@WorryHurry411
FYI
14 response- did you mean UT & A & M?
UTD has a much smaller campus & student enrollment- 20kish vs. almost 50k at those two.
The best merit aid for NMF in Texas is UTD probably followed by UNT and then A&M. UTD pays full tuition plus fees and will pay $5500/semester if living on campus. They will also pay $4000/semester if you move off campus. They also will pay up to $6000 for travel abroad. Basically a full ride. My DD is going there next year on NMF scholarship. It is no longer a commuter campus. They have housing for close to 5000 students on campus, that is out of 15,000 undergrad students. They are building a drag across the street from their dorms with apartments which will house another 600 students intermixed with stores and restaurants. And they have plans to build another residential apartment building for 600 more students the next year. It is a great school for STEM, business, art and technology, and premed. If your son is more humanities based there are better choices.
I do not know of any private schools giving merit for NMF in Texas except possibly Baylor. SMU does give merit but not based on NMF.
Let me add, Texas Tech is also now offering a full ride for NMF. They say they will cover all expenses.
What’s your budget?
I think he should give Southwestern a look. A top-stats student would be eligible for their top scholarships, which I think start at $32k/year but go higher. You have to apply by Dec. 1 to be eligible.
http://www.southwestern.edu/aid/types/scholarships/merit.php
It’s a small campus in a lovely college town but a half-hour from downtown Austin. It’s really big on study abroad and has an interesting interdisciplinary program called Paideia.
I have a friend who has sent several kids through college, and she wouldn’t believe me that the privates really can be cheaper than publics. Finally, this year she had her son apply to privates in addition to publics. They fell in love with Southwestern. Unfortunately, he didn’t apply by Dec. 1 so was locked out of the biggest money. The best offer came from Rice, and that’s where he’s going.
Agree with GTAustin that UTD gives great money. It still has a commuter-campus tinge, but they’re working to change that.
@GTAustin He went to UTD on a school trip and absolutely disliked the culture. I’ve heard that scheduling classes is a PITA because its overcrowded. Also heard about weed out classes.
If money is not a concern
-UT and A&M have the best academic reputations in the state among public schools, solid alumni support, strong hiring, etc. Texas Tech is right up there in the pack too.
-I attended A&M “back in the day” and even though I lean to the quiet and introverted side I found a good handful of friends and truly always saw someone I knew walking around campus.
-I toured UT with my D this past year and ugh…it seemed mixed right in with downtown Austin. Admittedly, I have an attitude towards Austin in general, can’t stand the drive down I-35 and really don’t like Austin anyway. So.Hot. UGH.
If money is a concern and merit aid is being pursued:
-any of the UT directional/regional schools such as UTA, UTD, UTH, UT Tyler (which has a GREAT nursing school)
-academics will be good; merit aid will be great, alumni network eh…just not as big of a deal.
-a lot of them are commuter schools but they really seem to be trying to overcome that
-strong international presence at most of these schools (although admittedly I know nothing about UTSA)
UNT- very high acceptance rates; has a rep of being kind of hipster, liberal artsish
Texas Womans University
-doesn’t get talked a lot on here but they truly have FANTASTIC health sciences for OT/PT/RN/NP, etc.
Stephen F. Austin
-used to be a great smaller school but I totally admit I have not kept up with the academics in recent times. Maybe someone else can chip in??
-beautiful campus
-small town in East Texas (so yeah this could be a problem for some people.
Tarleton
-can be a good fit for the right kid
-kind of considered a “cowboy” school
I don’t know enough about Sam Houston to even comment.
Does that help?
@Youdon’tsay Budget is flexible. I want to save as much as the next guy but I want best quality rather than cheapest product.
Southwestern sounds good, have heard good things about them.
How does all of these Texax schools rank? If someone has a list or a link then please share.
@WorryHurry411 …is OU completely off the list?
@carachel2 Good info. Thank you.
UT is ranked 46th in the world. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2015/reputation-ranking#!/page/1/length/25/sort_by/rank_label/sort_order/asc/cols/rank_only
The thing is, for a high-stats kid, there really are a lot of options if you’re willing to forgo prestige. If you’d look at Angelo State, there’s a full-ride scholarship called the Carr Distinguished Scholarship. You don’t have to be a NMSF to win it. Again, a “lesser” public, but I truly think it’s what the kid puts into it that matters rather than the “name.”
I totally agree with you but let’s be honest, an elite college can give you a bigger boost and opportunities with same sort of effort level. I don’t want to dismiss those schools without even considering them.
Of course.
I had a funny conversation with a long-time friend not long ago. We had kids born a week apart so they were going through their college searches at the same time (both have since graduated). She told me that she always thought that I was chasing prestige. The reality was I was chasing money. We needed a school that met 100% of need, and those schools are more prestigious, have the big endowments, etc. Both of my kids ended up at great schools with great FA, just like we had hoped. 
There is nothing wrong with chasing prestige, specially if you can get aid. To be fair prestige in college is a synonym for high ranking, high financial aid, better opportunities, better connections and overall a better experience. Well, unless something goes wrong and you don’t fit in but that happens at crappy colleges as well.
A better experience is prestige?
Sorry…but my two kids would argue that their colleges gave them wonderful experiences…and they were not schools folks consider prestige schools.
If all you are considering is rankings, then why bother asking your OP question? In Texas, go to Rice.
I don’t get the sense that OP is only looking for prestige; I think OP is looking for ideas about other schools and then weighing where’s the sweet-spot balance of name/reputation and money. But I could be wrong …
That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Telling my postulates and asking others to give their opinions. I don’t want to dismiss good options because of my preconceived notions. No solution is 100% perfect so better to find one that’s best for our specific problem.
Also…don’t forget about Austin College.