<p>If I apply to my state flagship and they give me a very big merit package, would that potentially help me get better aid at more selective/higher caliber private schools?</p>
<p>No, if the higher caliber more selctive school only gives need based financial aid (ex. Ivies, top LACs, etc.), your getting a merit package will not matter. </p>
<p>Many selective higher caliber school will only consider packages from what they consider to be peer of “better” schools.</p>
<p>Most colleges have their OWN criteria for awarding merit aid…and it varies wildly from school to school. School A is unlikely to care what the award is from School B because they have differing criteria for awarding merit aid. You may have met this at your flagship…but don’t even come close elsewhere.</p>
<p>Re: need based aid. If your instate flagship is UVA, it MIGHT help at peer schools (schools that are viewed similarly to UVA)…but the reality is…it’s probably NOT going to be a negotiation tool at most private universities.</p>
<p>PLUS remember MOST public and private universities do not promise to meet full need…and they don’t. If you wish to have them reconsider your financial aid, you would have to have a compelling FINANCIAL reason for them to do so (e.g. parent job loss, high medical expenses, etc).</p>
<p>I need a lot of aid, and several of the schools I plan on applying to pledge to meet 100% of demonstrated need, and do not give merit aid. However, there may be issues due to withdrawals from retirement accounts: my parents are not retired, but do not make any considerable amount of money and have not had real jobs for many years. I have no interest in attending my state school, but have talked with my dad about applying for aid reasons.</p>
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<p>From other threads, these seem to be the OPs stats. OP…if you become a NMF there are some schools out there that offer very good aid to kiddos in your range. In addition, there are schools that will not only guarantee your admission but also will offer you guaranteed merit aid. Your SAT’s for example, I believe are in the range for U of Alabama’s guaranteed awards…I don’t know if your GPA is or not (Mom2collegekids will be able to fill in the blanks here).</p>
<p>You might also consider applying to U of South Carolina and do the application for the McNair Scholarship. The application is a doozie but if you are accepted, it’s a full ride…everything.</p>
<p>Read the threads by momfromtexas who got near or full ride scholarships for her two kids. The threads are old but the strategies are the same…and your stats are better than one of her kiddos.</p>
<p>U of Massachusetts-Amherst is a fine flagship university for you as an instate applicant. What do you have against that?</p>
<p>I want someplace smaller and metropolitan, with stronger academics. My shortlist has wound up being all private schools. State schools, the good ones at least, seem too big and too rural, and the out-of-state ones generally wind up being at least as expensive as private schools. Just doesn’t seem like the place for me.</p>
<p>djz, are finances a consideration? You need to discuss this with your parents. If they are, you list may be slightly different than if not. </p>
<p>I will say…a merit scholarship from UMass-Amherst will likely NOT be a bargaining chip for you.</p>
<p>*If I apply to my state flagship and they give me a very big merit package, would that potentially help me get better aid at more selective/higher caliber private schools? *</p>
<p>NO!!!</p>
<p>Top schools don’t give a rat’s patootie that you can get big merit at a lower ranked school. All top students can do that.</p>
<p>Your state school (or some other similar school) is not a peer for those top schools. </p>
<p>Apply to a few top schools just to see what happens…but, since it sounds like your parents income will be quite high because of withdrawals, those schools are going to expect a high contribution.</p>
<p>Ask your parents how much they can pay each year. You need to know so that you can make intelligent choices and applications. </p>
<p>Unfortunately…how much parents can/will pay often determines where a student should apply and where a student ends up attending. </p>
<p>If you don’t want your state school, then it is NOT a safety for you. </p>
<p>With your stats, there are schools that will give you huge merit.</p>
<p>I want someplace smaller and metropolitan, with stronger academics.</p>
<p>There are many schools that will challenge you academically that will give you merit scholarships. You may not get everything you want (small/metropolitan), but when parents can’t pay for your top choices, then often compromise is in order.</p>
<p>What is your major? If it’s a challenging major, then it will be challenging at many campuses.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, it’s still like $70,000, and my sister will also be in college my first year, so I have a shot at a good package. My parents don’t have jobs. My dad has written letters to my sister’s school the past few years explaining the situation. I also could get help from my grandparents if it was necessary, they’ve helped my sister and cousins. I plan on doing what it takes to put myself through my school of choice, but I wanted to know if I could gain anything by investing $75 in a UMass app.</p>
<p>As far as major is concerned, I plan on exploring my options, but interests are philosophy, linguistics, IR, poli sci/gov, and film.</p>
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<p>Yes…you could net yourself an instate scholarship that would enable you to attend UMass-Amherst. That is IT. A merit scholarship at UMass will not get you an equal merit award or a larger merit award from a private university OR an out of state public. Sorry…there it is (in my opinion).</p>
<p>You absolutely need to have a financial safety in your mix of schools. You need to think about FOUR years of college, not just the ONE when your sister is in school too. What will you do your second year when she is no longer in school and your aid is reduced by almost 1/2? How will you and your family pay the bills for the $50K school(s) you seem to feel are essential to your future?</p>
<p>I know you have a dream and everyone does. BUT if the reality is that your parents can’t afford to send you to a college with a $50K price tag without VERY significant aid, you need to rethink your choices.</p>
<p>There are two threads you should read…the momfromtexas thread…and another one that is buried here somewhere about guaranteed merit awards (hope someone else will provide links to those for you or do a search). </p>
<p>As has been posted in the past…I’m looking for a new car and I would LOVE a Lexus. It’s not going to happen because I can’t afford to pay for it. I’m looking for cars within my financial means. Do the same for your college search. Sure…apply to some schools that meet full need…you might get accepted and you might get aid to support your attendance. BUT if not…you need to have other options.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, which is not known for good FA is very open about their policy of matching or beating offers from certain private institutions. In other words, if you get admission to say MIT or CalTech or Harvard and then go to CMU and ask them to change their FA, they will consider it. If you get a full ride from say Penn State or even Case Western, they may not give you the time of the day. So it is about bragging rights, “X got admission to Yale but preferred CMU” sounds better that “X got admission to State U but preferred CMU”. By this policy, they will **not ** match even UC Berkeley which has a very good engineering program.</p>
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<p>I am sure other selective colleges have similar policies but may not be as open about it as CMU.</p>