Full ride scholarships -- what does it take to get one?

Parents Forum
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My S28 asked me about these. He’s curious about what it takes to earn one, and what the odds are.

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HS grad 2028?

  1. He needs to apply to the right schools per his stats. Some colleges are more generous with merit aid than others.

  2. He should prep well for the PSAT which is what would be used to qualify him for national merit status. There are still colleges now that give NMSF or NMF very very good offers.

  3. He needs the very best grades he can get, and a very good SAT or ACT score (unless he applies to schools that are test blind).

  4. And he needs to get accepted to colleges that meet the above criteria!

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It really depends on the school and the student. The student needs to apply to the right schools based on their stats and other things that may be important to the school.

I would strive for the best grades and test scores possible, and then research schools where that might be rewarded.

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In short: select merit-granting schools where his stats (gpa, scores) are significantly above the 75th percentile.

But keep in mind that even schools that are generous with merit may not provide a full ride even to the best candidates. And of course, the majority of top schools (both public and private) offer little to no merit aid.

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And the tippy to schools that do award merit aid…it’s HIGHLY competitive.

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Clarifying that this is the PSAT/NMSQT test, taken only once, either in fall or spring of junior year. Any other PSAT test(PSAT 9,10,11, etc) will not get you there.

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Yes, this is my high school freshman. At this point he’s just curious, although he’s a kid who tests well. I could see him choosing where to apply based on where he’d have a chance for a full ride.

But mostly, I’m asking because his curiosity is infectious so now I’m curious too.

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Another tip: southern schools tend to be far more generous with aid than schools in other regions.

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You will need to check…and check again. Sometimes these merit awards DO change over time…and since it’s three plus years until he graduates, the landscape for merit aid could change.

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You can also get a full ride at top colleges that meet need if your family of 4 lives on an income 80k and under.

Purely scores/GPA Full rides have become exceedingly rare over the past 10 years.

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As your freshman moves along in HS he/you will have a better sense as to the schools he should apply to that will give him the best chance for these merit awards.

Full rides are not easy to get, but not impossible if he applies to the right schools…for him. And as noted above, merit may change by the time he applies.

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Good point. I interpreted “scholarship” to mean “merit based award”, but perhaps that’s not necessarily what OP meant.

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I think OP meant it as you took it, merit, but I mentioned that just in case. :+1:

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Yes, I meant merit. I know about the need based and regular merit situation from my older kid, but he’s not a candidate for the full ride scholarships like Stamps.

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Right now…you also can’t guess if your younger student is competitive for competitive scholarships like the Stamps. This kid doesn’t even have one year of HS grades…yet.

Another way to get more merit aid…apply to colleges ranked lower than the top. Many give money to great students.

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Just to clarify -a lot of people talk about their kids getting a full ride. While it’s nothing to sneeze at, it may be that they qualified for 100% FA. In other words, it was need based. A kid attending the same school who could afford to be full pay would be offered nothing. This is the case for many of the most selective schools. (Harvard will be generous with low income kids but doesn’t need to “pay” to attract kids who can afford it.)

There are other schools that are less selective and are keen to have high-achieving students in their population. They may offer these students, regardless of need, scholarships to entice them to attend. Look at schools like Tulsa or Alabama to get an idea of how their programs work. If you search these forums, you’ll also see the impressive stats of the kids who get these.

There are also scholarships for particular needs, such as athletics or marching band. These vary by school. If your kid has a particular interest, these are worth researching. With that said, you have to be the right peg for the hole to get one, and some schools are quite strategic in using these within their general FA budget, so may prioritize kids with need as they award them.

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For full ride merit scholarships, it means finding colleges:

  • which offer full ride merit scholarships, and
  • where the applicant is at the top end of the applicant cohort (in most cases, this means that the college is a safety or very likely for admission).
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  1. High Need

  2. Apply to colleges that offer scholarships based on certain stats…automerit

  3. Apply to Hail Mary scholarships that only a select few get.

  4. Apply to outside, national programs that will fund college - often need based.

Finally you need lots of luck unless you apply to a school in #2 and have the stats.

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Stamps is highly competitive and takes more into account than grades and scores.

Right now I encourage your son to work hard and do the best he can, while at the same time maintaining his physical and mental health. I also recommend getting involved in his HS life and enjoying the experience.

Down the road he/you will have a better idea as to what he is a good candidate for.

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Just to sort of reinforce what others are saying:

There are colleges with large need aid budgets and need blind admissions (at least for domestic applicants), and so if you have enough need you only have to get admitted to these colleges. Which isn’t easy, but is likely the easiEST path to a full ride award.

Otherwise, there is merit, but the vast majority of even generous merit tends to stop around full tuition, maybe a little more, and not actually a full ride. Which makes sense. If a college really wants you, maybe it will agree not to charge you anything for school itself. But asking the college to also pay all of your basic living expenses for four years is really asking a lot.

Still, a small number of such offers still exist. They just tend to be incredibly competitive, in most cases far more competitive than “merely” getting admitted as a high need student to a generous need blind college.

The most notable exception is full ride National Merit scholarships. Even those have gotten very scarce, and may depend on state residency. But that would be the other possible route if you are a Finalist and are interested in any of the colleges where you would qualify.

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