I’ve talked about colleges most likely to provide merit aid before. In this post I’m going to focus just on 50-50 schools and consider all financial indicators. For example, in previous lists I didn’t take into consideration PLUS loans. I also limited schools by test scores which I don’t do in this list.
ShareTweetFlipEmailPin0 SharesParents of high school seniors and those who help them need to make the time to watch Monday’s Facebook Live with Mark Salisbury of TuitionFit.org. Why? Because this application is the first major shift in righting the information balance in paying for college. Mark Salisbury, the founder, has found the key to making the … Read more
(Updated Dec 2018) In July of 2015, the United States government finally gained control of the FAFSA.com website. Until then, the website was owned and operated by Student Financial Aid Service, Inc. which charged students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Over the years, FAFSA.com became the poster child for financial aid scams designed to take advantage students and families trying to get financial aid for college. So does its demise represent the final statement of whether or not students should pay for a private financial aid consultant to complete the FAFSA?
If you only get one book for your college search, get The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price by Lynn O’Shaughnessy. Why? You mean because I said so isn’t enough?
Okay, here’s the deal about buying a book about a subject you don’t know much about. If your knowledge approaches zero then any book you buy will provide you with dramatically more information than you had and will be useful. But that doesn’t mean you are getting all the information you need.
Families that can’t afford to pay the sticker-price for private colleges need to do two things. The first is identify which schools are more likely to provide need or merit aid. The second is avoid those that are less likely to do so. This means steering clear of “dream” schools that may rank in terms of prestige but subsequently aren’t as generous with financial aid as some of their peers.
When creating their preferred list of colleges, many students are looking for schools that will include the “big city” experience. New York is the obvious choice. However, students shouldn’t overlook the nation’s 7th largest city, Philadelphia, just a 90 minute train ride to the south. Surely it can provide the requested “big city” experience at one of its 35 area colleges and universities. Furthermore, 16 colleges in Philadelphia have at least a 50% graduation rate while accepting at least 50% of applicants qualifying them as 50-50 schools.
When students think about going to college in New York City, NYU and Columbia are usually the first colleges that come to mind. And then maybe Vassar and Fordham will be mentioned. Someone might think about the City Colleges. But for too many students, going to college in New York City is pretty much limited to these schools. Which is too bad since there 84 4-year colleges with at least 500 students in the greater New York area. And 21 of them are 50-50 schools.
Most people understand that private colleges have a much higher price tag than public universities which is why many never consider private schools. This is a shame since there are some private colleges that offer great opportunities along with generous financial aid. What a lot of people don’t realize is that out-of-state public institutions generally have the worst characteristics of both public and private colleges. They have the high price of private colleges with the limited financial aid of public universities.
The point of the 50-50 schools list is to identify colleges and universities that most students can get into while meeting a minimum standard for college graduation. However, just because a school is academically accessible doesn’t mean that students can afford to attend. Some of the most expensive colleges make the list. Like colleges and universities in general, colleges on the 50-50 list vary dramatically in their financial aid generosity.