Best schools in the Northeast that offer the highest merit aid awards

I apologize in advance if there’s a similar thread somewhere – I looked and could not find one.

My D has very good stats – 2400 SAT, most challenging courseload at her school (petitioned to take more APs than allowed), don’t have a GPA, but suspect unweighted is 3.7-3.8 and weighted is almost 5.0. She has numerous ECs and leadership positions, a number of different academic and artistic awards. Her letters of rec should be fantastic as she has many admirers and advocates at the school. She is hoping to attend a strong liberal arts school. She does not yet know what she wants to major it, but it will likely be in the humanities (not STEM). Her PSAT scores guarantee that she will be a National Merit Semifinalist, but we don’t have an affiliation with a corporation that gives NM scholarships.

We’re likely in the borderline area where we may not qualify for financial aid (unless we explain, school by school, our unique situation, in which case we may get some). We are therefore hoping to identify the best schools in the Northeast that offer the highest amounts of merit aid. We’re not necessarily looking for schools that offer merit aid to the highest percentage of admitted students (I have found those lists), but we’re looking for the schools that offer the highest awards (for out-of-state, non-STEM students), even if they only offer a few.

I am aware that Dickinson College offers numerous merit scholarships, including one that’s $20,000 per year.

Any info on substantial merit awards at any other schools?

The NE is not great hunting grounds for substantial merit.

There are one or two schools that give (I think) $20k per year for being a NMF. I think one is Northeastern. Fordham gives free tuition.

As far as LACs, what level are you looking? Are you looking for a particular rank range?

What do you want your net costs to be each year?

What about women’s colleges? Mt Holyoke would like give a large award.

What is her major and career goal?

Why only the NE? There are schools like Grinnell that might fit that would give large merit.

BU gives 20k for NMS and full tuition for trustee schlors. Northeastern gives 30k for NMS and full tuition plus extras to “university scholars”. Trustee and University scholars are competive and not affiliated with NMS.

BC has a presidential scholarship, merit based and competitive. I think Syracuse does too.

I think Rochester also has a big one.

That’s all that comes to mind now

Your DD should consider Fordham. My DS received the full tuition scholarship so COA is about $22,000 per year. He applied to the Lincoln Center campus but I would advise you to visit Rose Hill, too.

From reading the Fordham thread, I’m not sure if the NMF full tution scholarship is offered to all NMFs. Your DD needs to apply EA to Fordham if she decides to pursue this opportunity.

My DS didn’t apply to any LACs. So I don’t know about those scholarships. Boston University offers $20,000 for NMF. I think the competetive full tuition scholarships are in general very hard to get at all schools.

Figure out how much you can pay per year. There are some threads that deal with scholarships at LACs.

This thread has helpful information.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1800576-help-find-a-college-part-2.html#latest

Thanks, @mom2collegekids, for the info regarding Northeastern and Fordham. We’ll look into those. She says she’s not interested in an all-women’s college, but I’ll look into merit at Mt. Holyoke. There are personal / family reasons why we want to keep her in the Northeast, but maybe if it’s both a highly rated school with substantial merit aid we would consider an exception. I’ll look at Grinnell. She doesn’t yet know her major, but it might be something like communication, sociology, or international affairs (i.e., humanities that she hasn’t yet been able to delve into in any depth in high school).

U Richmond offers full tuition and full rides but may be too far south for you.

In NE other than Northeastern, I think WVU gives great merit for NMF. Ohio State University, U Delaware, University of Pittsburgh might give high competitive merit, but they are all public schools. Temple gives automatic merit.

Not in NE University of South Carolina, U of Richmond, UCF, Tulane, U of Alabama, U Kentucky might be possibilities.

The University of Vermont offers high merit aid for in- and out-of-state students, although it’s expensive for a public university.

Other than merit, Northeast location, and strong in the humanities, what else is on the docket?

And if it were my kid I would make Mt. Holyoke a “parents pick” college on the list.

@blossom, we’re just beginning to look at schools. She’s hoping for academically challenging but with a relatively collaborative (not intensely competitive) atmosphere; moderate to liberal, but not conservative; she’s hoping for a school where it’s not difficult to establish close relationships with faculty. She’s flexible on size, but prefers a smaller student:faculty ratio (assuming that speaks to the abililty to build the faculty relationships). She leans away from extremely remote and rural but is otherwise flexible regarding environment. Ignoring finances and the liklihood of admission, she so far loves Bowdoin and Yale and likes Amherst and Wesleyan a lot. She fell in love with the Georgetown campus and location but not so thrilled with the Catholic influence and somewhat pretentious social vibe. She says she doesn’t mind the existence of frats and sororities, but I would much prefer a school that does not have a heavily “Greek” culture. (For example, although it’s wonderful for other reasons, I am not allowing Dartmouth as a choice due to the high percentage of participation in fraternities.) We’ve got plans to look at Haverford and Swarthmore, Vassar, Brown, Bates and Colby. I don’t think any of these have significant merit aid, though. It’s a complicated process with a number of moving parts and no doubt it will be a difficult decision if she gets into one of her dream schools but receives substantial aid at a lower choice option … but we’re talking lots and lots of money and it’s important to consider costs / benefits and otherwise balance pragmatism with idealism.

And btw, I’ve heard a lot of people rave about Mt. Holyoke. So far my D has resisted the single gender school, but maybe I’ll nudge again!

Temple fits the high merit NE criteria.

Those schools she loves…Bowdoin, Yale, Amherst, Wesleyan, Bates, Brown, Haverford, swarthmore, Georgetown and Colby do not offer merit aid…they offer need based aid only.

I’m not sure about Vassar…I think they do offer some merit aid.

What about Ithaca?

Would she be willing to look at Muhlenberg? Not in the northeast…but sort of close.

Would she be willing to go to the DC area? Is that close enough? American University might give her some merit aid.

I don’t think any of the schools you’ve listed give any merit at all, @SoccerMomGenie (other than MHC) . LACs that are generous with merit do exist but they’re mostly in the midwest and south, a couple in the NW.

“Midwest” can be closer to you than Iowa though…Ohio has several (Denison, Wooster, OWU, Wittenberg) and those are an easy day’s drive to, say, NYC. PA does too.

Vassar does not offer merit aid. Nor Bard.

Ithaca College offers good merit. There’s some merit aid at Brandeis.

Like @thumper1 , I also thought of Muhlenberg and American for merit aid. Don’t know what your state is, but the U Mass Amherst honors program gets high marks for the “smaller college experience within the larger university” framework and would get you into the 5 colleges without the high price. If you are OOS, there is limited merit money for high stats.

If Ohio is not too far afield, she’d be well positioned to get large merit money from College of Wooster.

Look up the Stamps scholarship website, and that will tell you at what schools they sponsor scholarships. They are insanely competitive, but with your D’s stats that may be worth a shot. Duke and UNC Chapel Hill also offer very large merit scholarships, but also very competitive and of course they are in the South. Someone mentioned BC - also a handful of merit scholarships, and I believe there is no Greek life there. The same is true of Notre Dame, but that may be too far away.

Also meant to say this: I strongly advise you to speak to your D sooner rather than later about financial constraints. If possible, let her know that you can provide “x” per year.

Guaranteed merit for NMF in the Northeast >

Boston University $20k off (must declare it first choice early! by March or April 1? They list it in the letter to students). Most let you declare as late as May 1.

Northeastern $30k off.

Fordham’s free tuition scholarship is definitely NOT guaranteed. My D is a NMF senior and did not get it, but with your child’s super high stats, it would be a possibility. A limited number of NMFs get full-tuition scholarships. (Fordham will not state how many). Look at the Fordham EA and “likely letter” threads for more info. Like Georgetown, it is Catholic, but Jesuit and very welcoming to all.

Temple guarantees free tuition for 1440+ math + science on SAT.

I believe Georgetown is also Jesuit.

University of Vermont, which I mentioned above, offers up to $27,000 per year to out-of-state students who are eligible for both NMF and UVM’s Presidential Scholarship. http://www.uvm.edu/~stdfinsv/?Page=prospect_ug_schols_outofstate.html

OP I would be careful to not focus on need-based only schools like most of the LACs and Yale if your family is not going to be eligible for that kind of aid. Your thread asks for merit based packages, and you are getting some good suggestions. Muhlenberg will have that LAC feel, and the honors programs (BC, Fordham, etc) will give your D great opportunities and individualized attention…
However I second the suggestion of women’s colleges. Not all women’s colleges offer merit but at the ones that do, her stats will make her a strong contender. Not that she is not a strong contender elsewhere but at a single sex school the odds are doubly in her favor for a top notch, LAC education.

She would probably get good aid at University of Delaware.

What about your instate options? Do any have an honors college? That makes the bigger school seem smaller.