Suggest schools that have a good finance program which I would have a chance at (RD) [PA resident, 3.36 UW, 1410 SAT]

If it’s a reach, it’s unlikely to meet full need. . .

Unless it’s an Ivy or Little Ivy type school, to which you don’t have the numbers for admission. Schools give their big merit awards to incoming students who are at the top of their admitted class. Obviously those kinds of schools are not reaches for you.

SUNY Geneseo should be your gold standard because it offers an excellent program at a well regarded school with a cost at less than $30k before they even look at any additional financial aid.

With the standard federally guaranteed student loan, your family’s cost should be down to about $24K. And that’s before w’ve even talked about money which you should be able to earn with wor’ study or a job on campus, which realistically could be about $9000 @ 20 hours per week with NY’s minimum wage. That brings your family’s cost down $15K. Obviously you need spending money and money to buy books. That’s what summer jobs are for.

The bottom line is that Geneseo is eminently affordable and. You shouldn’t even consider another school unless they can come in at a lower cost than that, given your family’s circumstances. For most applicants, their state school is the standard, but PA is so bad at supporting their state universities that it’s not in your case. But you’re fortunate that a state right next door to you offers such a good deal.

New Jersey’s equivalent to Geneseo is The College of New Jersey in Trenton, another highly regarded public liberal arts college with a very strong Finance major.

TCNJ is more expensive than Geneseo @ $42,500 for tuition, fees, room & board for out of state students, but their scholarships for out of state students also have a higher ceiling @ $12,000. If you could get the maximum award, you could bring it down close to the net cost at Geneseo. And with your SAT score, you may be able to qualify for the max because that’s one of the criteria they use - although I don’t think it’s likely.

These are the kinds of colleges where I think you’ll get the best quality for the lowest cost.

My son is a TCNJ graduate, finance major, in state. He ED’d because it was his first choice and with a 3.4 his gpa was below the average. He had a 30 act. They’re not known to be generous.

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Run the NPC for Bryant.

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