HImom

I'd call & ask to speak with whomever in the admissions or FAid office deals with merit aid. They would be the folks to give you answers. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that school so I can't honestly say other than to note our experiences that merit aid is always somewhat unpredictable (not comforting, I'm afraid).

Sometimes some schools have clear SAT and/or GPA and/or class rank cut-offs in deciding who gets merit aid. Many schools use merit aid to try to lure students they believe will add something their school is looking for, like geographic diversity, very high SAT score/NMF, acclaimed musician or athlete or writer, or underrepresented minority. It is inexplicable to me why much merit aid is distributed as it is.

If you applied to other competing schools, were accepted & got some merit aid, you could contact Fordham and let them know and m-a-y-b-e they'll decide to match of beat that offer to attract you (tho they might not call it that). The sooner you speak/meet with someoen at Fordham the better, before they finish handing out all their merit money. The school will likely pay more attention to offers from schools it considers "similar" or competitive with them, where the students.

I honestly don't know anything about how much merit money Fordham has or distributes, as it was not a school we considered at all. The school's website may have info about how much merit or non-need aid it distributes & to what % of students.
Good luck!
HImom

ELLTWO

I am sorry I posted in the wrong spot!

konserve

don't put BC and washington in st Louis thre.
I applied to both and got no merit aid.

I am a first generation immigrant, came to US in 2000, berely speaking english, lower middle class. My EFC was 1,300. And I took 25 AP/IB classes during my high school career. Got almost all A, was ranked 3 in class out of 714 students, superior test scores: presidential and national merit scholar. All state Girls varsity soccer captain, speech team president, Girls State Senator to Girls Nation 2005. US senate youth program delegate. (they only select 2 per state for both of these govt. programs.) GAtes Millenium scholar, Horatio alger national scholar. e.t.c.
with all these academics, sports and diversity I still didn't get it. If I went to these schools I'd be stuch with a bunch of loans. So who can ever get it at these schools?

konserve

If you are a top student and didn't get wells (for some of us its easier to get nominations outside of our high schools than inside) don't be disheartened.
I didn't get wells, but still got a full ride when all was eadded up. You just have to apply separately to many scholarships.
6 grand Honors college scholarship
1 grand direct admit scholarship
3 grand deand scholarship
3 grand some alumni scholarship
2 grand hudson holland sholarship
4 grand o'bannon grant
2 grand pell grant

This is more than cost of books, food, tuition, room! And no loans! All grant money! I even got need-based aid and I am white middle class.

Achil

To get merit money at WashU, you either need to show definite interest in the school or have some unique hook. It's also critical that you actually apply for the scholarships themselves; many are only available to those who specifically apply for them.

I applied for three scholarships (Danforth, Mylonas, and Nemerov) and got the Danforth and Nemerov. I had good numbers (2390 SAT, 1/120 in class) but my extracurriculars were all over the place. I don't think scores and sparkling ECs are everything. They're what you need to be considered, but you have to have some sort of a hook or a defined interest in something to really catch their attention. Academics will open the door, but you have to do something uniquely interesting to get the money.

It's all about how you present yourself. Grandiose numbers and lists are great....but you need more. And, of course, given WashU's apparent affinity for the "Tufts syndrome," you have to prove to them they're not just your backup school.

GoldenBear10

Berkeley is the best school. Period.

Ambition09

My sister's friend and her sister went to WashU in St. Louis. My sister's friend got in with an ACT score that was in the high twenties. Although that is a considerably low score she is a very well-rounded person who participated in a lot of organizations, that is why she slipped through and with only a low amount of loan. She got room and board entirely covered too. Her younger sister, through scholarship, fund-raising, and connection got a full ride in with $10,000 left over for personal expense.
Sometimes, you just wish you can be like those people.

nash13

great post!!

Mariska

Hi everyone

Do all information regarding merit scholarships also equally apply to international students, or does it differ per school?

Would love to know. I am a white international student from a family which is able to afford it, but does not want to pay for all of it.

Does anyone know of a list of top schools awarding (large) merit scholarships to international students?????

jlauer95

mariska

Most of the "top" universities do not award "large merit scholarships" because all of their students have high stats -- afterall, to get accepted, all their students must have high scores/high GPAs, etc (I'm assuming that you mean "top tier nat'l uni" when you say "top".) (One exception is UWash - which gives a limited number of large merit $$ to URMs and other unique kids and just getting accepted to this school is getting to be as difficult as getting accepted to any Ivy.)

You might want to tell your parents this info since they may be "holding out" because they may be under the misapprehension that top schools give out large merit money awards (many/most do not). Top universities reserve their "gifts of money" to students whose families who cannot afford most/all of the cost. If your parents realize that maybe they will be willing to pay for you to attend a top university.

just_forget_me

Mariska-I know Duke gives a handful of international students scholarships each year. It's an extremely tiny percent of the applicant pool, but worth a shot. If you're from New Zealand, your chances are a bit better, because one of the Robertson Scholarships is reserved for a Kiwi (as is one at UNC).

veronika

eh!
i'ma new member since few days!!!i'm a west african female student----high s chool senior--------i'm deeply interested in universities that give merit based aid,wherever they are!!i'm open minded to every suggestions guys!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks so much and "aurevoir".

HerAirness21

Hello. I am nominated from my school for the Wells Scholarship at Indiana University and I was wondering if anyone could tell what my chances are. Here are my stats:


SAT: 720 M, 650 CR, 660 V
ACT: 30 C, 31 E, 30 M, 30 R, 27 SR
Ethinicity: African-American
GPA: 4.0/4.0
Have taken Physics, Calculus I, and Anatomy and Physiology I at the University of Southern Indiana.

Accomplishments:

2006 International Science and Engineering Fair Finalist
2006 ISEF IUPUI Outstanding Physics Project Award and $20,000 Scholarship Winner
Tri-State Science and Engineering Fair Grand Champion
Indiana All-State Orchestra
National Achievement Semifinalist

I have other pertinent awards, but will this be enough? Thank you.

2yuexue

Sillystring7:

My daughter is applying half of the schools that your daughter got scholarship. Our EFC is too high for her to get any need based aid. Do you mind share some info with me on whether she shall simply give up applying for need based aid?


Thanks

jumpsaround

To some of the questions posted here, would suggest also to check out the following sources of info:

FAFSA - www.fafsa.ed.gov
TheTopColleges - www.thetopcolleges.com
FinAid - www.finaid.org