<p>Alright, i am a sophomore living in new york. I know its a little early to be looking at colleges, but i want to know what to expect as i continue my studies in high school. I want to go to a college with 20k or less tuition and/or board(after scholarships of course). I am looking at a few SUNY schools, namely Binghamton and Geneseo(both less than 20k) I also want to attend any decent university where i can get merit aid. I am confident that i will be accepted at both these colleges. I currently have a 97 gpa(4.0 unweighted i think) and i am looking to get a 2100 or higher on the SAT. I am the lead counsel on our schools mock trial team. I play club and varsity soccer year round competitively. I also volunteer at hospitals in the summer.I am also planning to take 4 AP and 1 Honors next year. I am sure i will be able to add to this list in the next 2 years. I have been told not to look at the "sticker price" of colleges, but how i am i supposed to know how much merit aid i can get?Does this process take place after the admissions process when i already decide where to go? Oh, and i forgot to mention, i am unlikely to get much need based aid as my parents income is over 500k. Also, financial aid aside, what kind of colleges do you think i can get into(top tier, above average)?Should i worry about scholarships after i apply?Any recommendations for colleges that offer a lot of merit aid? Its early i know, but i want an idea.</p>
<p>I have to ask, if your parents make over $500K, why do you need to limit yourself to spending $20K a year on college? Just asking, as in most families with that kind of income you would have more choices. Do your parents know how much college costs these days? Sometimes they are out of touch with the costs, and up their contribution once they figure out the true picture.</p>
<p>Generally each college’s financial aid page also includes a link on merit aid scholarships. Also, if you look at the Common Data Set (Google “Common Data Set <college name=”“>” to find them), you will see a section on what % of students get merit based aid and the average amount. You don’t find out for sure until you get accepted, though, how muchmerit aid you get. If merit aid is important to you, then you need to look at it before you apply (some schools don’t offer any).</college></p>
<p>Here are a couple of threads you may find helpful:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a> </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html</a> </p>
<p>(although to tell if merit aid is “good”, you obviously have to look at the cost of the school before the aid is applied – $20,000 in merit aid may sound great, but if the school costs over $60,000 per year it may not help you much).</p>
<p>This is a good resource for finding schools that are good with merit aid. Note that there are separate tables for public, private Universities and private LACs.
[Kiplinger’s</a> Best Values in Private Colleges-Kiplinger](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/]Kiplinger’s”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/)</p>
<p>Are your parents SAYING that they only want to spend $20k per year? Or are you trying to be economical for some reason? </p>
<p>the best scholarships come from the SCHOOLS, so you do have to look there before applying.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that altho it’s smart to look now, you have to realize that whatever merit awards you find now for your (hopeful) stats may not exist when you apply. Some schools change their awards for each new incoming class.</p>
<p>However, you can start forming a list of schools that are known for large merit. </p>
<p>For you to keep costs down to about $20k per year, then you ALMOST need a full tuition scholarship so that the $20k can cover room, board, fees, books, travel, personal expenses, etc.</p>
<p>Also, financial aid aside, what kind of colleges do you think i can get into(top tier, above average)</p>
<p>top tier colleges aren’t where the merit awards are since ALL of their students are top students. </p>
<p>To get the merit that you want, you have to look at schools where YOUR stats (M+CR of the SAT …or your ACT composite) are well-within the top 25% of the schools that DO GIVE large merit.</p>
<p>Well, you’ve the right idea. Start early. College Confidential has a College Search/Supermatch capability that you’ll find on the left under “Main CC Site.” You enter your data and criteria to narrow the search, and it should return some schools you could begin investigating and ruling out. It’s not reliable, I’ve found, on the most elite schools, tending to overestimate one’s stats and the possibility of getting into the elites. It has other problems, but it’s a place to start. Another place to begin looking is in the Fiske or Princeton books. I liked Choosing the Right College. Again, take everything with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>You’re trying to find a school where you might fit, and you’re going to spend the next two years off and on finding one or two schools where you will do your best work. That requires you to figure out who you are, what you can tolerate, what you like, what you cannot tolerate, how diverse a community you want to live in, what you might major in, how important sports/the outdoors/cities/museums/proximity to home/etc are, what kind of attn from your profs you’d like to have, etc. </p>
<p>One thing you can do this summer, in addition to paging thru Fiske and taking notes, is to visit nearby college campuses that are large, medium, and small/that are LACs, state unis, medium research unis/that are in cities, towns, and rural communities. Feel free to rule out any of these immediately, but only if you’re sure that living near Woodstock or attending a NYC school is not for you. Get a feel for any preferences you might have. You’re looking for fit, a place where you will make supportive friends, some of whom care about what you care about, have a similar sense of humor, among other criteria.</p>
<p>You should also be talking to your guidance counselor at school and feeling him or her out about where to apply, where students from your school frequently get in. Try to get from him or her the letter about grades and AP courses that the school sends out with every set of transcripts to colleges. </p>
<p>Is there any chance this spring that you could parlay your volunteering at hospitals into some research this summer and the next in medicine or other health sciences? Even if you don’t major in the sciences, it’s good to get this experience and a letter of rec from an MD/PhD.</p>
<p>Junior year, there’s other work to do. Come back and see us then. With your stats, you should think about taking 6-8 AP courses by the time you graduate and 2 SATII courses in fields in which you might major. Keep that GPA up. Study like crazy for the SAT. If you keep your GPA where it is, you will be eligible for the Top Twenty ONLY if your SAT is 2300 or above. You might not have your eyes set on a Top Twenty, just saying. And embed this in your brain: there is very little chance you will get into a Top Twenty no matter what your grades, SATs, extracurriculars, legacies, research experiences, volunteer hours, etc. are. If you get in, you will party; if you don’t, you will move on. Nothing is guaranteed about a Top Twenty, although I am sure there are New Yorkers who will tell you there is a secret knowledge that they have that works every time 8+) If you believe them, I can put you in a 100% bond portfolio that will bring you 8% every year come hell or high water.</p>
<p>As for merit aid, there are urls in the Financial Aid forum of CC that will tell you about merit of all kinds. It is very wise of you to have this merit issue at the front of your search. You will not be getting any grant aid, so unless you’re willing to pay full freight you can rule out most of the Top Twenty which are all grant aid institutions. Talking all this over with your parents before coming up with a proto-final list would be wise. Use the “net price calculator” at each school you’re interested in to find out what it would cost you to go there if you do not get any merit. You’ll need your parents’ 2013 tax return to do this; the npcs require very exact figures to get you close to your “expected family contribution” or EFC.</p>
<p>Do the research. There are lots of colleges where you fit, where you can get merit, blahblah. Go looking for them. Good luck.</p>
<p>Generally you look for merit when you are at the top of the applicant pool, at least top 25 percent and maybe top ten. You need usually need to show the private colleges that they aren’t your backups and that you are truly interested. Unless it is guaranteed and automatic, merit is competitive and you won’t know what you will get until you apply. To keep it to 20k means that you need more than half tuition, which is hard to find. You almost need full tuition less 5k. Very difficult. Make sure you apply to Alabama which is guaranteed, as well as your state schools. Then you can chase merit.</p>
<p>Big scholarships here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html</a></p>
<p>Do well enough on the PSAT to try for even more scholarships:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-56.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-56.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. The reason i want a cheap undergraduate price is my parents put out my college fund a little late and i wont have more than 50k going into college. In most colleges that only covers one year. I am certain i will be getting a graduate degree in medicine or some other science field, so i want to get out having as little debt as possible. I dont wanna make it hard on my parents so im gonna take a a loan to pay a lot of it off myself. I will work hard the next two years to pad my stats and ECs</p>
<p>It is a bit early to be looking at specific schools – but in general if you want merit aid look at schools where your stats are above the top 25% or so in the class profile.</p>