Ouch, sorry to hear that. Commended is still a great accomplishment! And the additional money at U of A for NMF is not much compared to what you have already been offered. Congratulations on the acceptance and scholarship offer.
Thank you so much, @kcheves. I think had she made NMSF, she would have been on a different course - maybe Alabama? But when she missed it, there was no inspiration to continue with the schools she had been considering that had big NMF money. A bummer indeed, but her best was her best on a PSAT taken in the fall of Junior year. Crazy.
@3scoutsmom 73 and under is considered an F? Where is that school? Seems unfair to be honest. Should it be 59 or under for an F? Seems like a 73 will be a C
@NASA2014 Up until 3 years ago my school district- which is one of the biggest in the nation was on a 7 point scale. This year's graduating class has one year of 7 point and now 3 years of a 10 point scale.
Status as an automatic scholarship is not entirely clear; most of the web pages show nothing that indicates that it is competitive, but there is a 500 word essay on three questions (two of which seem more like a survey) in the scholarship application.
Alabama A&M University
Application Deadline: 2/1 (apply separately at https://galileo.aamu.edu/scholarship/ )
Award: Cost of tuition, room, board, fees for up to 8 semesters, plus $1,000/semester books (AAMU Presidential Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.75 HS GPA, 28 ACT or 1310 SAT, graduating HS senior (not gap year); contact school for renewal criteria
Award: Cost of tuition for up to 8 semesters (AAMU Merit Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.25 HS GPA, 23 ACT or 1130 SAT, graduating HS senior (not gap year); contact school for renewal criteria
Award: Cost of tuition for up to 4 semesters (AAMU Transfer Merit Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.25 college GPA as a transfer student http://www.aamu.edu/Admissions/fincialaid/Documents/academicscholarshipbrochure1819x.pdf (linked from http://www.aamu.edu/admissions/fincialaid/pages/default.aspx )
Sometimes on this forum we get questions from DACA and Undocumented students living in the U.S. I came across this resource which I think is good. It is a listing of scholarships for DACA or Undocumented students. I am providing the link so that this information is available for such students. https://mydocumentedlife.org/2016/09/12/scholarships-open-to-undocumented-students/
If you are a DACA or undocumented student, be sure to stay on top of this website since they add new scholarship information all the time.
I don't know if anyone still cares but at Southeast Missouri State University they have a full ride scholarship that includes housing in a community style residence, full tuition for up to 30 credits each year, and a 15 meal plan as long as you have a 3.9+ GPA and a 33 ACT or a 1490+ SAT. If you don't meet these parameters, a 3.6 GPA and a 1210 SAT or a 27 ACT will get you free tuition for the same number of credits. Fell free to fact check me on this at http://student-tutor.com/blog/top-10-merit-scholarship-schools/ or http://www.semo.edu/sfs/financialaid/scholarships/institutional.html
@GoCubsGo719 Should be noted the GPA is on a 4.0 scale.
This is where some students get screwed. My DD's GPA is a 4.95 due to IB weighting but on a 4.0 scale she was a 3.5. Some schools take any GPA and others only on the 4.0. She landed a full tuition/housing scholarship from a school that took "the highest GPA listed on the transcript"
Test runs in https://sfa.osu.edu/incoming-freshmen/about-aid/net-price-calculator suggests that a student eligible for this program will get total grants (inclusive of Pell grants) at least equal to in-state tuition of $10,564. For an Ohio resident student with FAFSA EFC = $0, the net price is $13,555, reflecting total grants of $13,481 (including $6,095 Pell grant) off of the list price of $22,856.
However, this is not really in the scope of this thread, as it is a need-based program, rather than a merit scholarship.
From what I've read it seems like if there is a gap for tuition (and some fees, but it's a bit unclear to me which ones exactly, probably the mandatory ones I'm guessing) after the pell and state grant are applied the school will now grant institutional aid for that portion.
That would free up a student loan to help with room, board, books, etc. which will still be a challenge for many families. It will be interesting to see how the stacking policies of outside scholarships work moving forward.
I read somewhere 45% of Ohio State students are graduating with no debt. It'll be interesting to see how this affects different rankings: up for more pell students or down for more students graduating with debt as fewer families are priced out.
Replies to: Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges
A 90 – 100
B 80 – 89
C 75 – 79
D 70 – 74
F 0 – 69
Alabama State University
Tuskegee University
Delta State University
Mississippi Valley State University
Alabama A&M University
Application Deadline: 2/1 (apply separately at https://galileo.aamu.edu/scholarship/ )
Award: Cost of tuition, room, board, fees for up to 8 semesters, plus $1,000/semester books (AAMU Presidential Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.75 HS GPA, 28 ACT or 1310 SAT, graduating HS senior (not gap year); contact school for renewal criteria
Award: Cost of tuition for up to 8 semesters (AAMU Merit Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.25 HS GPA, 23 ACT or 1130 SAT, graduating HS senior (not gap year); contact school for renewal criteria
Award: Cost of tuition for up to 4 semesters (AAMU Transfer Merit Scholarship)
Requirements: 3.25 college GPA as a transfer student
http://www.aamu.edu/Admissions/fincialaid/Documents/academicscholarshipbrochure1819x.pdf (linked from http://www.aamu.edu/admissions/fincialaid/pages/default.aspx )
If you are a DACA or undocumented student, be sure to stay on top of this website since they add new scholarship information all the time.
This is where some students get screwed. My DD's GPA is a 4.95 due to IB weighting but on a 4.0 scale she was a 3.5. Some schools take any GPA and others only on the 4.0. She landed a full tuition/housing scholarship from a school that took "the highest GPA listed on the transcript"
"Ohio State will cover the full cost of tuition for in-state, undergraduate Columbus campus students eligible for Pell Grants and Ohio College Opportunity Grants — as well as those who come from households that make Ohio’s median income of $55,000 or less — starting Autumn 2018" from https://www.thelantern.com/2017/09/ohio-state-to-become-first-public-ohio-college-to-cover-tuition-for-pell-students/
At the same time,
Out of 45K undergrads? That's very, very low. 7%?
Test runs in https://sfa.osu.edu/incoming-freshmen/about-aid/net-price-calculator suggests that a student eligible for this program will get total grants (inclusive of Pell grants) at least equal to in-state tuition of $10,564. For an Ohio resident student with FAFSA EFC = $0, the net price is $13,555, reflecting total grants of $13,481 (including $6,095 Pell grant) off of the list price of $22,856.
However, this is not really in the scope of this thread, as it is a need-based program, rather than a merit scholarship.
That would free up a student loan to help with room, board, books, etc. which will still be a challenge for many families. It will be interesting to see how the stacking policies of outside scholarships work moving forward.
I read somewhere 45% of Ohio State students are graduating with no debt. It'll be interesting to see how this affects different rankings: up for more pell students or down for more students graduating with debt as fewer families are priced out.
I'd also read that this would be expanding to branch campuses in 2019, but didn't realize that will begin as soon as Spring 2019. I guess they've revised their forecast to 3000 eligible students on main campus. https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/2018/06/01/osu-cover-full-cost-tuition-some-students/664556002/