Yes, I am seeing $200,000 as the new ceiling for a handful of schools for aid. Maybe they are in that sweet spot where they will still get aid. When OP says family income is “around $200K” it seems to matter a lot if it is $190k or $215k. Also, for those schools that use $200K - is it a cutoff? e.g. at $201,000 no aid is provided? Or does it still provide sliding scale aid above that point?
I asked that exact question on a recent Colby tour, and no one could give me an answer. I’m circling back to Fin Aid office, will let you know. I highly doubt that it’s a sharp cliff at 201k, since that figure already received modest aid before the recent upgrade, but even a frame shift from “new paradigm” at 200k to “old paradigm” at 201k+ would be an eye-opener for those of us near that line.
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I would say most of the highly rejective schools have accurate NPCs, at least for straightforward family situations. Until OP runs those with their parents, they won’t know which schools on the list might be affordable. It’s also easy to run various scenarios on the NPCs to see what the hit is for home equity, or how aid changes at different level of income and/or assets.
Sadly at schools that do give merit aid but don’t have a merit table and/or include academic stats in their NPC, one won’t know what they might receive in the way of merit aid until they apply and are accepted.
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My son is currently a first year at UChicago and is also from the same geographic region as the OP. Like the OP, during his college search he was less interested in prestige and instead prioritized an intellectually rigorous learning environment (and schools that ranked highly in his particular area of study). Reading the OP’s description of what they’re seeking in terms of academic vibes, I would encourage the OP to pursue UChicago and to earnestly emphasize to UChicago their sincerely held interest in the life of the mind. Intellectualism is a hard characteristic for an applicant to fake and it seems that the UChicago admissions officers do a fairly good job of identifying applicants with that particular trait. The students my son has befriended at UChicago are vastly different from each other in myriad ways but they all have that unique intellectual drive in common.
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Thanks. Trinity College Dublin looks fitting, affordable, and attainable.
I am curious as to whether these international schools are being suggested for their lack of emphasis on ECs during admissions, or whether they are being suggested for their being intellectual and rigorous; i.e., are Durham and KCL easier admits, or better fits, or both?
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They are easier admits because they a) don’t care about ECs and b) like the higher international fees that Americans pay (though Oxford doesn’t care about this bit).
They are challenging admits for domestic students and places like TCD will be very rigorous and have lots of intellectual students. You can watch “Normal People” for a flavor of the TCD experience.
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Intellectual for sure- but it needs to be a fit for a kid in many other ways besides rigor.
No Gen Eds- hooray! But for some kids, it’s those courses which actually become the “path” after college. No frequent quizzes to study for- fantastic! Except for some kids, it’s the regular assessment/feedback which keeps them on track academically. No (or limited) college organized social life- amazing! Except that means LOTS of time spent in local pubs which works for some, will be extremely unhealthy for others (especially for a kid who has struggled with substances already). Etc.
You really need a deep dive to make sure that all elements of the UK university experience will work for a particular kid. I know lots of kids who came home after their first year and the parents felt very burnt by the experience. Office of disability support? No, probably not. Dietician and nutritional counseling so that a kid with severe allergies can still maintain a healthy diet in the U’s cafeteria? Probably not. Academic counseling for a kid who made the wrong choice in terms of his/her program? No. Administrators to run interference with professors for a kid’s particular learning issues or challenges? Likely not.
Kid goes off to great fanfare (and the parents get bragging rights AND a lower pricetag than the US options) and then comes home after the first year to discover that they are NOT getting a year’s worth of academic credit at whatever place they are transferring to. Being on academic warning in the UK likely means a do-over back home. So the “we saved so much money” becomes paying 5 years for the Bachelor’s.
Great, fantastic, unbelievable option for some kids, terrible option for others. Any kid who has needed some sort of scaffolding in HS here (parental, ADHD coach, school provided intervention, substantial extra tutoring) may not be a great candidate for a UK university (at least for undergrad. By grad school the situation may look much better because the “growing up” part has already happened!!!)
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My niece is at Trinity College, Dublin from Chicago. She is loving it and says that the level of rigor is really high. She doesn’t have time for a part time job because the work load is so heavy.
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I once read of John’s Hopkins being described as an admissions academic bargain for the liberal arts. Applicants are attracted to JHU for its reputation in the sciences, but the caliber of its faculty its funding for the liberal arts is every bit as good. Because students are drawn there for the sciences, it can be overlooked for liberal arts and therefore not as competitive for admissions, or so I read. Hopkins is certainly a very intellectual and rigorous environment.
Several years ago, Hopkins received a $1.8 billion gift from Michael Bloomberg. They have used this money to commit to making a John’s Hopkins education affordable for every student. They are need blind for admissions and are committed to providing financial support without loans.
Another school worth taking a look at for similar reasons is Rice, best known for a long time for their engineering school. Their Rice Investment program guarantees half tuition for families with incomes up to $200K. I’m guessing that inflation may be making that upper limit somewhat flexible. I have 2 grandkids at Rice and they would definitely describe it as intellectually rigorous.
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I second U of Chicago, which has a reputation for academic rigor, smart and somewhat nerdy student body, and atmosphere that encourages free inquiry and reasoned debate.
If you are planning to study Economics UofC is tied for first in USNWR rankings, and it produces nobel laureats in the field like some schools turn out PhDs (ok, that is an exaggeration, but they have a top program). Nobel Prizes | University of Chicago
The icing on the cake is that it is only around two hours from you, depending on weather and traffic.
I would rate the OP as a likely admit at Case for Econ, if the AO thinks he is not using them as a safety. The risk here is Case would defer him and invite him to apply ED II if he is serious about attending. He would also probably receive a generous merit package.
You may want to research Northwestern. It is strong in everything, including Economics (#8). It has a beautiful campus in a nice town, yet is an easy commute to Chicago. It has the added benefit of being a half hour from Milwaukee.
My mother, father, sister and niece all attended NU, and they loved it.
It is private and expensive, so you will need to look at aid. Your lack of ECs will probably hurt your chances of admission.
Don’t forget, OP has a budget, is unlikely to get need aid, and has no or minimal ECs.
Evanston to Milwaukee is more like 90 minutes.
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With a family income of $200K, she would get a half tuition scholarship at Rice. I’ll bet there are others as well who realize that $200K doesn’t buy what it used to.
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I didn’t see this mentioned, but note that you can only apply to 5 schools on UCAS and only one of either Oxford or Cambridge.
My hesitation for this poster for UK/Irish schools is that she seems ambivalent about what she wants to major in, and the UK system provides much less flexibility to change your mind once you’re in, especially to a completely different discipline (like economics to English).
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@KV1, I agree and shared the same sentiment! Seems to fit OP’s requirements and profile.
I think this point bears repeating. At many selective private colleges, 200k income with typical assets (no trust funds or high-equity investment properties, etc.) receives substantial need-based aid that would bring the cost down well below 60k. My daughter is also at Rice, and even though we are a bit above the 140k threshold for full-tuition (150k-160k income most years), we have continued to receive aid covering 90%+ tuition. I would guess that most Rice students at 200k income have a net cost at or below $40k. Rice is likely among the most generous programs in the nation, but getting below $60k at other schools seems very possible.
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Yes, what you are saying is true.
Just one problem: getting admitted to these schools.
Rice acceptance rate: 8%; average ACT 35
Duke acceptance rate: 6%; average ACT 34-35
Stanford acceptance rate: 3.7%; average ACT 35
What is missing from this are options for the level of students just below this —those with ACT scores in the 32-33 range, great ECs, and from families with $200K incomes.
And if those students are STEM majors and/or aren’t sold on the small LAC experience, the choices are extremely limited.
I am not sure why everyone is pushing these super reach schools on the OP but I don’t think it is OPs best interest to focus on super reach schools.
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Especially if their out of class background is not strong.
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