Schools known for good merit aid - Page 44

Keilexandra · 08-16-2009, 06:01 PM

^ Davidson has some very competitive full/near-full scholarships, worth a shot. Ditto for W&M. Knox is traditionally generous, as are Beloit and Kalamazoo. Smith and Mount Holyoke have 15k/20k awards, respectively, off 50k COA; and upper-middle-class students report good aid from Bryn Mawr (generous need policy + some merit, nebulously defined). W&L has full rides, but is not particularly liberal. Scripps has half-tuition awards that may also lead to preferential need packaging, if you are on the cusp. URichmond is not particularly liberal but offers full tuition+ to 1 in 8 freshmen. Oxy and Lafayette have some merit; whether it's "good" depends on how much money you need. Ditto for F&M, Dickinson, Ursinus.

Go down the USNWR LAC list and research each college's website for merit aid information. Yes, individually and by hand. Threads like this are a good jumping-off point, but nothing can substitute for hours of personal research.

Also try looking at schools marked with an asterisk (*) on NMF Scholarships: An Updated Compilation

AnagramPanda · 08-16-2009, 11:10 PM

Thanks for the help. That link is really useful. Kalamzoo is actually on my list already, forgot to mention it. I'll have to look into the rest that you mentioned.

anxiousmom · 08-16-2009, 11:16 PM

AnagramPanda - you might want to look at Rice University, which is actually classified as a research U. It has a great res college system, and is the same size as a LAC - approx 3200 undergrads. It is strong in all areas (including your LA curriculum) and offers lots of opportunities. Big endowment, great faculty;student ratio...

Dad'o'2 · 08-17-2009, 08:24 AM

RPI gives merit aid to most students (94%) who don't qualify for need-based aid (average $14K), but admissions have gotten tougher there over the last few years. I would think your S is in the ballpark, though.

WPI gives merit aid to about 87% of non-need students (average $12K) and is not quite as selective as RPI for admission.

Lafayette gives merit aid to about one-quarter of non-need students (average $13K), so getting money from them seems less likely if they base the decision on stats.

Bucknell gives very little merit aid. Don't know about Lehigh, but suspect it's not great. Both are pretty selective.

If your S is in the top 15% of his HS class, his test scores would probably qualify him for Provost Scholarship merit aid from Case Western of about $17K per year.

Be warned that some merit aid comes with a requirement to maintain a particular GPA, which may not be that easy in an engineering curriculum.

Even with these merit scholarships, you will have $35K or so to cover. You may want to look into some schools that are less expensive to begin with. Unless you are in-state for a public school, these are still not going to be cheap, but are less than full-pay at most privates.

Lower-tuition (especially if you are in-state!) schools with engineering that I am familiar with are

University of Delaware,
Rochester Institute of Technology,
University of Maryland (College Park),
University of Maryland Baltimore County,
Virginia Tech (already on your list)

and maybe (not as familiar)

Pitt
NC State
Clemson
Georgia Tech

Another option is a school with a co-op program that allows the student to earn some money while working a few semesters. This spreads the degree out over 5 years. Check out Drexel, Northeastern, and maybe Virginia Tech for co-op.

Best wishes

ChuckleDoodle · 08-17-2009, 06:09 PM

Dod'o'2- thanks for the info. I have just started looking into the lower tuition schools. I think my son is going to have a huge reality check when he gets finanacial aid packages. Even though we have discussed our finances (and lack thereof), I think when he finally sees it in writing it will hit home. As a parent, all I am trying to do at this time is have him apply to some of these "other" schools- it may not be exactly what he wants- but we don't want him to have a debt of $40K on graduation. Education is important... but maybe not that important.

There are a lot of good schools out there and I'm sure he will end up going to the one he's meant to be at.

I will be sure to look into Pitt, Univ of Delaware and Univ of Md. The ones south of Virginia don't get snow and our son loves the cold- can't stand the heat; so if it doesn't get any snow at all he won't consider it.

It's funny the things that he will/will not accept.

SRQDad · 08-29-2009, 06:46 PM

Wandering through this post, I don't see mention of the University of Miami. Our son started there last week. He was a NMF and very good student and received a 4 year free tuition scholarship, plus some other support.

I have the impression that the school is very generous with merit aid offering 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full tuition with a comparatively high frequency. Their most recently fund raising campaign raised $1.4 billion, giving U of Miami a solid endowment.

Sometimes seen as a sun and fun football school, its uniqueness is often lost. It is a private school in a very nice suburb of Miami, Coral Gables. Undergrads total just under 10,000 and grads are about 5,000. There are 11 separate schools with A & S being the largest at 4,000. It just moved into the USNWR Top 50. This is a highly regarded international, research institution.

We have been amazed by the warmth and attention the school has offered and find the leadership of President Donna Shalala inspiring. Opening convocation for the freshman featured a thought provoking speach by syndicated columnist George Will.

The following link might help.....Scholarships for New Freshmen | University of Miami

We are huge fans and think you might be too if you take a look.

rocket6louise · 08-30-2009, 02:55 PM

i've been skimming this thread, and always see 1500 SAT as the "magic" number
What is the "magic" ACT number...would a 34 cut it

condor30 · 08-30-2009, 05:14 PM

rocket6louise........34 sounds good. my take is they break out like this:

27 - 30 good

31, 32 better

33, 34, 35, 36..........best

depends on gpa too.......i would guess 3.5 and above to go with that 34..........just a guess

SRQDad · 08-30-2009, 09:00 PM

A 34 is very good. My son scored a 35 but that is uncommon. A friend got a 33 and a full ride at Auburn. 34 is very good.

rocket6louise · 08-30-2009, 11:31 PM

thanks...
and my uw GPA is a 4.0, all AP

MikeWozowski · 08-30-2009, 11:52 PM

below 30 - nobody cares - might get you token $$ but not a lot at better schools
30-31 good
32-33 better
34-36 best

rocket6louise · 08-31-2009, 12:07 AM

that kinda makes me feel better...especially since my first choice is smith...

mom2collegekids · 09-25-2009, 05:22 PM

>>> I've been looking at this thread and truly appreciate the information it provides. This thread made me add UMin- Morris to my list because of its National Merit scholarship. I'm also looking at Grinnell, Brandeis, , the College of Idaho, Green Mountain College and Whitman because of their reputation for good merit aid. Are there other small, liberal LACs which give good merit aid which I've missed?
My stats: probable NMF, 35 ACT/2320 SAT, 3.86 GPA, top 2% of HS class. <<<

Since you are a NMSF (and likely finalist), have you considered University of Alabama? NMFs are given full tuition (even if OOS), dorm (including honors dorms), lap top, $1000 stipend and $2k for study abroad. And, with your stats...if you apply with an engineering major, you'll be awarded an additional $2500 per year for Engineering scholarship (which will just about pay for all your food).

I have 2 boys at UA...one is a NMF and the other got the Presidential and Engineering scholarship. They both LOVE the school. It really is VERY nice.

Also, since you're sooo smart....consider applying for the Computer-Based Honors Program...If selected for an interview, you'll be flown to UA (hotel and food included) for the 2 day interview. My DS1 is in CBHP and loves it...it's an exclusive group of 40 students who do special research projects each year. CBHP is one of three honors programs at UA, but it is the most exclusive group. The average ACT for CBHP students is 33, so you're good!

For more info...visit the Alabama website and also the Alabama thread in the college area....

mom2collegekids · 09-25-2009, 05:28 PM

Since a 32 ACT is considered 99 percentile, colleges that do award merit money will often give nice awards for an ACT 32+

Keilexandra · 09-25-2009, 05:31 PM

^^UA has an amazing NMF scholarship program, but from the given list of schools, it doesn't seem like a fit. UM-Morris is a public LAC, as are all of the other (private) colleges in consideration (Brandeis a bit larger at 3000? students but not by much). This suggests that the OP may be looking for community intimacy above all, which is really ultimately different from a large U's honors program.