<p>I just want to put in another plug for U of Rochester. (Which I now see that someone else mentioned, too.) I.m.o., this is a "sleeper" U, in that it is underrated, under-noticed, under-recognized. Their programs are solid. Their opportunities awesome. I recommended it to a daughter of a friend, & unfortunately the student was too "name" oriented to investigate further. It would have been a far better choice than the schools she ended up applying to.</p>
<p>Of course, if you want D.C., AU is also another alternative. But I think you would find many excellent students at Rochester in the poli sci/gov't fields, & undoubtedly some fine profs there.</p>
<p>Harding, given the specific challenges you mentioned, as well as income level, I will be very surprised if you do not get admitted to more than one U.C. You will get mega-points for coping with & surpassing some of those personal obstacles which would hold most people back. Nevertheless, I can understand your wanting to add privates as well. I don't know which privates will be more impressed than others regarding those obstacles; I just know that the U.C.'s are very committed to acknowledging them -- assuming you explained them well in your UC apps.</p>
<p>I do think Rochester takes quite a personal look into the apps they receive.</p>
<p>U of Washington is becoming quite an up-and-coming school. Please look into them, too.</p>
<p>NYU is not need blind and their financial aid is ranked by Princeton review to be the worst, although you probably are qualified to get into NYU, they MAY reject you because of your financial situation, or they will accept you and not make it affordable at all.</p>
<p>You could try George Mason in northern Va. It isn't right next to DC but they have shuttles that go there continuously, etc, for free, so if you are considering careers or internship experience in DC then it could work. The deadline is the 15th. I am not sure what you would need for OOS, it got more competitive this year unfortunately for OOS applicants I think, due to national exposure for their basketball team last year. So I can't say exactly whether it would be reach or match. I don't know if past numbers will give you an accurate picture. </p>
<p>Don't know about OOS aid, it's a public school though. </p>
<p>I would imagine at some point GW is more "need sensitive" than exactly need blind. A lot of these schools aren't truly need blind, they are close maybe. "Need sensitive" is a term I know is floating around. Don't know for sure, just guessing, I just don't think GW has the endowment money to be completely need blind but hey I don't know. </p>
<p>They have very numbers driven merit aid I'm pretty sure. If you have the stats, they are generous. I would imagine that's an attempt to attract candidates that will push up their USNWR type rankings. In general you'd need an A average and probably like 1350 (1600) SATs at least from what I know.</p>
<p>...and I Second the sentiments in posts 65 and 66; thanks to them for posting that. I also think that NYU would be less oriented toward the kind of program the OP would want, academically. It's not that NYU is not theoretical; they are that. They're in the arena when it comes to debate over public policy & the like, & NYU Law School also figures into that. But the other selections would have more appropriate programs & with less financial burden.
If I come across any more ideas, I'll post or PM you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help. I may not apply to NYU now, my main concern is trying to get into the best school possible and then seeing all the offers I can get when it comes to need-based aid. </p>
<p>Are there any top 50 (US News) schools I should apply?</p>
<p>I would say to apply to Tulane. It's a great school and has given out amazing aid to people due to Hurricane Katrina. I would not worry about not getting into GW...they simply probably couldn't afford to give you the aid you needed. Things could be worse...you could have been admitted with a binding Early Decision agreement and unable to afford GW. </p>
<p>GW definitely gives out plenty of aid and scholarships, but it simply doesn't have the endowment to be need-blind like HYP, etc. Few colleges are able to be need blind. While GW has a billion dollar endowment, ivies and schools of that caliber often have endowments over 3 billion. </p>
<p>I would recommend applying to not as selective privates. Public schools will generally only give aid to in-state students or exceptionally bright out-of-state students in order to improve their stats. I remember when I was looking for merit scholarships 2-years-ago, schools like FSU and Wisconsin wouldn't even consider giving me a scholarship simply because my SAT was only a 1270/1600. </p>
<p>There are plenty of other options. This is kind of a late posting, but I wish you well. I am a student at GW and really enjoy it, but I am certain that I could have found another school and been happy there if I had been rejected as well. I'm sure the situation will be the same for you!</p>
<p>P.S. as a student at GW, saying that GW is not snobby is laughable. Not everyone here is snotty, but I assure you that finding snooty people is not difficult at GW.</p>