Yes, they may offer more than what they list in the NPC, but it’s a start.
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How about Harvey mudd and Pomona?
And isn’t Williams highly ranked for math? And it’s number one LAC.
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Ok, then CSU Long Beach and CSU San Diego seem to have a number of advanced math classes. Those would be admissions safeties. If the student commutes, then total cost is approximately $29K, but that includes about $13K for housing, food, and transportation and another 4K for personal expenses. Actual tuition and fees are $10K.
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Anyon considering studying pure Math at an lac should have Wesleyan on their list for a couple of reasons beyond the fact that it’s a superb school with an excellent faculty:
- With 3000 students, it’s considerably larger than most LACs which should mean that courses will be available every year.
- It offers a PhD in Math and advanced undergrads can take graduate courses if they qualify, so an advanced student isn’t going to run out of courses to take.
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I think you need to relook at your list. A Minnesota, as an example, will not hit $20K. Wisconsin could given their new initiative to meet need but it doesn’t mean they’ll see your need as you do.
Even in state schools could be more than $20K.
You need to find an assured admit at budget - a school like Mississippi State will hit. Alabama will not be far off.
A UMN, UMD, St. Olaf - unless you win some full ride, no. Reed and down - you need to run the NPC. Has your family run the Net Price Calculator - but then they are not assured.
U New Mexico is another that could hit.
You have to be reasonable but also know any four year flagship can likely handle the level of math you’ll obtain.
You picked out fine schools but not fine schools given your financial situation.
Best of luck.
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The OP is a superb student and should be able to find scholarship money, which is most likely at schools where he is in the top 10% of the applicant pool.
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Here are some suggestions for colleges which are very good in math and he has a shot at a scholarship:
Duke - World class Math Dept. He would be competitive for the Robertson Scholarship, which is a full ride + funding for summer research or travel. I know that he doesn’t tolerate heat, but he won’t be there for much of the summer and it’s a little farther nort than the deep, Deep South.
Vanderbilt - Has a deep, highly funded Math Dept. A friend’s son got the full tuition Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship there, which includes a summer stipend for research.
Emory - Excellent Math dept. Through the Emory University Scholars program, he can compete for the Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship, which funds a full ride. Although it’s in the Deep South, Atlanta is 1000+ feet above sea level, the highest city on the East Coast. As a result, when it’s not summer, temperatures are relatively cool and mild.
Ohio State - He should be competitive for the full tuition Eminence Fellows Scholarship which includes an enrichment fund at a well respected research based math department.
Maryland - top 15 public Math dept withe ties to multiple federal research hubs. They have the Banneker/Key Scholarship for their top incoming STEM students which funds a full ride.
Have you considered USC?
Here are some liberal arts colleges:
College of Wooster - Great college at which to do research because of their unique guided Independent Study program, which runs for all 4 years. Every single student spends senior year doing paid one-on-one research with a professor - in this case math research. They have a presidential scholarship which pays up to full tuition. It is competitive.
Macalester College - highly respected math program. They have competitive scholarships which can cover up to full tuition - Catherine Lealtad Scholarship and DeWitt Wallace Awards.
Davidson - an elite LAC where the John Montgomery Belk Scholarship provides a full ride and two $3000 summer research stipends.
Franklin & Marshall - Math Dept has a stellar reputation. They have an array of scholarships which offer up to full tuition.
St. Olaf’s - has one of the largest & most successful math departments of any LAC in the country. Their presidential scholarship offers up to full tuition.
Denison - heavily endowed Math Dept, which features faculty mentorship & summer research. The Dunbar Scholarship and other merit awards provide up to full tuition.
Centre College - has a powerhouse reputation for producing Rhodes & Fulbright scholars. The Math Dept has high of graduate school placement. Lincoln Scholars program offers a full ride + funds for summer travel/enrichment.
Here are some smaller research universities which can offer some of the feel of an LAC:
University of Rochester - exceptional for pure math, offering accelerated math tracks and intensive undergraduate research. The Handler Scholarship offers a free ride + $5000 academic stipend
Case Western Reserve University - another exceptional for pure math. The Michelson Morley Scholarship offers up to full tuition exclusively for Math & Science majors.
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Math Honors Track (without ASC GE Honors) | Department of Mathematics - OSU is very good in math, but their full ride is very competitive
UGA has this rigorous course: Math 3500/3510: Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra – Jason Cantarella he could take his freshman year (and of course plenty of graduate courses), and numerous merit scholarships from half-off the oos portion to a full ride: https://osfa.uga.edu/types-of-aid/undergraduate/scholarships/academic-scholarships/ and quite a few which offer a full oos waiver + a small four figure amount
OP do you have the results of any of the NPCs yet? Posters can offer better guidance if we have that info because finances/budget are going to be a significant driver of your S’s list.
McGill won’t give your S any need based aid other than what your S would qualify for via FAFSA/US federal aid including Pell grants and direct student loans ($27K over 4 years, for most undergrads.)
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Yes, it is very competitive. Many of the scholarships I listed are very competitive, but this is a top student and the strategy here if they want to get a scholarship that will bring cost within budget might be to cast their net wide and apply to a whole lot of schools with both strong math departments and scholarship opportunities. In general, I think his chances are going to be greater at the LACs simply because of the numbers; the big state universities like Ohio State are flooded with so many applications.
And in this case, they need to apply to schools that will get to $20K or close. There’s nary a flagship that won’t be able to support the major….applying for competitive scholarships is great but applying to a Ms State, UAH and others that will assuredly get to the cost is a higher priority IMHO. The student may also look at some of the more inexpensive WUE schools.
When you have a budget, no matter how much a stud you are, you still need to find an assured school to hit the budget.
The student also has the CC to UC/CSU path available too.
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We work for ourselves and we’re being told that the NPC’s aren’t accurate for business owners. Based on the results from running the numbers through College Aid Pro, we took Reed, University of MD and University of MN off the list.
Speaking with the financial aid office of one of the schools, it seems like there really isn’t a way to get an accurate estimate as a small business owner?
Yes that can be an issue, especially with NPCs that don’t ask if you own a business and then asks pertinent financial details about the business. Some NPCs do ask these questions though, have you come across any like that?
I’m not familiar with college aid pro, so can’t comment on that. Some schools will do a financial aid pre-read. You might ask all the schools on the list about a pre-read, and also how they will consider the small business.
Often what schools will do with parent owned businesses is try to get to a true cash flow by adding back non-cash biz deductions like depreciation, etc, and personal expenses run thru the business.
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But that would not be ideal, since the student will have taken all of the math typically available at community colleges before high school graduation.
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