<p>well just finished sophomore year, all A’s, 4.6gpa,blah blah whatever.</p>
<p>My question is, if im in a lower middle class family that cant afford anything over 15-20 grand a year what are my options for College? The only “upper” college/ivy college that gives acceptable financial aid that we could afford is Harvard; every other college like Princton is just way too expensive. Taking loans is not an option.</p>
<p>If i didnt get into harvard, then it seems that my only option would to be to go to a State school or some other cheaper “lower” level college. My question is: What are some “middle ground” schools Between a state school and the ivies that provide decent financial aid/are cheap.</p>
<p>my brother goes to Harvard and even with their generous financial aid, its expensive enough. If i dont get in as well, am i just going to end up going to my State’s school with many people on a lower level then me (i know that sounds really conceded, but you know what i mean). It seems kinda like a waste to take all these AP’s and get such a high GPA, just to end up going to University of My State with people who slacked off much more in high school. Wheres the middle ground, for people who didnt quite make it into the ivies but are “above” state school level?</p>
<p>BtCorn, I think you’ll be surprised how intelligent people are at a highly ranked state school like UVA, UNC, William & Mary, Michigan or Wisconsin just to name a few. I go to Clemson, only the #22 public college in the US but I know people who have enough AP credits to be a junior already and 60% of the students here were in the top 10% of their high school class so I’m sure you’ll have even more intelligent people at a much better public college.</p>
<p>missing the point… I don’t think im some super smart person or that everyone at state schools is stupid. I just see people who get B’s, and even C’s and dont take very hard clases, etc get into state Schools. So then i wonder whats the point of taking all these hard classes and getting all A’s if i will just end up at the same college as them.</p>
<p>But forget anything about me… Whats between Ivies and State school?</p>
<p>Wheres the middle ground, for people who didnt quite make it into the ivies but are “above” state school level?</p>
<p>Since money is an issue, you may have to look at schools that will give you a merit scholarship for your stats in case you don’t get into Harvard. </p>
<p>I don’t care how high your stats are, you’re not “above” your state school. LOL (and learn how to spell conceited.)</p>
<p>BtCorn, you missed my point as well. What state do you live in? There are tons of state schools out there and some accept students with B’s and C’s while others only accept very driven students with A’s. The point of the state education is to provide a quality and affordable education to students (primarily in-state) at different levels who want it.</p>
<p>What’s between a normal state school and Harvard? What about a highly ranked college like UVA or UC-Berkeley?</p>
<p>In addition many state schools have honors programs and these programs have challenging classes and extra research opportunities. A honors program may offer you more opportunities than a “middle ground” school depending on the school.</p>
<p>Alright im really sorry i opened this can of worms…once again ill say: i wasnt trying to imply state school are bad or only dumb people go there, i was just interested In what colleges (affordable colleges) are considered better or ranked higher than most state schools (or mine Georiga), but lower than the Ivies.</p>
<p>I live in georiga, and as much as i love the state, im hoping maybe to go to college elsewhere (hence not UGA). At the moment interested in Bio/Biochem. No real preference with size, location- not going to reject school based on location but preferably in the East/Norteast. And then of course, financial aid and being cheap is really important to me</p>
<p>Im very very sorry if for some reason i offended anyone and im sorry i cant spell.</p>
<p>or i can change the question: If i dont go to a state school and dont go to an Ivy, where do i go that i can afford?</p>
<p>alright cool, that sounds a whole lot better. Schools in the northeast are VERY expensive (we’re talking $50,000 to $60,000) so you’re going to have to find a school with excellent financial aid. There are some great private schools in the south like Davidson that are much cheaper than schools in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Yeah, not really focusing on Northeast, south is great too, just preferably not GA or far west. Location is not incredibly important though.</p>
<p>I was thinking Schools like Vanderbilt, in that range, and i know Vanderbilt gives good financial aid cause my brother got a great deal there and probably would have gone there if he didnt get into Harvard. But are then any other sort of schools like this?</p>
<p>Some suggestions of schools where you can get good financial aid on the east coast:</p>
<p>Amherst, Barnard (if you are a girl), Bates, BC, Bowdoin, Brown, Bryn Mawr (if you are a girl), Bucknell, Case Western, Colby, Colgate, Holy Cross, Connecticut College, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Gettysburg, Hamilton, Haverford, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Middlebury, Mount Holyoke (if you are a girl), Sewanee, Skidmore, Smith, Swarthmore, Trinity (CT), Tufts, University Of Richmond, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Wellesley (if you are a girl), Wesleyan University, Williams.</p>
<p>This list excludes ivy league and state schools. I’m not a financial aid expert so feel free other people to add/subtract from my list but those are schools I think you can get a decent financial aid package from.</p>
Princeton eliminated loans long before Harvard did. Is there a reason, completely unknown to the rest of us, that Princeton would be “way too expensive” while Harvard would not? </p>
<p>Here’s a list from another thread. I’m not sure when it was compiled, so it may be outdated.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Check out the stickied thread for merit aid:</p>
<p>You might also want to check over the list of colleges offering the greatest percentages of merit aid. Several very good colleges (Denison, Rhodes, Wooster, Tulane, etc.) make the list.</p>
<p>Good list Pierre. OP, if you are “lower middle class” which to me means less than a 100K income, you should not assume you would not get need based aid at the above schools. I would add UNC and UVA to the list.</p>
<p>@Pierre: Johns Hopkins is a school that has always interested me, but i was under the impression that it was very very expensive. Do they do the ‘need’ kind of financial aid where you pay based on your parent’s salary or do they just provide lots of scholarships and stuff?</p>
<p>@warblers: Princeton is about 40-50 grand a year, right? And they dont do the need based financial aid type of thing that harvard does. We pay about 17K a year for my brother at Harvard, which is obviously a lot cheaper than Princeton’s 50k a year.</p>
<p>Any thank you, those links are very useful.</p>
<p>Financial Aid Statistics
Freshman receiving any financial aid: 47%
Undergraduates receiving any financial aid: 45%
Average Percent of Need Met: 98%
Average Total Financial Aid Package: $31,853
Average Freshman Total Need-Based Gift Aid: $27,706
Average Undergraduate Total Need-Based Gift Aid: $28,380
Average Need-Based Loan: $4,530
Average amount of loan debt per graduate: $21,859
Undergraduates who have borrowed through any loan program: 44%</p>
<p>Tuition: $40,680
On-Campus Room and Board: $12,510
On-Campus Room Only: $7,150
On-Campus Board Only: $5,360
Average Cost for Books and Supplies: $1,200
Other Expenses: $1,000
Estimate Board for Commuters (living at home): $4,810.00
Cost Per Credit-Hour: $1,355
Tuition / Fees Vary by Year of Study: No</p>
<p>If you go to the flagship state school, you may do well indeed. You will find, although it make take a bit of work, other kids who are very smart, very talented and not very rich. You will do well, and probably be able to convince professors to let you in advanced courses without having the prerequisite courses. </p>
<p>All private schools have need based aid, and many will provide a ‘full ride’ . </p>
<p>Next year , you’ll be taking the PSATs ‘for real’ - you can land some very nice scholarships if you do very well on those.</p>
<p>Try to find a real life mentor - an adult who knows about college if humanly possible to help you through the process.</p>
<p>There are many other great schools, but I have to say that Harvard at 17K is a great bargain. You say that taking loans is not an option, but even if you have to borrow a few thousand of that, you’ll come out with a Harvard degree and very manageable debt. If you can get into Harvard, what’s wrong with that?</p>
<p>Princeton is not only full-need no-loan, it has one of the most generous finaid programs in the country, along with HYS. You are woefully misinformed.</p>
<p>^
BtCorn isn’t so much misinformed as simply a bit uninformed, as I just realized. Not everyone has read every college book in the library. We all have to start somewhere, you know. ;)</p>
<p>
I think a bit of explanation about financial aid is in order. Most colleges provide need-based financial aid. The way they do so, however, varies quite a bit.</p>
<p>If you apply for financial aid, colleges expect you to file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Private colleges may also expect you to file a CSS Profile, a different financial aid form.</p>
<p>Colleges then look at these forms and your tax returns and determine how much you can pay. The amount you’re expected to pay is your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).</p>
<p>The amount of financial aid given at top colleges is the total cost of the college (cost of attendance, or COA) minus your EFC. If Princeton costs $50,000 a year and you can afford to pay $20,000, for example, Princeton will usually give you $30,000 a year in financial aid.</p>
<p>That financial aid is typically composed of several different things
grants (free money)
subsidized loans (don’t gather interest while in school)
unsubsidized loans (do gather interest)
work-study ($1000-2000 that you earn during the year and pay the school)
other grants/free money (Pell Grants, state-sponsored grants, etc.)</p>
<p>Colleges with good financial aid typically provide much more money in the form of grants than loans. Many of the top colleges have eliminated loans entirely for all students or for some students and have replaced them with more grants (free money).</p>
</p>