<p>*We also found that even though private schools had higher price tags, many have more generous merit scholarship programs. *</p>
<p>Yes, that can be true…However, you have to look at “final price”. A $30k per year merit scholarship from a private school that costs $55k per year is not as great as a $25k per year scholarship at an OOS public that costs $35k. </p>
<p>We found that out when our son was NMF. Sometimes the “total value” of a scholarship can sound immense…especially if it’s free tuition or even “half tuition” at a private that has tuition at $35+k per year. But, your remaining costs can still be substantial. </p>
<p>USC gives a half tuition NMF scholarship (about $19k per year…so about $80k total)…but the remaining cost is about $37k per year.</p>
<p>Also…be aware of any scholarship that gives a “set amount”…such as $20k per year. As tuition goes up every year, that $20k does not increase. Look for words like Full tuition or Half tuition and find out if that increases as costs increase.</p>