@zoosermom that’s so funny because your like the third person to suggest Muhlenberg!
He really should look at Muhlenberg!
Has she thought about taking the ACT again? If she can get to a 32 Ole miss will give her a scholarship that is basically free tuition. Unlike some of colleges that have December deadlines they will accept an ACT score until enrollment. I’m sure there are other colleges out there like that.
If Op states that they can only afford 10k, she pretty much needs a full tuition scholarship.
Muhlenberg’s real deal on financial aid
http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/admissions/therealdealonfinancialaid/
have you run the net price calculator at any of the schools on your D’s list?
Muhlenberg is also very artsy, so possibly money for dancing? (My son is a musician, so I can’t speak for dance, but they have lots of productions, so maybe?). The information about preferential packaging on the website is priceless and really helps understand the process - it’s broadly applicable to merit schools. And the OP’s student is from Arkansas, so that could be diversity.
Like I said, we don’t have need, but my D had a couple of very interesting others in her application, and Muhlenberg was very, very generous.
My son had a similar ACT score to the OP’s child, although a bit lower GPA. He wanted very specific things from his college and, therefore, looked lower in the top 200 range (not all the way down, but not say 100-150-ish) and he was treated very generously and is happy as a lark at one of the less-selective schools, but which met his specific criteria. There are a lot of schools out there, and if money is that necessary, a very wide and detailed net should be cast.
I wonder, though, to the OP - does the $10,000 you are able to pay include your student’s $5,500 direct loan or would that be additional, allowing the student to choose an option up to $15,500 per year plus whatever contribution comes from summer earnings?
Thanks for the info, zoosermom. The $10K does not include the $5,500 direct loan, but we are very hesitant to go down that path as the family has considerable debt constraints currently.
Concerning your statement above about your D, what did you mean by having “a couple of interesting others”
Sounds like we need to look at Muhlenberg!
“Scholarships offering 1/3 to 1/2 of total costs – based on merit, not an assessment of financial need – are extremely credible. Your daughter should be very pleased that her preparation and hard work have merited such awards. It is a very competitive world out there.”
This is great advice. Here is what you should do. Have your daughter accept an offer at the best school that she can get into and that you can afford. Then defer that offer to Autumn 2018. Second, make sure that she gets all A+'s in school this year and rocks her AP exams. Next, have her take the ACT again (and/or the SAT) maybe twice more to try and get a 33+. (Get the ACT/SATs done between now and June so by summertime you will have a feel for what your options will be for 2018). Then by using the advice here at CC, try again next year to get into some schools that will give her full tuition for her stats. Lastly, have her do something next year that she can earn some money and then do something consistent with her academic interests (research, volunteering at a museum, etc).
Also, just to clarify and not to give you a hard time, but if you do not qualify for need-based aid, why can you not afford the U Arkansas’ Honors College?
@clowncar I would not rule out going back to the schools and asking for more merit/financial aid. I have a friend whose son had way lower stats than your daughter and he negotiated for better aid at a small college that wanted his son for diversity - he was from the midwest and the school was in Vermont.You should be proud of your daughter’s accomplishments! I know how you feel about the GPA being lower because of the rigor of the coursework. My son has stats a lot like you daughter’s and his B’s are in accelerated math classes. It kills him in HS rank. I also wish I had pulled him from the accelerated math courses early on. I’m learning from my mistakes for my next child. Our middle math path can lead you to AP calculus and it would have been a better fit for my son.
She had been working as a professional writer for a couple of years when she applied, and she was told that her essay was the best of her year at several of the colleges she applied to. Her entire package told a very clear story about who she was and what she wanted, which in turn made clear that she was a good fit for her chosen colleges. My son was actually similar in that his specific (and, frankly, a little weird) wants only fit certain schools, but when they fit, it was resoundingly clear that they fit.
Personally, I don’t think the direct loan amounts are so onerous that they should be excluded, but you have to think hard on that as a family. Also, depending on summer jobs, the student can put away $4000 in the summer of working, which really does help.
I wish you the very best of luck in your search. I can’t help but think that there are plenty of schools in the northeast that would love to have an Arkansan.
Great advice, londondad. Regarding UArk Honors College… as stated several times above, we have some familial financial constraints. We can afford $10K a year at the most. My daughter has not received a financial award yet from UArk, but we have been told that awards are not a given and are not particularly generous. Assuming we get nothing, we still have a $15K deficit to overcome.
@zoosermom I agree. I would not sneer at taking the $5,500 per year and making your daughter pay that back when she graduates. Shouldn’t she have some skin in the game? Also, there are plenty of great careers for math majors so $22k in loans is not that big of a deal.
Are you certain your special circumstances do not meet financial need threshold at any of the schools she has been accepted to? Just because the FAFSA does not show need, perhaps you can at least call the finaid office at the school she likes best and find out how to get a additional review. It can’t hurt, although it may not work.
The other thing to do would be to look much further down the rankings and see if there are schools that might work and would offer her a lot of money.
I would not be all that hesitant for her to take out the federal loans, if that is the difference between going and not going to college. But not parent loans. Between that and her working while at school and maybe scrapping a couple of thousand more from your budget, you may be able to at least get her to U Ark.
Good luck.
Yes, with your $10K, her student loans of $28K over the four years total, summer earnings and work study (if eligible, if not, she can certainly find other jobs on or near campus) I would think your budget would start around the $20K mark, increasing each year with loan increases which will help with tuition increases. My D had similar stats and four schools came in under that budget. They are all in the northeast and in the top 35-65. If you’d like to know the schools, you can PM me. BTW, my D is a math/cs major.
@NEPatsGirl I love your can-do attitude 
Thanks @MotherOfDragons, we spent 18 months researching and visiting schools knowing our only hope was merit. Sometimes I feel like a semi-expert on the subject lol.
@clowncar It’s a shame she didn’t get a 32 on the ACT as that’s the cutoff for the largest merit scholarships at U of Arkansas. (Did she take the SAT as well?) Still, I see on their site several awards that she might qualify for - the maximum being 8K per year. With an annual cost of 20K for tuition/fees/room/board/books, a contribution from you of 10K, and a loan or part time work, this could be doable. Honors programs at state flagships can offer great value!
Believe me @mamaedefamilia, we tried to get her to the 32, but just couldn’t do it. She struggled to find the time to prepare with six AP classes and one of them in particular - AP Lit - has so much work I cannot even believe it. I know she should have worked harder in the summer, but at this point, it is what it is. She does have a 32 superscore, but UArk doesn’t superscore. She did not take the SAT. She will also be applying to the Fulbright College within UArk for scholarships she may be eligible for.
Find schools where she is a top student. That is how we did it for all of ours. I can suggest Missouri State and Tiffin University (2 of my kids go to those) – after guaranteed student loans, my husband and I are paying around $12k out of pocket each year. I thought that was fairly reasonable.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com
@clowncar Have you ruled out schools on this list? Not personally familiar with any Arkansas schools, but it looks like there are a few on this list that would give automatic full tuition or even full ride scholarships just based on your daughters stats alone.
Fayetteville may be much more appealing, but I was wondering if you had looked at these schools at all.
Deadlines haven’t passed but are closing in quickly.
@clowncar The direct loan would be HERS-- there is nothing wrong with that
Thanks @LOUKYDAD . I have looked at the list in the past but not recently. I will review it again.