<p>I've been reading the thread about merid aid and the schools that give full tuition rides.</p>
<p>Are these stats good enough for a full tuition ride somewhere? I realize that it is a subjective question but I just wanted other parents' opinions so I know what is a realistic expectation. I understand that we need to apply at numerous schools, apply early, etc. and go from there.</p>
<p>SAT 2200
GPA 4.3 weighted
Class Rank top 6%</p>
<p>Co-captain of girls varsity swim team team
NHS
Participated in 2 summer research programs (Vanderbilt & UT)
Independent study course in Jr year - participated in research at state university
(was listed as one of the names on the research as 'published' - I'm told this is significant for a high school student)</p>
<p>I'd appreciate any input from parents with knowledge about the merit aid process!</p>
<p>What are your CR & M only score? Most of the full tuition merit scholarship schools base the award off of GPA and SAT(CR&M) or ACT Composite score. For most schools its a 32 ACT or 1400 SAT.</p>
<p>Remember, these are for “automatic” merit scholarships. There are of course competative scholarships at most schools. But for many of those its like winning the lottery.</p>
<p>Even if you do not have a 1400, smaller scholarship amounts are typically available.</p>
<p>Yes. There are a number of schools that might give a full ride to such a student. Take a look at MomfromTexas’s full ride scholarship threads, and using her methodology, see what pops up in your searches. With those stats, some schools may show up that have some name recognition. </p>
<p>The more selective and recognized, a college is, usually, the more difficult to get sizeable awards. Yes, it is possible to get a full merit package to Duke University. They do have a full merit scholarship, as do a number of big name schools, but getting one of those is like winning a lottery ticket, and those who get them usually then have to choose between the full ride and going to the most selective schools like HPY. I have seen numerous kids accepted to HPY that did not get substantial merit money from “name” schools. I say “name” in that they are schools that most college prep high schoolers looking at colleges will recognize the name as well many folks during “cocktail hour” talk. So I use it loosely and regionally. </p>
<p>Basically, if you look at a school that gives merit awards, you can see approximately what percentage even gets merit. Halve that number, and that is the level your student needs to be academically in order to have a reasonable chance of getting an award at all since about half of the awards often go for attributes other than academic stats. Look at how many full tuition awards are even available. Some schools may only have one or two. I believe BC has about 20 half tuition awards, for example–I don’t know about full tuition for that university. But that gives you some idea where your student stands in the running for such awards. To be certain, you need to look at the section where some guaranteed awards are given for certain gpa/testscore threshholds, since most schools with limited number of merit money will not guarantee anyone with any given stats any money. It all depends on who is in the pool and what the school wants that year.</p>
<p>There is a thread someplace on this forum about merit scholarships. Worth reading (perhaps someone else can link it).</p>
<p>I don’t know the cutoff for SAT scores at U of Alabama but Mom2collegekids does…and she will likely respond. They offer very generous guaranteed merit aid to students who meet certain requirements.</p>
<p>Will this student be a National Merit Finalist? If so, that also opens up doors for scholarships at some schools.</p>
<p>You might want to do a search here for a thread by Momfromtexas. It is quite old and some of the awards in that thread no longer exist…but her STRATEGY for finding generous merit awards for her kids is timeless.</p>
<p>2200 SAT implies a minimum of 1400 SAT CR+M.</p>
<p>Stat-based merit scholarships:</p>
<p>Alabama - Tuscaloosa gives out of state tuition at 1400 SAT CR+M (1330 for engineering majors) and 3.5 GPA.
Alabama - Huntsville gives tuition at 1360 SAT CR+M and 3.0 GPA; full ride at 1490 SAT CR+M and 3.0 GPA.
Alabama - Birmingham gives $15,000 per year at 1260 SAT CR+M and 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>Reach level full tuition/ride scholarships:</p>
<p>Duke (Robertson)
UNC (Robertson, Morehead)
NCSU (Park)
Georgia Tech (President’s)
Berkeley (Drake for mechanical engineering majors only)
maybe something at your in-state public schools</p>
<p>Look at USC (SC not Cal) Honors college. McNair is full scholarship for OOS students and all admits to Honors get some scholarship, however neuroscience is a minor only. If like small, try Washington and Lee…40 full ride Johnson scholarships a year.</p>
<p>Based upon her 1470, your DD qualifies for a full tuition scholarship to Alabama. Look into their Honors College which has several different opportunities. If she wants to be an engineer, even more funds are available. </p>
<p>Bama recently came on our radar. We have made two visits and its my DD’s number one - and its not because of the money. (We saved enough so she can go to any college full pay.) The campus is beautiful, the people are friendly and the honors college staff truly recruits prospective students and treats them like gold. She wants a big school with the “full college experience” including sports and Greek life. You should definitely check it out. </p>
<p>You should also check out South Carolina and Clemson - they both have very good scholarship programs and honors colleges. Miami (Ohio) just modified their merit scholarship program if you are looking for a more mid-sized Northern school.</p>
<p>I’d also take a look at UA-Birmingham as they have fantastic science & pre-medical programs. Parent56 has a son there who has been exceptionally successful. It’s a smaller, urban campus compared to UA-Tuscaloosa. I’ll ask her to post here.</p>
<p>Note that UA does not have neuroscience as a major as of this year. It’s one of the reasons middle son chose elsewhere.</p>
<p>You probably won’t get a free ride, but the University of Rochester was good to us with merit aid. They also offer Neuroscience, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Psychology (all three “brain” sciences) with ample opportunities for research in them.</p>
<p>Case Western offers Cognitive Sciences. U Kentucky does too (if I’m recalling correctly) and has some competitive full tuition or free ride opportunities.</p>
<p>If you want a smaller college, consider Lafayette.</p>
<p>I would be very careful about crossing schools off a list because they don’t have a neuroscience major. At most schools, an undergraduate neuroscience major includes all the major science courses, maybe pharmacology, plus a few more specialized classes. And those can be usually be found in other departments, or (with special permission) at the graduate level at schools without a specific neuroscience BS. In this case, when looking for merit $$, I think an overall fit should be more of a consideration than a specific major, especially since OP’s kiddo isn’t yet sure of what that major will be.</p>
<p>Coming back on to mention Pittsburgh. I’m not quite sure how I forgot them before as they were probably my guy’s second choice… they do offer some nice scholarships for high stats including some that are full ride. They also have a well-respected neuroscience major and research options…</p>
<p>Regarding schools… yes, my guy applied to places without neuroscience majors as he was also looking for merit aid. But once all offers were in (more or less equal for us) and he sat in on a neuroscience class he was hooked. If your student isn’t positive about the major and the financial offers from places differ, there are other paths. It’s worth it to have a financial safety (like UA or similar), but try other places to compare. Then pick.</p>
<p>UAB will give her 15K per year against total cost of attendance (tuition,dorm and food) of 20-25K for an oos student…leaving 5-10 K per year (athough you could get the cost of food etc down, you may make up that difference with the number of credits required for the neuroscience program…higher than 120)</p>
<p>very good neuroscience program…psych based, has an honors track…but also she would be a great candidate for the sci/tech honors program…wonderful cohesive group geared to research. </p>
<p>uab is an urban campus, 11k undergrads, not party, not football , about 6% greek. Home of a top 30 med school. UAB is a tier 1 research university.</p>
<p>*I would be very careful about crossing schools off a list because they don’t have a neuroscience major. </p>
<p>At most schools, an undergraduate neuroscience major includes all the major science courses, maybe pharmacology, plus a few more specialized classes.** And those can be usually be found in other departments, or (with special permission) at the graduate level at schools without a specific neuroscience BS.* **</p>
<p>I agree. There are certain majors, and neuroscience is one of them (biomedE is another), that an undergrad degree in that discipline isn’t necessary. </p>
<p>As mentioned in bold, most schools offer those classes without being a particular major. Neuroscience courses can be found in bio, chem, and psych classes at many schools.</p>
<p>And, those disciplines are really explored at the graduate level anyway. </p>
<p>Furthermore, since many kids change their majors, eliminating a bunch of schools because of a lack of neuroscience (or biomedE) can impose a limitation that becomes irrelevant. I don’t know what the OP’s situation is, but it is especially odd when a pre-med student eliminates schools that don’t have neuroscience (or biomedE) since med schools aren’t going to care what you got your degree in and they aren’t going to mind that you took those courses in another discipline without being “the major.”</p>
<p>Neuroscience is often in interdisciplinary combination of more traditional “base” subjects like psychology, biology, philosophy, computer science (artificial intelligence), etc… For schools without a specific neuroscience major, the student may want to see if s/he can construct a similar program of study by majoring in one of the other subjects (or a “design your own” or interdisciplinary major, if offered) and taking electives with a neuroscience emphasis. Of course, the student should also check that sufficient course offerings to build such a program of study are available.</p>
<p>agree bob… it HAS football, but sure isnt known for the teams success…as compared to ua or auburn. dont have a stadium…which is a bone of contention for blazer suppporters</p>
<p>The “pre-meds doing biomedical engineering” is probably due to the perception that “engineering = good job at graduation in case medical school does not work out” (though biomedical engineering tends to be relatively poor compared to most other engineering majors in that respect, though usually better than plain biology or chemistry) and the fact that it is the most “convenient” engineering major to include pre-med course work in.</p>