Schools known for good merit aid

[curmudgeon]

As you might expect I also own Mr. Hammond's book . It is a good starting place but is very out of date. Still, it is effective in that the schools listed as having generous merit offers generally still have generous offers. They just may be in different amounts with different criteria. Another source for data that I have found somehat useful is Petersen's. Access it through Kiplinger.com and their Best College Buys section and you can get a break on the online price.Tinker with it. Some stuff is out of date but it can give you another roadmap of where to look.

Good hunting for those who need financial help in the form of merit aid. It's tough out there. For those who don't need it, let's not use those who do as target practice. O.K.? We're all just trying to survive this process and glean from it the best situation our finances will allow. Let's try to stick together.

[songman]

Anyone mention Wheaton (Norton, Ma)?

[SouthJerseyChessMom]

Thank you, THANK you, THANK YOU
Eagle 79 for your post #177.

I have learned so much from the wise CC gurus,but his suggestion to subscribe to US NEWS and WORLD online is GREAT Advice.
(yes, we bought the magazine in August)

I just subscribed and this site has MUCH more useful, searchable ( especially with high speed internet) information!!!
There is abundant IMPORTANT Non-need/ Need based data, and much more.
The best $15 I have spent on college materials, although Harry Bauld's essay book is a gem, too.
Thanks Eagle 79

[roadlesstravled]

<<quote..his original wants of a small LAC (Denison>>quote>.

Hobart & William Smith have a great deal of merit aid.
They have a med school assurance program also


http://www.hws.edu/admissions/adm_fi...holarships.asp

[wannagotocornell]

anyone know if the following schools give good merit aid for out of state (3.7 UW and 1180 trying to improve):
pratt institute
university of georgia
rochester institute of technology
virginia tech
howard u
drexel u
univ of cincinnati
philadelphia univ
marymount university

[Northstarmom]

The wisest thing to do, wannagotocornell, is to look at the college's web sites under the sections for financial aid and merit scholarships. Often, too, colleges post information about students who have received their top scholarships. You can compare your stats with those students'.

You also can e-mail the financial aid and/or merit scholarship personnel at the colleges and ask their advice.

When colleges give merit aid, you usually have to be in at least the top 25% of their applicant pool to get merit aid. If a college is a reach for you, in general, you can forget about merit aid.

[mamacita]

I think that the last post is making a point that all who are seeking "good merit aid" need to memorize. Merit packages are offered to a small percentage of applicants; that's what makes them so prized. Many schools have a scale of offers: full ride, full tuition, half tuition, quarter tuition.
The top awards go to very few applicants -- at a small LAC, there may be two or three students who have a full ride on merit alone. Some students combine merit and need to come up with a great package, but all who read this -- parents and students -- need to be aware that mixing and matching merit and need never decreases the EFC. It is assumed that any merit money can replace need money. The EFC is a constant; so as merit money increases, need money decreases in the package. Look for schools where your assets will enhance the reputation of the school. You are more likely to get better merit money at a match or a safety than you are at a reach. At a reach, someone else (a match) probably has better merit creds. Look for merit packages that have specific targets. Some schools have endowed merit packages directed at applicants from a specific county or with a specific surname. Look for outside scholarship dollars. Do you qualify through parent(s) for corportate National Merit money? Have you received money from a service organization or some other scholarship granting agency not affiliated with a particular school. These will be considered part of your aid package, more likely than not, but small awards can help you piece together a package that is lower in loan obligations. Some schools are philosophically opposed to loans; for other schools, loans seem to be the first component of an aid package. Do your homework at the sites of the schools to which you will be applying.

[carolyn]

And one other VERY important piece of advice: Many schools have rules that require students to apply to the college by a certain date in order to be considered for merit money --- I'm not talking about applying for the scholarships, but about actually getting your admissions application in by a certain date.

This is particularly true at rolling admissions and schools that offer Early Action (Not ED). I would advise everyone to ask specifically about any deadlines such as this when you visit and/or talk to schools as this information is sometimes buried on school websites and not immediately apparent.

[Eagle79]

To cite a specific example of what Carolyn is saying let me provide 2 examples:

1) The University of Southern California. They do not have an EA, ED or rolling admissions policy. However, they have 2 dates, on or around December 10 for applications to be considered for a scholarship and January 15 for regular admissions consideration. So, applying to USC by their scholarship date does not violate the SCEA policies of other schools.

2) Villanova University - To be considered for thier Presidential and other scholarships you must apply by their EA deadline of November 1.

Every school has a different policy so it is best to check.

[condor30]

bump - good topic

[WealthOfInformation]

Some schools outline exactly what they offer based on certain academic credentials. For example:

http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/

[HImom]

Very generous program--too bad my son doesn't want to go to Ohio. I've seen other schools which spell merit aid out in a formula like that as well.

[mom of four]

too bad Ohio only offers its full tuition to in-state residents only.

[kdos]

good point Carolyn...also some schools (U of M for example) consider you for the Presidential scholarship I believe it was if you were ACCEPTED by Jan 15. My S applied on Dec 10 and was told he was accepted on Jan 21. Too late.

[yulsie]

In retrospect, I would advise parents and students to: 1) first develop a long list of colleges that appear to offer the best combination of "all I want in life at college" - 30 or 40 schools 2) then look at the web sites for merit aid opportunities and the criteria for obtaining aid 3) THEN visit the schools as the main discriminator. 4) Early fall senior year, check all the application dates and if there are additional recommendations or essays or SAT IIs required for the merit award.

In hindsight, I cast too wide a net and exhausted myself. Y'all be smart and don't do that, takes too much energy!