Dave Berry breaks down seven commonly-held myths about admissions: https://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/seven-college-admissions-myths/
From the linked article:
However, the private colleges with the best financial aid (where affordability is more likely to be realistic) are only realistic admission-wise for “top students”. (Of course, there are other nuances, like divorced parents, fluctuating income, small business or self-employment income, etc. that can cause financial aid issues for some students.)
Some states’ public universities have good in-state financial aid. But others do not. Better to be a resident of California than Pennsylvania for this purpose.
This section of the article should have recommended running each college’s net price calculator.
So if you make $100K some how you’re not as economically disadvantaged and you should go into debt?
Unfortunately yes, however you should only occur about 80K in debt at that income level if the university meets full need without loans.
Honestly donut-hole families won’t get the same range of options others may have. I live in MN and my cost of living is significantly lower than someone from DC or NYC or SF, and that’s before considering any financial choices either of us might make. If the EFC formula leaves you with a big gap and financial aid is vital then you have to start adjusting expectations.
That said, being a Top Student can be a matter of context: if you’re a good enough student you can shop your way down the prestige pecking order until you find a school that thinks you’re the bees knees and will give you money to attend their institution. It’s not as awesome as getting a ride to Princeton, but if a golden ticket Presidential Scholarship to St MiddleRank College makes school affordable then it’s better than two years of CC and hoping the family money situation improves by junior year. Life isn’t always fair, but it’s not always an all or nothing situation.
@collegenut231 - if you live in California and want to go to a UC, the threshold seems even lower to get any aid. One DS was awarded Regents Scholarship at a UC, and it was still more expensive (net) than Notre Dame. I’m so happy I pay taxes so I can get no aid at in-state flagships.
Yes, private colleges are good but some have finance constraint due to which they cannot afford it.
A good article to read on, College advisor makes the process of the college admissions journey easier.
does College ranking affect College Admissions? When It comes to the college selection, ranking is not only criteria that parents or students have put on. It depends on student priorities which college is better to get admitted.
@usma87 Unfortunately, it is because the Great State of California, in it’s infinite wisdom, has decided to tax you less, and put less of the money they get into the UC system (2.7% of its budget, down from about 5% in the 1990s), they cannot afford to provide much aid. CA government spending per student is 37% of what it was in the 1990s (adjusted for inflation, etc), while tuition is about 2.4x higher, which does not compensate. Overall, the UCs only have about 77% of the money, per student, to spend as they did in the early 1990s, since tuition has not been increased at the rate that would be required to actually bring spending per student up to what it was in the early 1990s.
So, yes, your taxes pay for the UCs. Unfortunately, because of the demand to pay less tax, the UCs can not afford to provide much financial aid based on the taxes that you are now paying. They can barely afford to maintain the level of teaching, and have resorted to replacing actual professors who stay for a long time, do research (which students can join), and can enforce standards with contingent labor - adjuncts who are hired per semester, paid a pittance, are dependent of student evaluations for their continued employment, and as such cannot enforce standards, don’t have time, space, funding, or any support for research, etc.
However, cheer up, since, due to the “wonderful” tax cuts of the 1990s and early 2000s, you are paying about a few hundred dollars a year less in state income taxes!!
@MWolf - Wow, we pay less taxes? Nope. Our tax dollars get diverted for a wide range of crackpot pet projects (High speed rail? and state employee pensions). How is it that a low tax state like Arizona offers me a better deal to a state flagship than UCs? Hmmmm, I think it is the political difference in where the tax dollars are invested.
Don’t forget prisons. The crime wave that peaked in 1991 (thanks, Ethyl Corporation) produced lots of criminals, and the reaction of longer sentencing like the “three strikes” law in 1994 greatly increased the demand for prison space and hence spending on prisons.
Based on NPCs, parental income up to around $120k may still get financial aid grants at UCs. This is higher than the median household income ($72k) and median family income ($82k).