Our budget is comparable to an in-state school…$30-$40k/yr. She wants to go to a big state school with the “full college experience” - parties, tailgating, Greek life AND excellent academics.
She would be thrilled with either U-M or I-U.
I’m familiar with Miami’s scholarship structure, but we were disappointed with what they offered when my oldest applied. She, like yours, was offered the minimum amount for the top tier scholarship bracket, despite having higher scores and GPA. But that was 2020 at the height of COVID, so we are hoping scholarships are a little better now. My husband and I both graduated from Miami and would love to see her go there. She likes it and would be happy there, but would prefer a larger school in or near a larger town.
As for scores - they are not great, and are not at all an indicator of what kind of student she is. It’s odd because she does very well on regular school tests, and even on the AP exams. But for whatever reason, she just doesn’t do well on ACT/SAT.