<p>I have been checking out Tulane - because i’ve received their free application! (unfortunately the Dean’s Scholarship Deadline passed :() It is on my list to look up along with Vanderbuilt, Rice, and a few others… thanks for your suggestion!</p>
<p>mom2collegekids
“Are you saying that you have saved $200k for college or not?”
I have accessible capital amounting slightly less than 200k. With my savings and future summer work… I can afford just barely $52,000 a year for all expenses (conservative estimation) without taking out loans.</p>
<p>My main focus right now is merit aid. I do not see how my EFC is factored into any solely merit aid opportunities. If I’m missing something and my financial status is needed for merit aid and scholarship evaluation… please enlighten me :). But, In any case, on all my applications I have checked the box that considers me for need-based aid, with no set expectations of receiving any.</p>
<p>Like midmo’s son…Ideally, I’d like to give my parents the least amount of financial burden as I can.</p>
<p>^^^At least at Vanderbilt, your EFC is not a part of the merit award process for the major (named) awards. You do not have to file any financial aid documents to be considered. You do have to submit a separate scholarship applications nowadays, though. The deadline is approaching.</p>
<p>However, be warned that the policy is different at some schools. Just as one example, there is one merit scholarship at Carnegie Mellon that is reserved for those who do not need financial aid, and I think you have to file the documents to prove that you are not eligible. (Several years old info there, and it might be different now).</p>
<p>Check the web sites of the schools carefully and CALL them if you have questions.</p>
<p>Among top 25 schools which offer merit scholarships, Carnegie Mellon University has superior engineering programs to Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, WashU, etc. by far.</p>
<p>Do you ever see CMU students and parents tooting their own horn? Maybe you all can learn something from them…</p>
<p>It’s not my fault that Vanderbilt’s engineering programs are ranked so lowly. Nor do I have anything to do with VUSE’s low ambitions and expectations:</p>
<p>"Of the School of Engineering’s 43rd place ranking, in a tie with four other schools, Dean Kenneth Galloway said, “We are pleased to have our school recognized as one of the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation…”</p>
<p>Nobody is ‘tooting’ any horns. Some people are trying to offer helpful suggestions.</p>
<p>As a general rule, it is much more helpful to post positive suggestions, rather than concentrate on posting negative opinions about various schools–especially if you have no personal experience whatever with those schools or programs.</p>
<p>FWIW, my kid (and others I know) turned down CMU for a lot of reasons, but none of them are because of any deficiency in the academic strength of the programs. They have numerous very good programs; the one my kid turned down is one of the best.</p>
<p>There are other factors involved in a mature person’s evaluation of a college choice than rank. The person who started this thread has specifically asked for schools at which he/she may be eligible for a merit scholarship. CMU offers a few (very few), but none of them are full tuition. It is a great choice for many students, and possibly for the OP, if a good merit award is landed. But, as I said, there are a lot of different factors, and those factors are different for different people.</p>
<p>What type/amount of merit aid were you offered? Was it based on sat/act scores? Specifically for Cockrell School of Engineering. Purdue on its website gives up to $10,000
for out of state students with Act above 30. UT is not specific in fact they are very vague about merit aid.</p>