36 ACT.... Now what?

Consolation
Thu, 02 Apr 2015 19:20:03 +0000

NYMomof2:

My DS just got his SAT scores (1580/2310), GPA about 3.8, very, very strong EC. He has no chance at Ivys, Duke, Stanford, and his chances at other top schools are slim.

No chance at all at the Ivies? I really think that’s not true. Especially if he has a good class rank or his school doesn’t rank.
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Of course, it isn’t wise to bank on getting into any school that selective, and I think you’re right to include plenty of other choices on his list.

@bwbrockton11, lots of people agree that one’s student having some skin in the game is a good idea. I concur that blowing your education resources on the oldest and leaving nothing for the younger kids would be a terrible idea.

I also have filled out no financial aid forms yet, I just imagine from what I know about the federal government that that answer would be no.

As others have commented, you don’t know how financial aid works—yet.

For the heck of it, I just ran the Yale NPC with these assumptions: live in Carbondale, IL, 3 children the ages of yours, own a home worth $175K that has not appreciated since purchase in 2000, $50K mortgage, no investments other than retirement, $15K in the bank, two earners making a total of $100K (one at $80K, one at $20K), AGI $80K, kid has $3k in the bank. (I just wanted to keep it simple: no other real estate, no farm, no business, etc.) The result was an EFC of $6540. The total family contribution was that sum, plus $2K from a student job. The rest–$57,410–was covered by Yale.

Now, Yale has one of the most generous financial aid programs in the nation, and it is also one of the most difficult schools in the nation to get into; however, your S has the stats to make him a viable candidate, depending on what else he brings to the party. But I know that a lot of people would assume that with an annual income of $100K they would get little or no financial aid from any university.

Run some NPCs. Make sure you cast a wide net.