Trying to finalize list of schools seeking merit aid. Looking for small to mid-sized schools generally leaning toward liberal arts schools. Interest in economics and secondarily math. Open to location–prefer more South and East, but location is flexible.
GPA UW 3.85. SAT 1510
Have a good set of extracurriculars and should have good recs.
List so far:
Reach Merit/Lottery Tickets
Wash and Lee (Johnson)
Richmond (Rich Scholar)
Davidson (Belk)
Boston College (Gabelli)
Other LAC with known merit
Grinnell
Kenyon
St Olaf
Furman
List seems a bit short and not sure if list creates enough reliable options. Look to be competitive to get into all the schools, However, except for St Olaf and Furman, don’t feel too confident on getting substantial merit. Looking for any suggestions on other LACs/small-Medium colleges with merit at this stats level. Trying to get cost/year under 50k ideally.
Furman may be the only getting to $50k.
College of Charleston is essentially a public LAC. With merit, you’d clear the barrier. You might even qualify for the Charleston Scholars cohort - a small group within Honors. At Christopher Newport, you will. Ogelthorpe and Hendrix will both match in state tuition.
You might try schools like Rollins and Rhodes but yes you need to expand your list. There are schools in the NE like Wheaton, Juniata or Susquehanna that can get you there as well but you likely need to step down a bit in rank to assure you hit your target .
You should definitely be able to meet your budget with that list. I think your classifications are realistic but you should add schools. For schools known for merit/tuition discounts, I’d consider Rhodes, the PA LACs (Gettysburg, Susquehanna, Ursinus), Wooster, Kalamazoo (since you have a couple other Midwest schools). While a slightly larger school, you may hit that budget at Case Western but that’s not a sure thing as the cost of attendance has increased the past few years.
Note: Both Davidson and Furman also offer the James B Duke scholarship (I believe that is full tuition, stipend, scholar programs). I think Furman hits budget without that, but it would be a nice bonus.
My D21 was also on a merit hunt and applied to several of the schools on your list. She’s attending W&L. Feel free to PM if you have any questions.
My S25 has similar stats & is also looking for LACs under $50k, although mostly focused on the northeast. I think you’d have a reasonable shot at $50k at many of the schools below (and most will be less competitive admits than Davidson/Grinnell).
East: Dickinson, Connecticut College, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, Union, Clark U, Wheaton
South: Rhodes, Centre
Since you’re considering some midwestern schools, you could also look at Oberlin, College of Wooster, Denison, Macalester, Kalamazoo, Beloit.
Safeties with great merit aid might include the Catholic schools like Seton Hall, St Joes, Loyola Maryland, Manhattan College and Scranton. Also Marist. S24 had lower scores and got these schools down to $40-50k with large merit offers. Most of these are in cities if that’s appealing in contrast to many (not all) LACs out in the sticks.
These are “Catholic lite” - do as much or as little as you want. Marist isn’t even associated anymore with the church. Some are more conservative (Loyola, maybe St Joes) and the rest more liberal. So, a range.
Fordham has a great LAC campus but is very expensive. However, does have a few full tuition scholarships. So, kind of a financial reach.
With Charleston, your student would have a chance at (it’s by invite) the Fellows program. I keep calling it Scholars - but it’s the Fellows program. It comes with endowed money I believe (at least my daughter has Endowed money) - in addition to regular merit.
From a $50K POV, there are tons of options - many listed above and many more - but you have to get past “rank”. Charleston is a bit larger - about 10k - and is smack in the midst of a tourist zone. CNU in Virginia would be smaller and more traditional - both are solid schools but as your student would be well above the averages - that’s where money comes from.
You definitely have some doable reach schools on your list, but the only ones I think have a good chance of getting below $50k are St. Olaf and Furman.
If you want to ensure that your D has more options, then I’d take a look at:
Rhodes (TN)
Hendrix (AR)
Samford (AL)…not as much a liberal arts college, but it is in the small to mid-sized category:
Loyola New Orleans (LA)
Agnes Scott (GA): Women’s college in one of the most walkable areas of Atlanta and part of a consortium with other Atlanta schools like Emory, Georgia Tech, and Spelman
I had Dickinson on an prior college road trip that didn’t pan out due to scheduling and thought it could be a fit. I am definitely less knowledgeable on the eastern schools. We looked at Centre and I liked it a lot, but it got the kid veto as much as anything from the road through the campus.
Visited Wooster, I also liked it, but not a kid favorite which may have been since we visited when they were on spring break. Visited your other midwest suggestions. Denison seemed to have too much of a B-School vibe per my kid. Couldn’t sell them on Kalamazoo despite the fact that they liked Grinnell specifically because of their open curriculum and the K-Plan is very flexible. I thought Mac seemed really small, but otherwise a nice school. Visit to Beloit was not a winner either.
Whitman is a great choice - not only a great school but they offer a financial aid pre read. So you’ll know your cost, including merit, before even applying !!
Great suggestion - well except for the South and East part. But it might be a good exercise or guide to see where you come out as schools are competing against one another to earn your $$.
I do think you have to look at NPCs or schools that have tables.
With #s like yours, there’s many out there that will give big merit - or have lesser costs to begin with - but you have to trade off for the big name it seems like you seek.
Run the NPCs of any schools to find those that win.
And again, Hendrix and Ogelthorpe will both match your in state price. I imagine others will too - but they have stated programs to do so. Hendrix is a very good school - and I work with Ogelthorpe grads - very solid.