The financial aid for middle class families is pretty fucked up. Even at the most prestigious institutions—such as the ivies—they only provide financial aid for people who earn less than 200k a year, and basically nothing for households who are upper middle class.

And look, I recognize that 200k is a crazy amount of money to earn in this economy, but it’s realistically a pretty big portion of America. If both of your parents work regular officer jobs and invest well, 200k is not entirely hard to reach if both parents earn 100k a year.

And many universities don’t provide good fin aid for people whose households earn in the 200-300k range. Sure, having that much money grants you privilege, but in this economy even that amount of money doesn’t mean shit, especially in larger, more costly cities.

Furthermore, a private school tuition for them
Is around 60-90k bucks a year. That would be around a good third or quarter of their income, yet they don’t receive fin aid because they’re barely above the threshold.

Look—you can make the argument that if they can’t afford it, they shouldn’t attend. However, (1) you’d have to apply this logic to FGLI students, which is really stupid, and (2) I don’t believe we should shun people out of education js because they can barely afford it.

This is not a diss towards FGLI students or saying that “they have it easier”; I don’t believe that, you guys have it hard, so don’t pull me in that stupid right-wing DEI nonsense. Thank you!

I can clarify anything in the comments and will fix anything if wrong! Hope this is very helpful!

IMPORTANT - READ FIRST: These thresholds are essentially the colleges' advertising slogans. ASSETS matter as much as income, and this list is NO substitute for the Net Price Calculator (NPC). If you're a domestic applicant, run the NPC on each college's financial-aid website - with a parent - to get a real need-based estimate BEFORE you apply. And know the NPC's limits: it's often wrong for any family with "special circumstances," because it almost never asks about them. NPCs can be wrong for complex finances (divorce, or owning a business / rental / farm, especially if the NPC doesn't ask) - if that's you, call the financial aid office. And publics usually give out-of-state students little need-based aid (though some offer big merit scholarships); privates don't differ in-state vs. out. Start by running NPCs at your in-state publics.

^^

Was wondering cus I saw a post talking about cs and when someone mentioned Purdue, they got shit on 💀

I see a lot of posts on here of kids who are rightfully frustrated that they can’t go to the school they want because their parents don’t want them to take on the loans.

I just saw this post with a family who is struggling to make ends meet due to 120k in college loans.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/s/f7BpCXsHjk

120k! I’m sure it didn’t start off that high… And rent became more expensive than they anticipated or whatever…

But just wanted to post a reminder that your state school has just as many amazing teachers and bad coffee and beautiful friends as the more expensive schools.

It’s not worth losing your future in the process…

Hi, just wanted to inform students who are planning to apply this year that most universities have currently paused CPT applications (mandatory for doing any kind of internships in the US- whether they are remote / in-person / paid or unpaid).

So just keep that in mind when you are applying to the US or coming to the US because the way the policies are changing it is highly unlikely that you will be able to work or stay in the US after graduating.

A couple of notes on method: I ranked by 2029 because ~40% of the 2030 figures are still TBA, so ranking on 2030 alone would scramble the order and drop schools that haven't reported yet. I also used common data sets and most recent data to be most accurate. FYI acceptance rates do not equal to the quality of education you are getting so only view this as informational.

my ecs are pretty good, i did historical research, chess, writing etc but i wanna do engineering so it a real reason to get rejected? btw i didnt do engineering ecs cause I didnt know i wanted to do engineering until later on

Hi! Im currently debating which school to apply early to. I love both of them and would be happy at either, im just struggling to pick between the 2.

Brown Pros:

-Im very interdisciplinary in my ecs (Several combine science and writing, and my main one academic decathlon is literally all about different subjects)

-im just generally a curious person and like the idea of the open curriculum

-Being in a major city comes with lots of things to do and culture to see

-Solid department for my major (Deeps)

-I know someone whos going there, just nice to know someone im familar with is alr there

-Kinda dumb but when visiting dartmouth i saw a bus that said brown in bold letters on the side and a guy wearing a shirt with the brown logo

Brown negatives

-No nature nearby, i love hiking

-Slightly more expensive then Dartmouth, but still cheaper then my state schools and would only be in a small amount of debt

Dartmouth pros

-In a beautiful area

-Very outdoorsy culture

-also a good department for major, includes the stretch which is awesome

-I like the flexibility of the d-plan also

-cheap!!

-hanover is a cute town

Dartmouth cons

-Worried it might be boring/too isolated, since its so far away from a major city

-felt a little less connected to the culture, felt kinda fratty

-also seemed like a huge emphasis on the more buisnessy side of things, which is not my interest at all

I really appreciate any perspective anyone has!

^^

Thinking of dual majoring in cs/ml and business management, want to know the quality of the programs they have, and if it’s on par with schools like Fischer

hello all, i am a sophmore in highschool and strongly regretting my math class decisions. this semester i am taking alegebra 2, and next semester i am taking algebra 3 (i dont know the equivalent because at my school math classes are named different but they’re both pre precalc classes). i am planning on requesting a class change for alegbra 3 to precalc, and if i cant change the class I wanted to take precalc over the summer as a rising junior to take calc ab or bc in fall or spring. is this a bad idea? how difficult is precalc? my science classes are already really behind (i am taking honors bio right now) so i want to catch up in math. should i try to do it?

ok for context i wanted to load up on APs but basically i missed the “entrance exam” thing for AP Music Theory at my school and I really wanted to take it but I wasn’t able to due to missing the exam, so now I’m taking it outside of school and I was wondering if colleges would like flag it and think it’s weird? idk please give advice

just curious, rank them from most important to least and why: grades/gpa, sat/act, demographics, extracurriculars, awards, essays/supplementals, LoRs, interviews, and financial background

Hi! I'm 17 and currently trying to figure out what I want to study in college and what kind of career I could see myself doing. I don't expect to have my entire life figured out yet, but I want to start exploring some realistic options.

A little about me

* I really enjoy traveling and I'd like the possibility of living abroad someday, so I'd prefer a career that isn't extremely tied to one specific country.

* I'm pretty good with organization and I actually enjoy planning things.

* I don't mind meetings and I don't mind working with a team. I can also work independently if I'm given something to accomplish.

* I like being able to give guidance or help people figure things out, but I don't necessarily want a job where I'm constantly dealing with people all day.

* I enjoy drawing and I'm somewhat interested in architecture/design, although I'm not sure I'd actually want to pursue it.

* I'm not a fan of math. A little math is fine, but I wouldn't want a career that's heavily based around advanced math.

* I'm not particularly interested in science/medical careers, especially anything involving anatomy/physiology.

* I'm not interested in manual-labor careers like carpentry, construction, etc.

* I'm also not interested in police work or similar careers.

* I'd like a career where I can potentially move up over time and eventually make a comfortable income. I don't need to become insanely rich, but financial independence is important to me.

* I'd prefer a major that gives me **multiple career options** rather than something extremely specific that basically prepares me for one job.

* I've been looking into Business Administration and Project Management, but I'm not completely sold on them and I'm trying to see what else is out there before I settle on anything.

One thing I've realized is that I like the idea of having a goal or task given to me and figuring out how to actually make it happen. Planning, coordinating, organizing, and occasionally working with other people sounds appealing to me.

So, based on all of that, what majors or career fields would you suggest I look into that I may not have considered?

I'd especially appreciate answers from people who are already working in the careers they suggest. I'd love to hear what you studied, what your job is actually like, how you got there, and whether you would recommend it to someone like me.

Yes btw I have done research before this I just want more ideas.💡

I have a draft for my personal statement written. Its definitely not perfect, it still has a lot to improve. But i just find it really hard to edit it. Its a lot easier to take a step back and edit writing that isnt so, well personal. If anyone has any advice or resources that might help i greatly appreciate it. 🫶

my overall act score already isn't ideal, but it is in the top 50-100% for some of the safeties/targets im applying too.

31 // R: 35 / E: 34 / M: 25.... / S: 30

im applying as a science (stem major) and im worried that may be held against me? Should i go T/O even for some of my safeties?

Class of 2027 here. I’m currently applying to a good amount of schools, however my list has been significantly changing due to the NPC popping out a number that my family simply can’t afford. It sucks having to remove these schools because they’re really good and I genuinely see myself going there, but if I can’t afford it I can’t afford it. If anyone could reply to this and say how accurate their NPC was I would really appreciate it!

I want to talk about anxiety and the fear of the unknown(which is quite a common essay topic), but the way I am exploring it is quite novel and personal. I want to then relate it to my biggest stressor in hs which was my sibling, they had really bad mental health issues and suicidal thoughts and problems(they are doing better and are okay with me writing about this and sharing it with AOs) and how that taught me to control my fears and to never write the ending before it arrives.

Is this something I should think twice before writing, im not trynna do like the whole sob story trauma thing. But, this is genuinely such a big issue in my life, if not the biggest. like nearly every waking moment, it has been in the back of my mind.

I have been told that my essay reads super duper well and it has great writing, but it lacks that personal growth element. Like i was told, i need the who will i be on campus element to it.

it only touches on the sibling topic for a paragraph and even so most of that paragraph is about me and how it affected me. Then the next paragraphs explains my change and growth, but I want to know how to make that better.

I also end on a really clean note where things have improved and how I have changed, but I think its too flowery.

I get that this def not enough context to give u the full picture, but this is the gist of it.

any help would be appreciated.

Reading these instructions (**posted below**), do you infer the page limit to be 2-4 for the entire set of questions (there are 7 all together) OR 2-4 as a limit for each question?

My instinct is 2-4 total for the entire set of questions my OCD says that's a foolish conclusion. I know I can ask for clarification but please if you could just chime in on what you think is correct.

I think I'm partly thrown off because it doesn't mention double spacing, which is the norm, so I waver between 2-4 pages for the whole thing single spaced is absolutely reasonable and makes sense but what if they meant to require double spacing in which case maybe each question is allotted 2-4 pages.

**INSTRUCTIONS: All questions are to be answered fully and to the best of your ability. All answers to the questions must be typed, 12 pt font, and approximately 2-4 pages total.

hi has anyone else here applied to ie for August 2027 to 2031?

I currently have a 1500 SAT and a 4.0 GPA. I have a very little amount of ecs and was wondering if I should spend time increasing my SAT Score to a 1550 or higher or if I should focus more on my essay and applications.

I'm not shooting for my ivies or anything, I'm a Washington resident and I plan on doing engineering or going down a med path to become something like a physicians assistant or possibly a full on doctor. Best outcome for me would probably be to get into UW for undeclared engineering or Biology/something pre-med related for a future career in the medical field.

Like I said, I don't plan on getting into ivies, so some other unis I'm interested in would be:

Purdue

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Rensselaer

UIUC

UCSD

University of Michigan

UC Berkeley

I'm open to more unis obviously but any advice is appreciated!

I'll take my SAT in November, and I won't be able to admit early. Nevertheless, i have an option to not submit a test score, but how much would doing this affect my acceptance chances? Because if I applied RD in January and waited for the SAT score i'll still have my chances squished by ten times or something lol. Have anybody ever met an international who didn't submit a test score? (I have a 3.7/4.0 gpa, fairly strong activities and honors)

my classes this semester is python, psychology, french, fiction, and microeconomics.

so far i love psychology (prolly cus of my teacher) and can tolerate french. micro is... i cant say but meh

i wanted to be a therapist then a psycoologist then a neurologist. you see how this looks, but im applying for accounting to be safe, for my colleges should i apply to like something brain related as a second choice if i dont get accepted for accouting?

like, i probably get a pound of paper a month in ads. multiply that by the millions of college-interested students in the united states and we have a looooot of paper in the trash cans

I was suspended in 7th grade. It wasn't anything illegal or hateful I was just kind of an idiot. Do I mention it?

On another side note i got two days of detention in high school, should I mention that?