<p>this ended up being a lot longer than i thought, sorry!</p>
<p>i know that previously i had a thread where i asked about applying ED to barnard and was advised against it and had decided against it myself, but i've changed my mind. mostly because i discussed the estimated EFC with my mom and it's a lot more doable than i thought. on top of that, for the past few months i've been going crazy looking for schools with the best financial aid, and none of the ones on my list are even comparable to barnard's NPC for my familyi know it's just an estimate, but it's so, so much better. i feel like barnard is my only chance at going to a private college without taking out ridiculous loans my first year, (for example, lehigh estimated $7500 in loans my first year...) and i REALLY don't want to ask my mom to try to take out any because she's dealing with enough. a few months ago i also came about scripps, but i was so in love with barnard i didn't pay as much attention to it. (the only reason i'm looking at women's colleges is because barnard has columbia and scripps has the consortiumi go to an all girls school now and i want a change.) someone recently suggested scripps to me on a thread here as well, and i'm really starting to love it too. it's the only school with a calculated NPC comparable to barnard's, and it even costs a little less. i really, really love barnard but now i'm having to think more about this. i know it's ultimately my decision, but it'd be nice to have some input too. </p>
<p>-i love barnard's size and location, for one, but i'm starting to wonder if i'm getting in over my head with the new york thing. i mean, obviously it's an amazing city with tons of opportunities but i'm wondering if it would actually be more of burden to someone like me who has to constantly worry about money. would it be a serious struggle? i know barnard gives workstudy and also has other job opportunities, but i don't know...but barnard has a lot of low-income students, though, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad? </p>
<p>-on the other hand, even though i live in the midwest, barnard is technically much closer to home than scripps. my mom is weary enough of me possibly going to school in new york; i don't know how she'd feel about california.</p>
<p>-scripps' financial aid looks a little better, but it's also a lot farther away. and it's much smaller...would the claremont consortium cancel that out? how close together are the schools? </p>
<p>-also, i've read that it's really easy to take classes at different colleges in the claremont consortium. i know those are high caliber schools, too, but columbia just seems like a whole other ballpark...if i got into barnard, where i hear it's common for girls to take classes at columbia, i think i would be nervous to because i just don't feel nearly intelligent enough to handle a school i never had a chance of getting into in the first place. are classes at an ivy league school really that much more intense? i know barnard is no cake walk, but my stats are much more on par with their averages. do you think they would let someone in who they thought couldn't handle that? </p>
<p>-scripps is a bit less selective than barnard and even though it's a holistic process, i feel like i have a better chance of getting into scripps than barnard. </p>
<p>it's come down to barnard and scripps because they have amazing financial aid and they're my two favorites. i'm trying not to put all eggs in one basket, but it's hard to when financial aid forces me too. in reality, i can't even afford my state school. do you think i should try for barnard ED and, if rejected, apply to early decision II at scripps? </p>
<p>this is really long and i'd be surprised if anyone read it, but i'd really love some input. thanks.</p>