p>
<p>The rest would likely determine that income/assets are too high for much/any aid.</p>
<p>That said, the student needs much higher stats to get into these schools.</p>
<p>85 average (95/~250 in class) , SAT - 730M, 650E.</p>
<p>I actually talked to my mom (the only one who is paying, parents are separated) and she said that she can actually only pay $10k, maybe even less (more like 5-8K) per year. so i definitely averaged that wrong. Which colleges would have better FA then?</p>
<p>How much she can actually pay has little to do with what the FA system will expect her to pay. There are many families who feel they cannot pay more than $10K even though the EFC will be >$25K. Please run the numbers through a Net Price Calculator on the web site of a school you are interested in to get an idea of what your EFC will be.</p>
<p>Since in another thread, you said that your dad won’t pay, that will be an issue at many of the schools that give good aid. Many of those will insist on looking at both parents’ incomes to determine “need.”</p>
<p>Also…aid isn’t based on what your mom thinks she can pay. Aid is determined after the school looks at family income. So, schools may look at mom’s income and say that she should pay a lot more than $10k per year. </p>
<p>Since you first said that she would pay $50k per year, then she must have a strong income…even if she can’t actually pay that much.</p>
<p>Until you have much higher scores, your choices may be limited to instate options. </p>
<p>What is the situation with your dad? Will he fill out the FA paperwork? Does he make a good income? The schools that require non-custodial parent’s info will NOT process an aid request without that info. If your dad won’t fill out the paperwork and/or won’t pay a determined share, then there’s little point to applying to those schools.</p>
<p>You need to get a handle on your family finance situation and consider your stats, so that your list makes sense.</p>
<p>bunny2015 -</p>
<p>What your mom can pay, and what the colleges/universities believe she can pay often are two very different things. You need to run her financial information through one of the FAFSA EFC calculators. There is a good one at [EFC</a> Calculator: How Much Money for College Will You Be Expected to Contribute?](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>If you find out that your EFC is more than your mom can pay, then you will definitely need to look for colleges and universities that you can afford without any financial aid, and/or that you can afford with guaranteed merit-based aid. Here is one thread with links to that kind of information: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Your GPA is good, but your SAT scores (as you know) aren’t. You should sit down with your counselor, and figure out why they are low relative to your grades. If the only problem is bad test-taking strategies, that is something that is easily fixed with an exam prep course. If the issue is test-based anxiety or a previously unidentified learning disability, that would be a different thing entirely. You also should take a sample ACT exam. Often students do better on one exam than on the other.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>