Challenging, engaged colleges with merit aid?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I’m a senior on the hunt for merit aid, hoping to bring the COA for my parents down to $25k/yr or less. We won’t qualify for need-based aid according to several net price calculators. A quick summary of my stats:</p>

<p>4.00 uw/4.15 GPA, 2390 SAT (1600 without writing)
Three APs and four AP exams taken so far (chemistry, literature, language, and macroeconomics) with 5s on each
Good but not Ivy-caliber ECs (mostly debate and volunteer work)</p>

<p>My preferences in a school:
Intellectually curious and engaged students
Challenging academics
Small school with small classes (I’ve been focusing on LACs)
An honors program is a plus.
I’d like to avoid colleges that are strongly liberal or politically correct.<br>
Not many geographic constraints, but I would prefer to stay out of the South (NC is probably as far south as I’m willing to go.)</p>

<p>So far I’m interested in Claremont McKenna and Davidson as reaches and am looking at schools like Ohio Wesleyan, Hope, and Hillsdale for matches/safeties. I’m also looking into Hiram, Hanover, Wooster, and St. Olaf for merit $$ but as of yet don’t know much about them.</p>

<p>Any suggestions for schools I should add/remove from my list? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>What do you want to major in?</p>

3

<p>Any chance you will be NMF?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>BTW, most LACs are strongly liberal.</p>

4

<p>barrk-- undecided. Probably a liberal arts major, no specific or narrow interests.</p>

<p>Erin’s Dad-- I will almost certainly be a NMSF, though most of the automatic scholarships for NM are at larger schools. Thanks for the resources!</p>

5

<p>You sound like a great match for Washiington and Lee and might be competitive for their merit dollars.</p>

<p>[FAQs</a> :: Washington and Lee University](<a href=“Washington and Lee”>Washington and Lee)</p>

<p>Sewanee and Rhodes are other possibilities–not quite as selective as Davidson and Washington and Lee, but with good merit money and more conservative than the average LAC.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www2.sewanee.edu/academics/admissions_fees/scholarships_2010_11[/url]”>http://www2.sewanee.edu/academics/admissions_fees/scholarships_2010_11&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/finaid/1409.asp[/url]”>http://www.rhodes.edu/finaid/1409.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Add the University of Richmond to suggestions above.</p>

<p>Wheaton College (Illinois) may be the strongest, academically, of the Christian schools. The full sticker price is about $40K. It does have merit scholarships (but maybe not in large enough amounts to get you all the way down to your target cost.)</p>

7

<p>Rhodes College may be more South than you want, but please look at it.</p>

<p>Fordham and Santa Clara.</p>

8

<p>Take a look at SUNY-Geneseo and UMN-Morris.</p>

<p>While you shouldn’t apply anywhere you aren’t interested in attending, it is also true that your feelings may change over the next year. I would apply to your state flagship university (or OOS with merit aid) and visit, just to keep that option open.</p>

9

<p>warrior, look at Grinnell. Excellent academics, very good merit. Also Smith (assuming you are female). Again excellent academics, very good merit – may be more political than you’d like, but, really, most academically rigorous LACs lean left.</p>

10

<p>I think Davidson, Fordham, and Richmond are good fits. I would add Wake Forest, Centre, and Scripps (possibly better merit chances than C-McK, and just guessing you are female based on moniker).</p>

11

<p>Emmanuel in Boston is small and catholic, but they don’t force it. I have a friend who goes there-dorms are big, campus is modern and obviously urban, and class sizes are small.</p>

12

<p>Not sure Grinnell or Smith are a good match for someone looking to avoid “strongly liberal” schools. While it’s true that most rigorous LACs lean left, some lean further than others. I’d put Grinnell and Smith at one end of the spectrum, with Davidson and Washington & Lee at the other.</p>

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<p>You could qualify for merit aid at Fordham - Rose Hill and you have a chance to get into the highly selective honors program as well. It is a university (not a LAC) but the class sizes are small and the campus isn’t huge.</p>

14

<p>Vanderbilt gives a great undergraduate education and merit scholarships are definitely available there, though it is in the south. WashU is another great school that has scholarships which you can apply for, though I think you have to be nominated for a few of them.</p>

15

<p>Rice has a few (very) competitive merit scholarships</p>

16

<p>Thanks for all the replies!</p>

<p>mom2collegekids, Santa Clara is on my list and I have been researching Rhodes. Most of their larger merit awards (Morse and Cambridge) are quite competitive though-- is there a way of estimating how much merit I may receive?</p>

<p>Will definitely look into Fordham and Richmond. Any other ideas for merit matches?</p>

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<p>I know you said not in the South, but Baylor has generous merit money for National Merit and other strong stats.</p>

<p>ETA: Oops. Missed the “small” school requirement. But maybe within the Honors College???</p>

18

<p>OP, definitely look at that NMF list. 15K out of the 16K students names NMSF make it to finalist. The remaining 1K have some kind of issue (grade or behavior) or don’t finish the paperwork because they make it into a school that doesn’t care (like an Ivy).</p>

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<p>I think Denison offers automatic scholarships to NMFs.</p>

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<p>It’s pretty safe to say that most LAC’s lean left. It’s also safe to say that if the LAC is in a blue state it will really be leaning left. These are generalities but I feel pretty good about them. So, take a look at Trinity U. in TX. I agree with Richmond. Elon U. in NC is worth a look as is Furman in SC.</p>