I think it’s just that too many students are more focused on getting into a school than how they are going to pay for that school.
That being said, there IS a shortage of low-income students at top schools like Ivys, Stanford, etc. even though these top schools have large endowments and great FA for needy students
Note this thread was intended for top students from poor families. Top!
Yes, we all read it.
And yet, there are thousands of very high stats (TOP!) students from low income families who apply to schools every year. The truth is that there isn’t enough space at all the TOP! schools for them.
I was (am) low income. I got into a top school that met full need. I got into a lesser ranked school that also met my full need. I know how fortunate I was- many of those in my situation are not and they should be prepared for that.
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I got into a top school that met full need. I got into a lesser ranked school that also met my full need.{quote]Why did you bypass the top school? Lesser school offered more money?
I am a parent of 2 top students who both graduated as valedictorians from a public high school. We are a single-income family, with little savings, as I have had a medical condition preventing me from working to earn any income since our children were born. While we don’t consider ourselves poor - we manage well with what we have - we do understand that many in our community have much more than we do. We live frugally out of need, but have been able to avoid going on federal assistance as my H has been able to provide modestly for us.
When we first started the college search process, I did not expect that both our children would get their UG degrees without any loans - but with S a senior at Columbia and D a freshman at Stanford, this is precisely how it will work out.
I give the credit to my pups who worked extremely hard, got stellar grades with extremely difficult courseloads - taking every AP offered - and had wonderful ECs, both in school clubs as well as volunteering in community organizations.
My pups both got perfect scores on their SATs, and had 4.0 UW GPA, and over 5 weighted GPA. Yes, I understand they were very special students - and they were both very lucky to land where they are. I have been blessed to meet many of their friends at these schools, and my kids are lucky to be around them - their friends are not just great students, but they are great people.
I have no doubt that many of their friends are paying more than we are, and many are paying far less, and when we think about this, it is really a blessing to all students. These elite schools have such a terrific FA policy that allows them to do this.
If the OP was intending this thread for families like ours, to encourage top students to apply to great schools that have fantastic needs-based FA - then I fully concur. Given our family’s financial situation, the FA at these schools worked out better for them than the full-tuition offer they could have had at Flagship State since they were valedictorians. As we know, full tuition does not cover full COA. Flagship state would have offered them loans to cover R&B, but C and S covered their COA amounts without them needing to take loans.
We have sacrificed a lot for our kids, and despite the fact that S teases that he would like us to buy him a car for graduation, he knows that it just isn’t reality for our situation.
Chances are, though, that very elite students will be able to figure out both that their chances of getting accepted into great schools that meet full need (minimal for all applicants), but also that they will have to apply to financial safety schools as well. These are top students, after all, and as such they are pretty smart kids skilled at solving problems.
“If the OP was intending this thread for families like ours, to encourage top students to apply to great schools that have fantastic needs-based FA - then I fully concur. Given our family’s financial situation, the FA at these schools worked out better for them than the full-tuition offer they could have had at Flagship State since they were valedictorians. As we know, full tuition does not cover full COA. Flagship state would have offered them loans to cover R&B, but C and S covered their COA amounts without them needing to take loans.”
Yes, I intended my post for students and families exactly like yours. I did not intend the post for middle class families who haven’t given a thought to paying for college. Nor did I intend my post for families where paying for college might mean no more vacations for a decade. Nor for families who believe that paying for a top school would be too risky or isn’t warranted. I did not mean my post for families living in houses worth over 200K who are unwilling to take out second mortgages. I meant my post for those very top students whose parents are low income and who are often dissuaded from applying to the top schools (with need based FA) because they don’t have money and don’t understand that they are precisely the type of student those schools are looking for. Those are the students who differentially benefit from attending a very top school but who are often dissuaded from applying to those schools.
And any hints that I don’t know what I am talking about are very ill informed. I know exactly what I am talking about. I’ve read every study and article (on this topic) out there and I am knee deep in the world of education. My post does not reflect any sort of judgement about whether middle class families should mortgage the farm to enable their child to go to the type of school I am talking about. I am simply saying my post was not intended for those students.
No one really disagrees with such students applying to such schools when they are likely get full financial aid (but some will have financial aid issues with divorced parents). But such students need safety plans, since many students applying to super selective schools get admitted to none of them.
I have no disagreement with the idea that every student needs to consider safeties. But I have seen posts on this site with very discouraging comments about affording top schools when the OP has outstanding credentials but comes from a background suggesting that they don’t have $$. One such post is why I started this thread.
@4kidsdad see my story here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19043624/#Comment_19043624
Long story short, I didn’t want to go to the higher ranked school. Ironically, I’m now there as a PhD student lol.