Colleges with similar vibe to Duke/Vandy with more merit $?

College Search & Selection
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I know :frowning: but oh well. It doesnā€™t really matter. Iā€™ll have a lot of safeties. Arkansas and LSU for sure, probably University of Arizona, and will decide which to apply to among UCF, Fordham, UNM, and one of the Oklahoma schools. All do big NMF scholarships. And Tulane is by no means a safety but they give a lot of scholarship money to LA students, so itā€™s worth a shot IMO.

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Make sure, from the school itself, you know what they will provide. Some schools have backed off.

You want to find one, like an Alabama, that will provide housing etc because your budget is 10-25k and that may not cover room & board.

I donā€™t see a UCF guarantee if Iā€™m reading right.

Tulsa is a private - so more similar to a Tulane or Vandy/Duke/Emory - just not at the same level of prestige. Itā€™s not an ā€˜Oklahomaā€™ school if you are referencing a public.

Best of luck.

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Yes, there are full ride scholarships to Tulane for Louisiana residents. Youā€™d still be in your home state, of course, but being on the Tulane campus is a whole different feel from LA in general.
https://admission.tulane.edu/tuition-aid/louisiana-residents

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Wanted to echo Furman as an option and also throw out Rhodes College in Memphis. Itā€™s very very small but my D23 loved her visit there and they gave her solid merit. Not full COA merit like her NMF schools but still generous.

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OP is only going to have between $10k-25k to spend.

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Yes. OP will 100% need to run NPCs at the non NMF schools but without knowing exact $ (thereā€™s a big difference between $10k and $25k!!) and whether ANY need based aid is on the table itā€™s hard to know exactly where it will land with some of these!

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Used to be very dominated by Greek orgs - something to check out depending on what you want.

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Duke is in no way in the mountains. UNC is hillier than Duke but also not in the mountains. The town is called Chapel Hill after all.

For schools actually in the mountains in NC look at UNC-Asheville, Western Carolina, Appalachian State ā€” you might get some scholarships there with your excellent GPA and scores but they are all OOS publics and donā€™t give a ton of money. They are a notch or two below UNC-Chapel Hill academically.

Generally to get merit money you have to be a top applicant which means that the other applicants wonā€™t have grades and scores quite as good as you do and may not be quite as academically inclined. It seems like you are looking for somewhere that will surround you with academic peers but also give you money. Thatā€™s an unlikely combo, IMO, unless you have some other hook.

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You mention warm with merit (10K-25K isnā€™t a big budget)ā€¦and somewhat smaller like Duke/Vandy. You wouldnā€™t get the mountains but if you got the right merit offer, Tulane seems worth considering especially given you are in state. You might also look at SMU as they have some big merit scholarships.

You can definitely get closer to budget with the list tsbna sent including some of the big publics known for merit though many of those might be bigger than you want (Bama, So Carolina, Arizona, etc). Then you can shoot for honors to make them feel a bit smaller.

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Came here to say this. Right beside a mountain and Greenville which is a great town, beautiful campus, generous with aid (look at Townes, Duke, and Bell Tower scholarships). OP mentioned music and they have a strong music program with scholarships as well, and majoring in music is not required to get them. I believe the application is free as well, but you should demonstrate interest to be considered for scholarships.

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Wanted to add that App State does not feel that big and has a good honors program. Might be worth a look. You might have a chance at money there if you want real mountains.

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I would focus on honors programs at bigger schools in order to get the cost down. Pitt, Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio State are a few that come to mind. You can try Lehigh, but I donā€™t think they give merit anymore. Years ago my D (same stats) got half tuition. What about Lafayette? Not sure if it is too small for you.

It is interesting to me that you saw Duke as being in the mountains. My daughter went to UNC and we toured both schools. I never noticed mountains, but now you have me thinking!

You might want to ask your school if they participate in Jefferson Scholars at UVA. Keep in mind that this is also a large public and the award is very, very competitive. Getting merit at Emory will be just as difficult. Rochester has merit, but it might not be enough to get the cost down to where you need it to be. You need close to full tuition. Also, the vibe at a school like Rochester is very different than a school like Duke.

I think your best bet with regard to cost is to look at the honors programs within public schools.

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I would say that Emory and wash U are academically on par with Duke and Vandy but a very different with respect to sports and social scene.

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I visited Rhodes and it was just a little too small. Thanks though!

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Thanks! And yeah Iā€™m from Louisiana so it felt like mountains to me. Even if it was just hills.

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Washington and Lee is on the smaller side, but offers full ride merit scholarships and is in the mountains with a very cute town right outside campus so lots of walkable restaurants, ice cream shops, etc . . .

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My daughter found the vibe to be very different at Vanderbilt versus Duke. I realize everybody is different, and if you saw strong similarities between these two schools that is all that matters. It seems you felt something that she did not, which is great and is really the purpose of these visits! Are you interested in joining Greek life?

What is it about the vibe at these schools that you like? That might help us narrow down other schools.

Have you looked at Pitt? I donā€™t know if you will like the vibe, but it was one of my personal favorites so I tend to recommend it often lol. The students in the honors college are very, very accomplished.

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WCU is interesting - itā€™s $5k tuition OOS so it may work financially but would be beneath the restive level OP seeks.

But itā€™s a good low cost call for any student !! Thx for mentioning.

One of my colleagues kids went there for a teaching degree and loved it.

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Have you considered Wake Forest? Getting full merit will be hard, but it is worth researching what is offered. You could also look into the University of Miami. Years ago they gave big merit- not sure if they still do. As I mentioned above, Pitt is a favorite of mine and you will find the students to be very impressive.

You can also try the U of Maryland. While I am not convinced you will get enough merit, I do think it is worth investigating.

What about Villanova? Do they still give merit?

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