Hello everybody! I’m really new to collegeconfidential (haven’t posted before but I have used it to look up questions) so hi!
Currently, I’m in a slight predicament. I’ve done a lot of research on financial aid, the common consensus being that mostly schools like HYPMS have the best financial aid. This is where I’m having a problem. I’m a fairly good student (3.91 unweighted out of 4.0 GPA, 4.36 GPA weighted) and overall I consider myself a decent applicant for some great schools like Duke and Dartmouth. I’m also applying to Harvard and another top Ivy, although I haven’t decided which and they’re both reaches for me. However, I want to look for some schools in the top 20-39 range to apply to as fit schools. My problem is most of them look like they won’t cover the financial aid I need. My parents have told me they will give me no more than 20k a year, most likely I will get 10-15k/year (My EFC is 30-35k). I’m okay with that, but it does leave me a fairly large amount of loans if I don’t get any financial aid at all. I’ve researched pretty much every school in this range (Rochester, Boston College, UNC, Tufts, CMU, etc.) It seems that while financial aid would be covered for those in a lot of need, I might get the short end of the stick. I live in virginia, so I will be applying to UVA and William and Mary, but I’d like to keep my options open in case that doesn’t work out. Any suggestions on what schools have good financial aid? For reference, I’m going to major in economics and computer science, hoping to get a master’s in finance or business.
Hamilton, Colgate and Middlebury offer among the country’s strongest financial aid, would be excellent for your academic/career interests, and fall into your desired selectivity range:
Your problem is that your parents won’t/can’t pay your EFC, it sounds like. That isn’t “getting the short end of the stick” in terms of FA – that is having parents who aren’t willing to part with that much of their income for your education. We can recommend schools that meet need (you can also Google that term), but except for the top half a dozen lottery schools, probably none are going to give you what you would like them to.
Have you run net price calculators on all the schools you are considering? What do the in-state college net price calculators look like?
I think it’s a little harsh to say that OP’s parents “aren’t willing to part with that much of their income for” his/her education based on the information contained in this post. EFCs are often such a huge chunk of a family’s income as to be an unrealistic assessment of what that family can actually afford. It may not be a matter of being “unwilling”; it may be a matter of “unable” given whatever the family’s other obligations are. It’s just hard to tell with the information in the original post.
OP, you reference financial aid, which leads me to believe you are thinking mostly about need-based aid. Even a school that pledges to meet 100% of need – and there are some, but most are pretty selective – is going to leave you with a gap of $10-$15K, since your “need” will be based on the EFC of $30-$35K and your parents will / can only contribute $20K. You can’t borrow enough to cover the gap, since there is a limit on how much a student can borrow each year and the limit is less than the gap you need to cover. If your parents really won’t / can’t contribute any more than $20K, you may have better luck with schools that offer merit-based scholarships or some combination of merit-based scholarships and financial aid, as opposed to schools that only offer need-based aid.
Unfortunately for kids in your situation, there are a lot of selective schools that only offer need-based aid, so you need to consider whether it is even worth applying to such schools, since you know you won’t be able to afford them.
But, there are some selective schools that do offer full and partial merit-based scholarships. Without knowing more about your academic stats, it is hard to know how competitive you would be for merit-based scholarships at very selective schools. If you do not have “tippy top” stats (and even if you do), it may be worth looking into some schools that are not as highly ranked, but that offer merit-based scholarships. Ranking isn’t everything, as I’m sure you know, and there are some very good schools out there that aren’t Top 40.
@intparent Yes I have run the calculators. UVA would be me paying full tuition and same with William and Mary. I don’t mean short end of the stick as in they’ll cover the remaining gap between EFC and what my parents will actually give me. More or less, I want to find a school that can cover COA-EFC so that I don’t have to take out as many loans. Thank you for answering me and if you have any suggestions for schools that meet need I would be grateful! I haven’t been very lucky in my search so far for those types of schools. @gclsports Sorry if I made it unclear, but my parents, realistically speaking, could potentially give me 20-25k/year if they really wanted to squeeze. While my mom is perfectly willing and wants to do so, my dad has put a very solid foot down. Renegotiation won’t work, unfortunately I’ve tried many times with different angles and even my grandparents don’t understand why. I don’t mind borrowing the money, but I’m not quite sure what you mean by the limit. Many students graduate with 150k+ in debt (not something I want or am willing to do) so I don’t think there is a limit on loans? I am applying to 2 lower ranked schools that could potentially give me a lot of merit aid (virginia tech and university of maryland), but I want to look at some schools that are higher ranked. My stats (if helpful): 1540 SAT (I might take again), 800 Math 2, 790 Biology, 750 Physics. Ranking isn’t everything, but I would like to see what options I have in the higher ranked schools. Thank you for your help!
Okay I’ve posted a reply before, but for some reason it deleted. So sorry if I’m spamming everyone!
@suzy100@gclsports Thank you for the replies! SAT 1540, Math 2 800, Physics 750 (I’ve never taken AP Physics), and Bio 790. My school doesn’t calculate rank but I’m considered a good student.
In terms of merit based scholarships, I will be applying to 2 lower ranked schools for merit aid, but I want to explore my options as fully as possible before committing to anything. Also, I’m not sure what you mean by limit to borrowing? There are plenty of students who graduate with 150k+ in debt (not something I want) but they had to have borrowed all that money. I want to apply for a UNC scholarship, although I’m not sure if they would award me it considering that the description is for people with leadership backgrounds and that’s not something I have a lot of. If you have any other suggestions for merit scholarships from good schools I would really appreciate it!
@intparent My parents could squeeze 25k if they wanted, but they won’t so I just have to accept it. For in-state schools I have very little chance of actual financial aid, maybe a couple grand at most. Mostly I want a school to cover COA-EFC so that I can borrow the remaining gap, instead of say CMU where I would borrow 35-40k/year. However, a lot of the schools I’ve been researching in the range I want might only promise 1st year full needs met, or the calculator has a higher EFC than HYPMS. Either way, my options seem pretty limited at the moment so any recommendations you have would be great!
@gearmom Could you explain further? I have a friend in college who’s taken out 35K total for his entire time in college, which is more than all of those added together. Or do you mean that my parents will have to take out loans for me? @ucbalumnus Yeah that’s where I’m running into a problem. Only Ivys are really the ones returning the numbers I want to see, whereas schools that are closer to what I’m currently researching tend to have me paying 40-50k/year, which is really not something I want. I am definitely keeping an eye on merit scholarships, however it seems most schools in the range I’m looking at offer relatively little. @merc81 Thank you so much for the suggestions. I noticed that those are liberal arts colleges, which I understand very little about. I’ve been looking them up, but in terms of my goals of getting a Master’s degree, would going to a liberal arts college make it any harder?
“Also, I’m not sure what you mean by limit to borrowing? There are plenty of students who graduate with 150k+ in debt (not something I want) but they had to have borrowed all that money.”
A student can borrow $5500 as a freshmane, $6500 as a sophomore, and $7500 for each of junior and senior years. Anything on top of that will require a parent to sign - and be on the hook.
You have great stats and may qualify for scholarships at some nice schools. Look at Miami University for example.
@suzy100 I think my parents will be okay with signing if I’m the one actually paying the loans when I get out of college. I should probably mention this, but I can’t stand the heat so places that are tropical/extremely hot I’m avoiding. Thank you for the suggestion though!
If you don’t pay, your parents end up with the bill. It is strongly advised to stay within your federal loan limits (27K total for 4 years) and not take out additional loans.
If you want to know how much financial aid is likely you can look in two places. As noted above using a net price calculator is normally fairly accurate unless your parents have complex finances. You can also look at a colleges common data set to see what percentage of students receive financial aid and merit aid. At first glance the common data set information looks complex or geeky but they have a wealth of information
If your parents can’t meet the EFC, you should probably look to schools that provide merit aid. Your stats are good, so there should be options. Washington and Lee has a merit scholarship that covers everything, if I remember correctly. And there are a lot of other schools that cover half or more with merit aid.
And liberal arts colleges, particularly good ones, put you at ZERO disadvantage for graduate degrees. Don’t rule them out.
Our EFC was quite high, too, but my kids still got very generous aid from some meets-full-need LACs. For one thing, EFC varies quite a bit from school to school when you’re talking about private colleges and universities; e.g., those which don’t only use the FAFSA. There was about a 10k EFC variance for my kids amongst their acceptances. And financial aid means different things to different schools…some include loans in their packages, some do not, etc, etc.
Every school is required to have a net price calculator on its website. Run a few, and see what you get.
Pick a few from this list. They’re all good schools, although a lot are reaches for just about everyone. But they’ve all got phenomenal need-based financial aid, and it sounds as if that’s what you’re curious about.
Amherst College (MA)
Barnard College (NY)
Bates College (ME)
Boston College (MA)
Brown University (RI)
Bryn Mawr College (PA)
Bowdoin College (ME
California Institute of Technology
Carleton College (MN)
Claremont McKenna College (CA)
Clark University (MA)
Colby College (ME)
Colgate University (NY)
College of the Holy Cross (MA)
College of Wooster (OH)
Colorado College (CO)
Columbia University (NY)
Connecticut College (CT)
Cornell University (NY)
Davidson College (NC)
Denison University (OH)
Dickinson College (PA)
Duke University (NC)
Dartmouth College (NH)
Emory University (GA)
Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
Franklin W. Olin College
Georgetown University (DC)
Gettysburg College (PA)
Grinnell College (IA)
Hamilton College (NY)
Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Haverford College (PA)
Harvard University (MA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Kenyon College (OH)
Lafayette College (PA)
Lehigh University (PA)
Macalester College (MN)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Middlebury College (VT)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Northwestern University (IL)
Oberlin College (OH)
Occidental College (CA)
Pitzer College (CA)
Pomona College (CA)
Princeton University (NJ)
Reed College (OR)
Rice University (TX)
Saint John’s College (NM)
Saint Olaf College (MN)
Scripps College (CA)
Sewanee: The University of the South (TN)
Smith College (MA)
Stanford University (CA)
Swarthmore College (PA)
Thomas Aquinas College (CA)
Trinity College (CT)
Tufts University (MA)
Tulane University (LA)
Union College (NY)
University of Chicago (IL)
University of Notre Dame (IN)
University of Pennsylvania (PA)
University of Richmond (VA)
University of Rochester (NY)
University of Southern California
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Vassar College (NY)
Wabash College (IN)
Wake Forest University (NC)
Washington and Lee University (VA)
Washington University, St. Louis, (MO)
Wellesley College (MA)
Wesleyan University (CT)
Williams College (MA)
Wheaton College (MA)
Yale University (CT)
Liberal arts colleges do not at all hurt your chances of attending graduate school. I would argue that they actually improve your chances! I attended a midwestern liberal arts college (a CTCL school), and most of my classmates (nearly 60%) headed to graduate school. I am biased, so I’m not going to preach the benefits of liberal arts colleges, but I will encourage you to take a look and learn more about them. Believe me, if you were admitted to a place like Swarthmore, Williams, or Middlebury, you wouldn’t be destroying your academic future!
Next, be sure and understand how EFC works. If your EFC is 35K, that is what your parents must pay, whether you attend Harvard or UVA. There is no getting around that. An earlier poster mentioned Middlebury, Colgate, and Hamilton. Yes, these schools are terrific with FA (just like the Ivies are), but only to students who have demonstrated need.
This is how college admissions and costs work. You’re in the same situation as many middle class or upper-middle class (or arguably somewhat wealthy) families. They are willing to pay for college, and pay a lot, but the EFC comes in and it’s like a punch to the gut. Or maybe there are three children in the family, and spending all the money on the first child won’t leave much for the other two. It’s tough. I know it.
Again, there’s no getting around that 35K EFC amount. Whether you attend Harvard, UVA, or even VCU, that 35K is what your parents must pay. The remaining amount is what the college must pay. This amount is your demonstrated need. If you can get into an Ivy, that Ivy will take care of every remaining penny, and they will not package loans as part of your financial award. That is the great thing about the elite colleges. They will take care of every penny of a student’s demonstrated need. Your demonstrated need will be whatever cost remains after your parents pay the 35K.
Sounds like you are looking for schools that would offer merit scholarships rather than need based financial aid, which is largely based around your parents income. Thankfully you seem to have done well in school and have good grades, so there should be a number of places that would offer that to you.
