<p>Next year when I enroll in college, I will have two siblings in college as well and no money saved. Therefore it's absolutely vital that I get financial aid from somewhere. My question is, what types of schools should I apply to to likely get more financial aid? Should I apply to selective schools with large endowments, or smaller/regional/less academically known schools to have a chance at merit aid? I need help!! (FYI my dream schools are Hopkins, Penn, or Haverford.)</p>
<p>You need to apply to both types of schools…reach schools with endowments and schools with large merit…very large merit…full tuition or more.</p>
<p>If you are truly low income then a well endowed college with good FA is a good option. If, on the other hand, you are a middle/high income family which just doesn’t have the $ to pay for college then merit aid is a better option. In both cases you’ll need good grades and stats. Look at the sticky threads at the top of this forum for some merit aid options.</p>
<p>*I really, really want to go to JHU. I will apply early decision since this will increase my chances. What are my chances of getting in and getting some form of financial aid? **If it costs more than 30k after need-based/merit aid I probably can’t attend…</p>
<p>GPA: 3.96 (UW) 4.6 (W)
Ranked 10 of 234, top 5%</p>
<p>SAT: (Superscored) M: 610 CR: 680 W: 750 (I know, not great. This is considered amazing at my school. I don’t think I’ll take it again, took 3 times)</p>
<p>ACT: Will study A LOT over the summer and take in fall, I anticipate a score higher than my SAT, esp. in math.</p>
<p>SAT2: US History: 740
Literature: 650
Will study and take Lit and Math 1 and/or 2 in the fall.*</p>
<p>How much are your parents paying for your siblings to attend college?</p>
<p>In your post above, it suggests that your parents will pay $30k per year for you. Is that true? Are you sure? That would be $90k per year with 3 in college. Some can do that, but many can’t. </p>
<p>In your other thread you mention wanting to go to a great med school. You need to know that EVERY US MD school is a “great med school”. The US only has excellent med schools. There aren’t any “so so” ones or “subpar” ones. They’re all excellent. They all teach the same things, etc. The education is flat. </p>
<p>Med schools aren’t like undergrad schools. The med schools that sit on lowish ranked undergrad campuses are still excellent. </p>
<p>You have a 1290 Superscored M+CR. JHU is not likely. I doubt JHU cares much about the Writing score. </p>
<p>Are you retesting? You should take the ACT …you may do better in the Math section since it’s less tricky. </p>
<p>Seriously, if you want to go to med school, the LAST thing you should be doing is going to a school where your stats are modest. Your premed classmates will be much stronger than you are and they will grab all the A’s in the class, and you’re more likely to end up with a GPA that’s not med school worthy.</p>
<p>Your focus on a “top med school” is skipping an important step…undergrad and the resulting cum GPA and BCMP GPA. We see this all the time. Premed stretching to go to reach schools where their stats are modest, and then after the first year they’re reporting that their GPAs are in the low 3’s or even 2’s!!! And, then med school, any med school, is less likely going to happen. </p>
<p>If you truly want to go to med school then go to a school that you can afford without much/any debt and where your stats are strong. Study hard, grab the A’s, study for the MCAT, do medically related volunteer work, shadow doctors, ask Profs if you can help with their research, etc…and then apply to med school.</p>
<p>Savannahstar, Mom2college is absolutely right. </p>
<p>What you need to know is how much your parents are willing and able to pay for your college. You then need to get some estimated income and asset figures from them and see what some colleges you are considering will expect your parents to pay. Bear in mind that if there will be three of you in college in a year, that might be a year where you get more aid, and then when they are out of school, your aid will certainly decrease if it is a financial aid award. So you should get some idea of what the costs would be and the aid you get as they leave college. Some people get gob smacked when that happens.</p>
<p>Unless you are in some special category for consideratin, Hopkins is almost certanly not going to take you as a premed, and for you to maximize your chances of getting into med schools, you might want to go to a school less rigorous. Schools like JHU gate keep and cull so that those applying to med school have already gone through a selection gauntlet, and I’ve seen some excellent prospects not make it thorugh the process when a less competitive school, one nurturing that wants to help those premeds get into med school and are proactive that way, would have increased their chances a lot. Some Catholic school I know have premed programs that do just that, as well as any number of LACs where the academics are good, and premed counseling and support is there.</p>
<p>Without more info, it’s hard to say what to do. What are some NPC results for your family, and what is your family estimated EFC? What are parents willing to pay for you and will there be less restriciton on that as your siblings finish school? </p>
<p>The most important and the most difficult school to have on your list are the ones that you know you can afford and that will take you. Finding something with the courses you will need and an environment that you like is a very tough part of the college search. It’s always easy to cherry pick. Not so easy to find a hidden gem, not up there in the ratings, that can get you where you want to go. Once you have some such schools, you can just pick up the lottery ticket schools and appy away to them, because that is exactly what they are. You have to get accepted and then you have to get the money to afford going there.</p>
<p>Cptofthehouse,</p>
<p>Thank you, that is very helpful. Maybe I am being too idealistic by looking mostly at selective schools that I can’t really afford… Our EFC is about 15k and NPC at Hopkins came out as 5k in debt, but that was assuming I would get a 50k institutional grant, which probably wouldn’t happen…</p>
<p>Our EFC is about 15k</p>
<p>that would be “per child”. What are your parents saying? How much will they pay per child with 3 in college?</p>
<p>Since you’re not likely going to get accepted to JHU, you need to have back up schools…especially affordable ones.</p>