My S had a 2280 SAT but only a 3.5 GPA. He went to a very rigorous HS and took the most rigorous course load available. The merit offers from schools were all over the place. He ended up at a school that gave him full tuition. This particular school offers department scholarships based on competitive tests given at the college. My S scored 1st. While the school had originally only offered S a 1/3 tuition scholarship, the dept gave him $$ for placing first on the test. Then several other scholarships followed from both the school and dept. I think many schools have strict GPA/SAT cut offs for overall scholarships, but in my S’s case the dept was willing to go to bat for a kid they thought had potential. So while he got merit from most of the schools he was accepted to, it was not as much as we hoped. His GPA hurt him. I am sure it was why he got waitlisted from a couple of schools. Smart but lazy kid label.
So hopefully my son can get in the 2300, for individual sections, he seems very capable.
I hear you about the GPA, my son is in the same exact boat. Basically, my S will apply to schools where he knows it will be fine to attend. In other words, we don’t believe in ‘safety’ schools, since any school that gives full aid will be acceptable. Yes, there are preferences, but money is one of the biggest factors for us, and he’s making sure to apply only to places where he can see himself studying, doing well, and enjoying himself.
A couple of things.
- Are you looking for a full free ride? If so, your son is not competitive for one at Boston University. Their most generous merit awards are full tuition...and to be honest, he needs to bring his SAT up a lot. It's too late to I orove his GPA. Applications are due before December 1.
- Full total free rides...tuition, fees, room ,board, and all personal expenses are not very common. At all. Can you lay anything towards his costs to attend college? If so, what amount?
- You say Boston would be a good place to be because there are lots of hospitals and your son wants to be premed? How much time do you think he is going to be spending at all of those hospitals? Sure, he will have shadowing opportunities, and the like...but really those would be available at any hospital.
- Many students who start as premed....do not end as premed. Consider this when choosing colleges?
- What is the matter with University of New Hampshire?
- Again...your son's fall grades are NOT going to be helpful in terms of the most generous and competitive scholarships. The admissions and scholarship applications for most of these are due before December 1. The school won't have those fall semester grades to send.
- your son might have a better chance at merit awards if he applies out of the New England region.
- Here is a thread....read the links in this thread. Lots of info.
@thumper1 is right. To get large merit, your son needs to look outside (far outside) of the NE.
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other words, we don't believe in 'safety' schools, since any school that gives full aid will be acceptable. Yes, there are preferences, but money is one of the biggest factors for us, and he's making sure to apply only to places where he can see himself studying, doing well, and enjoying himself.
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You need to find out what his school will put as his cumulative weighted GPA for grades 9-11 on his transcript.
Some schools to consider:
Ole Miss
Miss state
Alabama (if his grade 9-11 cum weighted GPA is 3.5 or higher)
UAH
UAB (has a med school… <<== my son is at that med school. He went to Alabama for undergrad for practically free.)
USouthAlabama (has a med school)
Are you saying that your contribution will be $5k per year? If so, then your son can borrow $5k, work summers, and work part-time during the school year …and the “family contribution” could be around $13k per year then.
Is your income low enough that he’d qualify for a Pell Grant??
Our S16 just registered for a visit to Ole Miss the first week in July. Assuming he thinks he can be happy there for four years it will be a good safety. He shares his parents’ dislike of loans (our only one is for our home). It was huge when he said he’d be willing to go to school in the south to take advantage of NMSF money.
@halfman do not count on significant Merit from UMass Amherst. S14 was high stats…in state, top 5% of class in a very good school, 2350 SAT, 4.6 weighted GPA, all 800’s on 4 or 5 SAT II’s…just was awarded the “standard” $2,000 Merit given to In state students.
I also would not assume that you son will get 2400 on his next SAT, even with studying.
I also do not think his stats are high enough for Merit money from BU…not from what I have heard.
I agree with the advice to speak with his GC. Also take a look at Naviance if his school uses it. It will give you a good sense of where his fellow students are getting accepted and what their scores are.
^^
Yes…and UMass schools have those CRAZY high “fees” on top of tuition. I think the fees now are something like $12k or more per year…on top of tuition!
For some schools, you have to apply EA/ED to be considered for merit aids. In that case, there is not much time for score/GPA improvement.
For many schools, you MUST apply before December 1 to be in the running for their most generous and competitive scholarships. Note…these are not ED or EA applications…but both your application for admission and your application (if required) for these scholarships must be submitted early.
The Trustee Scholarship (full tuition) at Boston University is one of them.
And the GPA the student has at the end of JUNIOR year is the one used…because first semester grades are not in when the deadline for these applications happens.
Your son’s stats are very good, but for huge merit,he should probably pull his R&M SAT up a bit. That said, take a look at St. Joe’s in Philadelphia. They have a competitive full tuition scholarship, and as far as I know it doesn’t have minimums to apply. It requires an essay and, if he makes the first cut, an interview. BUT, the good news is, that as a boy, he will have an edge for the big scholarships at schools at the SJU level.
As an aside, Philadelphia has at least as much to offer healthcare wise as Boston. If he wants to consider the Philadelphia area, LaSalle, Cabrini, Immaculata, and Chestnut Hill are always looking for boys and probably all worth a look. Double check that the schools I’ve listed have all got full tuition awards. (I think they do). The biggest problem I see with these schools is that many of the residents are local and your son might be a bit lonely on the weekends, particularly at Cabrini, Immaculata, and Chestnut Hill.
p.s. My understanding with UMass is that it’s not the tuition, but the fees that will kill you. I know two really high stats kids (4.0’s, 2300+ SAT’s) who couldn’t afford UMass even after receiving full tuition scholarships.
We also were looking for big merit. We were fairly confident our D would get in to all her schools. One school (her dream school) was a financial reach because we knew merit was going to be very hard to get (the school offered less than 20 scholarships). And she didn’t get one. All her other schools might fairly have been dubbed safeties, although we certainly didn’t know for sure she’d get enough merit. In the end, all those other schools came in under our target number so she had plenty of options. I think it’s important to make kids feel like they have a choice - you just have to make sure you’re being realistic.
I think that getting a composite of 2300 and applying to ten schools he really feels comfortable going will yield at least one place with a very good offer. Could this be?
Also, BU and Umass, and others, have similar scholarships that require the principles recommendation and an essay. Is he sup posed to ask at school if the headmaster would like to nominate him or does the school know about these?
Please remember, his weighted GPA of 3.4 is what will be used for these competitive scholarships at BU…and elsewhere. Even if he gets 800 on the CR and Math sections of the SAT, that GPA will still stand. These applications are due BEFORE fall term grades are complete. The GPA he has NOW is what will be used.
Yes, apply…but it’s not going to be a slam dunk.
His weighted is actually 3.7 weighted, 3.68 to be exact. Don’t these schools get a school report from his school that speaks to the difficulty of the curriculum?
The school will send a class profile. This will show the range of GPAs within the class.
In addition, most schools in the northeast are familiar with the prep schools and their rigor.
Unless something has changed in the last couple of years, the most generous BU scholarship is the Trustee award which is full tuition. The student would need to pay the remaining costs. Room and board would be well in excess of $5000 a year. The trustee scholarship at BU is highly competitive. Yes…apply…but like I said…it’s not going to be a slam dunk.
The GPA I put in my post came from your OP.
@thumper Is that a typo re:$5000 a year. Do you mean $50000 a year?
@halfman They will use his unweighted GPA and work from there. His AP courses will not count for merit and his SAT subject tests will not count for merit. Only his math and reading and GPA will count. Not even his writing score. Additionally he will have to apply early for merit aid next year in the November/December timeframe so his senior grades will not factor in. With his current information 3.1 unweighted and 1350 CR+M, you might maybe get 8K from UMass. I’m assuming his school is somewhere like Philips. Even with top aid, expect to pay at least 30K for UMass. They are awful with merit aid. For BU, assuming that he can raise his CR and Math, you should expect to pay at least high 40s. I am assuming that you do not qualify for need based aid.
thanks everyone,
I editted my original post with new GPA, he let me know what grades he has so I can actually calc the GPA. It is most definately not 3.1 btw
@halfman Even if it is a 3.68 weighted GPA, keep in mind that he is competing against students with 4.5 weighted GPAs. Students who have never received less than an A even in AP classes. I don’t know why he did not properly prepare for the SAT last time but he only has one last chance next October to take the test and get the scores back in time for early action for some schools like UMass. Mentally prepare for 30k a year for an out of state flagship like UMass and 45 to 50k for a private assuming that he can raise his math score and get merit aid. Concentrate on his math score in fact. You have to submit all SAT scores when you apply. He should include UNH for value.
The OP said they wanted to keep their costs at $5000 per year. If the student gets the trustee scholarship…full tuition…at Boston University, the cost for,room and board would be well in excess of their $5000 price limit. That is what I meant.
In fact, room and board at BU is in excess of $12,000 a year.
But frankly, I don’t think this student is a contender for,the trustee scholarship which is usually awarded to tippy top applicants with outstanding GPAs and SAT or ACT scores.
Halfman, every college has their own way to compute GPA. So does every high school. You should request a copy of your student’s end of junior year transcript from the school with THEIR calculation of GPA. That is what the colleges will use.
Also keep in mind that for some of the more competitive scholarships, the colleges actually re-compute the GPA themselves.
So,whatever you did for a GPA calculation might not matter…at all.
And agreed, many use unweighted GPA.
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p.s. My understanding with UMass is that it's not the tuition, but the fees that will kill you. I know two really high stats kids (4.0's, 2300+ SAT's) who couldn't afford UMass even after receiving full tuition scholarships.
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YES! That’s because tuition is extremely low (by law), so the schools make up for it by having “fees” that are about $10k+ per year or more (anyone know the latest)?
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I think that getting a composite of 2300 and applying to ten schools he really feels comfortable going will yield at least one place with a very good offer. Could this be?
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First off, don’t look at the SAT with all 3 sections. We already know that your son can score 800 in Writing, which means nothing for merit. The focus needs to be
Sorry, but that is NOT a good strategy, and it’s very likely that NONE of those schools will give him anything but maybe a few thousand… You want a net cost of $5k!
You’ve set the bar EXTREMELY high with a desired net cost of $5k per year. Plus, it sounds like you or your child expects to attend a residential school that is somewhat known…not some directional state school where everyone commutes.
…if he doesn’t FIRST determine and apply at least 2-3 schools that you know FOR SURE will give your child HUGE MERIT for his stats, then next spring you could have several acceptances, but with a high net cost.
…Actually, since you’re hoping for a significant score increase, I would suggest that you identify …
3 desirable schools that will FOR SURE give him HUGE merit for his current stats (1350 M+CR).
3 desirable schools that will FOR SURE give him HUGE merit for a 1400 M+CR
3 desirable schools that will FOR SURE give him HUGE merit for a 1450 M+CR
3 desirable schools that will FOR SURE give him HUGE merit for a 1500 M+CR
(keep in mind that many schools that award HUGE merit will have a VERY EARLY deadline for scholarship consideration (early Nov or early Dec)…often months earlier than the application deadline. And many schools will not use super-scores for merit consideration)
Then, once you have those schools identified, then your son can also apply to some other schools that “might” give him the huge merit that he needs.
And, while it may be possible for your son to get a 1500 M+CR, many students find that they can’t increase their stats that much (your son’s current M+CR is a 1350…which is like an ACT 30. A 1500 is like an ACT 34). Going up 4 ACT points or 150 M+CR points by this fall can’t be counted on.
The reason why you should identify at least 3 schools that you know FOR SURE will give you a net cost that you can agree with is because if there is only one school that is affordable, then your child is going to feel like he had no choice, and he’s going to feel railroaded into a school. Even if it’s a school he likes, it’s bad for morale for a person to feel like he had no choice. Choice is good.
I feel that you’re a bit naive about HUGE merit and how/why it’s awarded. Many schools don’t award ANY huge merit awards.
If you had to name 15-20 schools that you can see your child applying to, which would they be?
.
Your son goes to “an elite private prep school”. That being the case, the guidance counseling should be excellent. It is at most of these elite private prep schools. The schools really have a good sense of where a student will be accepted…or not.
Are you receiving financial,aid for your student to attend the prep school? How much are YOU paying for him to attend? Only $5000 a year?? This might give you a small light into how much aid need based aid you will receive in college. Regardless…the money you are currently paying for prep school can be diverted to college costs.
The most important things…
- Create a varied list of college applications.
- Be realistic about what you can pay, and convey that to the student....so he knows that there is a bottom line for you.
- Be realistic about admissions, as well as chances for the large competitive scholarships. Sure...apply...but understand that everyone who applies doesn't get them.
- Include several sure thing colleges on the application list...ones that your kiddo really likes, that you can afford, and that have a very high chance of admission.
- Unless your kiddo is applying to the college in post 12, the calculated GPA could vary wildly. Some colleges recompute. Some use ONLY core subjects (so no band, PE, culinary arts, art, or any other electives like that). Some schools do NOT calculate using + and - grades...in other words...a B+ would,be calculated as a B.
I’m very unclear about your situation. Is your income really too high to be considered for need based aid? Are you looking for merit aid only?
This makes no sense. A GPA of 3.75 is the average at your kid’s school…unweighted? That would be an equally fine GPA at a public school.