Schools known for good merit aid

[peppermintyt]

Thanks for the input. I'll check out the Northwest Roadtrip thread and look into Seattle U and Puget Sound. That's very encouraging news about Willamette. I'm so glad I've found this forum!!!

[slscottxny]

Has anyone ever (successfully) written to the financial aid office after receiving there package and asked for more ?. My S received a decent merit scholarship - but the devastation in the fiancial markets too 6 figures out of my planned college funds so I'm left to borrow a large amount. I'm thinking of writing to explain what happened and ask for some more money...waisting my time ???

[bethievt]

I know that Grinnell encouraged parents to report changes in financial status. It can't possibly hurt.

[Zetesis]

Check out the Parents of 2009 forum; a number of us have done just this (ask for more aid) -- mostly without results. But some have reported success in the past. Problem is, they know your financial situation from the forms, so they've already made their assessments. Disappointing, to be sure.

[mamac]

add University of Michigan. My daughter received a full ride with all merit scholarship money.

[HoComom]

My D was offered (per year):
American $27,000
Clemson $14,000
Rensselaer $15,000
St. Olaf College $14,000
U Delaware $9,000
U Maryland (in-state) $5,000
Virginia Tech $5,000
Except for the St. Olaf scholarship, which required a special application and a "Scholars' Day" visit, I don't think any of them required special applications.
My impression is that Clemson and American made similar offers to a good chunk of students, and both offers are quite substantial in comparison with the cost of attendance.

[missypie]

Oklahoma City University is a neat little school that is quite generous...even those with "above average" (as opposed to stellar) SAT scores qualify for money.

[Debruns]

HoComom, that is a nice set of scholarships! Did you D have above average stats?
I ask because sometimes merit money is high and the persons stats were not "CC-high" but just above average and other times they were 1400-above (old scale)
For example my son got a nice scholarship from Drew and his SAT was under 1300, but other colleges, gave him much less, even when their average SAT was in his range.

[massmom57]

My daughter is a science major at Union College and did receive Merit Aid.

[massmom57]

My daughter received Merit Aid of $7500 per year. We went to accepted students day and told them she was deciding between them and two other schools. Because she was at the top of their applicant pool and they wanted her, they doubled the offer and she attended. This was two year ago, however, before the recession.

[niftydesign]

Add Syracuse. D received 16K in merit.

[college2014]

Muhlenberg College in Allentown gives merit aid as follows:
Entering freshmen are eligible for Merit Scholarships in amounts ranging up to $15,000 per year. In addition, the three honors programs, Muhlenberg Scholars, Dana Associates and RJ Fellows, each carry awards of $4,000. Performing and fine arts talent grants ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 are awarded on the basis of an audition or submitted portfolio, and are available in Theatre and Dance, Music, and Studio Art.

In recent years, students receiving merit award from Muhlenberg typically have ranked in the top 10% of their high school classes, taken a very strong junior and seniors course schedule, earned over 1300 combined on the SAT-I, and made outstanding extracurricular contributions to their school or community.

I know someone who received $6500/year starting as a freshman in 2006 and had in the low 1200s for her SATs and a 3.4 GPA, but had really good ECs, summer jobs and recommendations. Also the COA is slightly lower than most comparable LACs.

[SVMMom]

Add the University of Miami to the list. These are per year for 4 year amounts.

Scholarship opportunities:
Singer Scholarship: full tuition; minimum 1500 SAT or 34 ACT; A+ average; rank in top 1% of high school graduating class. University Scholarship ($24,000), Dean Scholarship ($16,000) and Trustee Scholarship($8,000): minimum 1350 or 31 ACT; minimum of a A- GPA in addition to academic rigor.



TIP:

Apply Early Action! They were most generous for those that applied early.

[bike4life]

My S was offered merit scholarships at five universities:

Valparaiso $11,000
IIT $22,000
Bradley $10,000
Marquette $9,500
Dayton $13,000

His stats were 3.8/4.0, 33 ACT, 25/236, letters in soccer & band. He applied to all of them early (Nov 1 sr year), but not early decision.

If a larger school is more appealing, check out Purdue, they're trying very hard to get students from out of state and have a very generous merit aid program.

[uskoolfish]

Re: Muhlenberg College...they were very generous with D last year...but there is an overall cap to their merit aid. Last year it was $19.5K or there abouts. If you dig deep enough into their website you will find where they say that.