<p>my family is in an upper income bracket, low 6 figs. and we are usually dont have too much spending money, my parents will not be able to contribute anything. i need schools that have great aid. i'm not sure if i'm good enough for ivy leagues (well most everything is except for my test scores (so if i can get those up we'll see)) but i would really like to attend a moderately selective or even very selective school that has good aid. also im looking at bates bowdoin and Connecticut because of my test scores, but bates has the best aid out of them. idk just any help anyone?</p>
<p>Erichk, it is unreasonable that your family makes that amount of money and can’t contribute ANYTHING to your college. You do cost them some money going to high school right now. Just like with private schools, boarding schools, away from home programs, sleep away camps, your family does have to come up with the funds if they want to send you away for school. Otherwise, just like going to a public high school, you can go to a local state university or community college for an amount that you likely can borrow (you are permitted up to $5500 for freshman year) and also work part time for commuting expenses and other extra costs. That 's the way most people go to college. </p>
<p>If you can get your test scores and your grades are up there to the top of some colleges, they might offer scholarships to defray some of the costs. Your state flagship will have a sticker price, likely in the $20-25K range if you want to live at the college. That’ something your parents will have to pay. I believe that Bowdoin and Bates do have good financial aid policies, but you have to have the need, which means your family income has to be such that the schools determine they cannot contribute more than X for your college. With six figures, that is not likely to happen. You might want to run some numbers and see what your family is expected to pay and discuss this with your parents. You will be limited in loans to that $5500 your first year, pretty much, unless your parents cosign, which means they are essentially borrowing the money and that would have to be done privately. Don’t let all of those stories about money being so available make you believe that it is going to be easy to get the kind of money as school like Bates or Bowdoin costs.</p>
<p>i have four younger brothers, we live in a house above our means. and we have 3 cars all that don’t get good gas milage. we spend about 200-300 a week on groceries. they really wont be able to contribute much, maybe like $2500 a year tops.</p>
<p>All students should find some local schools that are affordable, including community college as their safety choices. In a situation like yours where you know up front that your parents are not going to be paying anything than helping you out with the room and board at home, these schools will be your main choices. Once you have them in place, you can pick any number of school where it looks like you might get merit money that would pay most of your tab. Do look at Momfromtexas 's thread on Full Ride Scholarships.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately these are considered lifestyle choices. I know that you have to eat, but your parents are choosing to live in a house above their means and have 3 gas guzzling cars. None of this will make a difference when it comes to you getting financial aid, especially as schools that use the CSS profile. Your parents may have to bite the bullet and scale back a little because they are the first in line when it comes to paying for your education.</p>
<p>If you know that they are only willing to pay 2500, then you have a big challenge in front of you. You need to start with a bottoms up approach and look at schools where you stand a chance of getting merit money, or schools that your parents can afford. </p>
<p>Bates, Bowdoin and Conn College may have to come off your list because they many not be financially feasible options for your family.</p>
<p>I think you’re looking for the wrong schools.</p>
<p>Since you’ll have a high unaffordable EFC, the schools that give “great need based aid” will NOT be affordable for you.</p>
<p>Those schools will not give you enough aid to make them affordable. You don’t have the means to pay the remaining costs.</p>
<p>Schools that give “great aid” will not work for you if the aid is “need based.” </p>
<p>Look at it this way…schools that give “great aid” won’t give a DIME to those who don’t have “need” based on income.</p>
<p>What good would it do YOU if a “great aid” school gives you $20k in aid if the school costs $60k per year??? How will you pay the remaining $40k???</p>
<p>You seem to think that schools that give “great aid” are going to give you $50k+ per year. They won’t. They will expect your parents to pay $20k-40k per year. </p>
<p>Schools don’t care that your family spends a lot on housing, food, and cars. </p>
<p>What are your test scores and GPA? </p>
<p>If you have the test scores and GPA to get HUGE merit scholarships from the schools that give them, then that may work.</p>
<p>If you have stats that are high enough, then you’ll need to apply to schools that will give you at LEAST a full tuition merit scholarship so that a federal student loan and family funds can pay for the rest. </p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they’ll pay.</p>
<p>Some schools offer big scholarships based on test scores and GPA. For example, University of Alabama offers full tuition to anyone with a 32+ ACT and a 3.5+ GPA. Do some research, there are other schools who offer scholarships like these. If you can get a full tuition scholarship you could probably fund room and board with your parent’s help and loans.</p>
<p>OP, I see you’re a high school junior. That means you’ll be taking the PSAT this October, which determines if you would qualify as a National Merit Semifinalist. This is an outstanding source of merit-based scholarships–it would be well worth your while to put in some serious SAT prep time in the hopes of boosting your PSAT score. At worst, it’ll help you get ready for the SAT. You should also take the ACT, as some people do better on that test.</p>
<p>Reiterating what m2ck said: you should also have a very explicit money talk with your parents. Parents hate this, but it’s absolutely necessary. Confirm the $2500 a year, or get them to give you a real commitment on how much they will be able to afford. With that number in hand you can start searching for schools which would give you enough merit money to be affordable. </p>
<p>Sorry that you are the canary in the coal mine for your entire family, but your younger siblings are going to benefit from your experience.</p>
<p>OP, run the net price calculators with your parents. That $2,500 figure is really low and will limit you to schools where you will have to get very generous merit or commute from home. </p>
<p>Just to clarify… while schools don’t care about your family’s expenses, they DO take into account that there are seven people in your family. Also, they don’t care about how expensive your parents’ house is or your parents’ mortgage, but they do care about the asset value. So if your parents don’t have much equity in the house (if they have a big mortgage), the expense won’t help them but the value of the house won’t count against them either. So please ask one of your parents to sit on the computer with you for 10 mins with last year’s taxes; it will help you and them be prepared. Note that if your situation involves remarriage or either of your parents is self-employed, the calculators are sometimes off a bit.</p>