Can’t speak to NEU but BC and BU merit are very unrealistic.
BC: only offers Merit in the form of a full tuition scholarship that they limit to roughly 20 incoming students per yr. Think of these as the Harvard candidates they are able to pluck away with money. They do meet 100% of need so that’s where the aid is going.
BU: Yes they offer merit to a pretty decent percentage (like 5 or 6 percent). S actually applied there as a “safety” thinking he would easily get at least 10k or something to make cost more doable (we qualify for zero need). Last yr was their most competitive admission class due to a massive applicant pool (60k). He applied RD and did get in but without any merit (3.95 UW / 6.0 W, all AP and honors, 1420 new SAT, class president, 4 yr varsity baseball / team captain, 2 yr mentor, school ambassador, NHS, voted top overall student in school 3 yrs in a row, great essays, etc - I share this only to show you how competitive it is). Their admit package listed accomplishment of “your fellow classmates”. Kids who have literally published children’s books, created popular apps, climbed Mt Everest - really, played in junior level of World Cup soccer, played a concert with the Boston Pops, etc. I assume these are the kids getting merit. I thought our S was amazing (and he is and will do amazing things in life), but they are looking at stunners and outside the box candidates for merit.
True of all the selective schools. the next tier down is a good place to look for merit. Schools like Syracuse, Bentley - I know you don’t want a business school but they actually do have liberal arts programs and offer a lot of merit - my son was offered 50% tuition for four yrs so roughly 100k. BTW - turned it down.