OK, sounds like is dead set on going to NY if she leaves her home state… but there is no way that she will get much in the way of financial aid from NYU if her SAT is at the bottom of Barnard’s 25-75 range. NYU is pretty much the same score range, except unlike Barnard, NYU won’t meet full need --so if finances are an issue, then NYU won’t be an option.
I understand the college choice – my daughter applied to the same NY colleges and was accepted to all three, but NYU’s financial aid award was a joke.
At least my daughter managed to get fee waivers for almost all of her application fees.
If you as a parent are happy with the NC public options… no problem, other than you need to be very clear with your daugher about finances, now. I let my daughter “appeal” her NYU financial aid award on her own – so her frustration & disappointment could rightfully be directed at them and not me – but it might have been a tougher pill to swallow if she hadn’t also been admitted to Barnard with a generous aid offer.
But you are looking at a school with a $72K price tag – and that’s just for year #1. See this post for a good summary of how NYU financial aid works: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1117221-parents-and-students-concerned-with-financial-aid-please-read-p1.html