bayou mama

One of the best things my D did was to apply to a few colleges that were not in the top tier. She also applied to Yale, Rice and Kenyon, but knew that if we didn't qualify for aid that we would not spend $40-50K per year, especially with three younger children who would need college money (not to mention grad school). We did not qualify for need-based aid, but our D was prepared for that possibility. In the end, she had merit offers from UVM Honors College, LSU Honors College, Kenyon, University of Rochester, Centre College, and Hendrix College. She was accepted by Rice (no merit offer) and denied by Yale. She was a finalist for Hendrix's biggest merit scholarship (full ride) and made it to the final round of cuts. They offered a smaller amount and said that they would match other merit offers. She was also a finalist for Rochester's big merit scholarship (tuition for four years), and she's still awaiting results on that. LSU offered admission to their honors college, TOPS award (tuition plus $800 per year), a top 100 scholarship (approx. $2,500 per year), and a guaranteed paid research job. She would also have more than a full year of credit from AP courses, and our total cost would only be about $4,500-$5,500 per year.
It really pays to check out the AP credit policies; some schools give credit, but still require the student to attend for 8 semesters. My D crossed some schools off her list if they were that restrictive.

lindz126

my s recvd the full ride johnson scholarship from washington and lee! so grateful--best part is he loved the school while there for the scholarship competition--also recvd merit aid at tulane-24k, brandeis 25K--also accepted to Wesleyan and Tufts--23K fin aid offered. S was waitlisted at UPenn, rejected at Brown--seems it is helpful to aim for schools where you are seen as top student--best possibility of merit aid/scholarships--good luck all!

krug

Can you post some stats? I am looking for schools for D to apply to for next year. She has a 34 ACT, 2200 SAT1, 4.0 u/w, 4.5 w, research paper that will publish with a physics group at a university by the end of the year. We need the merit aid since need based determination from different schools are so random. So far on our list is Rice, Brandeis, Case. Suggestions?

aerableparable

USC. I don't know if it's already been mentioned or not.
I got a full tuition scholarship plus another 2500/year scholarship from them this year. It's going to be hard to turn down.

ttyy

Washington and Lee University provides full ride scholarship for 4 years to more than 10% of its 1st year students. It is one of the best in terms of scholarship (covers tuition,fees, room/board, books and an allowance of personal spending)

mythmom

Washington and Lee is a wonderful school but it is not for everyone.

Another good LAC to try is Davidson. (This is for krug.) They also offer full tuition scholarships.

ttyy

mythmom, Could you please share your thoughts about W&L, actually I am having a hard time to make my mind. (make a choice among UVA, W&L, wellesley)

mythmom

ttyy: I PM'ed you, and you might want to PM lindz126 (see above post). Her son is thrilled to be going to W&L.

HPGirlAna

Do you have to be in the lower class (financially wise) in order to get a full ride to a college/university?

mythmom

No. Some scholarships are awarded solely on the basis of merit, not financial need.

Internet Nomad

I am surprised the University of Alabama is not mentioned in this thread! They offer tuition + housing + money for summer abroad + $1000 yearly stipend + a laptop to any National Merit Finalist which is very generous.

Even better is the Academic Elite scholarship, which is given to eight to ten people a year I think. $9500 a year ($8500 for the Elite scholarship + $1000 for being part of the 40-member University Fellows Experience) on top of tuition and housing. What makes it really ridiculous is it stacks with any outside scholarships you might receive! (meanwhile elite private schools won't let you use outside scholarships to chip away at the typically huge parent contribution!) I'm headed to Bama next year with this amazing offer. They are paying their very best tens of thousands and simultaneously presenting them with the very best of what UA has to offer. Incredible deal.

krug

Thanks, mythmom. I know someone who had a D that went to Davidson and returned home after 1 year and refused to go back because it's too southern and sororities are big there. Anyone hear anything about Washington & Lee?

lindz126

my son is going to attend wash and lee--frats are big there -- he is unsure how that will all play out for him--but overall he loves the school--came back from the scholarship competition saying "there wasnt anything I didn't like about the school"

mattmom

I do not know enough about W and L to comment on that aspect of krug's post but do want to note that there are no sororities at Davidson except for a recently established chapter of a historically black sorority. There are several all-female eating houses, and membership of those is by self-selection. All are nonresidential.

Jaserr

Krug --

I applied to Rice and was accepted but received no merit aid. I am now accepting a full ride (Carolina Scholars) at UNC and would like to note that UNC has many intriguing scholarship programs to go with the money. I was expecting to get some merit aid from Vanderbilt but they didn't pull through...apparently their admissions process is becoming quite selective or i just wasn't what they are looking for. With those kind of stats, your aspiring scholar could have a good chance to get merit aid at any presigious public or private (except ivy) school. I would suggest applying to several schools that you would definitely go to (yes, it is possibly to find more than one college that suits you) that offer many quality scholarship programs.