Hi everyone,
I’ve made a college list and most of the schools are in the Northeast, but I live out in NV, so I’d like to keep some options in the West open. I’m interested in STEM and Classics, and a school having upper level classes in Latin and Greek is a must for me. I have a GPA close to a 4.0 and an ACT score in the top 1%, so merit aid may be a possibility. Currently, the only California schools I have on my list are Stanford and USC. I don’t mind the size of the school, and I am Christian so I’m ok with going to a religious school as long as it’s not super right-wing. Are there any other schools I should look into? I am middle class, so I may fall in that area where the income is too high to get much financial aid, but that is why I’m looking into schools with really good aid because even 15k off a 60k yearly COA would help in the long run.
Have you tried the Net Price Calculator for Stanford? Their financial aid is either need-based or athletic scholarships.
USC does offer a significant number of merit-based scholarships. Will you be a National Merit Scholar?
Have you read through the merit aid thread on CC?
@siliconvalleymom I qualify for need-based aid, but some schools will meet a higher percentage of need than others. I believe my EFC is around 35-40k yearly. I’m looking for schools that meet the majority of financial need, which includes Stanford and USC. I don’t want a school that’s going to see that EFC and be like “wow this kid is middle class let’s give him $10.” Merit aid is honestly just a bonus (I’m familiar with the USC scholarships since a few friends have gotten them), but not the primary focus of this thread. However, if I find out that a place like LMU has a full merit scholarship that I’d be competitive for, I’d like to hear about it.
Check out the schools in the Claremont consortium including Pomona and Harvey Mudd. Pomona doesn’t give merit aid but meets full need so run the NPC.
What exactly is your ACT?
Are you a likely NMF? What was your PSAT?
USC’s merit is unpredictable. If you’re a NMF and get accepted, then you get a 50% tuition scholarship. However, for the non-NMF students, simply having high stats isn’t a sure thing. My friend’s DD had an ACT 35 and was Val of her class, she got NOTHING from USC, so she went to MIT.
Have your parents run the NPCs on the schools’ websites, rather than guessing your EFC. Those schools use CSS Profile so your FAFSA EFC may be different. Do your parents own a business? take business deductions? do you have a Non Custodial Parent? Have you asked your parents how much they’ll pay? Don’t guess, ask them…
Santa Clara University offers few full ride scholarships per year. So does HMC, but it is very competitive.
You wan a California school with strong STEM and Classics, including a good selection of upper-level courses in Latin and Greek, that claims to cover 100% of demonstrated need for all students? Very few colleges meet all those criteria. It’s not surprising the only CA schools on your list are Stanford and USC.
Check out the following thread if you’re willing to consider schools all over the country:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/16471231/#Comment_16471231
In the Western ~half of the country, the best options seem to include Stanford, USC, Reed, Macalester, UChicago, Northwestern, WUStL. State universities that seem to have strong Classics departments, with OOS sticker prices < $50K, include the University of Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, and Colorado-Boulder.
How do you feel about Oregon? Check out Lewis and Clark and Willamette, maybe also Whitman and Puget Sound (WA), although I’m less familiar with those 2. The first 2 at least have a Classics major, good science offerings, 3-2 engineering relationships with some top-notch transfer options, and give good merit aid to strong students.
I may have forgotten to mention that I’m primarily interested in biology/neuroscience/comp sci as a STEM field and will be entering college as a pre-med. I will not be majoring in computer science, but I feel like I should have a good foundation in it since that’s the direction almost every field is heading. I will also probably be an NMF based on my PSAT selection index this year which was pretty high (220/228), but I’m still a sophomore so next year is when it’ll count. Also, I’m comfortable with going anywhere in the West, but I just put California in the title since it seemed like it had a lot of colleges that I probably haven’t looked into. Thanks for the responses everyone!
Well, study up A LOT for the PSAT, cause missing the cut off by just one point means the difference between being a NMFs , ans thus being eligible for lots of Merit scholarships and not qualifying for anything.
All based on just ONE test.
Dont take chances.
Definitely look at the Claremont Colleges. If you’re female Scripps does offer merit aid. And CMC and Pomona guarantee to meet full need. With a minimum of loans, if any. Between the 5C’s you would find all the upper level courses you’d need.