NEW here - worried about paying for college!

[missypie]

If his October scores see a good increase, he might qualify for one of the better scholarships. However right now (with his 1280 m+cr) he'd only get about $9k per year...not much when the COA is over $40k.

That's another good tip for those looking for merit aid - start testing early, to get an idea of the ballpark you're in. If you know your student is in the 1200 neighborhood and the large scholarships at the school of choice only go to someone in the 1400+ neighborhood, you know it's quite an uphill climb to get there.

[MiamiDAP]

I also know few girls from Catholic HS who went to UDayton and very happy with school. However, UDayton is not known for awesome Merit $$. One of girls was on soccer scholarship and had to work very hard for her athletic $$.

[missypie]

However, UDayton is not known for awesome Merit $$.

There are such large differences in merit aid offers among what seem to be very similar schools - one might offer $5000 and another $12,000.

Also, this is my personal theory: Schools who give free rides or nearly free rides to NMSF are less generous to other students. That was our personal experience and it makes sense - the funds are not unlimited and the schools who spend large amounts of money to attract NMSFs don't have as much to give to other students.

[AllThisIsNewToMe]

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but I'd have him try the ACT. My son's percentile was a good bit higher than his SAT was and many schools will look at the higher submission for merit.

[MiamiDAP]

"Schools who give free rides or nearly free rides to NMSF are less generous to other students." - it could be true, D is not NMSF, and apparently her school does not care. I believe what made a diff in D's case is that her rank #1 and that fact that her college historically accepted a lot of kids from her HS.

[mom2collegekids]

^^^

It's hard to find "free rides" for non NMF. ("Free Ride" = tuition, r&b, and books scholarship)

However, "free tuition" & "half tuition" scholarships are more available to non NMF with high stats. Sometimes "free tuition" occurs by stacking or by one single scholarship.

I agree with Missy that schools that offer "free rides" to NMF, don't usually offer "free rides" to many nonNMFs. BUT, some of these schools do offer "free tuition" or "half tuition" scholarships to nonNMFs.

That said, a "full tuition" or "half tuition" scholarship to a pricey school may still leave someone with a gap of $20k-35k per year...if the COA is $50k+ per year.

[my-3-sons]

Canisius in Buffalo might be a nice Jesuit choice. They have scholarship and financial aid calculators on their website. Your S's stats put him in the top 25% and he should be eligible for the Trustee's scholarship of $17K/year. The number of scholarships offered is unlimited, if you are eligible you get it.

Canisius College - Financial Aid & Scholarships

If you let us know how much merit aid you're looking for, we might be able to offer better suggestions. We all come from a different frame of reference. If you're looking to pay little to no part of the costs, then you may have to alter your search criteria and drop the Jesuit component. Also consider the contribution your S can make through summer jobs, work study and a small reasonable amount of student loans. Nobody wants to see kids overburdened with high amounts of student loans, but a small amount of debt upon graduation is not unreasonable. There are also outside scholarships often offered through local organizations. Every little bit helps. Just be sure you have the financial discussion with your S now so everyone is on the same page.

As far as Catholic options, I still feel UDayton offers more opportunities for merit aid for someone with your S's stats than many of the other Catholic Us, and will have a lower bottom line than the other Catholic schools on your S's list. It's at least worth a look. The key is to do your research and be open to other options. Good luck.

[MiamiDAP]

Another school that gave D huge financial Merit package was Case Western. It is also known for that. D. did not choose Case for another reason, but we would be paying there $5,000 in tuition out of $33,000 if she decided to attend. Case is very good for pre-meds and engineers, very challenging, I do not know about other majors.

[mom2collegekids]

Miami...Do you remember what your D's stats were? I'm guessing that they were quite high since she was Val of her class.

[thumper1]

What happened to the OP??

[sailfrosty]

I'm here! Reading everyone's responses and just taking notes! Thank you for all of your help and suggestions. I laughed at the one person that acted like I thought I was the only one worried about paying for college - quite the opposite, I was inspired by all of you that are in the same boat as me and thought that others could relate which is why I felt okay posting my post! (Besides CC was telling me to say Hi after I registered, lol).

I have had honest conversations with my son. I've also saved for college but with the downturn in the stock market last year - his account took a big hit, although there is still money there. We do have some money that his father and I can put forward - as someone here mentioned, sending him to a private jesuit high school already costs about $10k so we are used to the expense.

As I said - I'm just looking for that "sweet" spot - some suggestions of colleges that offer scholarships/merit aid to students like my son! Thank you for all your help, and keep the ideas coming

Amy

[sk8rmom]

Not sure what the downturn may have done to Lemoyne's endowment, but my neice got a sizable merit package from them two years ago with lower SAT scores, but in the top 10% of her class. They are Jesuit and have a nice campus near SU. She and her friends seem to love it there.

I would also second the SUNY's. Sk8rgirl chose her safety, UB, over all the other acceptances she received last year and we've been very impressed with the quality of education, facilities, and campus life so far. It's another school that many students seem to love...once they get used to the size that is!

[LasMa]

No idea what their scholarship policies are, but don't forget Seattle University.

[MiamiDAP]

mom2collegekids,
D. had GPA=4.0uw, very few APs (very few offerred at her school), ACT=33 (took once). No Val or any other status or any ranking at her HS either. Parents association give awards to top students at graduation, and that is how everybody knows. HS very well known in particular to college that D is currently attending. I beliive that made a difference in her acceptance to selective program. Her renewable Merit scholarships are numerous (around 10 or so) and all added together to cover full tuition. Her college has a lot of additional non-departmental Merit scholarships for returning students (starting sophomore year) as well as Departmental ones that are available for Juniors and Seniors (which is normal everywhere). Tell your kids that maintaining high GPA at college is very worthwhile. Make sure to research what is available as some scholarships might not be automatic, they will need application.

[mom2collegekids]

^^^

Since your D's stats put her in the top (ACT 33 is 99 percentile), it is understandable that she would be awarded so many scholarships by great schools! Congrats!


As for the OP...her son's stats are good, but his SAT is equivalent to an ACT 28 (91 percentile). Therefore, many colleges won't offer the same scholarships to him. If the OP's child needs merit money, they need to look at schools that typically award large merit for ACT 28 (there are some, not many). Usually, you have to look at Tier 3 national schools and lesser-known Catholic schools to get significant merit for an ACT 28. There might be a few exceptions.