<p>I am looking into Elmira, Hartwick, and Siena. I will most likely go wherever turns out the least expensive. Hartwick has given me 22k a year and Elmira 20k a year, but Siena hasn't offered anything so far. Others have said they already got promised some merit scholarship. I know I most likely have to wait until the FAFSA, but am I likely to get a good package based on my excellent GPA and decent SAT's?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Which are…? And have you been accepted by Siena yet? I’m guessing you won’t find many people here that are familiar with all 3, or perhaps any, of those schools. Hartwick is very generous with high stat kids, I think because they’re mostly a B student school. I know kids with high stats who are currently at Siena with merit scholarships that are not not as high as Hartwick’s. Is there a big difference in cost between Siena and Hartwick?</p>
<p>You should be filing an estimated FAFSA very soon, especially if finances are a concern. Are your parents aware of that and willing to help you file?</p>
<p>GPA=3.8
SAT=1780 (1120 w/o writing)</p>
<p>I have been accepted to all 3. Also applied to Skidmore, Geneseo, and UAlbany, but likely won’t get a response until March. Hartwick is more expensive than Siena, but from what I gather they offer bigger scholarships and it comes out about even. I can’t file the FAFSA until the tax forms come which will be February at best. Parents are helping somewhat…reluctantly.</p>
<p>*Test Scores Middle 50% of First-Year Students </p>
<p>SAT Critical Reading: 500 - 600
SAT Math: 530 - 630
SAT Writing: 500 - 600
ACT Composite: 22 - 27</p>
<p>31% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher</p>
<p>Average non-need based aid: $8,059</p>
<p>It looks like the top 25% of students at Siena have at least a 1230 SAT (M+CR) or a 1830 total. </p>
<p>And, the average merit scholarship is around $8k per year. Since your stats are in the middle range for the school, I don’t think you’ll be getting much from Siena.</p>
<p>Siena’s direct costs are about $38k per year, plus personal expenses and transportation. It does look like Hartwick runs about $10k more (about $48k in direct costs).</p>
<p>So, unless Siena gives you a good scholarship (at least $12k per year), it looks like Hartwick will be cheaper. </p>
<p>* Others have said they already got promised some merit scholarship.*</p>
<p>What were their stats and how much were they offered?</p>
<p>If these scholarships work out, it looks like your remaining direct costs will be about $25k plus personal expenses and travel. How will you cover those costs? Have your parents said how much they’ll pay each year?</p>
<p>Albany is likely to be your most affordable choice, followed by Hartwick. Unfortunately, your test scores are not likely to get you in at Geneseo. Are you happy attending the schools on your list or do you need more affordable choices? You might look at Cortland, Plattsburg, Fredonia, and perhaps Owsego for merit money…you didn’t mention what your interest are, so I’m just winging out suggestions based on scholarships and COA! I don’t think we have any info on UA’s scholarships on our Guaranteed/Automatic scholarship thread (wherever that has gone to) so please let us know if you do!</p>
<p>Btw, many people file estimated FAFSAs in January before the official W-2’s are released. If you have a relatively simple situation (regular jobs, not self-employed) it’s easy to take last year’s tax return and tables and adjust to whatever the gross pay on the final paychecks in December are, then follow it thru to AGI and taxable income. In about 5 minutes, you can have a very good estimate to enter into the FAFSA form. The advantage is that you can see your EFC a month or so earlier…which is often the time that parents need to recover from it!</p>
<p>Thank you both for the detailed responses, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>I’m surprised at my lack of knowledge about the FAFSA estimator (being the fourth child).</p>
<p>I plan on getting my bachelors in 3 years. I want to be a child psychologist, so I have to go straight to my master regardless if I want any chance of finding a job. In which case, my major doesn’t narrow down my choices much because I could go nearly anywhere for general psychology as an undergrad, though I obviously want to find a good program knowing that some are better than others.</p>
<p>I have already crossed Skidmore off the list due to insanely high tuition. Honestly, I hated UA when I visited. If I could miraculously get into Geneseo, it would be my fall back because of the SUNY price. I didn’t like any other SUNY’s within my acceptable location range.</p>
<p>My parents seem to be planning on giving me 10-15k a year, if they can. The rest is all loans. The situation is somewhat complicated as my father just retired early, major decrease in income for next year.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Are you planning on a BA or a BS? A BS might be difficult in 3 years unless you’re going in with a lot of AP/dual enrollment credits or are you planning to take classes year round. Is that why you have an “acceptable location range”? Just so you know, the SUNY system credits are very easily transferred and many classes are offered online through the Angel system (more on that at suny.edu). My D is at UB but has taken online classes during summers and intercessions from 3 other SUNY schools to ease her schedule.</p>
<p>Is eastern NY the only place you’re willing to be? I often hear good things about Oswego’s psych department and it’s a pretty nice school (although Oswego can be quite cold and windy in the winter months). I realize it’s a long way off, but is it possible you’d want to do a doctoral program instead of a masters? I would think that would bump your earning potential and a PsyD seems to be gaining more acceptance. It’s possible you might find more funding at that level than the master’s level. I believe Buffalo has all three grad programs so you might look at their site (buffalo.edu) to see what the differences are.</p>
<p>If your father’s income has changed significantly, you can request a special circumstances adjustment from your FA office after your FAFSA (and any other forms they require for FA) are filed. They will ask for additional information, such as his pension info, and determine whether they can/should use professional judgement to change the income field(s) on your FAFSA. You can’t change them based on current info, but the FA office can.</p>
<p>Yes, I have lots of AP credit, plus classes from the local CC, which transfer over. I am way too cold of a person to go to Oswego, perhaps a dumb reason to rule it out, but I am miserable in the cold. I plan on going south to grad school, but I don’t want to go that way just yet (for personal reasons).</p>
<p>Fwiw, Buffalo is one of the sunniest areas in the state…it’s the snowfall that most people hear about. UB has shuttles that run continuously from dorms and all around the campuses, and the academic buildings are connected by corridors and skyways, so no need to hike around in the cold too much. I don’t remember if Oswego has anything similar but I’m sure the buildings have adequate heating. Only you can decide whether going to a school that’s more expensive or that you just don’t like is preferable to buying warm clothes and layering up!</p>