<p>Same, I don’t see myself applying to Boston University either, knowing I can’t afford it. I’ve been trying to find liberal art colleges great in international relations, and minor as economics but can’t find rankings for liberal art colleges. I already know of the publics.</p>
<p>^try Claremont McKenna College. They meet 100% need and have a ‘no loan’ financial aid policy.</p>
<p>just go to US news college rankings and go to liberal arts colleges (right under national universities).</p>
<p>I don’t see the point in not applying, really - you almost certainly qualify for fee waivers, so it really shouldn’t be much of a problem. On the other hand, if you’ve got other schools to fill those spots, by all means, apply. If you are in the first row, first column of BU’s matrix, you have a good chance for $31,000 to $47,000 worth of GIFT AID. That’s not including loans or even work study, which you will probably get another 2000 worth of. 25% of applicants in that box get more than $47,000 (GIFT AID) toward a COA of $52,000.</p>
<p>Unlike full-need schools, you won’t know what your financial aid package will be until you try and if you try. BU and GWU are on a very case-by-case basis with financial aid, since their aid packages are merit-based but need-aware. For example, if you search the GW board, you’ll find that many students with low EFCs got packages of greater than $50,000 in free money. There were even a few students with low EFCs whose packages exceeded the billed expenses (since GW factors in personal expenses to its COA, like some schools - I can’t remember if Boston does or not). Then, there were a few students with low EFCs who only got $30,000 or so (leaving $25,000 per year!).</p>
<p>The best way to handle the FA issue is to apply to a lot of schools. Apply to your local public, but keep in mind that at most public schools, no matter the COA, you’ll be expected to take out the full Stafford loan load - which is about $25,000 total. Apply to that school, apply to a couple of matches (or safeties) with great financial aid reputations but with no guarantees, and then apply to some 100% need, no loans schools. Only when you are able to compare packages will you be able to choose what’s best for you.</p>
<p>All of the top liberal arts colleges are respectably generous with aid.</p>
<p>However, the institutions themselves decide how much your family needs, and that makes it rather easy for them to decide whether or not to meet it. For instance, I can’t believe Boston College is on Hawkette’s list. That’s an outrageous joke. They gave me only 17k in grants while Amherst gave me 27k, Middlebury 26k, Haverford 29k, and NYU 32k.</p>
<p>I think you should not focus as much on which schools provide financial aid in a general sense. You need to spend more time finding the right college that fits YOU best, that is most likely to value YOU for who you are. Different colleges offer different aid packages to different students–NOT because one school is more or less generous than another–but because one school will value YOU over the next student. </p>
<p>Spend less time worrying about which college offers which kind of aid, and more time finding the college that fits you best. When a college notices that you are a great fit for that school, the admissions and financial aid offices will be much more likely to shower you with aid (both merit and need-based–tho remember that not all schools offer merit aid).</p>
<p>^Our spammer / self-promoter here is pretty off. What’s the use of a good fit school if you can’t afford it or if it’s going to plunge you $100,000 in debt?</p>
<p>I have to agree with applicannot.</p>
<p>Most students from disadvantaged families do not have the luxury of choosing a school based on “fit.” They have their families to think of. “Which school will give us the most grants and work study opportunities? Which school will contribute most significantly to helping me land a high paying job so I can take care of my family in the future?”</p>
<p>The answer is very often: “the most prestigious school that accepts me.”</p>
<p>To applicannot: I’m hesitant to apply to GWU and BU, because it would mean more essays and time spent. I’m applying to many really hard, top schools, with 100% FA and no-loan policies, and I would rather focus on those essays and applications. The Questbridge process is early and rigorous… if you’re familiar with it. I also have really tough senior courses coming up. I only want to apply to a lower-tier school like BU or GWU if I know, almost certainly, that I would be covered financially. It’s one of those opportunity-cost-type situations… haha. Still, I might take my chances with GWU only, because of what you said.</p>
<p>To the last 3 posters: Ya, I really don’t have the luxury of finding a perfect “fit” school. But honestly, I would be ecstatic to attend any of the schools on my list and know that I would do very well and be very happy at any of them… I don’t care if one has slightly better food than the other, or anything like that. My priority is to find the ones where I spend as little money as possible.</p>
<p>Any other info on how GWU, BU, or a similar school would guarantee me very little debt would still be very welcome.</p>
<p>flyingllama,</p>
<p>Then don’t apply. I personally am not a fan of putting all your apples in one basket, but if that works for you, go for it. There are no guarantees. In fact, if you don’t get into any of your 100% need schools, you’re going to go local, right? And your local public - unless you apply for and win a merit scholarship - is almost certainly going to cost you the full Stafford load, which is at least $25,000 over four years (so that would be your total). So right now, your bet is $25,000 or nothing. Personally, I think it’s important to apply to those schools in the middle ground. Not only do you have a very high chance of getting in, you frankly have excellent chances of graduating with $15,000 of debt or less. </p>
<p>No school aside from the very limited top 100% need, no loans schools is going to guarantee you anything. But what difference is a guarantee if you don’t get in at all? Then again, I DON’T believe in the “all reaches, one safety” approach to college admissions. I think we’re actually in a similar situation. I’m not applying to a lot of schools (even though I could and would have a better chance of FA) because I have a tough senior schedule, work and/volunteer over 35 hours a week, and have tons of essays to write and applications to work through. I think six is reasonable, but for you it may be four or five. I chose six schools with excellent prospects for financial aid. It just seems strange to me that you’re willing to invest in schools that you almost certainly won’t get into (face it - the acceptance rates are as low as 6% and as high as 25% depending on the schools you’ve chosen), but you aren’t willing to invest in schools that you will get into and will very likely get good packages from. Like I said, it’s your decision - I just don’t want to see you relegated to debt next spring when that’s not necessary.</p>
<p>^ your post is very convincing. But which school(s) should I choose for the middle ground? GWU and BU are the only ones off the top of my head, and I would almost definitely get into at least one, probably both. What do you think, any others?</p>
<p>@applicannot: how do you decide which school has the prospect of giving generous FA?
@flyingllama: I’m pretty much in the same situation. My parents make less than 20k/ year and my ACT score is only 31. What do you want to major in college?</p>
<p>flyingllama, pnptruong,</p>
<p>I chose those schools (Boston University and GW) based upon the other factors I wanted in a college. When I started my college search, my goal was to graduate less than $40,000 in debt. I wanted a medium to large urban school that was two to eight hours from home. GW and Bu both fit the bill - I fell in love with them. I knew that being low-income would grant me a lot of aid. At the time, I did not know there were schools that guaranteed aid to students based on income. As I researched BU and GW more and more, it came clear that my financial aid packages from them would probably be very good based on my statistics (generally above the 75th percentile), my family’s income (<$25,000), and my hook (URM). Of course, there are no guarantees. I feel that the best way to search for schools for which you are a match and that will give you good financial aid is to start with fit and go from there. Find what schools fit you and then see which one of those has the best financial aid package. If your search for good financial aid comes up empty, broaden your search and try again.</p>
<p>Personally, I can’t think of any other middle ground schools except perhaps the University of Pittsburgh, where, if you are at the top of the applicant pool, merit aid seems easy (relatively speaking) to come by. Because I knew which target schools I would apply to early on, I have not researched outside much. I have been looking into safety and reach schools, but not the match schools like BU and GW - I’ve known I would apply to those schools since late last year.</p>
<p>I actually made a chart below listing the schools that I am going to apply to. They are in order of the most difficult to get into to the least difficult to get into, all based on my personal research and my personal application. The number next to them is my anticipated debt after four years. I subjectracted non-billable expenses from the total (some schools factor transportation, spending money, and books into the COA), so these numbers involve only the costs associated with tuition, room, board, and fees. Keep in mind that I tallied work study and student contributions as loans, since I will not be able to make the student contribution and I will probably not work study, except for perhaps one year. Also, for Boston University, I used the 75th percentile number for students in the first row, first column of the chart linked in one of my previous posts. I don’t know if this list will be helpful to you or if it will end up being realistic to me, but I’ve put in an effort to clear up the FA confusion.</p>
<p>Yale ($6,750)
WUSTL ($15,200)
Tufts ($13,200 or $4,792; website is unclear)
Rice ($0)
GW (n/a, dependent on many factors)
Boston ($12,032)
Pitt (n/a, dependent on many factors)</p>
<p>For me, anything under $25,000 is amazing. Anything under $15,000 is unreal. However, I will probably take out at least $1000 per year in loans to pay for books and transportation.</p>