<p>It depends… if your grades are good, look around for private schools where (1) your stats fall near the top of their range (above the top of their 50% range), and (2) they offer merit aid (you can see on the college web sites). If you are “geographically diverse” (from far away), that can help. My daughter got a merit scholarship that covered about 30% of her annual tuition/room/board expenses at Dickinson with this approach. And she was not a valedictorian (only 3.6 GPA, but competitive private school, took the hardest course load, and had great ECs and an excellent interview). She has had a great experience there, loved the school.</p>