Hi OP–you may want to look at this thread. This thread is about colleges offering perks not seen in years (ever?) because they are concerned about attracting OOS students. Private OOS tuition obviously is the same as instate tuition, and they tend to offer merit. I urge you not to look at the “sticker” price and instead run the net price calculator instead–remembering that some schools offer merit awards that cut the costs even more. Not always! But sometimes. Public OOS tuition tends to be high (although I should tell you that U of Maine at Orono has tuition-matching program and it has an ABET-accredited Computer Science program. Because of COVID issues they may be willing to bargain further about R&B etc. Maine is a gorgeous state with much to offer … and there’s an airport extremely close to the campus.)
I also wanted to mention that Mt. Holyoke offers lots of merit, is part of a consortium with UMassAmherst, Amherst, and Smith–with buses. The campus is gorgeous, the atmosphere is homey and I just wish that there were more schools like that! Maybe one for men … but we make do, don’t we?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2184308-colleges-offering-mad-perks-to-get-students-for-fall-2020-p1.html
Has your daughter considered taking the SAT (whenever that’s offered again…). Some kids just do better on the SAT than the ACT.
Our kids did the SAT…and I wish one had done the ACT as well. These tests are slightly different and one or the other might be better for some students.
It would help others help you if you stated how much you would be willing to pay.
The range of colleges that are financially realistic differs for a parental budget of $40,000 per year versus $20,000 per year.
Also, if a merit scholarship is necessary to afford the college, the reach/match/likely/safety categorization should be based on the merit scholarship, not admission.
If you can afford 40k a year she’ll have lots of choices. If you can’t, things get harder.
In any case you can start saving right now, each month, whatever you can.
I believe the ACT will also count for the NMF scholarships so she can start prepping right now.
14 APs may be overkill unless she’s really bored at her school.
First thing for you is to figure out how much you can afford.
Check scholarships at University of Alabama and Univ of AZ. Texas State University is another school that offers in-state tuition waivers and great scholarships. Arkansas is a fairly underrepresented area, so there’s a good chance of scholarships in-state as well. You just have to search school-by-school and apply to every university scholarship you can find.