Any schools we can add to son's list? [KY resident, 4.0 GPA, 35 ACT, likely NMF, Pre-med, Mid-to-large school, <$22K]

College Search & Lists
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Hi all!

My son just finished is junior year, and we’re still working on building his list.

Here’s a snapshot of him as an applicant:

Male
KY resident
4.0 unweighted
35 ACT Superscore
Likely NMF (scored 222 on PSAT)
10 AP classes so far, taking 5 more next year
Loves science, especially chem/biochem (likely major)
Considering med school (we realize this might change :slight_smile:
ECs: Typical stuff—quick recall, science fair, archery, band/pep band/pit orchestra, NHS, Beta, volunteers with a science non-profit and at the hospital, works summers as a custodian)

Cost is a big factor for us. We have not saved much, since money has always been fairly tight, but both of our incomes recently increased to a point where we don’t qualify for lots of aid. Most of the MyIntuition or NPCs I run put us in the $21-42K range. We could make the beginning of that range work, but not the end. So, we’re basically chasing merit. :slight_smile:

S’s college preferences:

–Out of state
–Medium-to-large school
–Proximity to an urban area is a plus, but not a deal breaker
–Good chem or biochem programs (biology might also be a possibility)
–Study abroad options
–Nice campus feel

He’s honestly pretty easy to please.

So far, his short list looks like:
–Alabama (for NM package) – We visited, and he loved it. Great chem building, beautiful campus. He said he wishes it wasn’t in Alabama though. :wink:
–Kentucky – Our state school. He also really liked it, but wished it wasn’t in KY. :wink:
–Miami of Ohio – He really loved the feel of this one and felt like it was a great fit. He’d need merit aid though.

Other schools we think he might like that we haven’t visited (all offer merit, but we know it’s extremely unlikely since they are reach schools):
–Emory
–WashU
–Purdue
–Vandy

Can you all help us fill out his list a little more? There are sooo many schools out there, and I’m trying to make sure I don’t miss any right-fit ones!

Thank you so much!

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Your budget will be the rate limiter. There’s no problem with that, because he’ll have affordable options. It’s unlikely though that the $90K schools are going to knock off $70K.

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I’m totally missed the budget when I first posted. You could try a school like Case that gives merit aid. Not sure it will be in budget though.

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I’d add U Tulsa for its generous NMSF package and strength of student body. If I recall, more than 25% of each of its last few classes were NM.

Your kid sounds great. He will definitely have options in your budget. I hope you will keep us updated. :smiley:

https://utulsa.edu/tuition-aid/scholarships/nmsf/

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Thank you! I forgot about Tulsa! Going to add that one to the list. :slight_smile:

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What particular reasons does he have for state desirability or lack thereof?

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So one of the limiting factors here is the desire for a combination of OOS, merit+need that will get you to low 20s, AND medium-large.

For example, there are quite a few smaller private colleges that are strong in chem, bio, and biochem, have very good study abroad, and they might get you there with merit+need, but of course as noted they are smaller. Like, St Olaf might get you there, and they are definitely not in Alabama, only about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities . . . but only a little over 3000 undergrads. Kalamazoo is another strong possibility in everything but size. Wooster would be another to consider. And so on.

Then there are plenty of medium-large OOS publics that are also strong in those areas, but very few offer OOS students a realistic possibility of merit+need that will get you to that budget. Like Pitt is super popular among people with those interests, and it does have SOME merit, but it isn’t going to get into the lower end of your range for OOS even with a top merit award.

So my personal suggestion is that to give your kid more OOS options that could come in affordable, he consider compromising on the size thing. Up to him, of course, but it would likely at least diversify his options.

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Yep! Just trying to figure out what those affordable options are! :upside_down_face: I know there have to be other options between Bama (likely free for him) and WashU ($$$$ except for the ultra-rare possibility of merit aid).

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Thank you for this thoughtful reply! :slight_smile: This is definitely one of the main issues I’m finding! OOS merit seems more common among the smaller private schools.

I’ll talk to him more about it. The small school thing seems to be his biggest dealbreaker, but I don’t know exactly why. I think he fears he’ll be bored. I’ll try to clarify to him that the smaller schools are some of his best chances for merit aid—I don’t know that I’ve framed it like that.

Edited to add: I do like the idea of St. Olaf for him. I didn’t realize it had ~3,000 students. That’s a lot bigger than Centre College here in KY, which he deemed waaaay too small at 1,200. Maybe I can convince him to take a look.

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Your S has the stats to be competitive for many of the privates that are very generous with need based aid. Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford may be the most affordable schools if your S gets in. Not saying that he should only apply to the super reaches, but it is worth taking a shot at 2 or 3 of them.

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Take a look at SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Buffalo. They give merit to OOS kids and their base price is lower than many others.

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Great question! I think three things are at play:

  1. He craves novelty, and Kentucky and Alabama aren’t hitting that button for him. He’s grown up in Kentucky, and Alabama felt like more of the same.
  2. He considers himself more on the liberal side of things, and these are red states. (He says he understands that college campuses are often not as conservative as the areas around them, though.)
  3. He prefers cooler environments to warmer ones.

As far as Kentucky goes, he also wants to avoid going what everyone else is going. So many of his classmates will go there. :slight_smile:

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Thank you so much for weighing in! I was surprised to do the Princeton calculator yesterday and see an estimate of $21K, including indirect costs. I think I’ll add that one to the list. I haven’t run calculators at the others—making a note to do that today. :slight_smile:

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Taking notes! :writing_hand: These are schools I wouldn’t have thought to check out on my own. Thank you so much!

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The problem is, schools that are extremely generous, like Case, WPI, RPI for Medalists, etc, typically cut the net price in half with their top awards. Every private is pushing $90k. Even a 50% reduction won’t get you close to budget. Sure, there are rare, home run full rides at those schools. Just be aware of being trapped by an option that is way beyond the budget. It’s best to sort that out in advance. None of the privates will be guaranteed to hit your number.

Now I’ll throw you a curveball school…Utah. SLC is majority Democrat, minority Mormon, in an idyllic cool sports environment. It’s big, but it plays small. The dorms are awesome. The MUSS is crazy. There is a very respected medical school there, so if he chooses that route, he’ll have shadowing opportunities. If he’s willing to spend his first summer there, it’ll almost certainly hit the budget, because they’ll convert him to in state tuition. That will hold for medical school too.

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Definitely! :slight_smile: That’s why I’m so glad we have Alabama (likely free) and Kentucky (affordable). He tells us he’ll absolutely be happy at either school if that’s how it works out. He just wants some other options to try for!

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I edited the above. Check it out.

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Oooh, interesting! I will check that one out. He loves mountains/hiking/skiing, so it might be a fit! Thank you! :slight_smile:

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Definitely look at some of the more selective schools. As you found with Princeton, you may be pleasantly surprised that your income qualifies you for more aid than expected at these elite schools. Also, Kentucky seems to have had more of a presence lately at these schools but is probably still geographically desired.

I would also add Pitt to the list. It checks all of his boxes except price, but he has a chance of getting one of their larger scholarships if he applies to honors.

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University of Delaware gives merit up to $17,000 (my daughter with a 3.95 34 act got $17,000), but they chose 100 students for even bigger merit scholarships, I think you student would have a chance, definitely in for honors. Beautiful campus, fun vibe, all of my daughter’s friends were in the very top of their high school classes.

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