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I'd like to attend a private college perhaps, but the cost is too high..so

Which private colleges in southern CA are generous w/ financial aid and/or scholarships based on academic achievement? Around how much?
I'm wondering about USC,occidental, chapman, loyola marymount, claremont, whittier, or any others you have in mind.

I want to know if the tuition has a possibility of ending up less than or around public universities as the Uc's

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 08:42 pm: Edit

It is possible to get decent enough financial aid and merit awards from many of the private schools so that your out of pocket costs are cheaper or comparable than than the UC's. One caveat, however: many public schools rely heavily on loans as part of their financial aid package so take that into consideration. The UC's tend to also rely heavily on loans but since the tuition (for in state students) starts off lower you can often end up with less total amount of debt upon graduation.

Some students, however, apply to both private and public so they can compare total costs once they've received their aid and merit package. For example, a friend's daughter applied to UC Davis, Chapman and the University of Redlands. UC Davis offered her a financial aid that was made up primarily of loans. Chapman offered her an aid package (with merit included) that would have cost her just a few thousand more than full price at UCDavis --- and with fewer loans. Redlands, however, offered her an almost free ride with the least amount of loans. Chapman actively recruited her and offered her an aid package (with merit included) that ended up being just a few thousand above UC Davis --- However, Redlands offered her almost a free ride. The aid offered by UC Davis was mostly in the form of loans. However, it doesn't always work out this way - for most students, the UC's will still be cheaper. The bottom line: it pays to shop around and at least consider applying to one or two private schools if you prefer them to the UC's.

So, in comparing schools look at: amount of students that actually get financial aid and the average amount in grants vs. loans, and the amount of students who get merit money and the average amount.

Let's take Whittier and Occidental as examples.

Cost of attending Whittier: $23,492 tuition, plus $7,474 for room/board. Whittier tends to give merit awards to attract top students - about 21% receive some sort of merit award, with the average amount being $11,212. In terms of financial aid, 96% applied for it in 2003-2004, and 70% were determined to have need. Average financial aid package: $24,000. Average amount debt upon graduation: $22,000.

Occidental - Cost of attending: $28,298 tuition plus $7830 room/board. 80% applied for financial aid, of those 70% were determined to have need and received an aid package averaging $21,514. 23% were awarded merit scholarships, average amount:
$16,556. Average debt: $13,591.

As you can see, Occidental is probably a better bet for financial aid that doesn't depend heavily on loans. They do a better job of meeting students with need - 100% of students who had need received some sort of award.

For comparison, let's look at UCLA: Cost (in state): $4878 (will be going up next year) plus $10,452 room/board. 64% applied for financial aid, of those 51% were determined to have financial need; 47% had their need fully met by financial aid.Average amount of loans included in package: $4760 per year.
Average financial aid package was $10,643 - 7% received merit awards, average: $2244. Average debt on graduation: $12,775.

You can usually ask schools for this type of information - an excellent resource is US News & World Report's 2004 Ultimate College Guide, available at many bookstores.

By Ellemenope (Ellemenope) on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 09:09 pm: Edit

Definitely check out Univ of Redlands. I've seen kids from my D's school turn down a UC to go to Redlands because of their generous financial package.

By Admitmeplz (Admitmeplz) on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 09:13 pm: Edit

If you are a National Merit Finalist, USC guarantees a minimum of half tuition (14K/yr) up to full. They have a whole plethora of merit scholarships. Check them out

By Calif (Calif) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:50 am: Edit

I recommend the University of San Diego (USD).

By Collegeboundgal (Collegeboundgal) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 02:56 am: Edit

Consider applying to the University of La Verne. I have a friend who goes there who got many merit based scholarships and is practically going there on a full ride.
www.ulv.edu