Merit scholarships for students in top 5 to top 10 percent with 33 ACT

Paying for College
1

The purpose of this thread is to provide a list of merit scholarship possibilities for students slightly lower than the very top of their class - with a class rank in the top 5-10% and a 33 ACT. This is a list of universities that offer a HIGH likelihood of receiving a 4 year merit scholarship that will keep tuition under $20,000 per year.

High likelihood means it does NOT have to be guaranteed. But according to the university’s net price calculator, website, or a conversation with admissions office, it is established that the vast majority of students with those stats receive this scholarship award. If it is called a “competitive” scholarship, it doesn’t belong in this list. Please add other universities! I lost a lot of research when my computer crashed :frowning:

List as:
UNIVERSITY NAME
STATS: ACT/SAT and GPA/rank required
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: Annual $ amount
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): Annual $ amount
NAME: Specific name of scholarship (if applicable)
SOURCE: Source used to determine $ amount of scholarship
USNWR rank: US News and World Report rank

CASE WESTERN UNIVERSITY
STATS: 33 ACT
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $27,500
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $16,656
SOURCE: Net price calculator
USNWR rank: 37

TULANE UNIVERSITY
STATS: 33 ACT and top 6-10%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $36,200
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $13,438
SOURCE: Net price calculator
USNWR: 41

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (FL)
STATS: 33 ACT and top 10%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $26,000 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $18,400
SOURCE: Net price calculator
USNWR rank: 51

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
STATS: 33 ACT and top 5%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $14,250 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $13,115
NAME: National Buckeye and Provost Scholarships
SOURCE: Their website
USNWR rank: 52

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
STATS: 33 ACT and top 10%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $15,000 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $16,940
NAME: Non-Resident Merit Scholarship
SOURCE: Net price calculator
USNWR rank: 61

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
STATS: 33 ACT and top 5%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $27,300 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $18,820
SOURCE: Net price calculator
USNWR rank: 66

MINNESOTA
STATS: 33 ACT and top 5-10%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $8,420 or $4,210
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $13,790 or $18,000
NAME: Gold National or National Excellence Scholarship
USNWR rank: 69

MIAMI UNIVERSITY (OHIO)
STATS: 32+ ACT and 3.5+ GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $17,000 to $20,000 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $13,987 to $10,987
NAME: University merit scholarship
SOURCE: Their website and College Confidential
USNWR rank: 82

IOWA
STATS: 33 ACT and 3.8+ GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $10,000 or $20,000 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $17,890 or $7,890
NAME: Old Gold or Presidential scholarship
SOURCE: Their website and net price calculator
USNWR rank: 82

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
STATS: 32 ACT and 3.5 GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $25,950 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $0 (free)
NAME: Presidential Scholarship
SOURCE: Their website
USNWR rank: 96

AUBURN
STATS: 33 ACT and 3.5 GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $28,040
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $0 (free)
NAME: Presidential Scholarship
SOURCE: Their website
USNWR rank: 102

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
STATS: 33 ACT and 4.37-4.66 weighted GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: Reduction to in-state tuition and an additional $2,000 to 4,000
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $9,158 to $7,158
NAME: Cooper or McKissick Scholars Award

SOURCE: Their website
USNWR rank: 108

ARIZONA STATE
STATS: 33 ACT and top 10%
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $13,000 per year
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $12,458
NAME: Presidents Award (highest award)
SOURCE: Their website’s scholarship estimator
USNWR rank: 129

2

I have to ask…your source on many of these is the net price calculator…which also ask for information about income and assets, and family size, etc. how,can you say these are the estimated amounts of scholarships,without knowing what the other information will be for applicants.

I would use this information with caution.

3

@momfactfinder - Thanks for posting the list. I think Arizona had a similar program as Arizona State, and last I checked, Auburn’s program was not as generous as Alabama’s.

4

Auburn’s scholarship is not that good for OOS students…

Presidential Scholarship
Requires a 33-36 ACT or 1440-1600 SAT score and a minimum 3.5 high school GPA for consideration.
Awarded at $64,000 over four years ($16,000 per year).

Only $16k per year. The tuition is about $26k per year.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1845583-merit-scholarships-for-students-in-top-5-to-top-10-percent-with-33-act.html#latest

5

And remember too…tuition is only part of the cost of attndance. Unless you can commute to,the school, room and board need to be included as well.

6

Thumper’s right.

The room, board, fees, books, travel, etc, can cost another $15k-17k per year.

7

OP did say she was looking at keeping ‘tuition’ under $20K. I think R&B was assumed to be additional cost, and not considered in this list.

This is a good list IMO, and many of the schools are on my list with similar numbers. YMMV. Things change so much, no list will ever be 100% accurate. For instance, UMinn has announced they are considering fairly significant increases to OOS tuition in the future.

8

Tuition alone at most instate public universities would be below $20,000 a year…without any aid.

9

I’m not sure that it is easy to predict what Case’s scholarship is going to be. I know that they offer $30,000 scholarships, but I am clueless as to how they determine the amt awarded.

10

@thumper1 - To make sure there was no need based aid, I used an income of $200,000 with $600,000 in savings on the net price calculators. This list is intended to help students and parents who are looking beyond their in-state public universities. @muchquan is correct - this is intended to list university options where TUITION is under $20,000 per year (not the total cost of attendance).

@mom2collegekids - you are correct - my Auburn info was incorrect. Here’s the correct info.

AUBURN
STATS: 33 ACT and 3.5 GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $16,000
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $12,040
NAME: Presidential Scholarship
SOURCE: Their website
USNWR rank: 102

11

@zinhead - you’re right!

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
STATS: 33 ACT and 3.9 GPA (or 3.8 GPA)
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: $17,500 per year (or $15,000)
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): $12,525 (or $15,025)
NAME: Arizona Excellence
SOURCE: Their website’s scholarship estimator
USNWR rank: 121

12

Temple University
STATS: 32 ACT or 1420/1600 SAT and 3.8 GPA
SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT: Full Tuition (Out-of-students are eligible)
2015 COST OF TUITION (after scholarship): Annual $ 0
NAME: President’s Scholars
SOURCE: http://admissions.temple.edu/sites/admissions/files/uploads/15_16_ADM_Scholarship_APP_Final2.pdf
USNWR rank: 115

13

@thumper1 I’m from IL, so I’m not use to in-state tuition being under $20K :slight_smile:

14

The instate tuition only costs at the public universities in Illinois are all under $20,000. The total cost of attendance for UIUC is about $30,000 a year, but that includes room and board.

I checked Northern Illinois, Western Illinois, and Southern Illinois as well. All of the public universities in Illinois have tuition under $20,000 for instate residents.

Am I reading the information incorrectly on the websites?

15

In-state public universities will often offer the cheapest tuition options. This list is to help those high school students (like my D) who yearn to go out-of-state for college.

16

@thumper1 you’re 100% correct.

17

This is a great list, thanks. Im new to this applying to colleges thing but prospective applicants should be aware of the deadlines for applying for these are very early - a critical factor. I believe that as of today (12/27) only Temple and Arizona State are still available to even try and apply for as most of these schools require applications for admission prior to December 1 or December 15 and some as early as November 1 to be considered for the above merit awards. Miami of Ohio may still consider you now but passed their ‘priority consideration date’. You may want to out the deadlines up front next to the schools information.

18

UIUC adds a $3,500 fee to tuition, bringing tuition to around $20,000 per year for STEM and Business majors. It is the most expensive in-state tuition in the Midwest.

http://www.registrar.illinois.edu/ug-tuition-rates-1516

19

@10tobias - Agreed! This list is more likely to help researching Class of 2017 high school students, and their parents, find feasible OOS college options. They’ll have to update tuition and scholarship amounts as colleges release them in 2016.

20

Just remember that many of the awards listed here are not guaranteed ones.