<p>My son wants to study neuroscience and or chemistry. We are a LOW income family and need 100% demonstrated need met or very close to it. </p>
<p>His SAT is 1970 (CR 600 MATH 790 WR 580)
Top 5% of his class.
The most rigorous course schedule possible. (Every AP available)
He works 24 hours a week on top of this and helps at the church. </p>
<p>Which schools that offer generous financial aid packages should he be applying?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help or thoughts</p>
<p>Which state do you live in? I would suggest looking at private colleges, because even though they tend to be much more expensive, the financial aid is much more substantial than that of most state schools. Is there any place he has in mind?</p>
<p>He’s applying to JHU, Duke, Vandy, Cornell, and UVA to name a few because of the financial aid. But I feel like all the schools that give generous aid are a reach except for maybe UVA. His “safe” schools he is applying is Colgate and maybe Lafayette. He also feels UNC Chapel Hill is safe but Im worried he’ll get denied from all. </p>
<p>We live in Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Is it unrealistic getting into any of these schools?</p>
<p>Duke: Reach
Vanderbilt: Reach
Cornell: Reach
Colgate: Reach
Lafayette: Match (pay attention to interviews)
UVA: High match
UNC: Reach</p>
<p>All of those colleges are reaches for your son, with most of them reaches for just about anyone. UVA and UNC are extremely difficult for OOS kids and Lafeyatte is need award in admsiisons. THe numbers on Duke, Vanderbilt, Cornell and Colgate, put your son in a reach category there. </p>
<p>Which is fine. THose are all schools where if he does get accepted, he would get full need or close to it met. But for ALL applicants, there should be some schools that are sure to take him and are affordable. Some local schools should be on that list as well as some schools where his weakest stats still put him way up there in the student pool. Those are the likely schools on a student’s list, particularly if there is high need, because it is frankly very tough to get a lot of money for college. Most students do not get such awards, so if there is high need, some sure things that are affordable should be on the list. That is the challenge of putting together a college list–finding schools that are not so well known that meet the needs of the student and are affordable. Hopefully, your son has some on his list, and if he does not, it’s time to get those shirt sleeves up and start looking.</p>
<p>I think it’s better to go to a private school in Pennsylvania because then you could get state aid + institutional aid + federal aid.</p>
<p>thanks for the reply cpt, what do mean by “Lafayette is need award in admissions”</p>
<p>^My guess is that it’s a typo, and is supposed to say “need aware”. In other words, the fact that he needs substantial FA may hurt him in the admissions process.</p>
<p>ugh. i was afraid of that. I should have included a couple more safe schools. Im afraid now he will be going nowhere. disastrous planning.</p>
<p>Have him apply to Pitt and Penn State ASAP, they have rolling admission and the in-state tuition is not too awful.</p>
<p>When i ran the numbers on pitt and psu it said I would have to come up with 15k after pell loan and grants. Cant do it</p>
<p>Not to be rude, but there is a chance he will be accepted nowhere, he needs to apply to a rolling admission school or two that has lower standards then the ones currently on his list, and you are limited to ones where he will get in-state tuition. I can understand not wanting to take out loans, but he may have to (there are worse things in the world), he can work in the summer and during the school year to help with the cost.</p>