<p>Hi, I’m Hispanic, first rank in my High school (as of Junior year), got a 2130 on my SAT, 214 on PSAT (possibly national merit), a ton of volunteer hours at hospitals and stuff, along with school clubs. Now I know public colleges are in general cheaper than fancy public colleges, but which is most cost effective in the end, after scholarships and whatnot? Assuming I am of lower income. I ask this because the private colleges I mentioned have a lot more money to hand out, and thus can give more aid.
Public: UT Austin (I live in Texas by the way)
Private: Stanford, Ivy League, Wash U, MIT, Chicago</p>
<p>Harvard and Yale, in general, offer the best aid to very low income students. Stanford is also generous but they do count some home equity if your family owns a home. Many other top private colleges are close. If you are very low income, good chace the ivies and peer schools will give you a better package than public colleges.</p>
<p>Never rule out the private colleges because their sticker price looks much higher. There are many, many private colleges across the country which will give out a boatload of money and make their out of pocket expenses lower than the pubs for many students.</p>
<p>And it’s nearly impossible to say which is the most generous. Always make sure you apply to a selection of 6 to 10.</p>
<p>You need to have one “True Safety” - the one you can afford out of pocket with nothing more than federally determined financial aid, that will admit you because of your stats, and that offers your major. This is probably one of the public schools in Texas, or one of the community colleges there. Be sure it is a place you are willing to go to if all else fails.</p>
<p>Then, you need to take a look at places that offer what you want to study, and that have a history of providing good financial aid. Your stats are good, and your ethnicity is in your favor. The community service hours may help you with colleges that offer Bonner Scholars programs ([About</a> the Bonner Foundation](<a href=“http://www.bonner.org%5DAbout”>http://www.bonner.org)). If you are female, take a look at the women’s colleges ([The</a> Women’s College Coalition](<a href=“http://www.womenscolleges.org%5DThe”>http://www.womenscolleges.org)), some would offer a serious amount of money to you. Questbridge may be good for you too ([QuestBridge</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org%5DQuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org)). For ideas on finding a full-ride scholarship if you need one, read the threads by momfromtexas (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html</a> <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html</a>). Since she did her searches, some of this has become easier to do with the internet, but her methodology is very effective.</p>
<p>Apply to several schools as suggested by scottaa, and carefully compare the financial aid offers. They won’t all look alike, so you may want to take a look at this nifty “decoder”: [Financial</a> Aid Letter](<a href=“http://financialaidletter.com/]Financial”>http://financialaidletter.com/)</p>
<p>Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Yes, Texas is my safety school. Are there any full rides at UT?</p>