Here is the Villanova cost of attendance right off their website. I think your $6000 for room and board is per semester…not year. Looks like the yearly cost is $12,278 per year for room and board.
And the following is the least expensive room and board cost at St. Joes.
^Merit aid is based on how “desirable” an applicant is to a school. “Desirability” varies depending on school and you never know what they will consider “desirable” any given year.
You increase your odds if a lower-ranked private school thinks 1° odds are good she’ll enroll if they offer some merit aid and 2° she compares favorably compared to most applicants (for example, if course rigor makes her eligible for honors college even if she’s borderline for some criteria).
…Which is why “expressing interest” is very important - fill out the “request info” form, visit if you can and while you visit sign in at the admissions center, etc. And if you apply to a college 400+ miles from home, your daughter automatically a “geographic diversity” boost which works both for admission and financial aid at most colleges!
Therefore, “applying widely for merit” is a good strategy: you never know what’ll strike a chord at a university!
Gannon, LaSales, Duquesne, John Carroll, UDayton, Xavier, Albertus Magnus, StMichael’s, Fairfield, Lemoyne, UScranton…
(even DePaul in Chicago,Marquette in WI, St Mary’s of CA, or LMU in LA… :p)
“When I look at other schools such as St. Joe’s in Philly - tuition is $42K with R&B about $5K etc so it’s exactly the same.”
Yeah, but that’s the sticker price, and if she’s looking at less selective schools, she may have a shot at merit. Zero shot at Villanova. Realistically, the schools a tier or two down from Villanova discount for almost everyone. It’s worth a shot.
@jyyanks…the merit game is a sophisticated one, so MYOS1634’s advice is good advice…cast a wide net, you will be surprised. In general, you have to go down a tier or so to get large merit grants because schools are always trying to improve the student body and their stats to help move up in the rankings. For example, a friend of my son was top 10 in class and was accepted to some high caliber schools, however with no hooks and in a place to not qualify for aid, but also not able to pay $60k year, accepted a full academic ride to Loyola Md. I can tell you if you are out of state for Duq and go into a less competitive major, your daughter has a good shot to get merit bringing the cost to 30 ish range or even less. . Duq’s sticker is $45k. But for other majors like their pharmD program she probably wouldn’t even get in. My son has friends at Duq who got into Villanova, Carnegie, BC, etc and still chose to go to Duq, some because of money and some because they just liked it better and some are from families where they dont need the big name on the degree, they will have doors open to them regardless. Another thing to keep in mind is that IMO ( and stress opinion, not fact) privates like Duq ,Scranton, St Joes etc tend to attract solid kids and I think you might find a bit of a nicer SB than your average state school, not to mention smaller classes. So it pays to find and apply to a few schools where she is in the upper 25 percent of students and see what happens. This way if she gets into Nova and your willing to pay, great! Moot point then to all of this. If not, you have some solid options that are close to the cost of a public. And even if your initial merit is lower than you need it to be at any school she applies to, don’t be afraid to ask for further consideration, especially if you let the school know your coming if they can meet your needs. Everything in life is negotiable. I even negotiate with my dentist! 
Back to my earlier post, my son wanted BU but we did not let him apply because we did not feel it was worth $60k/yr, so we avoided getting hopes up and then breaking his heart. He was good enough to possibly get in, but not good enough to get merit to make it worth it for US. So if a school you want is not a shoe-in to get in, you are likely not getting much if any merit, especially the better schools. Make sense?
I recommend casting a wide net, too. My older daughter, who started college in 2009, had a high school GPA of about 3.4 and an ACT of 34. She had some ECs but nothing spectacular. She was offered merit aid by several of the schools she applied to (typically, $10,000 to $12,000 per year). Among the schools she applied to were Drew, Earlham, Bennington, North Central (in suburban Chicago), and Marquette.
@thumper1 Ugh - Yes you’re right - I thought the $6K was for the year. Either way, all these schools have exorbitant costs. Yikes!
@MYOS1634 @Hanna @kollegeguy @rosered55 AHA!! That’s what I was missing!!! I automatically assumed that I’d have to pay the same for ALL colleges and didn’t take merit into consideration as D’s grades are just so-so. I didn’t realize that “merit” could mean something other than a GPA of 4.5 and a test score of 2300 (example only). I didn’t realize other “desirables” such as interest, geographic location, diversity etc etc. That makes things very interesting indeed. Seriously, in a million years I just assumed it’s $60k or state. Period. Honestly, if she can get into a nice, smaller, private college for almost the same or slightly higher than state, it’s worth it. We’d send her there in a heartbeat. $30-$40K is way better than $60K plus and she would be in a smaller, intimate setting with good kids which is what we want for her. Based on this thread alone, we’ve gotten so many remarkable recommendations which we’ve added to the list. If we can get merit for her non-reach schools - that would be absolutely ideal and would be a win win. Thank you for opening my eyes to all of this.
Ok now my next question is - does she have to apply separately or will the schools automatically just offer merit based on her regular application (assuming of course that they find her desirable)?
Just as an example, I put the little information you gave (3.2/2000) into my daughter’s school NPC and it came up with $15000 as merit aid. That’s the lowest of the three levels of automatic merit aid, so if her scores went up or her grades went up, or if she has a high class rank (I just put ‘i don’t know’ in), it could be more.
You have to look around
Each school is different. Typically, you have to apply before December 1st for the best pick of merit scholarships, but after that, there’ll be schools that automatically consider every application, others that require a separate application that appears in CommonApp (if you answer “yes” when they ask about scholarships), others that’ll only let you apply once you’ve been admitted, etc.
Check out each website. If you find that the information isn’t clear, email Admissions, indicate you’re (not “your daughter”, it has to come from her college-app email address) interested in their college, and ask them about the process for merit scholarships and honors program (don’t just ask about the scholarships :p). The best part is that this communication counts as “interest”, so bonus for you, and if you keep the person’s name some applications even let you refer back to the communication by citing the person’s name (double bonus). 
@jyyanks, glad you now have some knowledge to help you find the right fit if Nova doesn’t pan out ( and BTW, she has a decent shot). Merit aid is automatically considered/given when you send in standard application, you don’t need to send in anything else, although some schools you can apply for additional scholarships as well. The best part about merit is it has nothing to do with need. In other words, it is a discounting structure used to get people who can full pay but where the price/value equation is considered based one ones own value perception. Taking Duquesne again as an example, USWNR ranks it 115 for national tier 1 universities, but when it ranks the tier 1,s (Harvard, MIT, etc) for Value, it ranks 43rd. Schools like Michigan, BU, Georgia Tech and Tulane, all top 50 schools don’t make that list. So it is saying, yes they are better schools by the ways they measure these schools, but maybe not necessarily worth 2x as much for some people. Again, everyone is different wrt to their own circumstances and what is worth what to them. Rankings are rankings, and useful only for general comparisons, but you get the idea. There are some good threads you can find if you search on cc where people list schools that can be generous w merit. In general, many of the Catholic privates fall into this category especially, though certainly not exclusively.
Note about merit aid - Most schools have a GPA requirement for keeping the scholarship (occasionally 3.5 or higher). Make sure to include this as one of your research items.
Oftentimes all it takes to be considered for merit is getting the application in by the early action deadline (usually between Nov 1-15), but make sure to check with each school’s web site. Some merit scholarships, such as Villanova’s Presidential scholarship, require the student be nominated by a third party. Some schools have merit scholarships that do require a separate application. In addition, many schools have Honors or Fellows programs that come with merit money. Sometimes the student is invited to apply for the program based on the strength of their application to the school, others require a separate application, for example Loyola MD. Some schools have on-campus events where prospective merit award recipients are invited for interviews and either testing or essay competitions.
@inigo thank you for further clarification, what I meant to say was that MOST of the time you don’t need to do anything other than apply, but one should always check with the school you are applying to for the specifics.
@jyyanks - related to fencing, besides the very top tier fencers in the country, you have to drive the recruiting effort. Given her situation, it is likely more of plus factor for her, and only at the less competitive fencing schools Recruiting and official coaches lists have already been into the admissions office. If there is a school she is interested in that has fencing, after meeting with the coach, ask if he/she would send a note to admissions saying they support your application. That may or may not be something they would do at this point. But definitely do state on her applications that she has met with the coach and wants to fence for the school. There are a couple good threads on CC that give more insight to the process.
I’m sorry @jyyanks, I haven’t been on in a couple of weeks. How did your D like Loyola? My D is a Biology major there, with aspirations of veterinary school, which is one reason the scholarship and elimination of the need for loans was so appealing. She finds the curriculum challenging but loves how approachable and available the faculty is. She is impressed with the Biology department. Just be aware that the Jesuit schools have the “core” requirement similar to other liberal arts schools requirements to give that well rounded education. Foreign language, English, History, but that really appealed to my D when she was looking. She is loving her experience and she and her friends have found so much to do in Baltimore and the surrounding area. The Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Hampden, all have some nice shops and restaurants, and she had an annual pass to the Aquarium. The school often gets cheap tickets for the students to attend Orioles games too. And both freshman year and this year she lives in an apartment style suite with a living area, eating area, and full kitchen. I think the dorms may have been the final nudge to put Loyola over Villanova, lol! She really did have a difficult time making her final decision but she definitely feels she made the right one for her!
@jyyanks Just to clarify further, merit aid has nothing to do with the student’s ABSOLUTE stats. It has everything to do with the student’s stats RELATIVE to the average stats of students who attend that school. If your daughter’s stats will contribute to raising the average for that school, she is a desirable candidate and might be wooed with money.
I just wanted to address the issue of EA. I think it’s nearly always worth it. The Tufts admissions officer says that at least for them if they like everything about an application, but have questions about the grades, they’ll defer the student to the regular rounds. If the grades improve or stay steady at the first quarter senior year level - a student may well have a very good chance even if their earlier grades were iffy. Good luck to your kid. Luckily there are lots of fine schools out there even if Villanova doesn’t pan out.
@jyyanks, don’t know if you were following the Pope’s activities this past weekend in Philadelphia, but he made an unscheduled visit to St. Joe’s yesterday morning. I’m sure the fact that he’s a Jesuit had a lot to do with it, but it’s also worth noting that St. Joe’s is just down the road from St. Charles Borromeo, the seminary where Pope Francis was staying while in town.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pope/20150928_Francis_makes_unexpected_visit_to_St__Joe_s.html
I predict St. Joe’s gets a nice boost in applications from all the publicity. “St. Joe’s” was trending on Facebook yesterday. Take that, Villanova! 