Reddune

the school with the most merit-base scholarship is Brandeis University at Walthan, MA. I counted all their offers scholarship and there are 110 scholarship per incoming class (which is only 800). So yeah! 1 in 8 kid got some form of merit scholarship.

Lunknot

Morehead scholars are gods.

skierdude1000

I hear Bucknell or something gives a lot of money?

Saintofme

Washington and Lee in Virginia

GuitarShredder05

I can only speak from personal experience, but if you're looking at the Midwest, you could get A LOT of merit aid from Lawrence, Illinois Wesleyan, Knox, and probably Grinnell.

Reddune

can we give some example of "alot of aid" please? the school might give 100 scholarships,which might seem alot, but there is like 10,000 students or 50 scholarship but only 1000 students. There a different.

Sabrina

Also, a lot of schools offer a certain number of scholarships, but sometimes it is common for students to win more than one. if fifty scholarships are offered, do they go to fifty different students, or to a handful of high achievers? For instance, many win college merit awards as well as national merit awards administered by the college.

GuitarShredder05

Check the websites of the schools I mentioned for more details, but I was offered $5000-$6000/year at Lawrence and IWU. My stats: 3.6 UW (mostly honors, 3 APs), top 15% at large public , 32 ACT, ECs mainly Mock Trail and jazz guitar.

At IWU I was told that people who are in the top 25% and have a 28+ ACT will get merit aid.

Lawrence also has guidelines for their scholarships on their website.

Knox I didn't apply to, but I have a few friends there and from what I've heard a large chunk of the people there are receiving merit aid.

Shubham

I got a free ride at the University of Texas at Dallas and at University of Texas Pan American. Also, UTD would pay for my books, personal expenses etc. One thing that is also good at UTD is that they would not deduct any scholarship from my financial aid package therefore I would have all the scholarships I won payable to me which so far is around $5000!!!
I also received scholarships from all the Universities I applied therefore I can't say how competitive the scholarship process is, but I believe that compared to some other financial aid offers, these two are the delicacies of the meal!!!

kingroger317

any school where u are top 1% of applicants... also LAC's seem to give nice amount

kjofkw

Do most students pay full tuition at private colleges? Nearly everyone I know attending private colleges has received some sort of aid, either merit or need-based. But few share the dollar amount. College pricing often resembles auto pricing, or airline tickets. I assume a small percentage may pay the "list price", but that most pay some sort of "street price" which is less, and varies considerably depending upon student, parental income, etc.

I'm a bit concerned about listing schools that supposedly give "a lot" of merit aid if it is typically less than 20% of the tuition. Granted, any amount is helpful, but i.m.h.o. "good" merit aid would bring the total tuition bill down to approximately equal what a state school would cost. Unfortunately, in most cases this would be at least half tuition at most private schools. "Great" merit aid, would of course be even more!!! (but in reality, those are typically reserved for a very small group of exceptional students).

"Token" merit aid, seems more a way to get the student in the door.

One local highschool claims that a huge percentage of their students receive scholarships to private colleges. Sounds great. I then found out that many do indeed receive merit scholarships, but only about $ 500-2000. That barely touches the surface at most private colleges!

I don't mean to offend anyone who has received merit scholarships. That is the only way my family will be able to attend colleges outside our state system. But I'm nervous when I hear the list of colleges that give good merit aid, only to find out the percentage of the total tuition bill is indeed very small.

BALLET

Baylor University gives full tuition, about $20,000 for National Merit Finalists, and up to $11,000 in guaranteed scholarships according to class rank and SAT scores if you are not a National Merit Finalist. The amounts given are posted on the website and no other application is needed.

bandit_TX

D was offered:

Rice -- $18,000 / year (about 1/2 ride)
Mt Holyoke -- $25,000 / year (about 3/4 ride)
Scripps -- full ride
Smith -- can't remember, but ~ $10K
UChicago -- ~$10K
The rest were need based grants/loans.

Most privates also do need based aid. Many only do need based. Family income is the biggest driver, although assets like businesses and farms also affect it. There are calculators on many of the university websites to give you an estimate of your family contribution. Unless you have a simple family situation (straight income, intact family, etc), then assume it will be somewhat higher than predicted. Also, it gets re-figured every year, so if income goes up, you will pay more. Out of that need, schools package your aid as grants, workstudy, or loans. There can be a lot of variation from school to school for the same student, so look carefully at the package. We saw a range from no loans to up to $15K loans.

overseas

College of Wooster has good merit opportunities. Go to their website. Bard College has good merit in the field of science and mathematics.

1moremom

Bandit-TX, since you posted it on the Parents' Forum (or someone did), I hope you don't mind my mentioning here that your D will be attending Harvard. It is important for people to realize that these generous merit offers were made to a really outstanding student in hopes of wooing her to the various schools. When looking for merit money, it's important to be towards the top of a school's applicant pool.