<p>I've narrowed down the list of colleges that I'm interested in thanks to the lovely member of this site. Much thanks. Now, I want to know if there are any good schools that I've left off my list that offer competitive merit scholarships or would be cheap even without merit aid.</p>
<p>My list:
Reach:
Rice University
Duke University
University of Southern California</p>
<p>Match:
University of Maryland-College Park
North Carolina State University
Lehigh University</p>
<p>Safety:
University of Texas-Austin</p>
<p>My stats:
My SAT is a 2040, 640 CR, 770 M, and 630 W, my SAT IIs, 790 Math 2, 660 Physics. My ACT score is 31.</p>
<p>I have your typical hardworking student extracurriculars, band, MUN, etc. I'm a white male and live in Texas. My class rank is 12/972 and weighted GPA 4.34, not sure how to calculate unweighted.</p>
<p>Reach: Johns Hopkins, CMU, Boston College
Matches: Emory, NYU.
By the way, are you <em>that</em> desperate to leave Texas? UT is a premier university and significantly cheaper than your “matches.” It is likely a better option for you than the ones you listed.</p>
<p>Yes I’m automatically admitted to UT. The only school my parents agreed that they would maybe chip in more than the amount of UT tuition+room and board would be Rice.</p>
<p>You can only borrow 5500 the first year, 27000 for four years. With that loan and a little savings, you can afford NCST. If you’re full pay because your parents make too much money, then the other schools are out of reach. No one is going to give you that much merit.</p>
<p>I want to study either civil, chemical, or environmental engineering.</p>
<p>Also I have the equivalent of $6000 per year that I was given in my grandmother’s will that’s supposed to be used towards college. So that would give me 27000+6000+5500, which is $38500. That gets me close for most of the schools.</p>
<p>Have you considered retaking your physics SAT II subject test? Your score well below 700 will not help your cause in some of the more competitive engineering programs.</p>
<p>I’m most likely only going to submit my Math II subject test score or not submit them at all. Also I plan on retaking the ACT in September because just 1 more point majorly increases my scholarship chances, especially at USC.</p>
<p>–Also I have the equivalent of $6000 per year that I was given in my grandmother’s will that’s supposed to be used towards college. So that would give me 27000+6000+5500, which is $38500. That gets me close for most of the schools.–</p>
<p>Then you’ve run the net price calculators and know the grant aid your family is supposed to get from every school.</p>
<p>In that case, I reiterate my suggestion of Pitt, whose COA is approx. that of UMD and where the merit is a little better. And UAlabama offers that full tuition scholarship for 1400/3.5 uwtd. They have some great new STEM facilities there, and your residual costs would be about 14K, well within yours and your parents’ budget.</p>
<p>@arabesque1
So, your parents agreed to pay tuition + room and board at UT Austin? I don’t mean to push you into that direction because it may not be your fit, but remember that UT’s CivilE, ChemE and EnvironmentalE programs are genuinely among the best in the nation. It’s likely a better school than most of the ones you’re considering. </p>
<p>@jkeil911 Yes I’ve run the net price calculators and all, but Duke and USC are around or under $40000. My question about Pitt is it says on their website you need a 1450 or 33 to get merit aid and I’m at 1410 and 31, so will I still be able to get aid? Also, I wouldn’t go to Alabama over UT even with almost no cost.</p>
<p>@Fredjan Yes, and I am strongly considering UT, but I’d love to leave the state of Texas, so if I can get a scholarship at any of the other schools that put them within my budget I’d probably go there.</p>
<p>Also does anyone know if financial aid takes assets into account? My dad, who is our main income provider won’t have a job after September, so would that make me eligible for aid? And if he finds another job, what happens if the FAFSA has already been submitted? Will I need to change it or will my aid be determined if he doesn’t have a job for my freshman year of college?</p>
<p>@arabesque1
Fair enough. If you increase your ACT or SAT, definitely consider UIUC as well. You might get a $12k/year merit scholarship to make the school more affordable - however, this may require holding onto your acceptance until April, when the last scholarships are allocated.
Also apply to UMinnesota-Twin Cities. Even as OOS the price isn’t that far above UT’s in-state price (less than $5k difference). Plus, the school’s ChemE program is great.</p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t think any school on your list with the exception of Rice and maybe Duke are worth paying the extra tuition for or even attending ahead of UT-Austin.</p>
<p>In the past, 1450 seemed like an ideal cutoff that wasn’t always adhered to. This year 1450 firmed up as a cutoff, making it even tougher to get merit. So you have reason to be concerned. However, Pitt also claims to value rank, and I think that in addition to race and class rank is going to be one of the most important exceptions to a hard 1450. I’m only talking about $5000 but that amount would put you at 37K, below your stated top end of $38.5K. Besides, if you like Pitt, raising your SAT 40 points is a possibility. </p>
<p>@Fredjan I’ve looked into both Purdue and UIUC, but I’m not sure, especially at UIUC that I’d be able to get enough scholarship to reach a feasible tuition price. I’ve looked into UMinnesota, but my main question is how are graduates of UMinnesota viewed in comparison to graduates of UT or other schools that are better known because the price is great and there are a couple of scholarships I could maybe snag?</p>
<p>Also how are Vanderbilt, Case Western, and Purdue viewed/scholarship availability?</p>