Hi Guys! I’m interested to know if I would qualify for any merit-based aid (and how much if possible) at the following schools: New York University, George Washington University, Boston University (specifically the Presidential Scholarship), Northeastern University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. I do not need the aid to attend college, but it would be nice to perhaps save some money for grad school. For stats, please refer to my chance thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1796275-what-do-you-think-of-my-chances-are-at-these-universities.html#latest Also, I don’t know how important the PSAT is in regards to merit scholarships, but I did poorly on it (202). Thanks! And let me know if you need any more info.
Very low probability for NYU. They offer aid to a very small segment of students. The rest you can do a general assessment for yourself. Google the Common Data Set for each, look at your stats compared to section C. The look at section H and see how many students got merit aid and what the average award was. The look on the FA web sites and see what the top awards posted are.
Thanks!
I looked over at your chance thread; your stats are good but Northeastern is not a safety - look at last year’s admission threads and you’ll see pretty amazing students getting denied and WLed. You should consider it a match. You will get some merit there, but the full-tuition University Scholars is for the top 1%-2% of applicants, so is not likely.
@hs2015mom Thanks for responding! That’s good to know.
Does anyone have any information about the other schools?
Bump.
If you google the “common data set” for each college, it will give you stats on how much merit, need-based and athletic aid is offered by each college. However, it won’t tell you how much you will get. These stats will show you that college x primarily gives out large amounts of merit aid, and college y primarily gives out need-based aid, and college z only gives aid to athletes. Some colleges post detailed info on criteria for merit aid on their websites.
@Charliesch Thanks for responding! I actually have already done that, but I found that it wasn’t helpful enough of a resource. I was more wondering about if anyone has had any experiences or knows of someone who has any knowledge of merit aid at these schools. Thanks though.
NYUand GWU: unlikely, they’re very stingy.
Northeastern: some merit is likely, how much is anyone’s guess but will likely depend on your demonstrated interest.
UMass Amherst: apply early in the cycle. Remember that it’s fee-based,so that full tuition is almost nothing.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for responding! I didn’t know that apply GWU, Northeastern, and UMass Amherst. Perhaps I’ll apply early action to those two schools since they don’t have supplements anyways.
Yes, and Northeastern gives a full FA package itemization right with the EA decision on Dec 15; not all schools do.
@hs2015mom That’s good to know.
You would probably get a good bit of merit aid at GWU (maybe half to 75% of tuition). As far as BU is concerned, I’m also looking at the Presidential there. I think you’ve got a decent shot. For the others, aid is very unlikely. Hope I could help.
@tigerrocks13 Thanks for responding! Do you think that applying to GWU Honors College would boost my chances as well?
I mean, it would help a little, but it’s not going to boost them by a crazy amount. GWU is known for having a ridiculously expensive tuition, but they are also known for giving more merit aid than 99% of schools.
@tigerrocks13 Okay, that’s good to know.
income $175k-250k <= can you narrow that a bit? Or at least ask your parents how much they’ll pay each year?
do you have a non-custodial parent?
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Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2220 Superscore (720 CR, 780 Math, 720 Writing, 8 Essay) (3 Sittings); 2180 Single SAT (720 CR, 780 Math, 680 Writing, 8 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 World History, 720 Spanish (I am not a native speaker)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not exactly sure, I would estimate 3.83/4 or a 4.6/5 (This is very, very good at my school)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (my school does not rank but I would estimate that I am somewhere between top 5-10%, at worst comfortably in the top 15%)
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New York University, No
George Washington University, Stingy
Boston University (specifically the Presidential Scholarship), Doesn’t BU have their merit clearly spelled out? Or is that NEU?
Northeastern University,
University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Free tuition” here is a joke since the tuition is super low, but the “fees” are super high.
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You would probably get a good bit of merit aid at GWU (maybe half to 75% of tuition).
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@tigerrocks13 Why do you think that? GWU is stingy.
Does anyone know if these schools superscore for merit? Many schools do not.
GW gives quite a bit of merit aid:
@bobwallace I’ve always been curious how accurate some of those reported numbers are. Is there any outside entities that check that?
The reason I ask is that GWU makes little mention of number of awards/amounts on the merit page…very vague. If they gave a lot away, you’d think they’d be more forthcoming.
Can any of the above be dept awards? And how many are frosh?
@mom2collegekids GWU is famous for the vast amount of merit aid. That’s the only way anyone can afford it with the huge tuition.