Update on What I learned about free ride scholarships

[stacy]

SUNY Albany offered (probably still does) merit scholarships covering 4 years of tuition, room, board, fees, and a $2000 a year stipend. Pretty sweet deal, especially since their generous AP credit rules make it fairly easy to study abroad or get a masters during those 4 years.

[question_quest]

^
Looking at SUNY-Albany's merit scholarship page, I didn't find anything like this...?

[stacy]

I agree, it's not on the list. I was just writing based on the financial aid package I received when I applied there. That was several years ago, so things might have changed. Also, if several of the merit scholarships were combined, they could add up to this.

[MikeWozowski]

i know this is an old thread, but i was wondering which schools momfromtexas's sons chose.

i am new her and so i am still trying to figure things out.

do you have to apply to the school to be able to see what scholarship opportunities there are? i went to one of the schools she listed and didn't find the scholarship info i was looking for. it said something to the effect that "you need to apply to our school before searching our scholarships."

[curmudgeon]

What school was that , Mike? Maybe I have the data.

[collegiate08]

Seattle University - Sullivan Scholarship - 9 students annually (tuition, room, board)

Claremont McKenna - Seaver Leadership - 5 students annually (tuition)

[MikeWozowski]

hi curmudgeon -

i happened to be looking at SFA's website, as we are in texas and it is a school i know a little bit about. well, i don't actually know much about the school, but i have a few friends that went there.

where did your D end up going to school.

my D is a junior this year and i am starting to try to sort thru some of this stuff. : / seems that you are quite the expert!

my D will most likely be to 20% of class (200/1200). possibility of NMSF, but i am not counting on that. she will probably make it to within 10 points of the cutoff. : (

she likes a&m. we visited baylor today. i think our budget likes something along the lines of a&m, though!

so finding some merit money for a good (but not uber CC fantastic) student would be GREAT!

any tips you can give me???

[curmudgeon]

Texas' high profile schools aren't very generous with scholarships IMO. I know there are great scholarships at UT-Dallas (McDermott), and xiggi knows about a Texas State scholarship that is significantly better than most. I'll do a little looking. In 06 SFA had their scholarships listed on their site. Baylor and Southwestern have formulaic scholaships on their websites. Austin college is another great but unknown LAC with merit aid.

[curmudgeon]

Here ya go. SFA Admissions - Scholarship Information

Check out the xiggi method on the SAT forum for PSAT help. It'll make her money.

[curmudgeon]

Here's the McDermott info.

Originally Posted by UTD

The 2008 McDermott Scholars Award provides extensive financial support for each Scholar's education. The Award covers, year-round for four years, all of each Scholar's university tuition and fees. In addition, each McDermott Scholar receives a monthly stipend of at least $1100 to cover on-campus apartment housing, utilities, and other living expenses. Scholars also receive an annual book stipend of $1000.

The McDermott Scholars Program also will bear the expense of

state-wide and national travel associated with cohort activities: McDermott Orientation in August, Freshman Winter Break Experience, and visits to our state and national capitols;
student-designed international educational experience, up to $12,000, as part of the undergraduate experience;
student-proposed professional development and academic conferences, up to $2,000, as part of the undergraduate experience;

student-proposed post program assistance, up to $1,000;

round trip travel home twice per year for Scholars whose parents live outside the D/FW metroplex but within the continental United States, or one round trip ticket home for Scholars whose parents live outside the United States; and
Access to tickets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Opera and a one-year membership to the Dallas Museum of Art.


McDermott Scholars also benefit from

a close-knit social and professional network of fellow scholars and alumni;
exposure to and mentoring from McDermott Faculty members;
close acquaintance with and access to the University’s administrators;
automatic membership in Collegium V Honors Program;
introductions to Dallas’ leaders and organizations;
opportunities to intern at local, state, and national organizations and to research in a wide range of laboratories on campus; and
a compelling resume for graduate school and other post-college pursuits


Receiving the McDermott Scholars award is a tremendous privilege, but with that privilege comes responsibility. Scholars maintain on-going community service and campus leadership commitments throughout their educational experience at The University of Texas at Dallas. McDermott Scholars accept a responsibility to become dynamic change agents for the university, the region, the state, the nation, and even the world—always seeking to embody the commitment and generosity of both Eugene and Margaret McDermott who were influential in the founding of The University of Texas at Dallas and who stand as remarkable role models of community engagement and philanthropy.

Can't beat that with a stick but the competition is pretty fierce.

[curmudgeon]

As in this fierce (class rank may be a problem but I'm posting it for others, too. )

The 2008 Class of McDermott Scholars have a mean SAT/ACT equivalent of 2240. They are in the top 2.4% of their collective high school graduating class and are campus leaders, community volunteers, athletes, artists, scholars, scientists, and musicians.

Students who will have the best chance of being invited to McDermott Finalists' Weekend will:

have an SAT or ACT score at or above the 97th percentile;
approaching 1400 on the two part SAT (verbal and math)
approaching 2100 on the three part SAT
32 or higher on the ACT
be in the top five percent of their graduating class;
have long records of community voluntarism and leadership in school;
have broad and eclectic interests in science, literature, and the arts; and
have the social skills to interact easily with adults as well as peers.

The Program is not looking for students with any particular area of interest or intended major.

Applicants are welcome from across Texas, the U.S., and the world

[curmudgeon]

One of the best deals going for Texas kids is the U of Arkansas. http://apply.uark.edu/app_pages_07-1..._aid_info).pdf

The non-resident tuition award gets the costs way below Texas schools IIRC.

Non-Resident Tuition Award
The Non-Resident Tuition Award covers the difference between out-of-state tuition and in-state tuition. The award is automatically granted to qualifying students. Students must apply for admission to be considered, but are not required to submit a separate scholarship application. NRTA recipients will first be notified via their admission profile under the residency statement. The student with receive more detailed information from the Office of Academic Scholarships starting April 1st.

Eligibility
Awarded to entering freshmen and transfer students from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Entering freshmen must have a 3.5 or higher GPA and ACT of at least 25 or 1130 SAT (combined math and critical reading). Transfer students must have a 3.0 or higher college GPA and 24 transferable hours.

And IMO Fayetteville would be a fun place to go to school (heckuva lot better than UT or A+M, again IM-heavily biased-O). Lots of Walton money for travel and the Honors College/Program and the uni itself.

[cathymee]

Mike
there's a bunch of Texas kids in the Honors College at U of South Carolina where my S attends (hes a junior). They have a great deal for NMF's .As for your original question about schools having other scholarships they don't show you until you have applied/been accepted..this is very true at USCarolina..there are many departmental scholarships that are awarded to the kids after they are accepted..it happened toS and to many others he knows.

[cathymee]

I wanted to edit to add (but for some reason it's not letting me)
USC is a great deal for anyone getting a merit scholarship b/c they lower the recipient to paying in state tuition rates.

[PackMom]

^^Right, my OOS S was accepted to USC (4 yrs ago now) with no mention of scholarship in the acceptance letter. A couple of months later, he received notice that he was being offered the Cooper Scholarship and Capstone. Made for a nice deal. He was later offered similiar scholarships at our own big state u. making it an even better deal so ended up there. H and I were both impressed with USC on the visit.