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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Wooster and Juniata both gave my child approximately 25K in merit aid (per year, for four years). She had a 3.7 UW GPA, very average SAT scores and just a handful of AP's.

She also go aid offers from other, more highly ranked schools.[/quote]
This is helpful! [b]I am still in shock as I realize that our HHI of $210k (which only recently got that high) means no financial aid on all the net price calculators I run.[/b] I can't imagine actually paying $70k/year (!) so we're scrambling to think about options. [b]PP, could you mention the other, more highly ranked schools that also offered aid?[/b] [/quote]

You will not qualify for financial aid.  (I'm kind of surprised you would think that you would.)

Higher-ranked schools that award merit aid include e.g. Dickinson, Denison, Grinnell, Oberlin, U. Rochester.  Some elite schools, e.g. Johns Hopkins and Washington U. in St. Louis, as well as e.g. Boston College, give a tiny number of merit scholarships to super high-performers.

If your child is a good but not stellar student, you will need to look at schools ranked 40 and above by USNWR.  Or, send your child to an in-state public.[/quote]

[b][b]What do you mean? Even at $200+ thousand a year (I'm guessing Gross pay before mortgage, saving for retirement, health insurance, etc.), a family cannot be expected to soundly pay $70K/year times 4 years for college. So, yes, I would expect some financial aid. [/quote][/b]
[/b]

Oh dear.  Welcome to the donut hole. We are the families who do not qualify for financial aid but whose kids have stats that qualify them for Ivies + (in other words no merit aid). I thank the Lord every morning that Va in-state options exist.[/quote]

To PP.  There was a thread earlier this year from a parent whose child had gotten into Northwestern or Northeastern and s/he posted "OMG we can't possibly pay $276K in total for four years".  Go find that thread.  It's full of advice from parents who've been thru this process.  AT least you are discovering this before your child has sent in applications.  The first thing any good college counselor should say is "figure out your budget".  You need to go on the schools' calculators and figure out what is affordable.  Do some work with the FAFSA and try to figure out your EFC (estimated FAmily Contribution) before you start this process.  Merit aid at the good schools is long gone.  Read college confidential.  And don't let your child tour any schools that you cannot afford.  It's not fair to your child.  A lot of "donut hole" families have come to this realization too late in the process.  Good luck[/quote]

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