<p>A classmate of my daughter’s got merit money at W&M. I think it was a Monroe scholarship. Swarthmore has a Delmarva scholarship if you are on the Eastern Shore.</p>
<p>Wow… that is some turnaround! Keep us posted, I will be curious to see how your D’s search turns out.</p>
<p>I’m with your daughter on the attractions of W&M, xrb. Two of my kids felt it was their school from the get-go. I think it was worth the sacrifices we made to send them there from out of state. Would it be worth sacrificing a secure retirement or the education of younger kids to send a child to W&M, or Swarthmore, or Harvard, instead of an excellent in-state school? No. But I think it was worth letting go of travel and other non-essentials in order to have two of our kids at W&M. This is truly an individual family’s decision.</p>
<p>Adding that admission at W&M is not strictly a numbers game. It’s more competitive for OOS students, since, by state law, only 35 percent of the student body can consist of non-Virginia residents. Much has been written, on this board and elsewhere, about how unpredictable W&M admissions are for OOS students. I suggest following the W&M board here on CC, since the poster W&MAdmissions is an admissions dean at the school.</p>
<p>Re posts 80 & 81:</p>
<p>W&M does have a very limited merit scholarship program. [William</a> & Mary -*Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/admission/financialaid/typesofaid/scholarships/index.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/admission/financialaid/typesofaid/scholarships/index.php)</p>
<p>One program considers diversity and adversity, as well as academics (William & Mary Scholars); one is for a modest summer study stipend, with a few other perks (Monroe Scholars). The 1693 Scholars program is the most generous and selective merit scholarship program. Four students per year receive the equivalent of full in-state tuition (so OOS students selected pay the difference), fees, and room and board. As you can see, though, these are tough to get, and other factors are considered as well as stats:
</p>
<p>Brandeis …</p>
<p>OP, if your daughter likes William and Mary, she might be interested in St Mary’s. It would be instate for you and has a similar model (although the average kid’s stats are lower than William & Mary). </p>
<p>Even though it’s public, St Mary’s has the most expensive costs for a public school in the state however it’s a great deal if you purchase a prepaid plan because the prepaid plan costs the average of instate public tuition but will pay out that specific school’s rate.</p>
<p>OP, sorry, I may have missed where you’re located in MD, but I’d also suggest your daughter check out St. Mary’s College of Maryland. It’s a public honors college that makes a lot of “best value” lists for out-of-staters, so I would think it warrants a look. The Fiske Guide (my favorite “big book” guide) rates it four stars for academics and notes that the school’s English department is among its strongest. They also offer merit money.</p>
<p>[St</a>. Mary’s College of Maryland](<a href=“http://www.smcm.edu/]St”>http://www.smcm.edu/)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>When my DS was applying to colleges this past year he did exactly what you are thinking about - he did cast a very wide net , applying to some schools that did offer full rides .
He was extremely lucky as he received three wonderful full rides to chose from : UNC, Chicago and Duke.
So look hard for those scholarship offers. And keep in mind that they are changing. Stamps Scholarship has new schools on their list almost every year.
When applying to Chicago, DS had no idea there was a chance for a full ride. When applying to UNC he did not know that if that school offers a merit scholarship to OOS student - it is always a full ride.</p>
<p>Kelowna, where did he decide to go? Great options!</p>