<p>We're just beginning our college search and I've lost my job. I'd appreciate any suggestions for colleges that meet financial need as identified by NAFSA. My child: ACT=31, SAT=800 verbal, 700 math, 740 writing. Unweighted GPA about 3.1, not a high rank in her class.</p>
<p>thank you</p>
<p>US News & World Report publishes a list of schools that claim to meet full need. We'll be updating this list Money</a> & Business: Schools That Say They Meet Full Need - US News and World Report in a couple of weeks, when we come out with this year's rankings. It's important to remember that schools are allowed to define "need" any way they want. So some of these schools meet a need that is, for example, your EFC plus $5,000. We'd love to be able to tell you exactly who really meets your EFC with grants, and not loans, but this is the best data available right now. Also, the Project on Student Debt maintains a list of schools that have pledged free rides to low income students.
Good luck, and check our new list in a few weeks.
Kim Clark</p>
<p>"Guaranteed to meet your financial need" could mean a number of things. A school could give you a financial aid package that simply consists of a PLUS loan and other student loans and they will have still met your need.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comment, but US News is well aware of the way many colleges package PLUS Loans. Our definition of "meet full need" specifically excludes plus loans.</p>
<p>OP, </p>
<p>Looking for schools that meet 100% of need based upon FAFSA is a good approach. Profile generally results in a higher EFC, especially if you have significant equity in your house. If you will have multiple kids in college at the same time, FAFSA-based EFC is also better Profile. Also, look for schools that have eliminated loans, or limit loans, in their FA packages. Unfortunately, most of the schools that have generous aid are very hard to get in to, especially with a 3.1 GPA. All is not lost however. Mid-year grades will be extremely important to your daughter's applications. If she can get all A's it will help. One school to consider in terms of great aid and acceptance is U Richmond. </p>
<p>He is a fairly recent article about schools with good aid.</p>
<p>The</a> New York Times > Education > Image > Tuition Free, Loan Free, Debt Free</p>
<p>
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Thanks for your comment, but US News is well aware of the way many colleges package PLUS Loans. Our definition of "meet full need" specifically excludes plus loans.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I am glad to see that explicitly stated. I read here all the time that accusation about full-needs schools meeting need with Plus loans etc., and I didn't think anyone ever gave a real instance of it.</p>
<p>Perhaps what misleads people is schools like my S's, which met our full need with STafford, w/s, and grant, but then offered PLUS in the amount of the EFC, if we should want to go that route (which we didn't.) The PLUS was above and beyond the need (which was calculated very transparently.)</p>
<p>The schools that guarantee to meet full need without any loans are the MOST competitive schools in the country for admissions. The first hurdle is for the student to be accepted. There are tons of students with outstanding standardized test scores, and excellent grade point averages and class ranks applying to these schools. </p>
<p>I hate to say it...but that 3.1 GPA is somewhat low for a student with the standardized test scores you posted. I have to wonder how competitive this student would be for admission to these tippy top schools. Perhaps there is an extenuating circumstance for this GPA. </p>
<p>But I agree...nothing ventured nothing gained. Get terrific first semester grades...all A's in an aggressive courseload and that could make a difference.</p>
<p>Even with that, I would encourage you to look at less expensive options that might be more affordable. Does your state university have a program (no they won't offer full need, but their prices will be more modest). In other words...craft a list of schools with a variety of options.</p>
<p>Another thing to look into would be schools where your daughter might qualify for some merit aid. These would not be schools in the top 50 on USNews (those schools that meet full need without loans are mostly there). But going down a bit might put her in the running for merit aid at some places (no not full ride, but every penny counts).</p>
<p>did you D take the psat and make NMSF? If so, there are several highly selective colleges that will ignore lower gpa relative to high test scores.</p>
<p>standrews---
That graph was reallllly really helpful. Kudos to you</p>
<p>COmpared to one of the schools on the graph, we had our need met fully & with less in loans at several schools not on the meets-need list. So much depends on individual situations. There ARE some really great schools that may very well meet your need ... they just don't promise to meet everyone's need. In addition to applying to a couple on the list where your child is competitive, try to find some schools he/she likes where he/she is in the top of the applicant pool. </p>
<p>Be aware that losing your job at this point in the year will not always be taken into consideration for financial aid. If your child is a senior, this is your base year. You will have 9 months at full salary, and the full 2008 earnings amount that is going to be used to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Some schools may adjust your info due to the job loss, but there is no guarantee. It would be wise to speak with aid offices at schools your child likes, as well as to do some searches on CC forums for this subject.</p>
<p>Thumper--I wasn't talking about the full-needs, no loans, schools. i was talking about the group of full-needs schools in general. Most beyond that uber-competitive group do include STafford. But they don't meet the rest of the need with a PLUS loan. They just don't. And it's misleading that "meets-full-need" is continually qualified by that canard that they might.</p>
<p>Garland I understand what you meant. I just wanted to be clear that the schools that do NOT package loans for students in their packages are the UBER competitive and extremely well endowed schools. Getting accepted is the first hurdle. Plus Loans (in my opinion) are not financial aid...they are parent loans. Very different than student financial aid.</p>
<p>I absolutely agrree that PLUS loans aren't financial aid. That's why I want to make the point that full-needs schools do not offer them as FA, they offer them separately if parents choose to use them to meet their EFC.</p>
<p>Again, I am trying to counteract the assertion that "full-need met" might mean with PLUS loans. I don't believe it does.</p>
<p>To further explain what I meant above, there are two overlapping sets of schools we are discussing, and I don't think I'm being clear on that. there are the group of "meets full needs" schools I referenced at the start, which mostly do include loans in their packages--but not Parent Plus, just the standard federal loans. And then there are the very few among them who don't include the federal ones, either. My point which seemed to get lost is, whether "no loan" or not, none of the full-needs school meet the need with the added Parent Plus loans. This is the assertion that I read here which I think should be counteracted. I'm not just refering to that one tiny group of no-loan schools, nor was the US News rep above.</p>
<p>And I agrree, most schools do not meet full need, and most do offer a lot of loans, but that's not what this particular discussion was about.</p>
<p>Wondering if there’s a source that keeps information like that NY Times graphic current. Vanderbilt now claims to be need-blind AND to meet 100% of demonstrated need without need-based loans: [Office</a> of Student Financial Aid | Scholarships Grants Financial Options Assistance | Vanderbilt University](<a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid]Office”>Office of Financial Aid | Vanderbilt University)</p>
<p>very interesting graph! good thing my income was a bit below 60k when we applied for Wellesley. But, I wonder if that income is the gross income or the calculated income, after the school applies all IDOC circumstances to the gross and adjust it? Good thing our grant was renewable for 4 yrs regardless of my income going up each year. The way the grant was applied (to the fixed COA) left for us to pay 7k a year, that was more than the EFC because the student contribution is factored in. If we include their estimated cost for travel, books, personal items, it comes out to almost 9k, but we never spent the estimated amount, we spent less. So, our cost has remained under 10k every year. Carefully look at what is included in COA, and their estimated costs and decide whether it is high estimation or not enough. Some colleges estimated travel at 800 and others at 1500, we spent less than 400. Some estimated personal at 1k and others at 13hundred, we spent less than 500, including summer storage. The same with books and supplies, the most we spent in a year was 300. Depends on the field of study. You have to carefully look at those COA and their estimations, you might just be able to afford a college that looks unaffordable at first sight.</p>
<p>Yes, the Project on Student Debt website maintains a list with links and seems to stay on top of what the full need met offers are.</p>
<p>*I’d appreciate any suggestions for colleges that meet financial need *</p>
<p>Since many schools “meet need” with big loans, you’ll need a strategy that doesn’t include those schools.</p>
<p>Your problem is your D’s GPA. If that is her weighted GPA, she might not get accepted to the kind of schools that meet need without big loans.</p>
<p>However, if her weighted GPA is higher, then she’ll have more choices. What is her weighted GPA?</p>
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<p>Vanderbilt is need-blind and they do meet 100% of demonstrated need without need-based loans. (But it’s up to the school to decide what your ‘demonstrated need’ is).</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>Note: this thread is almost two years old. I’ve revived it for the sake of current stats.</p>