<p>Hi, I am a senior from Mississippi who plans to apply to NYU. Like most of you here, I am aware that NYU’s financial aid is not the best and that many colleges at the same or on a better level of that of NYU will offer better aid. But NYU has pretty much always been my top choice, because although I attend high school in Mississippi, I was raised in New York City and love it much more than Mississippi (This is a story for another day). So to begin, does NYU factor in regional diversity in consideration of their scholarships? Or is it strictly based on need/merit. </p>
<p>The problem is that I have pretty good stats (35 ACT, 4.0 GPA, Valedictorian, Lot of Leadership ECs, and Several State Awards) but I don’t really think I can get much need based help (EFC is around 43K). Realistically, in order for me to afford NYU, the COA has to be around 35K-40K. So do you think because of my State of Residence (I think only 1 or 2 attend NYU from my whole state) and my relatively high stats that NYU can get the cost down to 35K, or am I just dreaming. </p>