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mom2collegekids - I mean that their income is high enough to not get need-based FA anywhere except HYPS, which has exceptionally generous aid policies for the upper-middle-class. Therefore, any school must be 1) better than UGA, 2) prestigious enough that parents will pay full freight, 3) cheap enough through merit aid that parents aren't paying full freight. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what the "cheap enough" threshold is; my friend hasn't had the "financial aid talk" with her parents and is unlikely to (though I will encourage-encourage-encourage her).
I should add that HYPS are definites due to FA and prestige and parental pressure. She doesn't actually have much preference, except for liking Yale, wanting urban/suburban, and strong academics in lit/writing. Unfortunately, I doubt the parents will consider any LAC prestigious enough to pay for. (Really it's her dad making the financial decisions, and he has a typical Asian mindset.)
Some really good suggestions here; I'm compiling an updated list below with comments. I know that she would not want a rural/small-town environment like Dartmouth or Cornell, but vibrant college town might be OK.
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The current list:
Yale (first choice, applied SCEA)
Harvard
Princeton
Stanford
Northwestern (journalism school?)
Duke (full ride merit)
UGA (flagship; Presidential Scholars full ride merit)
Maybe's:
UChicago (enough prestige? my Asian parents do approve)
Columbia
URochester (guaranteed 22k merit, competitive full tuition)
Vanderbilt (full ride merit)
Rice (merit)
McGill (29k COA)
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Clark (merit, but maybe not enough; not particularly strong in English)
UNC (full ride merit; not urban)
UVA (full ride merit; not urban)
Smith (20k merit; not urban)
Wellesley (maybe prestigious enough? I know my Asian parents have heard of it; not sure how she feels about single-sex)
Penn State Schreyer Honors College (not urban; expensive at 38k with travel costs, some merit)
Eliminated:
Emory
Cornell (opposite of urban)
Dartmouth (opposite of urban)
Grinnell (15k merit; opposite of urban)
Oberlin (merit; opposite of urban)
Kenyon (merit; opposite of urban)
Dickinson (merit; opposite of urban)
Not affordable: Vassar, St. John's, Barnard, Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore
tldr: What are some urban or easy-urban-access colleges that offer significant merit aid (let's say >15k) and are "better" than UGA?
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