Make me a college list

momrath
Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:38:08 +0000

Teaspoons, you would be a person of interest to just about any college in the country. There are no guarantees of course so have a balanced list of reach/match/safety.

Your primary concern – as you’re aware – is going to be finances so you will need financial safeties as well.

Your first step is to understand the difference between NEED and MERIT based aid. Many schools in the Northeast (like Dartmouth) only offer need based aid – and this is based on what THEY think you need.

Your second step should be to ask your mother to use an on-line calculator to get an idea of how much need based aid you would be eligible for. Include your father’s income in the figures to be conservative. Need based aid varies somewhat from school to school but Dartmouth’s calculator will give you a starting point and let you know if you can rely on need based aid or if you absolutely must get merit aid.

If need based aid works for you, you can put together a fairly open list. If need based aid really is out of the question then you have to forget about schools that only offer need and start researching colleges that offer merit.

If Dartmouth’s calculation of expected family contribution works for you then I’d look at Princeton, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Hamilton in a similar ambience, but these do not have engineering.

For merit aid you should look at Grinnell, Rhodes and Smith. Smith is especially noteworthy because it has an engineering school and is generous to women in the sciences.

If you’re willing or able to participate in varsity sports then contact the coaches now. Official and unofficial athletic scholarships can change the financial picture considerably.