Tuition costs, fin aid, merit aid - forget it - focus on affordability

Paying for College
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<p>You are not rich and you are not poor. You've been saving for your S education for quite some time and have some money put away. Big State U is a good school, and costs about 25K per year. Your S has very good grades and can probably get into a Top 50 U or LAC. You'd like to send him there, but not if the difference between your desired school and Big State is $25K per year. You can probably stomach an extra $10K, maybe even $15K per year. Every school has a different NPC. And then, of course, they don't even have to follow this if they don't want to.There are 100 potential schools to look at and apply to -- a daunting task. </p>

<p>Does this sound familiar? I'm sure many of you may be in a similar position. All these schools say they meet 100% of need. But they get to define need! What a great game! My EFC per FAFSA is about $45K, which I honestly think is ridiculous as it will exhaust most, if not all, of my savings outside my house and retirement funds.</p>

<p>So the question I have to the wise people of this board is, based on your experience, which of the top 50 Us and LACs have NPCs (or offer packages) that might be more favorable to my situation and lower our total COA? </p>

<p>FYI, My S is 4.7 GPA and 2220 SAT</p>

<p>Thanks, in advance, for input</p>

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<p>The problem is that people seem to think that the flagship U is “not good enough”. Heck this site started as a place for parents to figure out how to get their kids in the Ivy League. Go look at schools where your son is in the top 10-20% AND the school is known for giving merit tuition discounts which not all “top schools” do…those are schools where he might get tuition discounts in the form of merit scholarships. Only then can you make the value decision if “those schools” are “better” than the state flagship…and this will vary fromm state to state and family to family. At an EFC of $45,000 you are better off “forgetting about need” and concentrate on merit tuition discounts if you are trying to keep your tab down. Then narrow it down by the major of interest, the size, the location. Not all kids are willing to go to every state in the nation. Mine have an adverse reaction to Nebraska and Iowa because we’ve driven through it far too many times on our way west. Just approach the whole thing logically. If you HAVE a budget (and we did…and it was lower than our EFC) you have a moral obligation to share that with your kids.</p>

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<p>*So the question I have to the wise people of this board is, based on your experience, which of the top 50 Us and LACs have NPCs (or offer packages) that might be more favorable to my situation and lower our total COA? *</p>

<p>What is your goal? I can’t think of many/any top 50 schools that would give your child merit to bring cost down to $30k or so. </p>

<p>Your son’s SAT is quite good, but at many Top 50 schools, it wouldn’t even be in the top quartile. Top 50 schools tend to give very few merit scholarships…and only give them to those with tippy top stats (like 2350) and have some other hook.</p>

<p>I think you need go go down in ranking if you want to see large enough merit to cut into COA.</p>

<p>BTW…your FAFSA EFC may be $45k, but your CSS calculation may be higher since they look at other things like equity and such.</p>

<p>What do you want to pay each year? $30k???</p>

<p>What is your child’s major?</p>

<p>*At an EFC of $45,000 you are better off “forgetting about need” and concentrate on merit tuition discounts if you are trying to keep your tab down. *</p>

<p>I agree. Only HYPS might give some need-based aid to get cost down, but SAT might need to be higher to be competitive…unless the student is a URM or from a rare state or has some hook.</p>

<p>*My S is a jr in hs. I am pretty sure he is going to go to a CSS school. I have been saving for his schooling since he was a little kid, and have some money in 529s. I also have some money invested in mutual funds. I am fairly certain that these assets would be assessed at 5.6%. My feeling is that with the way the markets are right now, 10% would be a great year, but 7% is more realistic. After taxes, this would put me about even with the 5.6% CSS asset assessment. I have no other non-retirement assets except my house. My income is such that I could get about a $25 - $30K EFC from a CSS school, a lot of which could be paid by the 529s.</p>

<p>It is my understanding that CSS schools do not look at equity in your house as an asset. I know that is the case for sure with one school we are very interested in. I am thinking of selling the mutual funds and paying down my mortgage. This is not a bad thing to do necessarily anyway. I can get a HELOC if I were ever to need additional funds. This would effectively shield the mutual funds from CSS EFC. What do others think of this strategy?*</p>

<p>There are a few CSS schools that don’t look at equity or don’t look at equity for low income students, however MANY CSS schools do look at equity.</p>

<p>Frankly, it looks like CSS schools are going to expect you to be full pay - except maybe HYPS. Even if they determine your “family contribution” to be in the $50k range, many will give loans and work-study to cover “need”. Many won’t give grants for EFCs of that high.</p>

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<p>Personally, I think 25-30K a year is plenty to pay for your son’s schooling, unless you have it to burn. I glanced at your previous posts and it shows your son is presently a junior. Good, now is the perfect time to be having these discussions with yourself & your son.</p>

<p>Unless your son is an underrepresented minority (URM) or has some other kind of ‘hook’, his stats are–with all due respect–average for a Top 50 school. With your EFC, expect a $50-55K per year LAC to be knocked down to maybe $40-$45. maybe a little better than that at certain schools, with merit aid. Sure, that scholarship looks nice, but the net cost is your focus.</p>

<p>I am a big proponent of state flagships, in-state or OOS. For the student who is not locked in to a career choice at 17-18–and what kid is?–these universities provide unlimited wiggle room to switch majors and try out different avenues, and are highly regarded besides. You don’t say what state you reside in, but there are many flagships that are in the above price range for in-state. And OOS flagships can fall within that range too. I know, I did it twice, with minimal scholarships for both my D’s. Better yet, most of them do NOT require the CSS Profile, which is intrusive & vague on its best day.</p>

<p>However…I would have your son apply to at least a couple of Top 50 LAC’s just for the heck of it. You never know if your son’s merit application will be viewed by a benevolent soul on that given day, and that LAC will magically fall into your price range. And from a campus visit standpoint, it’s always a good idea to see all shapes & sizes of schools on a firsthand basis.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>There are a few highly ranked schools that offer merit. Many require a nomination from the high school (UNC Chapel Hill - Morehead-Cain, Emory Scholars, Boston University Presidential Scholar), These are VERY competitive. I would suggest have your son take the SAT’s again, and also take the ACT. Ask his counselor if he would be considered for nomination. </p>

<p>My D1 was offered nomination by her HS and declined most of them because she was not interested in the particular school. She did win the one she entered (full tuition) and since it was pure merit she could add her outside scholarships ($9,500) to that award. This brought the cost down to <$10k. Start your research and bring up those SAT/ACT scores.</p>

<p>BTW - she didn’t end up attending that school.</p>

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<p>Parents often ‘wonder’ what other parents will pay…I’m in agreement with this. That is $100,000 - $130,000 for an undergraduate education. Back when we were in our early thirties and having babies, we “budgeted” for $80,000 and the escalation in costs as far exceeded our generally conservative planning…so it matters not a wit to us what the federal government or some college “expect” us to pay…</p>

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<p>You try a bit of everything. Everyone should have a school in the pocket that is the likely school where the student is certainly able to go and is definitely affordable. Once you have a school like that on your list, you can start moving outward in affordability circles.</p>

<p>By filling out some CSS PROfile estimators, you can get an idea what financial aid is likely from the private schools. There is a list here on the board that gives an indication as to what schools use what for home equity, Call some financial aid departments and find out how certain holdings. You can then get a list of some schools where the prospects of financial aid are higher than others. You then look at what merit aid is out there where your son might have a shot and add those schools to the list. </p>

<p>In my personal situation, we do not qualify for aid. But we are in a situation where $35K a year is what we can afford before getting into some areas where other members of the family and other situations begin to erode that we do not not want to compromise. That’s a $25K ga[ that my kids faced with absolutely zero prospects of financial aid. They worked and saved, so they had money they could contribute and they could continue to work, both in the summer and during the year, so that was another source of funds. They could also borrow $5500 on their own, freshman year and that gave them some room too. But the bottom line was that without some give from the schools, they could not go to a $60K sticker price college, so any of those that did not give a bit of sweetener went off the table. But a number of good schools did bite and bring their prices within affordability range. Most of the OOS publics were affordable, all of our state publics were, commuting to any school, public or private was doable and those schools that had slightly lower COAs and were willing to throw in $5K or more merit award were possibilities. SInce your student appears to qualify for some need, there will be more possibilities within the merit/need awards where at some schools even $1 of need qualifies you for awards that will cover more than the need. Outside awards can figure into the picture too. Also some schools with difficult admissions are the most generous in need. You have to look around and see what is possible.</p>

<p>My one son is at a top priced selective LAC with a nice but not huge merit award, and the other is at an OOS public that he preferred to our state schools. Another went to a state school after weighing the choices, but choices he did have even within our cost limitations.</p>

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<p>You may be able to find a smaller private school where your DS will get more personal attention, but where geographically are your considering? Baylor & TCU in TX, Chapman, St Mary’s, etc. in CA, Whitworth & Gonzaga in WA all give merit aid for scores & GPA which may bring the cost down to be the same as your flagship, but with more personal attention.</p>

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<p>I think what you’re looking at s the discounter schools. The schools that know they need to come in not too much above your state school, so give some “merit” aid to most. Look at the common data sets for schools offering merit to 50% plus. They tend o e LACs ranked between 20-50. Then look at the Us like Alabama that are eagerly trying to climb in rankings by buying strong students who’d never otherwise glance in their direction. Those will give you the lowest COA. </p>

<p>These are pretty much the choices unless your kid can get into HYPS or get the rare merit from top schools like Duke and WashU which will generally require the Profile it takes to get into HYPS (2350 plus, Val, amazing ECs).</p>

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<p>Is the 4.7 a weighted GPA on 4?</p>

<p>I think there is a reasonable chance to get merit scholarships in some top 50 schools that do offer them. Some state schools out there (Pitt, Alabama come to mind) will probably give you full tuition waivers (I know Alabama will).</p>

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<p>Even URMs who have similar economics to you will not get much in the way of scholarships. A $45K EFC indicates a decent income and assets. I know, it’s distressing, but you are in much better shape than most.</p>

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<p>The advice you have received from somemom and Waverly are the same I would give. LAC’s might take a shine to your kiddo because he is a boy! I am a fan of LAc’s because of the size and personal attention.</p>

<p>SMU, TCU, Baylor, Pepperdine, USD, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, Whitworth, Furman, Richmond, are all choices I would say would be ones to look at. However you need to also look into schools that would appeal geographically for you and your son as well as major, school size and type, etc. </p>

<p>One thing I can tell you, folks here are a wealth of knowledge and will give you great ideas.</p>

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<p>

College is expected to be paid from savings, current income and future income (loans). It sounds like you can afford out of current income and savings. Congratulations. Why does the school have to be in the top 50? Rankings mean nothing. Your child will be challenged at any number of schools. It’s great you’re considering the cost in advance so you can shape the school selection.</p>

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<p>There are hundreds of very good LACs and small universities that would love to have your son, that would bestow huge aid awards, and that would give him access to just as good an education and equivalent career opportunities as the (mostly overpriced) so-called “top whatever” schools. Research shows that what a student does at college is much more important than where he or she goes.</p>

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<p>There are many, many OOS publics that would give your son alot of merit. Pitt, Uconn, Ohio State, UAlabama, etc. My DS whose stats were a little less (2110 sat) also received great merit from Case Western and Northeastern. So there are choices out there.</p>

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<p>I think this is pessimistic. There are a lot of schools in the 30-50 range that would give merit for a student with the OP’s son’s stats. I don’t know what a 4.7 means, but if you have, say, a 3.7 out of 4 UW and had M + CR score of 1400 or higher, there are many liberal arts colleges that will offer merit. And at a liberal arts college these days, being a boy is a hook in itself.</p>

<p>P.S. being a boy can help in admissions. I don’t think it helps in getting merit.</p>

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<p>*Quote:
Unless your son is an underrepresented minority (URM) or has some other kind of ‘hook’, his stats are–with all due respect–average for a Top 50 school.</p>

<p>=============
I think this is pessimistic. There are a lot of schools in the 30-50 range that would give merit for a student with the OP’s son’s stats. I don’t know what a 4.7 means, but if you have, say, a 3.7 out of 4 UW and had M + CR score of 1400 or higher, there are many liberal arts colleges that will offer merit. And at a liberal arts college these days, being a boy is a hook in itself.*</p>

<p>NJSue…I think the person is talking about Top 50 national universities when he says that the student’s stats are average.</p>

<p>There really aren’t any Top 50 national u’s that would give him merit. If you mix in some Top LACs in there as well, they may not either. The OP talks about top 50 U’s and LACs.</p>

<p>When I read the OPs post, I took it to mean the Top 50 national univs with some of the top LACs mixed in there as well (like Williams, Amherst, Swat). </p>

<p>I’m not even sure if Grinnell would give his scores much merit. Might depend on his M+CR. I don’t know at what point Grinnell gives merit (top 10%???), but to be in the top 25% the M+CR has to be about a 1450+…but don’t know if that’s high enough for meaningful merit.</p>

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<p>You never know. There are schools with specific scholarships that target their own specific interests. A young lady I personally know from the midwest got one of BC’s coveted scholarships with numbers similar to the OPs when a number of other kids I know were passed over with stronger stats. It’s not just the numbers the colleges seek.</p>

<p>However, any time you are looking for money, particularly a lot of it, it’s like playing the lottery. Nothing wrong with buying a few tickets , but betting the house is not a good idea. As long as there is an absolutel affordable safety and some other likelies on the list and the understanding that those are the schools are likely, nothing wrong with taking some chances.</p>

<p>And, yes , being a male can help in merit money too, though not in the big dollars.</p>

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<p>Yes, I should have said that URM is a hook like state champion in track is a hook, and every hook is a chance at more merit or admission at highly-selective schools. The stats of the OP are absolutely ‘average’ at these schools, but probably in the top 2-3% nationally. Something to think about…</p>

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<p>There should be a lot of great schools that will offer your S merit aid. Don’t let the US News list be the be-all and end- all. You should define more of what your son is looking for in terms of size, majors, location, etc. LAC in the MW? Try Grinell, Macalester. Medium-sized U? Tulane, U. Of Rochester. You might also look at schools that have harder to get merit awards, like Vandy and Emory, with the understanding that your S could attend only under certain conditions. And make sure to check out your state flagship.</p>