I’m wondering what schools you’ve been able to find that have given good merit scholarships at northeast & mid Atlantic colleges. I have a 1360, 4.0 UW and 4.5 w, and decent extracurriculars. I would prefer schools in cities in the northeast/mid Atlantic, but I know it’s crazy difficult. Oh, and I could probably afford up to Rutgers (so like 36k with tuition and other fees).
Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia was pretty generous, Temple, SUNY Bing, UDel all came in close to Rutgers for my similar stats kids (but they had higher test scores).
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SUNY Buffalo.
Many of the public universities in Ohio give merit aid, but I am not sure they will match your prices point.
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George Washington and Fordham did for my son. Around $20k. His stats were similar a few years ago. A good way to think about it is selectivity. Really selective schools don’t need to give merit aid. It’s the schools with a low yield…in the teens or low 20%give more merit because they need you. They are the “buyers” as Jeff Selingo writes in his book. Good read…Who Gets In and Why. If even to just get grounded on the process. Grab at library.
Boston University did not.
A good way to group schools is by sports league. Usually similar size though not necessarily academic or selectivity equals they often have similar merit results. Think NESCAC, A-10, NEC, Ivy.
Outside of the elite (ND, Nova, BC), Catholics are often good merit. The Loyolas have a good record. A good example is the WCC out here. USD, USF, St Marys, Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine…religious not Catholic…all give good merit. Santa Clara a bit.
My son ended up staying West and went to UWashington.
These aren’t in the northeast/mid-Atlantic.
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Schools like Salisbury, Christopher Newport, and Millersville might/should come in at budget. In addition to the suggestions above, look at URI and U Maine…
Maybe a tad past mid atlantic - W Carolina is about $20K ish full pay.
You may want to look at smaller schools do - Juniata or Ursinus College (private LACs), York College of PA - lots of merit to get you to a price - maybe your price.
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Right but it is an example of a division where they all offer aid. That was the point. Just a comparison. Look for similar schools in leagues. A-10 does. NESCAC does not. Ivy does not.
And honestly, folks should know that about the WCC because I guarantee you the weather is better at USD in February than in the northeast. Lol.
We found multiple schools that brought the price down to about $40,000 with merit aid and similar stats (slightly higher SAT). UVM was one. I think that Bennington College was another. This was however a number of years ago. The UVM Net Price Calculator did predict merit aid, and was spot on for us. From what I have heard U.Maine probably would also have been less than $40,000.
Otherwise, getting well below $40,000 per year, at least for us, only happened at in-state public schools and at universities in Canada. We have dual citizenship, but some of the smaller schools in eastern Canada (eg, Acadia, Bishop’s, Mount Allison) might still cost $36,000 or less per year for an international student (they were way less for a Canadian citizen with merit aid, even coming from the US).
Same result here. Ditto for NEU. Both would have been full price, which was way over budget for us.
It can be a challenge to get total cost that low in the Northeast of you are not getting any need-based aid. My son hit about $36,000/year (tuition, room & board, fees) at URI & Binghamton this year. He got a little lower at Buffalo, and closer to $26,000 at SUNY Oswego. We are in-state for UMass, but I think even out-of-state the non-Amherst UMass campuses could come in under $36,000 with merit.
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My S24 has similar stats. For OOS, his net COA for UVM is a bit over $34k. The top merit award renders OOS tuition almost as low as instate.
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What about SUNYs (Binghamton and Buffalo have been named already; Geneseo and Albany, perhaps New Paltz, definitely Plattsburgh for merit scholarships?) Umass Lowell?
Susquehanna may hit your price point too.
UMaine has a flagship match (you pay the same to attend as you would at your instate flagship).
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I’m curious. Was it Buffalo State or University at Buffalo?
University at Buffalo is the largest SUNY and a research university. @aunt_bea might be able to comment on it.
University at Buffalo is where he applied and the cost was about $32,000 per year (OOS, didn’t apply for the additional scholarships).
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My daughter got merit aid from Brandeis, George Washington, American University, Sarah Lawrence, and Muhlenberg. SUNY Binghamton did not give her merit but I know they are more generous to out of state students (we are in-state).
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But did the merit bring costs down below $35,000? I think final cost is the big factor.
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SUNY Geneseo participates in the tuition match with NJ. Given that Rutgers was mentioned, I assume the OP is from NJ. Geneseo will match Rutgers.
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Good Point! Muhlenberg and Sarah Lawrence would have been about 40K with merit - pretty close to Rutgers. Binghamton was 30K in state with no merit, but I think they have a reciprocal deal with New Jersey residents and some other states to bring costs down to about 30K. Brandeis, GW, and American all well over 36K.
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Actually Bing is not part of that agreement. My daughter did receive merit from Bing bringing the costs down below in state Rutgers.
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Bing is not part of the agreement. Geneseo and a few others are.
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