Need help in compiling list of colleges which meet full need, to try NCP waiver

College Search & Lists
1

Hi,

I’m currently a high school senior, American expat (no in-state anywhere) planning for undergrad college admissions for fall 2019 term. I’m in the process of assembling a list of colleges to which I should apply.

A quick family background- Divorced parents, living with CP, EFC 0.

A quick student background - 1600 SAT, 800 on SAT Math 2. Consistently 4.0GPA/Valedictorian since childhood. Ranked #1/500. Extremely rigorous curriculum. Rest of the app is excellent (ECs, LORs, essays, etc.)

What I’m looking for in a college - I’d like to study Finance/Economics/Quant and work in high finance. Would like a liberal, non-religiously affiliated college with a minimal to moderate Greek life. Would prefer Urban/suburban campus. Want hardcore academics with excellent networking, study abroad, internships, OCR opportunities. Not interested in partied in hardcore social life. I’m independent and introverted. I’m also not at all found of nature and environment.

Since my situation is complicated, I’m strategically applying to two different set of colleges - ones which are FAFSA only or at least don’t require NCP info even if CSS Profile and targeting merit aid and the other set of colleges to try NCP waiver and which meet 100% demonstrated need. I’ve almost compiled a list based on former strategy, here I’m asking for advice and suggestions on compiling a list based on the latter strategy.

Here are the colleges I’m considering to begin shortlisting with-

LACs-

Williams
Amherst
Bowdoin
Swarthmore
Middlebury
Pomona
Carleton
Claremont McKenna
Davidson
Babson
Bates
Harvey Mudd
Haverford
Hamilton
Washington and Lee
Colby
Colgate
Harvey Mudd
Vassar
Grinnell
Hamilton
Haverford
Wesleyan
Bates
University of Richmond
Kenyin
Macalester
Oberlin
Pitzer
Lafayette
Union College
Franklin and Marshall
Skidmore
Occidental
Trinity CT
Connecticut College
Dickinson
Denison
DePauw
Gettysburg College
Muhlenberg
St. Olaf
Reed

Universities-

Bentley University
Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis
Brown
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth
Duke
Emory
GWU
Georgetown
Harvard
John Hopkins
Lehigh
MIT
Northeastern
Northwestern
Rice
SMU
Stanford
TCU
Syracuse
Tufts
Tulane
Umiami
Umichigan
Notre Dame
Upenn
Urochester
USC
Villanova
Wake Forest
WUSTL
Yale

Basically I’m starting out with colleges which meet full need. Also, if any student/parent has had the NCP waiver experience with any of the above college, I’d highly appreciate it. I’m also in a position where I can’t visit any school, so whatever it is, I’ll have to use the Internet.

Thanks in advance!

2

Rice would be a good fit for you, and it meets full need. It also gives some merit aid. Rice is not religiously affiliated, has a residential college system rather than Greek life, excellent academics, and is in an urban setting. Rice does value demonstrated interest, but since you are an ex pat, you should show interest in ways other than visiting campus.

3

How are you going to get a NCP waiver? You know where your dad is, you’ve spoken to him in the last few months, and you had an email conversation with him less than a month ago. His refusal to pay for your education won’t be enough grounds to get a waiver.

Are you pursuing colleges in India too? Since your mom isn’t working and can’t contribute, you’re going to need some affordable safeties.

4

@austinmshauri, I emailed the Financial Aid directors at some of the top LACs writing in my situation and they said that although they can’t give an answer now, my case was worth reviewing and could rise to the level of getting waived.

However, I’m not banking completely on the NCP info schools. I have 3 strategies planned for college admissions - 1. FAFSA only or PROFILE no-NCP info asked with merit aid. 2. CSS NCP schools (which meet full need) to try the NCP waiver. 3. Colleges in India that will be my safety anyways.

I definitely have affordable safeties both in US and India.

5

That’s great news. Building your list from the bottom up is a smart move.

6

From what you described. Monetary discussion aside. Here’s some I would highly consider and didn’t see on your list

Two which are exactly what you describe to a t.

University of chicago.

Cal Berkeley

Also I think notre dame and Bc also meet your requirements but are religiously affiliated. But BC is a bit less so. Neither have Greek life and social scene is there but definitely not intense. Especially at Bc the first couple of years.

7

Unfortunately, Cal Berkeley is a great option but unaffordable with OOS costs.

UChicago is my #1 overall option as it’s the only elite school not requiring NCP info. UChicago was already compiled on my 1st college list based on merit aid, FAFSA only/CSS-no NCP strategy.

This is for compiling my 2nd list based on the NCP waiver strategy.

8

Do any of these colleges practice front loading of grants? Also, I heard Syracuse is pretty stingy with FinAid and has a bad rap in cooperating in complex family situations. Should I strike it off? And what about UMichigan?

9

Check the net price calculators for Chicago and Vanderbilt, since Chicago does not require non-custodial parent information, and Vanderbilt usually does not.

If your custodial parent has remarried, also consider Princeton, whose policies are straightforwardly listed on its net price calculator page.

10

@ucbalumnus, UChicago and Vanderbilt meet my need and are already compiled on my list of colleges which are FAFSA only or CSS-no NCP. (Vandy says it might ask for NCP info later in the process).

CP isn’t remarried so with Princeton I might try NCP waiver. But from what I got a reply to my email to the Financial Aid dept. @ Princeton, they don’t seem too friendly or optimistic about this.

I want to now compile a list of colleges which meet need to try NCP waiver out there.

11

From the list above, I’d like to shortlist. Looking for Uber-competitive, cut throat academics, fast-paced, liberal college with a go, go, go attitude. Also looking for extremely hardcore quantitative finance/economics, depth laden with heavy Math, CS, Business.

12

Eek, a college starter list of 70+. I agree with austinmshauri that you need to build from the bottom up, a few uber safeties you can afford and are likely to get admitted to. You say your EFC is zero, bit that’s only one calculation. Schools don;t tend to then offer 100%.

Truth is, it can be difficult to get the waiver. It’s typical of adcoms or FA folks to encourage without promising.

The first trick is figuring out where you match, as a start. It’s not just stats and superficials. You say your ECs, LoRs, essays are good- but do you know what makes one competitive or not?

Are you in India? There will be a lot of competition from India, not only foreign citizens but expats, and at a high level.

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/u-s-citizen-abroad-international-student/

13

If UChicago is your clear #1, and the NPC indicates it would be affordable, ED1 or 2 could be an option. Their ED1 acceptance rate is around 4-5 times as high as RD.

You have started out with quite a large list of possibilities. How to whittle them down to 8, 10, 15?

I think you have to have at least one safety – so start there. But none of the schools you mentioned are safety material. So if money is a big issue, I suggest looking at automatic merit schools like New Mexico, Ole Miss, Alabama, UAH and some others – google “automatic merit schools” for a more comprehensive list.

Now, the schools you listed could comprise your reaches and matches. Apply your preferences and do a lot of reading to figure out which handful of matches and handful of reaches fit you the best.

And if you want help figuring out which are reaches and which are matches, we can provide some guidance.

14

@lookingforward, well in my other thread a few months back, I was helped in compiling a list of schools which were mostly of uber safeties and affordable. That was based on my first strategy.

Now based on my 2nd strategy, I also need to compile a list of schools where I’m highly competitive and try to get NCP info waived. The reason why I’m starting out with 70+ schools here is that all of them cover my need. I don’t really see a big deal and unnecessary fuss about whether NCP info can be waived, albeit I agree the schools can show false hopes. The way my situation has been, I’m pretty confident, I’ll get the NCP info waived. If not, it’s okay, that’s why I’m casting a wide net across 3 different strategies.

I do know what being competitive is. (It’s deeply woven in Asian genes!). Agree that I’m coming from a competitive pool, (now we now what being competitive is), but based on our Indian education examination statistics, Olympiads and stuff, I’m way ahead than the rest. And unlike most of applicants whose parents have huge black money to afford foreign education, I have a unique and persevering background that colleges love to see.

15

Not genetic competitiveness. Rather, the competition for a slot at the most- and highly-competitive colleges. Pleasebe careful. It is not simply stats, awards, and the back story. There’s a lot of awareness needed, starting with just what these colleges look for, and then strategy in how your app and supps are presented.

16

@prezbucky, the list I compiled with your and others help a few months back in my old thread has most of the safeties. This is that list based on first strategy -

  1. University of Chicago
  2. Vanderbilt University
  3. Miami University
  4. University of Virginia
  5. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  6. ‎University of Arizona
  7. University of Utah
  8. ‎University of Alabama, Huntsville
  9. University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  10. University of Mississippi
  11. University of Arkansas
  12. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
  13. ‎University of Tulsa
  14. ‎Stony Brook University
  15. UT Dallas
  16. ‎UT Austin
  17. ‎UT Tyler
  18. ‎University of Houston
  19. ‎University of South Carolina
  20. ‎ University of Kentucky
  21. ‎ Temple University
  22. University of New Hampshire
  23. Gettysburg College
  24. Trinity University, TX
  25. James Madison University
  26. Stevens Institute of Technology
  27. UT Arlington
  28. University of San Diego
  29. Southwestern University
  30. Baruch college
  31. St. Lawrence university
  32. Ohio state university

*Most of them don’t use CommonApp. I’m managing to get app fee waivers from these colleges.

Yes, I’m applying to UChicago as ED1.

I do have one doubt - if I apply to one school ED1, can I apply ED2 to the other school and EA to the rest of them? Or ED means only for a single school?

17

@lookingforward, sure! Thanks for your advice!

18

You have a pretty comprehensive list of the meet full need schools. Our family went through the NCP waiver process, and found it to be exhausting. Each school has their own process, required forms and supporting paperwork. My son only applied to six and I took charge of that piece of the process. I don’t know how early one can submit the waiver request, but from what I’ve read of your situation, the waiver may not be granted. So figuring out waiver status before applying would be a big help. I just don’t know if schools will do that. You say you’ve contacted some FA offices already, have they given you a timeline? I just think you need to cut your list way down based on other factors, then put in the work on waivers and applications to the schools that make your cut.

ED1 at UChicago sounds great. If you get in and can afford it, you are done. If you don’t get in, deferred or rejected, you can try ED2 elsewhere. Good luck.

19

@momofel, upon contacting some of the top LACs FinAid Directors directly by email, some replied asking me to get back with the case when the 2019-20 CSS PROFILE opens, some responded that I should I send in the same email again once the app opens to get NCP waiver. Some replied that my case was worth reviewing and could rise to the level of getting waived while some said there’s nothing to worry about, we can waive it. The ones who didn’t give an answer straight up asked me to get 3rd party impartial documentation that NCP is out of the picture along with the waiver form. I’m really having a hard time which should be on my list and which ones not. Some colleges’ FinAid dept. are stingy to work with so I’m trying to figure out which one’s could be more approaching to my case.

20

Uber competitive and cutthroat? Start by taking Colby, Skidmore, Macalester, Union, Kenyon, Oberlin, Dickinson, Gettysburgh, Boston U, Syracuse and URochester off your list. These are the schools I am familiar with, I’m sure there’s a dozen more that don’t fit that bill which I’m not sure of.

I don’t think St. Olaf or Northeastern meet those two standards either but look like good match schools for you.