<p>I have been reading numerous threads here, and quite frankly, I am really lost, as I think we are stuck at square one.</p>
<p>DD18 is in our satellite state school as a commuter, due to poor HS performance. So it didn't require much research into colleges. She had a decent SAT score, and lots of leadership/community EC's. She won numerous awards for Speech & Debate. She was also very athletic until she blew out her knee. </p>
<p>Now DS16 is different. He is top 2% of his grade, all honors/AP's. He is only involved in 1 or 2 EC's and due to orthopedic issues, no school sports either. He has already had several teachers offer to provide recommendations for him. </p>
<p>With DD18 we had an EFC of around $3K. Which is about what we are paying w/ DD18. I know this limits us financially where DS is concerned, as we really do not have the funds to fill any gaps in the financial aid awards larger than a couple of thousand. </p>
<p>What should we be looking at? He will apply to the local state school as a commuter, and even the Community College. He already knows that financing college is a huge hurdle and has to the main factor in attending college. He is very laid back and easy going, so he is OK with that. But, if it's possible for him to go elsewhere, that would be great to have as a n option.</p>
<p>It seems here everyone knows if a college is attainable, or the odds of getting into a particular school. I have been reading here, but need some guidance on how to get to that point. We live in NE PA. What, specifically, should we be looking at?</p>
<p>If your finances have not changed, your (DD18 + DS16) EFC should remain about the same if the same formula were used. If he could go to a school that meets full need, your additional expense should be minimal. Being in the top two percent, his chances could be good.</p>
<p>Here is a list of schools that meet full need:</p>
<p>Another school that meets full need but is not on this list is Reed College.</p>
<p>Another issue is finding the schools where his chance of admission is good. One way is to use this site’s [College</a> Admissions, Search, and Financial Aid Help from College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search/) by plugging in answers to various questions about interests, locations, GPA, test scores, etc. Another way is to google various schools’ Common Data Set and check sections C9 to C12 to see how he compares to the most recent entering freshman class.</p>
<p>It’s a daunting task, for sure. There are many here willing to help. :)</p>
<p>It seems that it may really pay off for him to learn about the process and get a nice list of target schools together. Look for schools Make sure you have him participate or even drive the exploration. My daughter got a near full pay situation at 4 private colleges and the worst case scenario would have been $20k in loans for the full 4 years.</p>
<p>You might get him a Fiske Guide to Colleges so he can spend a bit of time getting to know about different colleges and features that appeal to him. It is pretty cheap to order. Also look at the list of Automatic Scholarships listed at the top of the Financial Aid forum to see if any of those work, though the full rides are not as common as full tuition.</p>
<p>Don’t overlook your high school counselors. I get mixed reviews, but in many cases, they know a lot about local schools, scholarships and where to look. In many cases, they have better information than the people on this discussion group.</p>
<p>" Here is a list of schools that meet full need:
Universities That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report "</p>
<p>I did see this, and since most of these schools are highly selective, and DS is not distinguished via EC’s, doesn’t that take him out of contention is these?</p>
<p>" Another issue is finding the schools where his chance of admission is good. One way is to use this site’s College Admissions, Search, and Financial Aid Help from College Confidential by plugging in answers to various questions about interests, locations, GPA, test scores, etc. "</p>
<p>Ok, I’ve done this and we get a few schools that don’t offer any of his possible majors. When they ask about tuition, does that mean the schools actual tuition? or does it mean what we hope to be able to pay?</p>
<p>As far as the other guides mentioned here, we have already looked at them. I didn’t find Fiske too helpful. We have also looked at the Princeton Reviews “best” guides as well as numerous websites, like here. </p>
<p>We are either suffering from TMI, or he really doesn’t have much of a chance in attending anything else other than the Community College or local satellite school.</p>
<p>Make sure to look into Berea College. It’s a private college where donors make sure that all admitted students get a free education (they have to work on campus to help pay costs but still.) Only students whose parents make up to a certain amount can apply and it’s quite selective but being top 2% your son should be a match or even better. he should definitely apply because it’s better than local branch campuses and actually cheaper (there isn’t anything cheaper than free :p).</p>
<p>If your son couldn’t be in sports due to an illness or disability, it wouldn’t be counted against him, although his counselor should make sure to mention it. Of course he should have a couple ECs that don’t require athletic prowess and if he had to work outside of school, he should absolutely mention it (as should his counselor).</p>
<p>Since you live in PA, your son should apply to Shreyer at Penn State UP and to Pitt’s Honors Program. For these he’d need a 32 ACT (GPA and class ranks are within range already ) Unfortunately PA is not very good with financial aid, so much funding was cut with so many restrictions added that Penn State was even considering going private! </p>
<p>He could also look at Wabash, an all-male college with very successful alumni and excellent financial aid. Other colleges with lots of money per students include Olin (college of engineering), Grinnell, and all the top 20 private universities and liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>You might want to look in your public library to see if the book “the college solution” is available. If not it may be a good investment, and there’s a blog too. Good advice there, and you can email your questions too if you want answers from professionals.</p>
<p>“DS is not distinguished via EC’s, doesn’t that take him out of contention is these?”</p>
<p>Not necessarily. E.g., Reed’s published admission criteria are 20% which HS courses taken, 20% GPA + test scores + rank, 20% interview and recommendations, 20% essays, 20% ECs. A weakness in one area can be brought up by a strength in another.</p>
<p>“When they ask about tuition, does that mean the schools actual tuition? or does it mean what we hope to be able to pay?”</p>
<p>Look at each school’s Net Price Calculator; they’re said to be generally fairly accurate in predicting your actual cost.</p>
<p>With an EFC of 3K, you could be convincingly qualified as “bringing socio economic diversity” to a wealthy, elite campus. Colby College has a program where they fly promising students <em>for free</em> to spend some time on campus, sit on classes, stay in the dorms, talk with students (and interview in admissions). This is reserved to bright kids whose parents can’t afford to take them on college tours.
Your son could apply. The worst that would happen is that he doesn’t get in for the “Explore” program, and nothing’s lost. Deadline is 2 weeks from now though.
[Colby</a> College | Admissions & Financial Aid | Experience Colby](<a href=“http://www.colby.edu/admissions_cs/visit/ec/]Colby”>http://www.colby.edu/admissions_cs/visit/ec/)</p>
) Unfortunately PA is not very good with financial aid, so much funding was cut with so many restrictions added that Penn State was even considering going private! </p>