<p>My daughter already has a nice list of some really good schools that don't cost a fortune (she has a couple of fairly inexpensive private schools on her list, such as Berry College in GA and Elon College in NC that are less than $25,000 per year).</p>
<p>She also has several out-of-state public colleges, where, if her test scores are good enough, they'll waive the out-of-state portion and then it doesn't cost anymore to send her there than it would be to send her to an in-state college here. </p>
<p>And, of course, she has several in-state colleges on her list, too.</p>
<p>However, she's also interested in a few schools that are fairly expensive -- Duke, Wake Forest, and Davidson to name the top three. We're talking $35,000 to $40,000 per year.</p>
<p>My husband doesn't want her to get her hopes up, or get her heart set on one of these schools, only to find that there's no money to attend.</p>
<p>So I'm here to ask exactly what ARE the odds that she'd receive any money at all to attend these schools? (She's a Freshman, so she hasn't taken any standardized tests yet, but she's a good student -- straight A's. She volunteers a great deal and is also involved in community athletics.)</p>
<p>And what portion of the funds granted would be in loans or in expected family contributions? (We don't make alot of money, that's for sure!! My husband runs his own small business).</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for putting his mind at ease!!</p>
<p>There is some website that has been posted before in the financial aid and parents' forums on cc that will tell the percentage of students who receive aid from any particular college, as well as the percentage of grants to loans. Unfortunately, I don't know where it is. You might post asking about it in the financial aid forum.</p>
<p>A lot depends upon your EFC, which you can determine (or get an estimate) from EFC estimators--I think there are a couple linked somewhere on cc. Many of the top colleges will "guarantee to meet need," which means they will provide aid up to the cost of the college, after deducting the amount your family is expected to pay. Having your own business does tend to work against that, I have heard, tending to make the EFC higher. But try an estimator and see.</p>
<p>Top schools are not necessarily an impossible dream, but shouldn't be counted upon either. For my older son, it turned out that his most expensive college was actually the cheapest to attend, because they gave more grants than loans, and our EFC was quite low at the time. So it is possible.</p>
<p>Right now, to enhance chances for outside scholarships and such, your daughter should continue to work hard at academics and continue involvement in outside activities, aquiring some leadership in those areas eventually. all the usual sort of stuff. :)</p>
<p>To get a very rough idea of where you stand, try our EFC</a> Calculator. Each school calculates the family contribution in a different way, though - they may ask for data on their own form, or ask for the CSS Profile (another aid form, even more detailed than the FAFSA).</p>
<p>Not every school will meet 100% of the difference between total cost and your EFC, and even those that do will probably use loans for some of the aid package.</p>
<p>Private schools with good endowments can vary widely from the EFC in the amount they offer. Find out the amount of each school's endowment, their average award, the percentage of students receiving aid, and the student's average debt load. This will give you a better idea of what you're dealing with.</p>
<p>I'm not familiar with the policies of the schools you mentioned, but you should be able to find the information you need between sites like princetonreview.com and the schools' own websites. Look for schools that:
1. admit on a need blind basis
2. offer need based aid and are committed to meeting 100% need for the students they admit.<br>
3. are committed to graduating students with reasonable debt loads.</p>
<p>If your daughter can get into such a school, it might not be easy, but it should be possible for her to attend. Some of these schools have great endowments and are willing to pay for the students they choose. Judging by my daughter's experience, I have to say it would be downright foolish to pass up a desired but expensive private school without first checking its financial aid reputation.</p>
<p>You can PM me for more details if you'd like.</p>
<p>I am getting all but $6,000 from the University of Chicago (for my freshman year), a school with possibly the highest pricetag in the country, approaching $50,000. </p>
<p>It is possible to get money. Of course, I will have a full-time job over this summer (I have a part-time one now.), and I will do work/study during the schoolyear.</p>
<p>You should have your daughter try for the expensive schools; if she doesn't, there is no way of knowing how much money she could get. :)</p>
<p>Based on our experience, I would say that if you are lower income (<$60K per year), your daughter will probably have more success in getting need-based aid than merit aid, even from top schools that do give merit aid. This is true even if she has stellar stats and activities. Smart white girls are over represented in the applicant pool and generally have to have something that really stands out to the college in order to receive an excellent merit scholarship.</p>
<p>A school that comes to mind that will combine financial aid with merit awards is Lafayette College in Easton PA. If you score higher than 1400 on the SAT I they will give you around 10-12k merit.
Other LAC's have similar deals. Unlike the Ivies they aren't constrained by scholarship policies but they use merit money to lure accepted students.</p>