Schools known for good merit aid

[califa]

I haven't read through all of the posts but would like to add U of Tampa and U of South Florida. D got offered $11,000 (half tuition) at U of Tampa and $10,000 (almost 2/3 tuition, OOS) at USF Honors with a 30 ACT and 3.8 unweighted, 6 APs with all 4s and 5s, top 2% of her class. Both renewable for four years. I knew UT offered some nice merit aid but USF offering that much OOS students was something of a surprise! Maybe they figure that even with that, they will still get $3000 a year more tuition from an OOS student with that scholarship than from an instate student with no merit aid.

It all depends on the school. With her stats, she would not get any merit aid at more selective schools, and is not even applying to Ivies because unless she got very lucky, she wouldn't get in. She's at the top of her hs class, but is in the bottom 25% of kids who get accepted in the super-selective schools.

A 32 ACT may be nothing special at some schools, but a 28 can be competitive for merit aid at others. A kid at D's hs got a 2/3 scholarship to Auburn last year with a 30 ACT and (I think) 3.6 unweighted GPA. Good luck to all of the class of 2010.

[mom of four]

I am writing for a friend whose s1 is a senior.

They live in OC, make $75k, family of five and are probably correct in that their income probably is just barely over not qualifying for need based aid.

With it so close to Dec 1 when many apps are due, i am trying to find help in selecting some 4 year schools that will award nearly free tuition for her son ( they don't care where in the US) and it can be a 4th or 5th tier school -- since the other option is going to a jr college (as even going to the local state univ is too expensive for them) but they'd prefer a four year college on on full tuition scholarship if possible.

Stats: 3.33 unweighted/3.43 weighted
SAT 1700 (1110 for critical thinking and math combined) /act 26
son has won awards for vocal performance for southern california

Any suggestions on where to apply at lower tiered schools that has good chance or nearly full tuition scholarship?

[Illinois Dad]

If you're willing to consider Canada, mom, of four, here's a bargain. Brandon University in Manitoba is a liberal arts school of about 3,000 students with a strong music program, and it charges international students just 5,700 to 6,300 Canadian dollars (about $5,400-$6,000) for tuition depending on the program. Any international student who maintains at least a 3.0 average gets up to 3,000 bucks knocked off the bill for the following year(s).

[Keilexandra]

mom of four - 75k, not 175k, right? 75k definitely qualifies for need-based aid. The cut-off for receiving grant aid varies widely but is generally 100k-120k. However, they would have to pay about 20k a year under most need-based plans, and if they can't afford UCs, that would be a problem (as would finding a school that met enough need).

Summary: Need-based aid probably won't help your friend in this particular case, but families with an annual income of ~75k most definitely do qualify for it.