I heard some colleges (like Miami University, in Ohio) offer automatic merit schlorships and its listed on their website based on GPA. how do we go about finding what other colleges give such automatic merit scholarships. thanks
Tagging @fiftyfifty1 and @tsbna44.
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Go to the college website and type “automatic merit scholarships” in their search. Here is what I got when I did Miami of Ohio (make sure you spell scholarship the right way).
I had some good luck doing a Google image search on “freshman scholarship chart”. And there are various lists out there if you look around.
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Some of the big publics in the south and southwest offer automatic merit but it can change quickly. As schools get more popular, they start offering less merit because they don’t need to entice as many students to enroll.
We found our instate regionals offered the most in merit and were the most transparent.
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I hear Alabama offers great auto merit may want to check their website…
I would say that many, perhaps even most, public college websites I’ve looked at will include some kind of a chart. Many private colleges, particularly those that are not a Top X, may also have a chart. Alternatively, if you go to the Net Price Calculator of the school, if it asks for academic stats (GPA and test score), then the NPC will indicate what the minimum level of merit aid that the individual could expect.
But essentially, most of this is done on a school-by-school basis. So I would look at the schools of interest, or if you’re trying to develop a list that is likely to hit a certain budget, then I’d suggest starting a chance me/match me thread and including what the student is interested in in a college along with desired parameters and a budget.
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The Midwest is another place where this is common.
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Both the main campus in Tuscaloosa as well as the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
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There are some third party sites with lists that may help you get started, but you should verify the information on the individual college sites.
Something else to keep in mind is if the automatic merit is based on GPA, SAT/ACT, or both. For students with out-of-balance stats, one or the other auto merit methodology may work better.
Some school like Miami of OH list a range based on GPA. However, to get the top end of the range I think that that higher GPA and submitted test scores as well as other considerations go into getting above the listed minimum amount. My D21 who is a rising senior at Miami got the maximum OOS with an UW 4.0 and 35ACT. After the first year she got a departmental scholarship on top. So when her bill has come from the school for the last two years now that she is living off campus, she actually had a $400 credit which the school gives to her.
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I thought schools with auto-merit were in the minority?
I guess I might be mistaken.
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There are many schools that offer them. I don’t know how to find a list of them per se - but I know many that have.
Miami is a bit different - they give a range…starting at x $$
Schools like Alabama, UAH, Mississippi State, Mizzou, Murray State, and more - you know your SAT/ACT and GPA and you get a $ amount. Not all superscore. Some like Arizona just use GPA. ASU - doesn’t have a table - but you fill in the merit estimator and they tell you.
Just google the school name of interest + merit aid. You’ll be able to find if they give a set amount. Note sometimes merit is automatic. Sometimes it’s not but they’ll tell you what you need to achieve to hit it even though it’s not guaranteed. But when they have a table like the schools above, it’s automatic.
And don’t forget, merit is a discount - but some schools are cheaper full pay than another school with merit. W Carolina, for example, is $20K or so. Central Michigan and Southern Illinois, I believe, don’t have out of state tuition.
So you should take the net cost (I use tuition room and board only - so it’s apples to apples with other schools as many “other fees” like transport are all over the board) and then discount the merit - to see a net cost. That’s more important than the actual amount of merit, etc as sticker prices are different.
I put two below so you can see below:
You may have seen the first which doesn’t give an exact $ amount. And the second uses a table which does give an exact dollar amount.
Good luck.
Scholarships | Costs and Financial Aid | Miami University (miamioh.edu)
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My kids who wanted to go oos applied to many public’s in the northeast, I don’t think any of them had automatic merit, which meant a lot of applications.
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i agree; verify the information with all the colleges.
i’ve had two kids go through the process in the last 5 years. The changes in amounts and ways scholarships are determined have changed so much. eg: going from full tuition with ACT scores > going to just GPA and not full tuition, etc. The third party websites may not be up to date with all the changes.
I feel like the general (top) levels now for state schools that offer auto scholarships – is getting instate tuition prices; and rarely less. there are few schools that will go less; but that has changed a lot over the years.
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I suppose perhaps it’s regional. In the northeast, I think that auto-merit charts are more of a rare bird. But when I’ve been doing searches in the south, midwest, and the west, I usually end up finding them. So states like: Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, either Minnesota and/or Wisconsin (I remember being stunned by how little the merit was likely to be), Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, West Virginia, etc.
For states with nationally popular flagships, the flagships don’t necessarily do an auto merit chart (Michigan, Wisconsin, and the like). If you do the NPC at U. of Minnesota - Twin Cities then it will give you a minimum merit level you’d receive, but I don’t think it had a chart. (At least last year it gave the minimum.) I think U. of Nebraska does the minimum merit via its NPC, too.
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I asked ChatGPT and this is what it said. These are just a few examples and ChatGPT can continue to give more if you ask it.
- University of Alabama:
- Presidential Scholarship: Full tuition for students with a 3.5 GPA and 32 ACT or 1420 SAT.
- Capstone Scholarship: $25,000 over four years for students with a 3.0 GPA and 27 ACT or 1260 SAT.
- Florida Gulf Coast University:
- President’s Gold Scholarship: $5,000 per year for students with a 3.9 GPA and 1320 SAT.
- [Blue and Green Scholars: $15,000 per year for non-residents with a 3.9 GPA and 1320 SAT]
- Georgia State University:
- Presidential Scholarship: Up to $28,303 per year.
- [Second Century Scholarship: $3,000 per year]
- Alabama State University:
- Presidential Academic Scholarship: Full ride for students with a 3.76 GPA and 26 ACT or 1240 SAT.
- [Academic Excellence Scholarship: Full tuition plus additional fees and books for students with a 3.51 GPA and 22 ACT or 1160 SAT]
- University of Mississippi (Ole Miss):
- Academic Excellence Scholarship: Up to $15,000 per year for students with a 3.0 GPA and 25 ACT or 1200 SAT.
- Chancellor’s Leadership Class Scholarship: $8,000 per year for students with a 3.5 GPA and 28 ACT or 1300 SAT.
- University of Arizona:
- Arizona Excellence Award: Up to $35,000 over four years for students with a 3.5 GPA and 29 ACT or 1350 SAT.
- [Wildcat Excellence Award: Up to $20,000 over four years for students with a 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT or 1180 SAT]
- University of Kentucky:
- Patterson Scholarship: Full tuition plus a stipend for National Merit Finalists.
- [Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship: Up to $12,500 per year for students with a 3.5 GPA and 28 ACT or 1300 SAT]
- Texas Tech University:
- Presidential Merit Scholarship: Up to $26,000 over four years for students with a 3.0 GPA and 27 ACT or 1280 SAT.
- [Red Raider Scholarship: Up to $6,000 per year for students with a 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT or 1180 SAT]
- University of Missouri:
- Mark Twain Nonresident Scholarship: Up to $15,000 per year for non-resident students with a 3.5 GPA and 28 ACT or 1300 SAT.
- [Curators Scholars Award: Up to $10,000 per year for students with a 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT or 1180 SAT].
And – this is why i mentioned earlier i agreed with going to the websites! ChatGPT isnt going to get all the details, nor do all the third party websites have the updated info! EG: bama is not full tuition with a 32 ACT (hasnt been for a few years); arizona does not look at ACT/SAT scores at all. . .
I do think that doing searches will turn up some schools that offer good auto merit; just dont trust the numbers unless you are on the school’s website.
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Chat GPT is a bit outdated. Arizona has been $32K for a few years now and is GPA only. Used to be $35K though - never test required - at least in the last 6, 7 years, etc.
Bama is not full tuition with a 3.5 and 32. Maybe it is in state…but not OOS.
I would not use Chat GPT.
I would find the kind of college I want - and then do a match me with budget, all the things you want, give stats and you’ll get good responses. That last sentence is to OP.
Merit, not combined with a budget is - pretty - hmmm - not helpful.
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Yes! ChatGPT’s training data is a year+ old. In some cases 2+.
Its responses might provide a good starting point, but need to validate via each school’s website.
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