trying to make a realistic list.........who wants to help?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My D is a white female from Long Island (middle class but w/ financial need- about 1/2 tuition)</p>

<p>Attends catholic prep school, GPA 97.4 (not sure if weighted or un weighted)
about 44 in rank out of 500 ( Just makes the end of top 10%)</p>

<p>SAT v750 m490( has studied w/ math tutor and is retaking 10/8)and writing was a 690 w/ 10 essay.</p>

<p>Will have 3 APs US history ( scored 5 in jr yr), Western Civilzation 1&2,Literature( will take AP Exam in May)</p>

<p>SAT subjects US history 780 and will take Literature 11/5/05 expect high score </p>

<p>Should have good rec from teachers of honors classes (English, western Civ, Studio Art-this one is extra if needed)</p>

<p>She is fine writer so I believe she will have good personal essay and short answers for app.</p>

<p>Very artisitic.....4yrs studio art in H.S. and 2yrs private art school, has her own website for art and photography. Has portfolio if asked to see it.</p>

<p>Ok.........with all that good stuff said.......</p>

<p>Here are some obstacles:</p>

<p>Not too much school involvement.........minimal Catholic League, Student Leadership, CARE club but not consistent or leader positions.</p>

<p>We can only pay about 1/2 tuition each yr and do not qualify for aid. Although our family has had some downward shifts financially this yr and will be filing a chapt 13 bankruptcy. Yet have also had an increase in income this yr from last yr. We have no savings outside her college custodial fund.
Not sure how schools financial aid offices will interpret all this and how it will affect thier decision for acceptance and for providing financial gap needed.</p>

<p>We are predicting that our best bet will lie in schools that offer Merit Awards.
However, she is in love w/ the humanities....English, Art, History, Classics possibly archeology. </p>

<p>We are under the impression that most Merit schools are pre-professional schools centering around business, school teaching and so on.</p>

<p>She is really hoping for graduate school w/ a hope towards a PhD. But our family funds are not suitable at this time for that kind of planning.</p>

<p>The dilema seems to rest in that while our financial situation seems to match a merit based school that appears more appropriate for a particular career path that she is not interested in, unfortunately the graduate path that she is so in love w/ seems to be an obstacle financially for us even at the undergraduate level. If she indeed wishes to attend the LAC's or universities that are popular feeders to graduate schools for the humanities.</p>

<p>So.....................
Perhaps someone will help us weed out which schools land a balance between</p>

<p>1) an excellent humanities base w/ a side of studio art and photography and graphic design.</p>

<p>2) a school that will produce a solid graduate school foundation.</p>

<p>3) she prefers an urban as first choice, suburban as second chioce but NOT rural medium sized school. Not way liberal not too conservative. She tends to be friendly but shy and likes artsy things and intellectual things but wants to have fun.</p>

<p>4) North east....New England area.</p>

<p>5)TUITION MUST NOT COST FAMILY MORE THAN 1/2 THE TOTAL PRICE!</p>

<p>Here is the list we have that seems to be it.........but we are open to suggestions for additions and cuts. We are parents of the first one off to college so please feel free to explain your answers,advise and share insights.........we value your experience.</p>

<p>the list:</p>

<p>Super Reaches that personality-wise fit but are probally out but are wishes:</p>

<p>Brown
Cornell
( Mom and Dad like NOtre Dame and Georgetown but she says ..."eh"..too far.)</p>

<p>Reaches financially but fairly close match academically:</p>

<p>Boston: Tufts
Boston College
Boston University</p>

<p>Connecticut: Wesleyan
Connecticut College</p>

<p>NYC: NYU
Barnard</p>

<p>HudsonRiver and North in NY: Vassar
even though these are Bard
somewhat rural the programs Skidmore
fit nicely for her </p>

<p>The Merit Award schools: Fordham
Quinnipiac
Manhattan College</p>

<p>Financial safety: Any Suny College or local
Considering Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Geneseo
But she really does not like rural and loves the city!</p>

<p>Would anyone care to take a stab at it then?</p>

<p>How do we find an urban, grad school prep college for a smart girl who wants to study the humanities but who's family can only afford 1/2 the undergraduate tuition and probally none of the graduate tuition?</p>

<p>She works and is saving along with us but tremendous amts of financial help will be needed over these next six years or more.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships are out there and she is trying to pursue them.</p>

<p>Also, any loans available most likely will be to no avail since we will not qualify for them this year due to Chapt 13 bankrupcy.</p>

<p>We welcome your helpful, positive advise.</p>

2

<p>good list so far. about grad school prep in humanities- it doesnt really matter which school you go to, as long as you do very well there.</p>

3

<p>luliztee-
You may still qualify for PLUS loans if you can get a co-signer. If you have substantial retirement accumulation, you may be able to qualify for a hardship withdrawal from your retirement under IRS regulations. It may be possible for your daughter to qualify for loans in her own name. You can then pay her back after the three years are up. PLUS loans are not dischargeable under bankruptcy but payments can be temporarily suspended. Your trustee will have some discretion as to whether to continue to pay education loans under the bankruptcy. Trustee probably will not like to see loans taken out just prior to bankruptcy but consult your lawyer. Maybe it would be ok to take PLUS loan out before filing. Perhaps you could delay filing until D has started school and get loans for her first year at least. The new law won't have much impact on Chap 13.</p>

<p>suggestions for colleges:
U of Rochester
Johns Hopkins
Syracuse U
U of Pittsburg
Fordham
Clark
Hamilton
Holy Cross
Dickinson
Hobart
Bennington</p>

4

<p>also, shes gonna need to get that math score WAY up for merit awards at most schools</p>

5

<p>Consider Bryn Mawr--IF you can make a strong case for Classics-Archaeology</p>

<p>Consider Mount Holyoke --they do NOT require SAT
(Drew also does NOT require it)</p>

<p>Goucher College could be a Merit possibility. --Not quite as far as Georgetown!</p>

6

<p>also, if she goes to a phd program, there are many programs that are fully funded, so you wouldnt have to worry about that.</p>

7

<p>make sure you understand how financial aid work -- outside scholarships can end up just reducing your financial aid. schools determine what the parents can pay -- that usually isn't reduced by outsidde scholarships.</p>

<p>there is a thread on the parents forum listing schools that offer good merit aid - have you looked through it?</p>

8

<p>I don't know where you got the idea that merit money is mainly available at pre-professional schools. There are many excellent liberal arts colleges that offer good merit scholarships. </p>

<p>My advice: broaden her search beyond the northeast. Competition for merit money is intense in the northeast due to the popularity of the location. Yet, in other parts of the country some excellent schools offer tidy merit money to attract students. For example, Beloit College in Wisconsin has one of the top undergraduate archeology programs in the country - a really excellent program. Your daughter would automatically be eligible for some merit money there. </p>

<p>If she insists on staying in the northeast, she may have to be more flexible about her urban requirement, but there are some great LACs just a few steps down from the ones on her list to look at. I'd also take a close look at Catholic schools like Villanova, Loyola of Maryland, Holy Cross, Providence College (RI) to see if they have any merit awards earmarked specifically for graduates of Catholic high schools.</p>

<p>Other schools to look into: Dickinson in PA, Grinnell in Iowa, Goucher in Maryland (she would not only be eligible for academic merit there but also for their art talent award - nice thing about Goucher is the ability to take classes at schools like Johns Hopkins. They have an outstanding historical conservation program that might interest your daughter too), Hobart and William Smith, Trinity U (San Antonio, Texas), Southwestern U (also Texas), Lawrence U (Wisconsin), Knox (Illinois), Wheaton College (Mass.).</p>

9

<p>Check out Wells. Merit aid is good, & you can take classes at Cornell. Maybe Bard? (Though it is very liberal.) Has a great reputation in writing, humanities-- and offers EA. Finally St Lawrence is a nice LAC in upstate NY which might be interested in a girl with your D's stats, though I don't know about the merit aid there.</p>

<p>I second Carolyn's advice about going outside "urban" and "NE."
EVERY kid wants NE and Urban (it seems!) so you may have to either shoot lower academically or go to a different location. Which would D prefer?</p>

<p>Seconding the women's colleges-- a great NE alternative with lots of good aid available. Bryn Mawr is very strong for grad school placement and haverford/Swat classes also available.</p>

<p>Look south too (Tulane, Vandy.)</p>

<p>Allegheny is a school in western PA that has a nice balanced feel, lower costs to begin with than many privates, and merit aid. Beloit was another one we liked a lot-- pretty much a Wesleyan-ish LAC but in Wisconsin. Lawrence University is another very appealing merit aid school in Wisconsin, more middle of the road politically than Beloit. Beautiful campus and a town of 120,000. With 1350 SAT my D was offered in the neighborhood of 10K-12K/year at each of these schools, and the COA at all three is closer to 30K than 40K.</p>

<p>Other schools out there offer in state prices to OOS kids who qualify-- maybe U Conn one of these?</p>

<p>I am very sorry for the financial situation you are going through. I know how stressful it is to have this to wade through in conjunction with the college process. ::hugs::</p>

<p>Really look at the numbers, because you may be better off spending down the college savings at one fell swoop for freshman year, and then qualifying for aid as a sophomore.... Not sure but maybe. Alternatively, if she is admitted w/out enough merit aid to a school she loves, maybe do a gap year and have her work for a year.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>