<p>HEplayer, don’t assume your professor friend knows anything about financial aid. My husband is a long-time professor, department chair and (in his field) a well-known academic. He knows absolutely nothing about the rules governing financial aid. Nothing. </p>
<p>Check out the permanent threads about merit scholarships at the top of the Parents forum and the Financial Aid forum. If the rest of your record is consistent with your science accomplishments, you might be a candidate for a merit award at a school that you like.</p>
<p>And, as kelsmom said above, some of the well-known private schools that are not HYP can be pretty generous with need-based aid, so cast a wide net.</p>