Is there a reason why the 8 hour limit? As you can see, one way she can get merit is by offering the school something they want- high ACT score and geographic diversity.
@goingnutsmom thanks for the replies – we did tour CMU in Pittsburgh and D has some older friends there but was not sure she had the stats to get in. She was wowed by their theater and music programs (not her area of study but her love) but not so sure she would fit in there. With the 34 ACT she should take another look as it might be possible to get in now.
The 8 hour was more about a “driving distance” school than a hard and fast boundary - and it is for personal reasons. My H was a freshman in college when there was a family emergency and he lost a parent - he was thankful that he was a car ride away and family was there to get him. I had a medical emergency while we were at school and in less than 4 hours my parents were at the hospital at my side. Both of these are in my H’s mind as we get ready to send our first away. We are almost an hour away from PHL airport - then tickets, TSA security lines, flights, rental cars, and driving to the campus - all takes time and advance coordination – all seem to be big hurdles in an emergency. We can’t plan our lives around what ifs but since he lived through both of those events, this is a concern for him. His preference is for a school in a reasonable days drive, and he feels that our location lends itself to many,many choices we just need to find them.
He knows that both D and I are comfortable (me=comfortable, her = excited) about her going away, but he has asked that she apply to some driving distance schools that she can afford and will be happy to attend. He’s calling it “location safeties”. We are trying to honor that and find 2 or 3 schools that fit that bill for her to apply so come April if she starts to question her choices she feels like she has other options.
You may want to look at U of South Carina. With her stats she would pay no more than $20,000/yr (today’s prices). They have a top ranked public Honors College (think Schreyer’s with warmer weather) and she has a shot at full tuition (very competitive but her stats are awfully good). International Business is top ranked in the US. Finance is good but not nationally known. About 10 hours from PA but driveable and flights to Columbia (or Charlotte with a shuttle ride) can be reasonable. Separate Honors College app with additional essays, due fairly early (mid-November I think).
South Carolina looks great! Never even entered our radar. I do think she could get some merit and may be a contender for one of those larger awards (40 finalists! - that is much better then the handful other schools offer). She was originally interested in Clemson but it was so rural and she is not in the top 10% of her class so there was no hope of merit $ there – never even looked at other SC schools. Off to read more about the honors college---- Thank you!!
Throwing in another SC school as a suggestion. You may want to look at College of Charleston. With her stats , she’d be competitive for the Honors College , including William Aiken Fellows ( the highest level of honors) It’s located in Charleston SC. It is a small to mid sized public college , just under 11,000 undergrads . It has a strong liberal arts feel. Lots of great programs , including entrepreneurial and study abroad opportunities , and living learning communities. It’s definitely worth a look.
http://cofc.edu/about/freshman-class-profiles/
CMU arguably has the best theater program in the country, as well as computer science.
If the geographic boundaries are opened - shoot for the large merit awards at Tulane, Emory, Miami, Vanderbilt and Rice. Those schools actually check all the other boxes outside of driving distance and are much smaller, in or near major cities have great arts and business. Plus school spirit. Plenty of flights, great weather and excellent schools.
If she’s willing to consider College of Charleston (60% women 40% men) then she might consider a woman’s college.
Have you looked into Bryn Mawr? I think that they still give merit scholarships- one of my D’s friends got a very nice merit award from them just this year. And she did not have financial need.
Totally get the worry. My S went 1500 miles away to college and of course this was present in my mind. But I had to learn how to manage my anxiety about the worst possible case scenario. Trauma does that to you.
Plus, for my S who was interested in a very particular field (industrial design) that would have limited him to just one school in our state. And for my D, seeing that we live in a very big state, it would have limited her to almost all Texas schools only.
But respect that each family must make the decisions that are best for them.
FYI the theatre program at CMU is a conservatory BFA program that is auditioned. It is extremely selective with a very small class every year. This does not sound like the kind of theatre experience this student would be interested in. And if you are not in the conservatory there aren’t opportunities to participate in their productions.
^Yes, CMU’s theatre program is a conservatory and extremely competitive- 5% this year. I didn’t get the impression that OP’s D would be interested in CMU’s theatre program as much as being exposed to that level of production and talent. My S just graduated from CMU in ID and had theatre friends, went the productions and participated in a theatre class where the students went out to the community to teach theatre to children. Loved it. Also there is Scotch n Soda for non majors to participate in if they want that opportunity. So even if you are not a theatre major.0, you can still enjoy and participate at different levels.
I was thinking of recommending Rice but didn’t want to add anymore Texas schools to the list. It’s in a great part of Houston. Your D would add geographic diversity there. I think it’s much harder for a Texas student to get merit at Rice when they are working hard to have more geographic diversity. Interest would be important to demonstrate.
What about CWRU? It’s also in a great part of Cleveland that has a lot of cultural opportunities. They give nice merit. Interest is very important to them. My D got nice merit from them.
I thought of Emory too but felt that merit there is harder to predict. Maybe applying to Oxford of Emory might give more of a merit edge.
180 degrees from the charm of larger southern universities but consistent with some of the parental preferences are the upstate NY schools like Syracuse, Rochester, Skidmore, Ithaca, Hobart & WS, Union. Not positive all of these offer merit aid. Pretty sure Hamilton, Colgate and Vassar don’t offer merit aid. You are right to be pessimistic about her chances at the big name top tier darlings, so apply only if you don’t mind throwing $75 out the window.
I feel your pain! This seems like where we were a year ago. Remember that many high school students experience a tremendous amount of growth their senior year. What can seem like an obvious choice or type of school can change in an instant.
My D had similar scores but a lower GPA and significant unique accomplishments with ECs.
Gettysburg was generous. $15k. She demonstrated interest and loved the school.
Elon was very generous with a fellowship and scholarship.
American gave $0. I have heard that Villanova has few merit scholarships but you never know.
Ultimately she chose Fordham University. Merit aid was generous. She applied to Fordham on a whim and is now very excited to start the next chapter of her life.
Good luck.
Auburn has some good scholarships for out of state students with good test scores. She’d get 18K annually with her stats, although that’s weighted against out of state tuition etc.
Thank you – We have spent a lot of time reading your posts and researching schools.
It looks like Alabama and Pitt will stay - one as the lowest price and the other as our highest price (in-state) - although if she gets merit it will bring it down. University of South Carolina, The Ohio State, Auburn, The University of Scranton, Ithaca, American, and Loyola of Maryland have been added. Villanova, U of Delaware, U of Richmond, Lehigh, and Lafayette will remain as reaches financially but I do feel she will be admitted. CMU, Northeastern, Georgetown, and Cornell have been added as academic and financial reaches at this moment.
Without compelling or special ECs it is not likely that she will win any exclusive merit awards but she is willing to try.
That 34 looks competitive for merit at Pitt, so I’d be surprised if she doesn’t get some merit.
If your daughter is applying to a school where her ACT and GPA put her in the top 20% - 25%, then she is brining something to the school that they want…namely enrolling her will make their student profile look better in the rankings. Also, most schools value students who work their tails off.
Has anyone suggested Purdue yet?
@citymama9 I was thinking the same thing…
Has she looked at Loyola Univ MD? It would definitely push the financial boundaries even if she got a presidential scholarship, but size and location and academics seem like a good fit.
I think that you are really underestimating her chances! Even by CC standards, she is impressive.
I bet she’d have good chances at merit at Muhlenberg (great for musical theater), Ursinus, and Dickinson (all in PA); in OH - College of Wooster, Case Western, Denison, Ohio University (if she’s after that school spirit and also it has a good honors program) or Ohio Wesleyan, and in NY state - possibly U of Rochester or Ithaca College. Don’t know if U of VT is too far distant from where you live but many love the location and it does offer merit to OOS students with high stats. I think she’d be eligible for auto-merit from Temple.
Of the ones that I’ve mentioned, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Case might be able to offer enough merit to get you to your target budget. The others, if I remember correctly, have merit offers mostly in the 15-20K range, which probably wouldn’t be enough.
She could also boost her chances by starting to work on demonstrated interest.
That’s quite a large list.
May I ask:
what would it take for any of Auburn, Delaware, South Carolina, Ohio State to beat out Alabama?
And how would Scranton be the pick?
Will you greatly increase your budget for Georgetown, Cornell and Carnegie Mellon?
How long are the odds for the handful of very large merit awards to move American, Northeastern, Villanova, Lehigh, Lafayette, Richmond and Ithaca in range financially?
“It looks like Alabama and Pitt will stay - one as the lowest price and the other as our highest price (in-state) - although if she gets merit it will bring it down. University of South Carolina, The Ohio State, Auburn, The University of Scranton, Ithaca, American, and Loyola of Maryland have been added. Villanova, U of Delaware, U of Richmond, Lehigh, and Lafayette will remain as reaches financially but I do feel she will be admitted. CMU, Northeastern, Georgetown, and Cornell have been added as academic and financial reaches at this moment.”