<p>Oh of course, lol…im very very meticulous. I already have a list prepared…of course, how can i not!? I have been working on it since Feb 2005
Here it is:
-NYU
-BU
-JHU
-Brandeis
-Univ of Rochester
-Lehigh
-Syracuse</p>
<p>While you wouldn’t be considered a “URM”, there are many schools who believe that enrolling more students from lower SES status is an institutional priority just as important as increasing their URM enrollment.</p>
<p>Obviously, as others have said, aid could be the deal-breaker. Some schools that are reputed to have crappy aid for middle-income students have better aid for lower-income students. Others don’t. Hard to generalize.</p>
<p>Most of the stuff I’ve suggested, you’ve already been aware of. However, I assume you’re taking the SAT again in the Fall. For RD, you can take it as late as January.</p>
<p>If you take it no more than three times, they will probably pick the best scores from each verbal/math/writing category. If you take it more than three times, they will probably average each category.</p>
<p>Good luck, again.</p>
<p>ye, i know that too. lol</p>
<p>bklyn,</p>
<p>I wish you well in the admissions process and I really hope that everything works out for you. Personally given your circumstances, I do not think that you have a true financial safety which may present a problem should you be admitted and the package is not what you were expecting.</p>
<p>NYU, JHU. Lehigh, Syracuse, None of these schools are need blind.</p>
<p>NYU does not meet 100% of your demonstrated need, they are heavy on loan aid and they gap.</p>
<p>BU- the big bucks of BU’s financial aid is reserved for students that are at the very top of the heap. They also do not meet 100% of your demonstrated need (gaps). I would suggest you search the FA forum as a student recently got in to BU with a total package of 7175 *2500 was loans)</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=73317[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=73317</a></p>
<p>Lehigh- does not meet 100% of demonstrated need (gaps). * Lehigh provides a limited number of merit-based scholarships for students of exceptional ability and talent. Awards to students can vary from one student to another, especially when a financial need has been established, by the filing of the CSS/PROFILE application* Largest scholarship- ASA Packer scholarship is $15,000.</p>
<p>Syracuse- does not meet 100% of demonstrated need (gaps) larges scholarship- Founders scholarship $12,000</p>
<p>JHU- Does not meet 100% of demonstrated need (gaps) Very few scholarships have a definitive amount.</p>
<p><a href=“Student Financial Support | Johns Hopkins University”>Student Financial Support | Johns Hopkins University;
<p>In the end the choice is yours. Run your family’s numbers through a few financial aid calculators so that you have some idea as to where you stand. As a freshman, the most you will be able to borrow is 2650 (subsidized stafford) 4000 perkings (an additional $4000 un subsidied if your parents are not eligible for plus loans).</p>
<p>Well ye, but then what school is realistic for me? Give me a good list of good schools that are good with aid in the northeast. Cus i really dunno wat to do other than my first option. I refuse to go to some city school where most idiots go to. I worked too hard for that. I also refuse to go to a non-known or non-prestigious school.</p>
<p>My S got into BU and got 100% of demonstrated need. We had a relatively low EFC of about 15K and BU had a COA of about 43K. BU gave him a 20K grant and the rest of it was about 5K in loans and 3K in part-time work. He certainly was not at the top of the heap. He got a better deal at Emory which is known for good financial aid. He was borderline at Emory.</p>
<p>Our family income is around 70K per year which is low because only I work and we have no savings. When a family income approaches 100K and goes towards 120K, the EFC gets so high that it pretty much eliminates all FA. That kind of income isn’t that high for a two income family. It’s very hard to predict FA packages. It’s harder to compare them since the EFC is so high for most people. Saying that someone only got 7K in FA sounds bad, but it could have been 100% of demonsrated need for a middle class family.</p>
<p>From what you’ve said, your family’s EFC is going to be very low. I was thinking that applying ED to Cornell might work in your favor since they will guarantee demonstrated need. They may not give you the best package possible, but they can’t load you up with loans past a certain point. I really don’t feel good about giving advice on FA, but a financial safety is a school that you can afford to go to with zero dollars in FA from the school and only student loans. </p>
<p>You might look at Emory. It’s in Atlanta but it is a great school and a large part of the student population is from NY.</p>
<p>i really dont want any place outside a driving distance of nyc.</p>
<p>i dont think you would be considered a URM. most good schools are need blind so they wont look at how much money you make when considering you. what they see is the race box that you check. i dont know for sure how it works out… but if they are really need blind then, logically, that makes sense</p>
<p>Bklyn,</p>
<p>Dufus is correct in stating that you may have to cast a wider net as the largest contigency of students at most Northeast schools, are from NYS (the bulk of them are from NYC), MA and CA. So not only is the pool going to be really competitive but limited $$. Granted you are a solid student, but coming from NYC, you are going to be in the application pool against students from Stuyvestant (they send such a large number of students to Cornell each year people joke about it beeing a feeder school) Bx Science, Bklyn Tech, Hunter, Harris, Lab in addtion to some of the elite privates that also send a many students to Cornell. </p>
<p>I would also suggest that you read Cornell’s Common Data Set in order to get a snap shot of last years admitted class.</p>
<p>You should also find out if you can get a copy of you high school’s profile. There you will get information on the average SAT, what percent of students from your school graduate, attend 4 year schools and the schools which they are usually admitted to.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/~provost/research_peers.html[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/~provost/research_peers.html</a></p>
<p>This way you can research a few schools at once.</p>
<p>Current CDS for Cornell:</p>
<p><a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/CDS/cds_200405.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/irp/pdf/CDS/cds_200405.pdf</a></p>
<p>It’s funny, I was looking at Muhlenberg as a financial safety for you but I read their financial aid philosophy. I was rather eye opening but they were straight forward with the truth that while an overwheming majority of schools have the same approach to financial aid, they son’t state it as the first thing you see. Worth a read and something to keep in mind when choosing schools:</p>
<p>*More recently, colleges have begun using Financial Aid as a recruiting tool. As colleges continue to work at shaping, rather than simply filling, their classes, money has become a means to enrolling the particular students that an institution most wants. This phenomenon is called preferential packaging.</p>
<p>Preferential Packaging
Preferential packaging means, simply, that the students a college would most like to enroll will receive the most advantageous financial aid packages.</p>
<p>Financial Aid packages are made up of:</p>
<p>Grants
Grants come from the college, the state, or the national government. They are “gifts,” or “free money” and do not have to be paid back. </p>
<p>Loans
You are entitled to some loans by the government , and there are others you or your parents must qualify for, but taking loans is always at your option. Loans must be repaid, usually beginning six months after graduation from college. </p>
<p>Work
Colleges and the government both fund on-campus work programs. These programs are designed to help a student meet the total cost of attending college–over and above tuition and fees–in exchange for on-campus work.
A preferential financial aid package includes a far greater percentage of grant aid than self-help (loans and work). Colleges have discretion over how much grant aid they choose to award a student. So, a college can award a bigger grant to a student they would really like to enroll. In some cases, the total of grant from the college and the loans the student is entitled to may exceed the student’s financial need. (“Need” is the cost of attendance-- tuition, room, board, books, travel and expenses-- minus what a family is able to pay.) In addition, students at the top of the applicant pool may receive Merit Scholarships designed to reward their outstanding high school record and further entice them to the college.*</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/aid.html[/url]”>http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/aid.html</a></p>
<p>Here in california for the UC system we dont base our admissions on race. it is against our laws. Instead we base our admissions on academic factors as well as factors in ones life. One of the most important questions on the UC application is: are you independent or dependent of your parents, and if you are dependent how much money do your parents make. That question alone can make or break alot of people.</p>
<p>Well, sybbie, what can i say? Im not going to a school very far away from NYC. I need to come back home sometime. I need to get connected to the city that I’ve lived in my whole life. Many of my friends are NOT leaving the city for college, so they will stay here. I, on the other hand, worked very hard in HS, and Im confident that even though i will be competing against stuy, bx sci, bklyn tech (which is becoming even worse than my school which is Midwood), and others, the adcoms at Cornell know my college counselor at Midwood. Midwood has had more Intel semifinalists than any school in NYC, beating out Stuy for several years already. Cornell knows midwood and Cornell took approximately 15 people this year from Midwood, only 2 through Early decision actually. Many people applied ED Cornell at Midwood, i think it was around 13, and only 2 got in! Even an Intel Semifinalist DID NOT get in! She was deferred, but shes going to NYU, so it doesnt matter. You see? Even an Intel Semifinalist can get rejected. </p>
<p>Sybbie, ive done a large amount of research and im fully aware of what the Cornell class comprises of, and even with that, i am still confident that applying Early, coupled with my motivation, drive, consistently solid grades with the toughest classes at Midwood, focused and strong EC’s, visible leadership abilities through my various important roles in my EC’s (such as Founder/President of Young Democrats at Midwood, Chairman of NYC Model Congress, Director of Cancer Fundraiser, etc.), my overcoming adversity (living with a disabled mother, and a low income household), and especially my strong desire to actually go to Cornell because (as i will project in my essays) I share the values and mission of Cornell’s “open doors, open hearts, open minds” motto. I feel that all those upper class upper East Side kids from Stuy will all look exactly the same with their high GPAs, high SATs, high income, and OK EC’s. I’m a unique individual, that has overcome a lot, and through my personal strife, ive learned that knowledge and action is the key to success, and my curiosity for learning more through reading newspapers daily, and my desire to go to Cornell because I want to challenge my mind to its fullest potential so that from what i obtain, i can use in the world to make a change, are strong words and they have a strong meaning, in my opinion, cus in actuality, all those words come from my heart and are not fluff like most ppl write (“i want to help people”).</p>
<p>Bklyn,</p>
<p>Have you considered taking the ACT? some students tend to do better on it because it is more aligned with what you have learned in H.S. Are you thinking about taking the SAT I again? If you can give your self a little boost and with your solid academic record you would be in a better position to get merit money (even if you keep your prospective list of schools). </p>
<p>Have you considered Tulane? Even though it is outside of you 4 hour drive from NYC. Your current score would place you in the middle of of their middle 50 percent SAT range. The school is need blind meets 100% of yor demonstrated need.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.tulane.edu/~admiss/admission/Scholarship_and_Financial_Aid/[/url]”>http://www.tulane.edu/~admiss/admission/Scholarship_and_Financial_Aid/</a></p>
<p>They were recently infused with 60 million dollar gift from Netscape co-founder Jim Clark and Yahoo! co-founder David Filo.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www2.tulane.edu/tulane_talk/tt_072904.cfm[/url]”>http://www2.tulane.edu/tulane_talk/tt_072904.cfm</a></p>
<p>You could apply EA and have a decision back before thanksgiving. You could attend one of their regional receptions if they do not come to your school. They may be worth taking a look into.</p>
<p>Bklyn,</p>
<p>I am very familiar with Midwood (having been born and raised in brooklyn myself) and I kind of figured that ws the school which you attend.</p>
<p>While yesit is true that Midwood has many Intel finalist, if you are not one of them it will do little for your cause. I am just suggesting that you keep an open mind and deal with the realities of the admissions process. While Midwood had 15 people come in thorugh early decision, </p>
<p>Stuyvesant H.S. in NYC Class of 2005 had the following admits;</p>
<p>7- harvard, 12- Princeton, 30-Cornell, 29-Columbia, 16-Dartmouth, 6-Penn, 8-Stanford, 9 wash u, 7 williams, 4 -amherst, 4-brown, 4-cooper union, 8-georgetown, 8-Jhu, 11-MIT and mutltiple admissions at chichago, wes, wellesley, vassar etc. with a large number of ED admits in each school.</p>
<p>The year my daughter graduated 2004 (she did not attend Stuyvesant, turned it down to stay at her 6-12 school) they had over 50 admits to Cornell. MY all means if Cornell is your deream school then you should go for it because if you don’t apply you have a 100% chance of not getting in. By the same token , to pin all your hopes or place all your eggs in one basket.</p>
<p>Wait, so what are you saying then? Cornell is my dream school. Tulane, i did look into briefly. My couselor told me its a safety for me, and there was a guy this year who applied ED Cornell and EA Tulane. New Orleans, or wherever in LA it is, i just…no way, lol. I cant imagine going to LA. Its a totally different culture (and ive been to the south, its not pretty). BTW, i am in Intel (currently working in the lab). I will retake the SAT in October.</p>
<p>Sybbie, i am just curious. In summation, what are you really trying to tell me? That i shouldnt apply to Cornell? That my chances are bad at Cornell? That my schools wont give me money? Just please tell me straightfowardly. Thanks.</p>
<p>Bklyn, Cornell is quite a haul from NYC. If you’re willing to got that far (and to that rural culture) there are lots of other great schools to add to your list.</p>
<p>I think it’s actually a disadvantage that you go to an excellent school. The key reason low income kids are often given a boost is because they have not had much exposure and many opportunities. Clearly, your high school is strong and offers a great deal. And since so many from your school go to Cornell, you face a great deal of competition from within, many of whom will probably have higher scores given the calibre of your school.</p>
<p>I agree about casting a wider net with a score in the low 1300s.</p>
<p>No one should really consider themselves a lock in any school because admissions change year over year as schools build classes consistent with the mission that they are trying to achieve. I cannot say that your chances are good or bad at any school I don’t know what kind of class they are trying to build in 2010. Cornell already knows that it wil get a lot of enginnering and science apps, they could be looking to build up a department so students who show passion in the area they are trying to build may have the edge in the process. You never know from one year to the next(you said yourself that an Intel from your school was rejected last year, so you see first hand that it wasn’t a major tip factor to place the application in the admit pile).</p>
<p>You should apply to where ever you are happy. If that is Cornell than you should go for it. I am a firm beleiver that if you can’t comfortably write your check for $40,000, you should not go ED because you don’t know what FA will look like from one year to the next. A school can fill you FA need and still be heavy on loans. Unless you have a pretty good Idea of your EFC from both parents and know that it is not going to be a problem for them to pay it, then you need to be able to compare offers. Remember that FA aid is based on what the school beleives you can afford to pay, not what your tale of woe is. This is often a big disconnect and students end up complaining that the school screwed them when they really did not do their homework.</p>
<p>I know that in my own house we needed to look and compare offers so D did not apply ED anywhere. I also told her to apply with the mind set that if this was the only school you got admitted to you would be happy to attend. She applied to 7 schools (school allowed 8 applications), accepted at all. Williams gave her one of the best packages, which she used to negotiate her package at her first choice Dartmouth (almost a $4,000 difference). While financially we gave the same information to all of the schools, there was a $10,000 difference between the best offer and the worse. All were need blind schools(Dartmouth,Williams, Amherst,Tufts, Barnard, Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke) all met 100% of demonstrated need.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, yes your back up schools are not need blind nor do they meet 100% of your demonstrated need. So should you be admitted, the package can be a real crapshoot that prevents you from attending if you cannot come up with the money. In addition at non-need blind schools, if they have to decide between you and another similiarly qualified candidate, the person who can pay more will knock you out of the box.</p>
<p>If you haven’tyet, you should definitely read the thread about smart safeties</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76138[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76138</a></p>
<p>and read the thread about andi’s son very talented musician and top student with excellent test scores applied to HYP, Wash U, Swarthmore and Oberlin. Felt confident he would get in, kids like him or less, from his school, typically got in to these schools. He didn’t. Rejected at the ivies, waitlisted at the other 3. Aggressively courted the waitlisted schools, result, rejected. He’s taking a gap year.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=71429&highlight=Andi’s[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=71429&highlight=Andi’s</a></p>
<p>I am just saying the the admissions process overall is capricious and arbitrary and no one is a definite. Yes, you should defintely believe in yourself, hope for your best but also have a strong plan because failing ot plan is planning to fail.</p>