Should I Change My List after EA Results?

College Search & Lists
1

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I was admitted to my dream school which is the Georgetown School of Foreign Service! I would absolutely love to attend Georgetown SFS, but they won’t give me my financial aid award until March, so my parents want me to apply to more schools in order to ensure I have affordable options.

I’ve already been accepted to Tulane with a generous scholarship which combined with the Pell Grant I’m eligible for makes Tulane affordable if I live at home. I also have my state flagship as an affordable backup.

Prior to the SFS acceptance, this was my list:
Reach: Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Tufts
Match: American, GWU, Macalester
Safety: Tulane (auto admit), State flagship

My parents want me to apply to more top tier schools after this acceptance, because top schools have great financial aid while I think I need more schools where I can get merit aid. Others on CC have advised me to consider more top tier schools as well, but I’m hesitant to spend a lot of time playing the lottery on top schools.

My family is low income, with an annual income of 50,000 for a family of five, but since we own a business, NPCs aren’t accurate, so we aren’t entirely sure what to expect from financial aid. I realize I should have applied to more schools with big merit aid awards EA but my counselor told me to wait until I got a decision from Georgetown first. Bad idea I know.

So, does anyone have any suggestions on whether I should change my list? Or can I just stick with applying to the other 5 schools on my list RD?

Stats:
GPA: 3.97 UW (one B junior year)
ACT: 36C (36R, 36E, 36S, 35M, 33W)- single sitting
SAT II: 800 Lit, 780 USH, 730 Bio E

2

I’d agree that it is worthwhile to put a couple of applications in at Ivy schools, if there are ones that you would be excited to attend, as they are typically generous with aid.

3

You should apply to schools you would attend over Georgetown or Tulane if they gave you a solid financial offer.

4

I’m with your parents on this one: focus on the schools that give great need-based aid. Merit aid usually has a maximum amount, but at generous full-need schools there is no maximum amount of aid you can receive as long as you show financial need. At your income level and stats, you have a good chance, and you can afford to take your chances since you have a couple acceptances in your pocket.

Take a look at some college match tools and see what you find.

5

Thank you very much everyone! Georgetown SFS was always my top choice, but I know there are many other great schools in the field of international relations that I could apply to.

I have some more questions though. Should I just add more schools to my list or should I also cut out ones I planned to apply to? Currently, I have 5 schools to apply to RD (GW, American, JHU, Tufts, and Macalester). What is a good amount to aim for without overburdening myself? I do have the next two weeks to work on apps, but I obviously don’t want to turn in a shoddy product due to time constraints. Thanks again for all your help!

6

As you point out, a family business may throw things off, but can you look into Georgetown’s fin aid stats to get an idea? Or ask for an early estimate from fin aid office?

I certainly wouldn’t want you to take my suggestion without looking into it but…I’m with Clarinetdad. I suspect that Georgetown would be as – or more – generous than John Hopkins, GW, and American. Not as sure about Tufts and Macalaster. So you might as well try an even more selective school.

I do have to say, tho – Georgetown sounds great for you! Congrats and please come back to let us know what happens.

7

Congrats on Georgetown. One thing to do is to google schools that meet full need without loans in the package. (There are about 20.) And apply to one or two that you like. That way, if the package doesn’t meet what your family can do, you can take out up to a $5500 loan to make up some or all of the difference.

You could cut one or two schools out of the five, particular the one or two that give the worst results on their NPC. But most of them are great for IR, and I’m guessing you may get an app fee waiver, so you may want to keep going and see what happens if it’s not too much of a burden.

Also, don’t listen to your counselor anymore.

8

Macalester is a good one to leave on your list – they give good need-based aid and they have merit too, so their aid will probably be competitive with Georgetown.

I agree with post #5 that GWU tends to give worse packages than Georgetown.

That’s all I have personal knowledge of.

From the guidebooks, I suggest adding Vassar as a reach with lots of financial aid money available.

9

Is there a huge difference between the $50,000 income and the gross take from the business?

10

@Otterma The $50,000 number was my parent’s adjusted gross income which included business income (according to the tax return). My parents own 100% of the business and it is their sole source of income. I’m not sure what gross take refers to exactly, but the gross receipts from the business are much much higher than 50k. However, the total income from the business is only a little higher than 50k after subtracting the cost of goods sold. After deductions, the ordinary business income is actually a loss, but I know that colleges add back in deductions, so I’m sure they’ll look at the numbers differently. Sorry if that was confusing, but I don’t fully understand all the terminology.

I know Net Price Calculators aren’t accurate because of the business, but Georgetown places our net price at about $6,500 which would be doable if I took out a small loan. I really hope Georgetown ends up being affordable, but I obviously can’t count on that, so I want to cover my bases. The consensus seems to be that I should apply to a few lottery schools with good financial aid. I think I might cut out either GWU or American and add another reach school with a good program in IR since those two schools are probably the least likely to be affordable. Any suggestions for reach schools?

11

I meant gross receipts. Since there is a big difference between the adjusted gross income and gross receipts, then you’re right, it will be difficult to know ahead of time how your financial aid will play out.

Absolutely leave Macalester on the list and ask for an interview if you haven’t already…I think they like demonstrated interest. I agree with the consensus that you should also add some reaches. Maybe Williams and Yale?

If you want a few more reachy choices in the South (and closer to home) consider Duke, Emory, Vanderbilt, and Rice.