Exactly! I know someone - pretty wealthy family, 7-figure household income, who could easily write checks for $80k+ each year. But they didn’t want to pay more than $50k. Why? In their view it wasn’t worth paying more than that ($200k total) for an undergraduate education. So yes, there can be a gap between what parents can pay and what they want to pay.
I also know families that aren’t in tune with today’s costs and tell their kid “cost isn’t a constraint” but then get sticker shock when they realize how much they’re going to have to pay.
It also depends on a student’s academic goals. Grad school? Law school? Med/Vet/PA school? Etc. If the family wants to contribute toward post-grad they may limit the undergrad budget. (That was our scenario, for what it’s worth.)
Thanks and to be clear my comment was not meant to be directed at you but an overall comment. I think this board is quick to jump to the “can you afford it / how much of a burden will this be to you / your family.” Some people have given this the appropriate thought and attention and don’t really want to discuss it.
BTW, I do love the spirit and helpfulness on this board - everyone is well intentioned for sure!
To the OP - I don’t have much insight into your chances, but good luck to you!
It’s been my observation that once an OP clearly states they can afford $xx/year, people move on from that point and use that number to guide their recommendations.
Back to OP: Rutgers will be likely but you need to add a couple of safeties to your list.
Agreed. Cost constraints are a definite part of the chance/match process.
But where a poster isn’t asking about costs, I don’t think that they need to be loudly reminded to speak with their parents, with lots of emphasis of “are you SURE your family can pay?”
If someone has questions about costs as part of the process… the community should provide guidance.
If someone clearly isn’t asking about the costs (either because they already know they can afford it, because they are confident they will get the aid they need, or simply because they aren’t currently looking at that part of the equation), I don’t think it’s up to the community to become their financial advisor.
It’s not exactly a secret that college is expensive and that private schools are particularly expensive. I don’t think we need to remind every chance-poster to triple-check with their parents on affordability.
$150-200k can be wildly divergent on whether qualifying for aid.
$150k, with limited additional assets and paying for 3 kids in college and parents nearing retirement – Can qualify for significant financial aid.
$200k, with $400k of equity in a house, with another $100k+ in investments/savings, with no other kids in college – likely won’t get a penny of need-based aid.
Out of curiosity, I ran the NPC… for a family with an income of $200k, decent assets, no other kids in college… EFC was $60k. (so would still get some financial aid at many private schools). For a family with an income of 150k, low assets and 2 other kids in college, EFC was only $11k. So would actually qualify for a lot of need-based aid.
Fair point. My comment may have been overly generalized… and influenced by the OP’s interest in NYU, which is not known to be generous with aid. (Although their policies are changing.)
Thanks for providing a more nuanced response for the OP. Of course, until the OP clarifies we do not know if a discussion of need (or merit) is even warranted.
Are you sure about UNC and UVA? Not direct admission and it’s holistic so you could be shut out of KF or McIntire. Does Vanderbilt offer undergrad Finance?
Maybe look at Fordham Gabelli. Penn State could work. Not direct admit but not holistic either.
Disregarding what the budget for your college is, i think that IU Kelley and Rutgers are likelies. Even if you don’t get into Kelley with automatic admission, I suspect that since you’re very near the current standard for automatic admission that you’d be likely to be able to get in, though note that it’s been reported that IU Kelley will be increasing that minimum standard this year.
Your ECs, if you provide the admissions department with verifiable evidence of them, are strong and will definitely help your application. Your 3.9UW GPA is also strong. What kind of weighting system does your high school use? Depending on what it is, your 4.36 weighted could be an indication on the level of rigor you selected. Were you taking the most rigorous options that your high school offered?
Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Duke I would guess have a very low probability of granting admission. I suspect that the others on the list (outside of Rutgers & IU) will all be reaches. If you were my son, I would recommend adding a few schools that you’d be happy to attend where your odds of acceptance are higher. Here are two lists that might help you think of options:
I appreciate all of the comments, these are all schools my parents and I have looked into together (budget in mind)
The list I put on here are just the harder schools I am likely going to apply to, but I do have safeties these are ofc not the only ones. Safeties include Seton Hall, TCNJ, etc
I would like more insight into my chances tho, specifically for NYU because that is my top choice
A 4.36 was my gpa I got when inputting my stats into a gpa calculator keeping credits in mind, and as for course rigor, through my junior year I’ve taken 5 AP classes and 4 honors classes, with next year looking to be 2-4 honors and 4-5 AP
If anyone has any kids/people they know that got into stern, umich, Georgetown etc recently then if you don’t mind can you say some of their stats and ecs for a comparison so I know where I stand?
Thanks
Looking at their common data set online and also checking your school naviance or scoir would be much more useful than a bunch of anecdotes. Having said that my d who got into Georgetown had a 35 ACT, 4.0 unweighted GPA, was quite advanced in math and some other subjects, 8 APs mostly 5s and school/state level science recognition and some unremarkable ECs (tutoring, counseling, tennis team co-captain) and a crappy essay. I think a pure academic admit and benefitted from Georgetown not being a magnet for top STEM kids and that her school is a feeder and AOs know and trust the teacher recs which would have been stellar in math/science.
If you look at the schools under consideration on the homepage (the section Colleges and Universities A-Z) you will see the colleges you’re interested in. Most of them have threads where applicants talked about the process when they thought results would be released, and then once the release dates hit most of the threads were popping with results, with most people sharing their academic stats. That would probably be the best way for you to cull some of that information. For Michigan, for instance, these threads would probably be useful:
Your list is way too reach-heavy. Talk to your GC at school and shape a list with him/her. DS was accepted to Georgetown and UVA from your list (didn’t apply to the others; attended elsewhere) but a comparison would not be helpful to you. Look at the applicant pool data, assess where you are, and how you might stand out.
It’s a late response, but here are my D22’s stats.
She’s accepted to Georgetown, NYU, BC from you list, and she will attend Georgetown.
GPA 4.0/4.58
SAT 1550
ACT 36
AP Class 12 (5 on 9, 4 on 3)
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Merit Finalist
Extracurricular- Above average, all related to her major, IR/Poli Science
Varsity captain for 3 years
Over 600 Hrs of Community Service
Essays 9/10
Valedictorian-Nationally ranked CA public school
