Too cold for S (no bugs though!)
Check out the Florida Incentive Scholarship (it getting a new name this year), full COA at any of five state universities. There is a good thread on FIS on the UF forum:
If you S does not get NMF, UCF is still very generous and has a good Honors program.
@itsgettingreal17 ā¦Texas A&Mā¦3.5 GPA Texas Tech 3.5 GPA for scholarships with merit based especially NMF. I am trying to get what UNT has in mind for the GPA requirements for the NMF. @VANURSEPRAC ā¦thank you so much. Such a sweet thing to say. I hope you are right. OU is super high on MY list for colleges because they are very nice and helpful plus the GPA is reasonable. There is no need for stress over GPA when there are other colleges that are more realistic about things. Texas A&M people are nice, I am just having issues with that GPA and the fact that you donāt know up front what the scholarships will be. I am a planner and I have to plan things. Yes, I know I am the helicopter mom. I told my S that is who I am and I canāt help it. @flatKansas ā¦that 3.5 GPA worries me sick!! I kinda donāt even want to let him go look at those colleges. Just trying to protect my baby. He doesnāt think that a 3.5 GPA is a big deal. Needless to say he has only taken junior college dual credit classes while being under my wing. lol @mtrosemom ā¦please share about your visit to OU. I have spoken with Hannah from the OU National Merit dept and she is wonderful!! We are trying to wait until fall because I want him to get the WHOLE college aspect. We may have the make it sooner though.Texas A&M has visitation in the summer for NMF prospects. Depending on Math Camp when we get to visit them. Everyone please please share what you find out when you visit colleges. I would love to hear another parents take on the colleges.
Holy cow, I had totally missed the required GPA to keep some of those NMF scholarships. 3.0-3.2 is one thing, 3.5 is another. Iām sure he could do it, just adds another layer of stress on the kid.
@youcee The unneeded stress is why I wonāt let my D apply for any scholarships with a 3.5 GPA and Iāve also limited the 3.2 schools as well.
@Tgirlfriend We took S on a tour of OU and OSU (Oklahoma State) over spring break in March. Overall, we all liked OU better. Their NM office staff is great ā they sat us down and explained all the ins and outs, including the actual costs for NMF, which have been reported elsewhere on CC. It isnāt a full-ride, especially for engineering, but it is substantial, and I truly think any NMF student could get whatever support they needed from them. I think the only issue we had is that our general campus tour ran long, so we missed part of the honors college presentation. What we caught was definitely worthwhile. Be prepared to duck out of the campus tour, but we were there on one of their busiest days, so that was probably the issue. The NM office took us and two other families to lunch nearby (cafeterias were closed for spring break). We found the meetings with faculty to very informative (and the faculty very welcoming for spending time with us over break), and had a great student rep for the engineering facilities tour.
At OSU, we had a mixed experience. We had a good tour (itās very long though!), good lunch with a current student off-campus, and a good meeting with engineering faculty. The admissions officer there didnāt seem interested in talking about NMF though in our one-on-one. Bit odd since they set up the whole individualized visit day with that in mind. They did have much better swag than OU, so thereās that.
We still have many others to visit, but weāre in the same boat as others ā NMSF will make all the difference in Sās list to apply to.
@IABooks I looked at your posting history but couldnāt find it. Do you mind telling what the out-of-pocket costs are expected to be for OU after NMF package?
Incidentally, We toured both OU and OSU during spring break as well. We liked both, but like OSU betterā¦ But D has decided that she wants to study Arabic and OSU does not offer it so its dropped to the bottom of the list. OU has a fantastic Arabic program and the 5th year tuition would be perfect since it is a 5 year program and she is probably going to be in college for 6 years total to complete the combination of degrees she wants to leave with. So OU is now at the top of the list, but isnāt affordable without the NMF package as we are out of state.
@itsgettingreal17 Sorry ā didnāt mean to mislead you. I didnāt post the actual costs, but I know Iāve read it on here and it matched what we were told. Iāll see if I can find it.
If you are going to major in engineering at Texas A&M then 3.5 will be a challenge.
@itsgettingreal17 ā¦I found this on another forum on CC. I think this is pretty close to the cost.
OU is pretty up front with the costs, many people report they come in under the estimated costs
From their NM FAQ:
http://www.ou.edu/content/admissions/nationalmerit/nmfaq.html
Oklahoma Residents:
$4,100 for the first year
$5,800 each year thereafter
Non-Oklahoma Resident:
$6,500 for the first year
$8,300 each year thereafter
@IABooks ā¦thank you for all the helpful information. I would like to visit OU and OSU however my S may not agrree to that. He has OU on the brain right now. If he doesnāt get NMF then we will be staying in Texas.
@NCComputerNerd ā¦I agree with you 100%. Now to convince my S of that.
Thanks @Tgirlfriend I would like to see how those numbers were calculated but I havenāt found anything more specific. My own calculations were less (and not engineering so that may be the difference).
Thanks @Tgirlfriend ā thatās what I was looking for re: OU cost for NMF OOS. Thatās exactly what Tyler wrote down for us during our visit. I also love reading about everyoneās experiences visiting campuses, but they vary so widely that we end up deciding we have to see for ourselves. Iāve been watching your threads pretty closely too. Itās good to a perspective from Texas as most of the NMF merit money seems to be located closer to your part of the country (as compared to Iowa).
@itsgettingreal17 We do have a breakdown of where those costs come from in hard copy at home (Iām at work now). Iāll make myself a note to dig it out tonight.
@itsgettingreal17ā¦check out this CC forum
Help with OU National Scholars costs and program? I think i saw a break down in one parents post on there.
@IABooks ā¦please feel free to share and ask questions of any of us in Texas. Iowa is a long ways to travel to visit colleges. We are looking at colleges no longer than 6 or 7 hours travel time. Texas Tech is about as far as I would be willing to send my S. Great kiddo, however boys are way different than girls are. When my daughter graduated college she was ready to get out of here and begin her college life. My S on the other handā¦I am afraid I will never hear from him when he leaves. Girls need their moms way more than boys do. I knowā¦helicopter mom. I canāt help myselfā¦he is my baby.
Thanks @Tgirlfriend and @IABooks
@Tgirlfriend Yes, it would have taken less than 3 minutes to have all of the NMFs come to the front stage and get applauded, but instead, they just quickly read their names. I felt bad for these kids, not out of self interest but because I honestly felt that these kids should be RECOGNIZED and APPLAUDED.
@Tgirlfriend You go girl. You take care of your baby. I am a father,but I feel the same way about my son. Heās my treasure and people can say whatever they want to say, but I will never have to say " Iām sorry" because I am on the job and that doesnāt end just because he will be 18 and off to college. Never be apologetic for being a great mom Tgirlfriend. Kudos to you helicopter!!!lol!