<p>I have a pretty good idea of a list of colleges that I would like to go to, however, one of the biggest factors in my eventual college selection will be the final cost. Therefore, I would really appreciate if anybody on this forum could tell me which schools on my list have the best chance to award me a good combination of merit scholarships and need based aid.</p>
<p>The stats:
34 ACT
2100 SAT (750 CR, 710 Math, 640 Writing)
SAT IIs: 800 U.S. History, 730 Math II, 700 Literature
4.0 GPA
Class Rank 9/430 (Will probably move up a couple more spots)
EFC: About $27,000</p>
<p>The schools:
Boston University
Swarthmore College
Georgetown University
Vanderbilt University
University of Chicago
University of Virginia
Boston College
Tufts University</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much</p>
<p>You have stats that should get you in the running for good merit scholarships, but the competition is tough ... so make sure you don't "count" on merit money.</p>
<p>Our EFC is lower than yours, but we did find Vandy to be very good with aid. Tufts was not as good (more loan in the package).</p>
<p>You will be competitive for merit at UVA, Vandy, and any of the others that do offer merit (Tufts does not).</p>
<p>Make sure you pick a financial safety, if money will be an issue.</p>
<p>Also, make sure you run your EFC through the institutional method, not just federal. Your EFC may go up with this method. Different schools that use Profile (IM) will treat things differently, so this isn't a for-sure EFC ... but it at least gives you an idea of the difference in EFC between FAFSA schools & Profile schools.</p>
<p>ok thanks, and IU is my financial safety, but I am not extremely interested in going there</p>
<p>any more suggestions?</p>
<p>BU used to have a specific matrix on their financial aid page and brochure that gave you a very good idea what you could get in terms of your need/stats. You can look at USN&WR premier site ($15) as to which schools tend to be very loan heavy. It will also tell you the % of kids getting merit money. Some schools with some well known scholarships are really stingy with grants, but have a very few juicy, lucrative ones. It's good to know what your chances are of getting them.<br>
When you say EFC, you do mean the one generated by FAFSA, don' t you? You should run your numbers through each school's calculator to see what they define as need. PROFILE which most private schools use is not the same as FAFSA and often come out with a lower need figure. Your EFC is high enough that you are not going to be eligible for PELL or other government money; just subsidized and non sub STaffords, so the school is going to have to come up with the rest of the funds.<br>
I would throw in a school like Fordham, Tulane, Case Western, UPitt into the mix to see if you can get more than need met.</p>
<p>I want to add that a number of your schools do not give any merit aid, just need based, which means it is unlikely that you will get more than your need met. Any merit award you get will offset your financial aid. If you want to get more than your need met, you need to focus on those schools that have generous merit policies. At GT, for example, you will get 100% of need (defined by them, not by FAFSA) met, not more. The same with Tufts.</p>
<p>ok, this has been very helpful, thanks everybody</p>
<p>any more replies?</p>
<p>If your income is low enough, you will be able to go for free in all the Ivy Leagues. Your scores, gpa, rank seem good enough to apply.</p>
<p>Tulane comes to mind... well-respected, good school with good merit and lots of top students</p>
<p>katrider, I'm not sure what you mean by "going to free" but I'm not sure that's true. As far as I know, they don't all guarantee to waive tuition/ room/ board for lower-income students. I do know, for example, that Cornell waives loans for families earning under $75K but this family would still have to come up with their EFC and the student would still have work-study. </p>
<p>I do think that an ivy would probably offer the best need-based financial aid package but if EFC is $27K and student needs merit, that might not be enough.</p>
<p>With an EFC of $27K, assuming that the PROFILE come out about the same, that is what the schools that do not give merit money will expect the OP to pay, pretty much as a rule. You might be able to get a little leeway, and PROFILE schools have some variance in defining need, but those schools that give for need only tend to do exactly that especially if they meet 100% of need.</p>