Yes, FSU is great….not a safety but a target - I think it happens but it’s under 20% for OOS acceptance these days. I likely misread your SAT but 1560 likely gets the waiver..
You can take your shots - but don’t forget, you have no safeties yet - unless you put one that 100% meets your costs and is an assured admit.
So an IU - for example, is a high high reach - because the only way you can go is if you win a near impossible to get full ride.
Now, if you find out the language flagships somehow automatically grant full rides (I don’t think they do), then as far as I see it, you have Ole Miss (need to validate it will get to cost - their merit table is covered by something I can’t seem to remove)…..and nothing else. I’m guessing - but don’t know - that the Flagships have some sort of abroad grants.
I know you don’t love Ole Miss on paper….but short of that, I don’t see you with a single safety - not U Del…..because an admission safety is not a safety when you have a budget.
I keep hearing reach names and don’t worry about the NPC - talk to them and explain your situation.
One can only apply to so many and I have no issue with the strategy - take your shots - but seems to me, in general terms, applying to more than a few of those types is not an efficient use of your time - as apps are hard, and you are better off
applying to schools that will meet cost and admission
then secondarily will meet cost (but not assured admission)
then are assured admission and could meet cost - like IU, UD
lastly if you want to shoot for the wing and a prayer - a school that isn’t an assured admit, won’t meet cost per the NPC but that you’ll see if they’ll adjust due to special circumstance.
I’d personally prioritize in that order.
You need a plan - and focusing on reach schools only and the many names people are saying, they may say they won’t meet cost in the NPC but after you get your offer, talk to them….doesn’t seem like a smart plan….to me.
Agreed the OP needs a financial safety school but many of the most generous colleges will adjust a financial aid package after admission for legitimate circumstances and I have read that OPs circumstances are ones that they would definitely consider. So if that opens up some potentially good options based on OP’s specific Arabic studies requirement, I think it’s good information for OP to know.
But yes, a financial safety where OP would be happy to attend is also needed.
It looks like Brown pays undergraduate TAs $18 an hour as of 2023. At 10 hours a week, that’s about 3k a semester for work in your field that can go on your resume.
I put them #4 - after - applying to schools that upfront say they’ll meet and then others that are admission safeties. But to me, they’re your least odds although another might consider them better odds than winning a full ride at a U Delaware or IU.
In the case you’re mentioning, if OP wants its fine - but now you have two hurdles - 1. Admission 2. Hoping they’ll adjust aid based on circumstances.
Since there are other schools like W&L and Rice (who has a 6 week program in Jordan if it goes), why fill my list with these like Brown and Midd is all I’m saying. Yes, Midd is great for lanaguages and maybe that’s one to consider and hope.
Rice gives full tuition for incomes $75-140K) - so it and others that have similar income qualifiers seems a much better bet to focus on to me - then schools I get into and then have to persuade to further open up the coffers.
So that’s two hurdles (admission and consideration) to overcome - not something I’d hang my hat on with a big chunk of my list.
That’s me….others may have a different risk tolerance - but this is a very high risk strategy (IMHO).
Not a safety school but I would look into Colby for your income the family contribution would be $15,000 with no loans. i believe it is called the Colby Commitment.
Colby has incredibly generous need-based aid, however, they don’t have Arabic although there is a study abroad in Morocco, I believe. That’s probably an issue at a lot of LACs where this student would otherwise be a strong candidate (and where aid is generous).
Colgate . . . Schools like it are for the wealthy.
I found this to be an interesting comment. So, today I talked with a friend of mine whose daughter is a junior at Colgate, who had a similar high school profile as the OP and received a financial package from Colgate to make it affordable for them. My friend would have preferred that his daughter go to SUNY Binghamton - or even SUNY Geneseo, either of which would have allowed her to graduate from college debt free.
His daughter is beginning to come around to his way of thinking despite the fact that she has loved her 2 years at Colgate. Although it’s too late for her to do anything about it, the fact that a high percent of the students are from wealthy families means that she is sometimes left out if things that other kids are doing because she simply can’t afford them. This leads to a certain social divide. She is also beginning to think more seriously about her future after college because it is more imminent. She would like to go to med school but the cost and the debt added on to her undergrad debt is discouraging her, leading her to consider other alternatives.
So, I think that @tsbna44 made a good point about Colgate and schools like it being for the wealthy.
Here’s a list of the top ten schools with students from wealthy families, as compiled by The NY Times:
It’s also not just about wealth, but about the feel (and why visiting can be helpful). I know someone who went to Colgate, from a wealthy family, but one that was very involved in (for want of a better term and without specifics that might identify them) charity issues. She found the school too “preppy” for her and and never really found her tribe there. She also found the setting quite isolated, but that may also have been a function of not fitting in socially. A collegaue’s son is there at the moment however, and loves it. All of which is to say there are a lot of “soft” issues involved in fit as well.
@echoo we are with the friends who’s son is a UAH grad. His response, when asked about international relations and languages, was “they would be better off looking at other options”.
Now that we learned UAH (and others) don’t have Arabic and it’s a must then it’s out anyway. They have Spanish, French, German, and Russian.
Besides Ole Miss, which has the Language Flagship and Croft Institute, which in theory would be the best option anyway (OP has told me privately they love IU so they are not immune to bigger schools), does anyone have an admission AND financial safety?
Reaches for both abound.
I’m not even sure if U Del has. It’s not on their search engine and the last class I could find was five years ago. And OP hopes for a full ride.
OP - you need to review every school for curriculum or plan right now, what tradeoffs, Arab, $$, or geography you are willing to make. That way you’re optimizing list building.
Since you added UMD and Banneker Key, Ohio State and UGA have Hail Mary scholarships. Temple has full tuition merit - they don’t note in-state only so you might look at that. Montclair State has merit but doesn’t say how much. Only 72% get - they have an Arabic program. Since you’ve looked at NPCs, check out Davidson as they have a program
Final crazy thought - BYU - the non Latter Day Saints (Mormon) cost is about $24k. They have merit but I’m not sure any is available to non church members (assuming you’re not). But perhaps they do. It’s a big name!! You might ask if of interest.
ok - good - when I found them, they were dated 2020 and earlier and when i put in their search engine, nothing came back. So I thought maybe it was gone?
I found things like this below (first link with old dates)-ahhh - think i found it - they have a minor (2nd link). Thanks for validating -it was hard to find.
Yes, I did find that out when certain NPCs gave the same result when I put in financial details vs. financial + merit. Hate that it happens, but I’m being careful with schools like that in general.
As for the overseas help, I’m hoping that with Professional Judgement they will. All the NPCs of the schools on the original list either met the 15k parental contribution threshold or were close to it. I definitely agree that having a “we can afford this even if” school is necessary, but it depends on my acceptance! If I have a high chance into simply getting into [blank school], the problem usually is that their immediate financial aid isn’t close to enough, so lots of merit aid is needed—which makes the chance of attending much smaller.
I definitely understand that the “junior year abroad” ideology isn’t 100% successful…that being said, I would like to keep that chance as close to 100% as possible! Crazy luck for your kid for getting that fellowship, though!
Yes, I am certainly open to “international affairs, international studies, global studies, global affairs, global policy, international policy, etc.” majors and not just “international relations” on its own. Good tip!
Even though it doesn’t have Arabic, you’re right that Bates is a good model for this. Everything makes sense the way they do it, so I’ll look to compare this to other schools later on. Thanks!
I will note that I am strongly against any loans, but if Brown was my only option, I certainly wouldn’t be against it with some small loans on the side (i.e. less than 8-10k total after graduation).
The undergrad TA fact seems dual-sided, in my opinion—I could become an undergrad TA myself (pro), but I could have an undergrad TA very early on, which I don’t think I would want (con). $18 an hour is pretty good though.
The “order” you presented definitely makes sense! You’re right that I need more schools that meet cost and admission simultaneously, and if Ole Miss fits the cost part, it could be a school (I probably should have another) that is good to apply to. I understand how IU is a reach, however, based on your logic—I’ll keep it in the back of my mind while I’m applying.
Yes, as @Thorsmom66 and @tsbna44 noted, there isn’t a concrete Arabic program at Colby; you are exactly right, however, that Colby’s parent contribution comes out to exactly $15k! I don’t know how you figured that out, but impressive nevertheless!
Interesting how a quick Google search of “is Colgate preppy” very quickly confirmed that…
I wonder if the reason Washington & Lee can give so many Johnson Scholars is because many of their students pay almost full sticker price for the college. The financial demographic of the student population has never been an aspect that I’ve thought about when assembling a list, I must admit.