Thoughts on updated list? [4.0/34 ACT; Creative Writing, Studio Art (illustration/animation), Psychology; shooting for <$15K but there's wiggle room]

Did your family end up looking at the suggestions from the previous thread (such as these)?

I would take a look at the Common Data Sets of each school, particularly sections H1 and H2 which is where financial details are included. You can get a sense of what percentage of students are receiving financial aid, what the loan picture looks like, whether students with financial need are also receiving merit aid, etc. I would also look at the schools to see which ones have eliminated student loans from financial aid packages, as that could sway opinions about one reach vs. another.

Also, I would look to see if any of the schools have rolling admissions. Not only can an early acceptance feel great, but it can also give you a sense of how your application might appear elsewhere, especially for any schools that say they meet 100% of need but that are need-aware. (If a school doesn’t say they’re need-blind, they’re generally need-aware). That would mean that a school that would normally accept someone with your daughter’s profile might hold off because of the amount of financial aid it would be required to provide. Of course, I think that most rolling admission schools don’t promise to meet 100% of need, so it may not be quite the same thing in terms of what kind of a reading it might get, but it’s just something to be aware of. Due to that I would make sure your D shows a lot of demonstrated interest to the schools she plans to apply to. I would also consider (though maybe not follow-through) with more than 7-8 schools if there are need-aware schools in play rather than an automatic scholarship that she qualifies for that will get the school within the necessary price range.

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