<p>My family has low income ( under 400000) and I'm on reduced lunch. Next year I ll be going through the grueling college application process as a senior. My parents really want me to go to our state public university because of the low cost. But as a high-achieving student, and at the admonition of my friends and teachers, I want to apply to better colleges such as Tufts, MIT, Amherst, Yale, Brown...I know that Ivy League universities of course provide very generous financial aid, but what about other selective private colleges? My guidance counselor repeatedly tells us not to look at the tag price of a college but the amount of aid it can offer. But how much of it is true? I'll apply to the Gates Millenium scholarship and other scholarships and hope for the best. My burning question is that are poor students like me better off at a public university or a private college?</p>
<p>All colleges are required by law to have a net-price calculator where you, or your parents, can input their income and see what the college would actually cost. Here, I’ll get you started with some of the colleges you listed.</p>
<p><a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<a href=“https://yale.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx[/url]”>Yale University - Net Price Calculator;
<a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<p>There are a couple options beyond state schools for you.</p>
<p>As you mentioned schools that provide outstanding financial aid might end up cheaper to attend than your state school. Where do you live?</p>
<p>In addition, starting a step below the tippy top school (which tend to give the best financial aid) a lot of schools might offer you merit aid. If you find school for which stats are in the top 25% for the school you might be in the hunt for significant merit aid. There is huge thread on schools that provide merit aid … maybe someone else can highlight that for you.</p>
<p>Check out the QuestBridge program, there’s a forum under the FA & Scholarships forum.</p>
<p>Also, read the FA websites for policies for low income students.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to mainly apply to schools that meet 100 percent of demonstrated need (usually going to be private colleges) or schools where you are so superior to the average applicant that they will give you a full ride in merit aid (could be a public or private college/university). I second OPs suggestion of looking at QuestBridge…</p>
<p>Run the NPCs with your parents, and find out if they can pay what the colleges are likely to expect them to. Often parents can’t. You may need to concentrate on finding yourself a full ride that would cover all the costs of attendance.</p>
<p>PS - and a lot schools have application fee waivers for poorer applicants … so applying to a fair number of schools to find the best financial aid/merit aid situation may not be that expensive either … (if you qualify for the waivers)</p>
<p>
You said your family’s income was under $400,000 . I’m guessing that was a typo. In any case, all the schools you listed claim to meet 100% of the financial need of accepted students. If your family’s income is under $40k instead of $400k, then the net cost will probably be in the $3 to $5k per year range.</p>
<p>Sorry guys, I meant 40,000. I typed it in such a hurry because I was on someone else’s computer :PPP
I’m familiar with Questbridge. In fact, I’m one of the College Prep Scholars. I will definitely apply to the National College Match next year, but it is extremely competitive, so I need a backup.</p>
<p>Yay! You’re a fellow CPS. Like I said before if you don’t want to go into debt your best bet is to find a school that meets 100 percent of demonstrated need, even if you get in RD (all QB partner schools) or a school that will give you a lot of merit. Also look at outside merit scholarships, some are rather large and would make more colleges and option.</p>
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</p>
<p>There is no general answer.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Run the net price calculators on the various schools’ web sites under consideration to check affordability on need-based financial aid. Do this for both public and private schools. Note that out-of-state public schools are typically not all that generous with financial aid (exceptions: Virginia and UNC-CH), and the private schools with the best financial aid tend to be the most selective. For in-state public schools, generosity with financial aid varies; the flagships in places like WA, NC, CA, MI, and VA tend to be pretty good for their in-state students, but those in PA and IL are notoriously bad for their in-state students.</p></li>
<li><p>Check for large merit scholarships. At your family income level, you are probably looking for at least full tuition, preferably more. Consider:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-18.html#post15895768[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-18.html#post15895768</a> (candidates for safeties)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-2.html#post15889078[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-2.html#post15889078</a> (candidates for non-safeties)</p></li>
<li><p>Of course, other factors like how suitable the schools are for your academic goals and the like must also be considered. In your other posts, you mention stuff like biology and actuarial preparation, both of which are relatively common (for actuarial preparation, typical majors would include applied math, statistics, or math-oriented economics or finance, including course work recommended for college students at <a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.beanactuary.com</a> ).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks ucbalumnus for the links! I checked them out, but none of the schools seem to be a good fit for me. I live in CT. The only public university I consider is University of Connecticut. My parents are only willing to let me attend colleges that are close to home, meaning 2-3 hr driving distance. So that limits my options a lot!</p>
<p>Brandeis, Clark, BU, Northeastern and if you are female Smith, Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke.</p>
<p>The stigma on this website that public universities are evil is borderline disgusting. </p>
<p>Do note that when schools say they “meet 100% of demonstrated need” - that does NOT mean it is 100% free money. You should be focusing on, as stated, guaranteed full ride scholarships. </p>
<p>I’m assuming that you’re academically in the position to be considered for such scholarships, beings you’re seriously considering applying to MIT, Tufts, etc.</p>
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</p>
<p>University of Connecticut - Storrs’ net price calculator ( [Net</a> Price Calculator - Storrs Campus](<a href=“http://financialaid.uconn.edu/pricecalc/storrs/]Net”>http://financialaid.uconn.edu/pricecalc/storrs/) ) looks like it will give you a net price of $15,236, which seems to be rather high on a family income of $40,000 for a family of 3 with 1 in college. So you may need to relax the distance restriction to find more affordable choices, including (especially) safeties. Showing your parents the net prices may help convince them.</p>
<p>Realistically, the highest net price that is affordable is probably around $8,500 + AFC, where AFC = actual family contribution (what your parents will pay; for lower middle to lower income families, this is likely to be $0). $8,500 is the Stafford loan amount of $5,500 plus the assumed student work or work-study contribution of $3,000 that many colleges use; some students and parents prefer a lower student contribution to keep debt down or reduce the amount of work needed during the school year.</p>
<p>University of Connecticut - Storrs does have large merit scholarships for Connecticut residents: [UConn</a> Merit Scholarships | Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.uconn.edu/content/scholarships]UConn”>http://admissions.uconn.edu/content/scholarships)</p>
<p>However, all of these are competitive scholarships; if you cannot afford the need-based net price, then the school cannot be used as a safety, since it is only affordable if you get one of those large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>In other words, you need to find a safety which you are certain to be admitted to and certain that you can afford. Make that your first priority when making your application list.</p>
<p>
I believe schools the original poster listed in his first post would provide grants, not loans, for the vast majority of the tuition (assuming located in USA, assets are not large, etc). For example, Yale’s net price calculator gives the following result for $40k income + $10k savings:
It looks like $55,350/year in grants, leaving $4,250/year remaining. Note that they include room and board, the cost of textbooks, and misc other expenses in the grant money, not just tuition. Some universities expect the student to pay the small remaining amount, rather than parents, often through a part time job at the school in a related field.</p>
<p>Colleges generally have an expected student contribution of $3,000 to $9,000 in need-based financial aid offers. Lower amounts in this range can be covered by either Stafford loan or typically expected work earnings; higher amounts would need both.</p>
<p>Of course, frugal living can allow the student to live under budget. Whether this is easy to do likely depends on the college.</p>
<p>Your numbers are likely going to be different, but just for an example, my daughter was accepted to our state school, Berkeley and would have graduated with $20,000 in loans, which is quite good. She was also accepted to Brown with full funding/no loans. Both would involve work study. She ended up going to Brown. Her work study was mostly completed doing research with professors and paid positions as a lab TA, really great for her grad school application.</p>
<p>Go over the numbers with your parents. Make a spreadsheet for them if it helps. Also they really need to get over the 2 or 3 hours away deal or they are going to restrict your options. It is good for you and your growth to get away on your own. You need to be focusing on your school and your community, not getting home every chance to get to satisfy your parents .You can always take a plane ride on holidays and summers wherever you are. (Sorry, it just makes me crazy when parents get selfish on this issue).</p>
<p>I think your guidance counselor needs to change her way of thinking. Parents HAVE to look at the price tag! That’s how you can get into financial trouble if you don’t look at prices.
Apply to state schools as well as privates; check the offers and then see which one makes more financial sense. You’ll be 18 soon and you are responsible for your LOANS. Be financially responsible.</p>