Best schools that give the most merit based aid - Page 3

SchoolTime · 06-12-2005, 05:01 PM

1moremom, I agree with your post, but if it is true merit, then should it not be for the really outstanding students. Every school uses a tool to attract the best possible students. Some do it with history or reputation and others with merit aid. I see nothing wrong with that. From what I have seen, most of the top or outstanding students that have received sizeable merit aid have worked hard for it during 4 years of high school. With participation in sports, EC's and #1 in academics - there were many many late nights and often a trade off in social life. But it all seemed balanced and would not change a thing if I had it to do over. Was fortunate enough to be one of these desired students and feel it to be a just reward. Accepted at 7 schools with a total of almost 700,000 in merit scholarships (school & outside) and almost 100,000 in grants. Obviously can only use a portion of that, but the final choice school will end up costing less than 1,000 per year. Without being specific it is a top rated private university. So yes, the last line of your post is absolutely valid - you have to choose your pool so you are at the top of the chosen pool.

gnusasaurus · 06-12-2005, 05:28 PM

This has been a most instructive thread!

I think after reading all the posts here, the answer to the question, which are the "Best schools that give the most merit based aid", the answer appears to be those colleges where your student is in the top 1 percent of the applicant pool.

Search out those schools where your students stats are on the top of the heap and you will find the most possible merit scholarship for your student.

Of course, Ivy excluded.

vig180 · 06-12-2005, 06:05 PM

Others that I don't think were mentioned:

Emory University awards I think around 50 2/3 tuitions, 50 full tuitions, and 25 full rides as part of their Emory Scholars program.

Vanderbilt offers a very large number of half tuitions, about 40-50 3/4 tuitions, and 15 full tuitions for their arts and sciences school. I believe they give a lot more for music and engineering too.

Rice offers up to full tuition for a few engineering majors while other majors can max out at 18k a year.

Rochester offers 10 full tuition scholarships a year for all majors.

Case Western Reserve offers many full tuitions for students with high stats.

Wake Forest offers in the neighborhood of ten full rides and a few other full tuitions.

Other major scholarship programs like the Morehead/Robertson/Jeffersons already mentioned:
Indiana University's Wells Scholar program provides a full ride plus a lot of nice extras but only one student per high school can be nominated. I think it invovles a lot of community service kinda stuff too.

University of Georgia's Foundation Fellowship offers the full ride plus tons of travel and research stipends along with weekly seminars, mentoring, etc. About 25 students each year are awarded this after extensive interviews and a large supplemental application. My personal favorite.

William and Mary offers I think 5 or 6 full ride scholarships for their college scholars program which sounds immensely difficult to get into. These are the only merit scholarships offered.

Boston Univeristy's Trustee Scholar program has around 20 full rides with a special house for trustee scholars that features close interaction with professors.

SchoolTime · 06-12-2005, 07:03 PM

gnusasoras- Trust me you should not exclude the Ivy's in regard to merit aid. By the way vig180 hit 3 of the schools that were on my list. There is considerable merit aid available. Bur you have to isentify where you fit in and then go for it. Aim too high and you eill be disapointed. Aim to low and you may also be disapointed where you end up. Its about being happy where you end up, because four years is a long time not to be happy.

1moremom · 06-12-2005, 07:36 PM

It is my understanding that none of the ivies offer merit aid. Anyone?

just_forget_me · 06-12-2005, 07:42 PM

Merit aid of the sort we've been talking about on this thread is not to be found at the Ivies. Cornell has a few small scholarship programs, but they give only "book" money (<$1,000/yr). Some Ivies will bump finaid awards for applicants they really want, but others (Harvard I know for sure) refuse to do this. But all in all, you're not going to get a significant merit award to a school in the Ivy League; it's prohibited by the League's admissions standards.

On the other hand, I know some "not poor" students whose Ivy finaid rivaled their merit aid + finaid at other private schools.

1moremom · 06-12-2005, 07:43 PM

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ discussion/2005/05/27/DI2005052700956.html

"The Ivy league schools give financial aid only on the basis of need ... "

just_forget_me · 06-12-2005, 08:12 PM

http://www.commitment.cornell.edu/

Supposedly, Penn has a similar program to grab HYP admits.

SchoolTime · 06-12-2005, 08:49 PM

1moremom - Yes in thory you are right. In real life that is not the case. Merit aid is availaable thru alumni and various other organizations. Although not officialy from the school, one wonders how these organizations know whiuch applicants are the "worthy" recipients of such funds.

just_forget_me · 06-12-2005, 08:53 PM

schooltime-Can you give more specific examples? Are you saying that if you get accepted to Brown, some alum is going to call you and offer you thousands of dollars to go there?

Surely people who can get into the top schools are going to do well with private scholarships, but I think that's because of their overall achievements, not because they got into a specific Ivy.

Seven Nights · 06-12-2005, 09:19 PM

Also folks keep in mind that receiving a full ride at a Top 10 school or even a Tier 1 school is incredibly difficult. The people who receive these full rides are pretty much deciding between the full ride and an HYPS. I am not joking on this. These programs as Byerly said were created to poach HYPS kids. I was a poached kid, but just_forget_me politely declined.

Also, you have to look at it strategically from the point of view of a college. Colleges like Duke are heavily investing in their student body (i.e. poaching top students via Robertsons, A.B., etc.) because they are banking on the fact that these students will go on to accomplish great things in the next twenty to fifty years that will both a) greatly increase the university's endowment (because relatively speaking their endowments aren't "big") and b) increase the reputation of a school like Duke (thus attracting and increasing it's academic preeminence and "status"- much like a HYPS).

As one of my good friends put it, "They are investing in your future".

SchoolTime · 06-12-2005, 09:29 PM

Yes, I agree to a point. The programs probably were designed and do have the effect of "poaching" HYPS applicants. But that is not always the case, there are times when the alternative, if financially viable, is a better fit. In my opinion its a lot more about best fit and where you think you will be happy as opposed to only prestige. Ivys are great, but their atmosphere and campus culture may not be for everyone. But everyone has to make their own choice as to what is best for them. I for one am happy that those kinds of choices are available, unfortunately maybe not to everyone, but at least to selected people that established a goal at the start of high school and then persevered to reach that goal.

KhAn_T1m · 06-12-2005, 09:56 PM

University of Rochester apparently meets like 100% aid.

jack · 06-13-2005, 10:50 AM

I agree with SevenNights and SchoolTime. The one issue I don't hear discussed much with these full merit awards is--not simply the money involved (which is subtantial)--but the prestige and honor given to a student who receives one of these truly fine awards. This is serious recognition of all that a student has accomplished and, yes, definitely an "investment" in that student's future. Also, I think that it's one thing to be accepted at a "selective" school with a thousand + others, but quite another to be singled out and recognized (and rewarded) for years of hard work, dedication to academics, causes and passions, and for true leadership--those attributes which will not end when one graduates from high school. My own daughter remembers being in a class in middle school, where a teacher told the students that "you want to be so outstanding throughout your school years that colleges pay YOU to come to their school, not the other way around." Yes. And why not.

gnusasaurus · 06-13-2005, 10:59 AM

Well said, jack! There are some incredibly inspiring teachers out there. Glad your daughter got one of them.'

Receving this kind of recognition is an outstanding achievement. My son will probably be in line for some pretty good scholarship money, and I am so proud of him!