My College List

Dunboyne
Fri, 12 Jun 2015 14:14:20 +0000

In your case, as @NickFlynn suggested, it’s hard to beat Michigan for <$30K COA. Half-tuition merit (<$25K) probably won’t even do it because most of the schools you’d be interested in – to come close to the academic quality of U Mich – have $60K+ COA. That would leave ~$38K+ and it sounds like your parents might have a hard time justifying even $5K+ per year over U Mich (I wouldn’t blame them). You’re in the market for a full-tuition award, bottom line. And with a 33 ACT, though that is a very good score, it’s going to be hard for you to compete for the top awards at comparable schools. If you can receive a full tuition award, however, the cost savings compared to Mich might be enticing (especially to ma et pa!) even for a “lesser” school.

Automatic…

U Alabama: http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html

Competitive…

LEEP program at Clark U: http://www.clarku.edu/leep/scholarship.cfm

Ann P. Neupauer Scholarship at Stevens Tech: http://www.stevens.edu/sit/financial-aid/merit-scholarships

Boston U: http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/costs-aid-scholarships/scholarships/trustee/

U Richmond: http://scholars.richmond.edu/about/index.html

You might as well try to improve your ACT again. Extra points on any section could help a lot toward your competitiveness for these awards. None of the above competitive awards will be easy for you, as you’ll be up against 4.0 / 33+ ACT students, but you have less-than-common ECs, which helps a lot. Be sure to study the requirements for the merit aid that you go after, and try to fine-tune your profile to give them what they’re looking for. Leadership is huge, as is service, personal integrity, intellectual curiosity, being able to see the world past your own feet, etc., so don’t give up hope with a 33 ACT – most of the big awards are evaluated holistically.