I am interested in a wide range of schools. I would be interested in applying to a school from a small liberal arts college (Occidental, Davidson) up to an Ivy or a school close to it.
I live in rural Ohio. I am flexible with campus size and location. My parents said that $40k is the max of what is possible. I am interested in studying international relations or political science and public policy. To date, cost has been one of the largest factors in my college search.
I have spent the past month looking at schools that offer merit aid and have had a challenging time. Even when qualifying for merit aid I have a challenging time getting down to the $40k number. Thank you all for your responses so far, and I look forward to the suggestions to come.
Also, is there any option for working directly with an admissions office to adjust financial aid based on changes in income? (My dad recently has recently lost his job and took a salary cut after looking for work for months. My mom had to significantly reduce her working hours due to partial disability within the past five years).
Again, I feel conflicted posting about this because I am incredibly grateful to have financial security and a stable home, meaning I have never faced challenges many face, which is a point that I feel needs reiterated.