<p>Ok I am going into my senior year of high school and am getting intense with my college search. I am the oldest child in my family and have no cousins in the US. Also, my parents both went to college in China. Therefore, my family and I are both very new to the American college experience. My family is not rich but I'm not sure that I will be able to qualify for many need based scholarships because my parents are like right above the financial aid line for many colleges.<br>
Here is my resume:
97.7 GPA (i'm not sure what that is on the 4 or 5 scale because my school does not supply us with that)
top 5% in the class
2300 SAT (800 math, 730 reading, 770 writing)
sophomore class secretary
junior class treasurer
SGA (student government association) vice president
member of national, math, foreign language, and most likely business and science honor societies
2 years of playing high school football
3 (will be 4 this year) of playing high school tennis
3 years of coaching youth football
1 year of coaching youth basketball
I'm sure national honor society and student government will supply me with many other community service opportunities next year.<br>
I know my race will not do me any favors with colleges but I would like to know my chances of getting into and getting merit scholarships from my top colleges and what other colleges I should look into:
UPenn (I know there's no merit scholarships at Ivies), Washington University at Saint Louis, UNC Chapel Hill, Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna University, Tufts
Thank you for all of your help.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that I will be able to qualify for many need based scholarships because my parents are like right above the financial aid line for many colleges.
Here is my resume:
97.7 GPA (i’m not sure what that is on the 4 or 5 scale because my school does not supply us with that)
top 5% in the class
2300 SAT (800 math, 730 reading, 770 writing)</p>
<p>You can apply to some of those schools that give mostly need-based aid “just to see” if you get any merit, but be aware that some schools like WashU tend to give their merit to URMs and students from states that they don’t get many applicants…or other special hooks.</p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they WILL pay. It’s not unusual for someone with a high FAFSA EFC to get no free money at all…because CSS schools consider other assets…and “need” is met with a student loan and work-study. Many of these schools also require a “student contribution” of a couple thousand dollars from a summer job.</p>
<p>Since you do have high stats, you need to target financial safety schools based on merit offerings. </p>
<p>Apply to a mix of schools that offer merit…apply to a few that have competitive merit…and apply to a few that offer large ASSURED merit.</p>
<p>However, you need to find out how much your family will pay. If they will pay $25k per year, then obviously a $10k per year scholarship won’t be enough for a school that costs $55k+.</p>
<p>If you’re hoping for private scholarships to help you pay for top schools, that may happen, but not likely. Private scholarships are very hard to get, and often for freshman year only. They aren’t usually for large amounts and for all 4 years. Many also look at need, so they award to those who have lower incomes.</p>
<p>to find some schools that will give you ASSURED large scholarships for stats…</p>
<p>ASSURED SCHOLARSHIPS…$$$ CC Important links to Merit Scholarships given for stats…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a> </p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>Are you a US Citizen or have a green card?</p>
<p>What was your PSAT? Are you a likely NMF?</p>
<p>I plan to study business in college, possibly double majoring in finance and economics. Also, I am a US citizen. My PSAT scores were not as impressive as my SAT scores, I only scored a 205 (80 M, 61 R, 64 W).</p>
<p>Do you know how much your parents will pay? If not, ask them.</p>
<p>You have a lot of reaches and possibly unaffordable schools on your list. What are your financial safety schools? (These are schools that you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered.)</p>
<p>I feel for a school like WashU or a school of its calibur, my parents would be willing to pay roughly half. I also will definitely be put into work study programs at whatever university I attend. A couple of my safeties are TCNJ and Bentley.</p>
<p>*I feel for a school like WashU or a school of its calibur, my parents would be willing to pay roughly half. I also will definitely be put into work study programs at whatever university I attend. A couple of my safeties are TCNJ and Bentley. *</p>
<p>Well, if you don’t think you’d qualify for need-based financial aid, then how could you go to WashU or similar if your parents will only pay half? (about $30k)</p>
<p>You won’t get work-study…that is a need-based program. You probably can only contribute a couple of thousand towards your actual school costs. Anything more that you’ll earn will be needed for “day to day” pocket money expenses and weekend activities. College kids do spend a good bit of money on a weekly basis…dating, ordering pizza, going to off-campus hangouts, movies, etc.</p>
<p>You are not likely going to get a merit scholarship from WashU because you’re not a URM and you’re not from a state where they don’t get many applicants. WashU targets their merit to enhance their regional diversity and URMs.</p>
<p>Would your parents pay for Bentley? If not, how is that a safety?</p>
<p>You need a clear picture of what your parents will pay for and what they won’t. If they’ll only pay half of a top school, how much will they pay for a match or safety? </p>
<p>If you and they expect you to go to a “top school” and you won’t qualify for need-based aid, then they need to agree to paying full freight. If they won’t agree to that, then you need to ask how much they’ll pay for a mid-tier-like school. Then, apply to some of those schools that are good in business that give large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>What about Indiana University - Kelley…with merit the school would cost about $26k per year for an OOS student.</p>
<p>blasian, when reading the advice you’ve been given, filter it through the understanding that anonymous posters on the Internet do not KNOW whether you will or will not qualify for financial aid at a given institution - except perhaps in pathological cases, which yours is not. </p>
<p>You say, for example, that “I’m not sure that I will be able to qualify for many need based scholarships because my parents are like right above the financial aid line for many colleges.” That may or may not be accurate self-assessment of your chances for FA, because many different things factor into FA decisions (both need and merit based), and each school’s policy is different. It’s fine to ask for advice - just don’t give the advice you get the weight of holy writ.</p>
<p>Honestly, any school I go to, my parents will be mostly unwilling to pay full way. However, I feel I will be able to earn merit scholarships from at least some schools. They most likely will not be full ride scholarships, which is something I understand. I know some students who are not URMs who have recieved merit based scholarships and I feel my numbers along with my leadership roles and service will earn me some scholarships somewhere. If I get no money from a school like WashU, I know it is unrealistic for me to go there. However, I don’t believe that my parents will have to pay full way at every school I apply to.<br>
Also, I know financial aid is not always restricted to a specific economic line. It’s something that I will definitely be looking and hoping for, but I try to be realistic when it comes to need base and non-need base financial aid.</p>
<p>The general advice for getting merit based scholarship money is to apply at schools where your test scores are well above the 75% mark and your GPA and/or class rank is well above the same point (the latter is usually harder to pinpoint). With your stats, it it likely there will be hundreds of very good colleges that will offer you very generous packages, up to and including full rides. I’d identify some that look interesting, check them out for fit and programs, and look at their scholarship programs - a lot of colleges post criteria for automatic merit scholarships online. You probably need to lower your sights from the super-selective schools like WashU, but that should not be a worry - you can get a just as good an education and just as good a preparation for a career from much less selective schools, and at a far lower cost.</p>
<p>The way I tell people to get some schools where the merit money exists is to look at the list of schools that do give merit scholarships. USNews &WR big book has a section with that list, and the common data probably has it as well. It will tell you what percent of the students get merit awards and what the average award is. Your test scores really need to be in the upper half of that percent in order to be likely to get an above average award. For example, if a school gives out merit money to 10% of their students and the average award is $10K, and the upper 25% range of SAT (usually stated in the CR +M) is 1400, you know that it is tough going to get a significant award at that school. If the school is charging upwards of $60K a year, even double the average award is not going to help you in terms of meeting costs. </p>
<p>The problem with merit awards is that with the high cost of private colleges, even high award amounts really leave a lot to pay. My one son got over $30K in scholarship at one school, but it was sobering to realize that it still left close to $30K to pay. Some awards that are half tuition scholarships still leave that amount of money to pay if you have to live at the school. Many of the colleges that have some full cost or full tuition awards and are selective schools give out a handful of those awards, and you have to be truly the cream of the crop and what the school most wants to get those scholarships. You have the stats to give it a go, but understand that it is truly a lottery ticket to be an Emory Scholar, Georgia Tech’s Presidential recipient, Duke’s full ride recipient, Vanderbilt’s generous scholarhship awardee. Yes, those awards are there, and yes, you should go for them, but understand the odds. Even getting into these schools is not a sure thing with top stats, much less getting one of the coveted awards.</p>
<p>Look at some of the guaranteed awards lists and apply to a variety of colleges. I think, yes, it is likely that you could get some nice merit money. The problem is getting enough of it to pay most of your expense if you are talking about the top priced schools.</p>
<p>I know I have to be realistic about these merit scholarships. I know I am no where near a lock to get them but I feel I am a viable candidate. Obviously, there are many top candidates trying to get the big Emory, WashU, or scholarship from any other top school but I’ll look through all my options at decision time. I’ll probably get full or close to full from a lower tier school and some decent scholarship from at least one of the top tier schools. At least I hope so.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure Tufts gives much in merit aid…if anything. </p>
<p>Are these the only colleges to which you will be applying? As noted above…your best bet is to look at schools where YOUR stats are at the very tippy top of the applicant pool. You have great stats and would get some very good merit awards at less competitive schools than the ones listed.</p>
<p>Are you a NJ resident? </p>
<p>You might qualify for a decent merit award at Bentley…apply and see. </p>
<p>Mom2…wouldn’t this student qualify for guaranteed merit aid at 'Bama?</p>
<p>You’re right, Thumper. Tufts does not give any merit aid.</p>
<p>Blasian, reread your posts in this thread, and count the number of times you’ve said “I feel,” as in, “I feel…my parents will be willing to pay…,” or “I feel I will be able to earn merit scholarships,” or “I feel I am a viable candidate…” It’s not enough to feel. You need to research and know. Otherwise, you’re just inviting heartbreak next spring.</p>
<p>And I second all the blunt, real-world advice that other parents in this thread have been offering. Sadly, for a huge number of high-achieving students, the choice is usually between being full-pay someplace fancy and prestigious and getting good merit aid someplace less flashy.</p>
<p>You are certainly in the running for merit money. As long as you understand that it is no certain thing, and that full rides or hefty awards are not easy to get even with your stats, you’ll be fine applying to whatever you think is worthwhile seeking. Just cover your bases with some apps to some schools that you know you can afford that will take you. Once you have those in place, you can take all the chances that you want and still know you have viable options.</p>
<p>*Honestly, any school I go to, my parents will be mostly unwilling to pay full way. However, I feel I will be able to earn merit scholarships from at least some schools. They most likely will not be full ride scholarships, which is something I understand. I know some students who are not URMs who have recieved merit based scholarships and I feel my numbers along with my leadership roles and service will earn me some scholarships somewhere. If I get no money from a school like WashU, I know it is unrealistic for me to go there. However, I don’t believe that my parents will have to pay full way at every school I apply to.
Also, I know financial aid is not always restricted to a specific economic line. It’s something that I will definitely be looking and hoping for, but I try to be realistic when it comes to need base and non-need base financial aid. *</p>
<p>Run some FA calculators with your parents (because they’ll have the accurate info) and figure out if you’d qualify for any need-based aid at schools that meet need.</p>
<p>Do BOTH of the federal and institutional methods.</p>
<p>If your family doesn’t have much in assets/savings/investments/equity (and isn’t self-employed!), then you could roughly guesstimate your family contribution to be about 25% with only you in college. This is a rough guess because some with incomes of - say - $150k (and normal assets) have reported family contributions of 33%. And, again, some who are self-employed get socked with high “family contributions” because of the way CSS Profile schools calculate the family finances (adding back in some business deductions, etc).</p>
<p>I took you at your word that you don’t think you’d qualify for need-based aid, but perhaps you’re mistaken. You did say that your parents would pay about half for a top school (which would mean paying about $30k per year), so that does suggest a strong income. :)</p>
<p>*I know some students who are not URMs who have recieved merit based scholarships *</p>
<p>We may be talking apples and oranges. Absolutely, some kids who aren’t URMs get merit scholarships from various schools. 
Yes. </p>
<p>I was talking about WashU which has historically shown a tendency to award its big merit to URMs and high stats students from regions that they don’t get many applicants or other hooks. That tendency (while not 100%) has been noted many times on CC. WashU uses its big merit to help its regional diversity and URM diversity. Others schools may just award their merit to high stats kids to help raise their middle quartiles. :)</p>
<p>I know financial aid is not always restricted to a specific economic line</p>
<p>There isn’t one income “cut off” because some families have more than one child in college or some other unique circumstance (such as a family member with very high medical needs that insurance doesn’t cover). However if a family has a high income and/or high assets and only one child going to college, one can’t expect a lot of need based aid except for maybe at one of the “super aid schools”…H, Y, P, S, and maybe a couple of others.</p>
<p>*Sadly, for a huge number of high-achieving students, the choice is usually between being full-pay someplace fancy and prestigious and getting good merit aid someplace less flashy. *</p>
<p>This is very true for high-stats kids whose parents have a high EFC that they can’t/won’t pay, or a high-earning NCP who won’t pay, or some other situation. </p>
<p>Honestly, any school I go to, my parents will be mostly unwilling to pay full way. However, I feel I will be able to earn merit scholarships from at least some schools.</p>
<p>Absolutely…so protect yourself and apply to 2-3 schools that you know FOR SURE will give you large merit scholarships. :)</p>
<p>you mention that they would be “unwilling”…that is different from being “unable”. Are you saying that they have the income/assets to pay full-freight, but they think you should get some merit money to reduce the cost? Do they understand that many top schools don’t give merit or give little? </p>
<p>The general advice for getting merit based scholarship money is to apply at schools where your test scores are well above the 75% mark and your GPA and/or class rank is well above the same point (the latter is usually harder to pinpoint).</p>
<p>For merit scholarships, you need to identify 2 groups of schools…</p>
<p>1) Schools that give **some **big scholarships for high stats…these are competitive scholarships and are often given by the higher ranked schools that do give merit scholarships. Some of these schools have “scholarship weekends” where you’re interviewed to downselect from their list of finalists. </p>
<p>2) Schools that give large merit scholarships to all students with high stats who apply by the stated deadline (often in the Fall.) These can be your safety schools. Their scholarship details can be found on their websites and in the above link about automatic scholarships. </p>
<p>Did I miss your answer about your PSAT? Are you a likely NMSF/F?</p>
<p>*Mom2…wouldn’t this student qualify for guaranteed merit aid at 'Bama? *</p>
<p>yes…he’d get at least free tuition. Alabama has a very good B-school. [The</a> Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration](<a href=“Home - The Culverhouse College of Business”>http://cba.ua.edu/)
With his stats, he’d likely be offered more than just free tuition. And, if he’s a NMF, then he’d get nearly a free ride.</p>
<p>Actually, I had a question about potential for merit based scholarship at another school, Washington and Lee University. I did some research and found out that they give a decent amount of merit based aid and I wanted to know my chances.</p>
<p>and possibly Bucknell?</p>