<p>Quite often I see mention of needing a super safety, a school you will almost certainly get into that will be very affordable and you won't mind going to. However, finding this school is harder than it seems.
If you guys could help me out, these are my stats and what I would like in a school:</p>
<p>Stats:
-2220 SAT
-33 ACT
-4.0 gpa uw
-school doesn't weight but most rigorous course load
-possibly nmsf (definitely commended)</p>
<p>ECs:
-lots including being nationally ranked in freestyle skiing and 250+ community service ( i ding think i need to list everything because most safety schools aren't too ec focused)</p>
<p>Wants:
-northeast (preferably VT, NH or MA)
-preferably near skiing
-strong physics and chemistry programs
-very good merit or need based aid ( family makes <$30000)
-preferably under 20000 kids (small to medium sized)</p>
<p>What is your state of residency? You may want to check if your in-state publics will be affordable on their net price calculators, or if they have assured large enough in-state merit scholarships; if so, these may be suitable safety candidates.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind northern NY, Clarkson U could end up being feasible. They are a decent need-based aid school with 15% getting full need met (average is 90%). My guess is your stats would make you a contender for being one of those full needs. You should certainly get in with your stats and ECs. Good skiing isn’t too far away.</p>
<p>I live in NY, I don’t believe SUNYs offer any automatic scholarships (correct me if I’m wrong), but I would be competitive for some of their other scholarships. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>“very good merit or need based aid ( family makes <$30000)”</p>
<p>What, exactly, has your guidance counselor told you about the HEOP process, and the TAP grants?</p>
<p>Is there a community college, SUNY, or CUNY within commuting distance of your home? With a Pell grant and federal student loans, you could probably study at one of those. A part-time job could cover your commuting expenses.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone, commuting is not an option, everything is to far away. I need to have a serious talk with my guidance counselor about finances, she seems to be stuck in “a smart kid like you will get plenty of scholarships and be fine” mode. Just so you know what I’m looking at, my current list of colleges is:
-Dartmouth (ED)
-Middlebury
-Cornell
-Barnard
-Wesleyan
-Boston university
-Alfred university
-MIT (why not?)</p>
<p>Just be very certain about your FA situation before you go ED. Dartmouth does sound ideal for you, and they are generous enough that the cost shouldn’t be a problem for someone with <$30k family income. But make sure you aren’t overlooking any factor that will cut into your aid (stepparent income, etc.).</p>
That’s not a “super safety”. That is a safety, period. If you won’t go there don’t apply. If you can’t afford it it’s not a safety but a waste of an application fee.</p>
<p>You might want to apply to Cornell which has good sciences (as a match). On UCBAlumnus’ list are Alabama and a few other large public Us which will have a good science curriculum.</p>
<p>How large is your class? Do you have any idea where you rank in class? Some possibilities include Holy Cross, St. Lawrence University and Skidmore College.</p>
<p>Another overlooked factor in determining financial aid that impacts many rural NYS kids is property. Many cash poor families in our area own a lot of acreage, which is considered by the colleges to be the same as money in the bank.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that Cornell does offer guaranteed transfer to a certain number of students each year who end up at the various community colleges within NY State. Some of those CCs have residential facilities, so if where you live is hopelessly remote (and I do agree that parts of NY State are indeed remote), that might end up being a workable option for you.</p>
<p>In your situation ED can be tricky. What the ED school thinks is enough aid, and what your family actually needs as aid may turn out to be quite different from each other. If your family has a small business, a divorce/remarriage, owns farmland, etc. etc. the Net Price Calculators at the college and university websites may not be good predictors for the aid that you will end up with. There are many sad stories about those issues in the threads in the Financial Aid Forum.</p>
<p>Alfred University will meet a very high percentage of need, so would St Lawrence, speaking from personal experience. Boston University will not, at least based upon the experience from students in our school district, you can always apply to BU and see what is offered to you.</p>
<p>Just to answer some questions:
I am applying to Cornell, sorry forgot to put it on my list
I am valedictorian of a whooping class of 32
Yes, I live in a super remote party of ny, 1hr to the closest anything (walmart, mall, college)
We don’t own a lot of acreage, but do own a small store, however that store was destroyed in hurricane Irene and rebuilding it had cost us or entire savings and put us in tremendous debt
On top of that, both my parents have had cancer and my brother is recovering from a traumatic spine injury (3 fractures in his neck) and even with health insurance the medical bills are mounting</p>
<p>Have your parents keep track of all their 2013 out of pocket medical expenses.
They can send a summary with the backup documentation to every financial aid office.
You may be able to get an allowance for that, but you must make every school’s FA Office aware of them.</p>