<p>My daughter finally got her SATs back today from January. She bubbled in the wrong answer key and it had to be hand graded. </p>
<p>Good News:
She got an 800 reading (there must have been no questions on the test instructions), 670 math, and 710 writing. Her PSAT was 219 and we live in Texas so I think she will be a National Merit Finalist and also a National Hispanic Scholar. Mom is 100% hispanic. She has a 3.9 unweighted and a 5.3 weighted. She is in the International Baccalaureat program and I think the weighted GPA is on a 5.0 scale. She should have 12 AP/IB classes when she completes high school. </p>
<p>Bad News:
She is kind of shy and both mom and I are worried about sending her to a large public university and because of my families situation we cannot justify spending the big $$ on private school tuition. Are there any smaller colleges that offer full tuition merit scholarships. She would like to go to school in a big city but is not required. We can afford to pay for room, board, books, travel, etc.</p>
<p>Check out Trinity in San Antonio and Southwestern (north of Austin), both in Texas. They are very generous in merit awards and are small schools with excellent reputations. With those stats, she probably would qualify for merit aid at a lot of other schools as well.</p>
<p>Don't worry to much about mony before you've explored finacial aid. With your d's scores she should be able to get into some very good universities that will meet almost all of her need with grants and the rest with loans.</p>
<p>Trinity in SA does not meet 100% Fin Need. Last year, their biggest merit scholarship was their Murcheson Scholarship of 11k (few and far between and still leaving around 17k to pay). They will help you with loans and you may get some work/study for the rest, but FA was better at all other schools my D applied to.</p>
<p>I think Austin College in Sherman, Texas offers full merit money. </p>
<p>I got 10,000 from them and my stats are not nearly as good as your daughter's. </p>
<p>Also, if staying in Texas isn't a huge concern, there is always Hendrix in Arkansas that has a good reputation and offers great merit aid. I didn't apply, but my grandfather (valedictorian of his SMU class and graduate study at Harvard) said he wishes I had applied because of how great he still thinks the school is- granted he was there well over 50 years ago.</p>
<p>Because your daughter will be considered an URM, schools might be more willing than usual to bargain with you even after the aid is determined. With a 1470 old test (and maybe higher if she takes it again?) and a strong transcript, there should be a lot of elite schools that want her - and some of them have pretty big endowments.</p>
<p>3rdtier, Congratulations to your daughter on some fine scores and solid academic achievement. There are many wonderful colleges, all over the country, that would be happy to have her. </p>
<p>Is your daughter a junior? Is her high school college counseling any good? </p>
<p>Since it seems that youre just starting out on the search process, Id suggest that you keep your options open. Introverted kids often (but not always) do well at the smaller, liberal arts colleges. These are pricey but many offer merit aid and/or generous need based financial aid. A good place to start would be to use a on-line calculator to get an idea of how much need based aid youre likely to receive. Depending on how that works out you could decide how much emphasis you have to put on colleges that offer merit aid.</p>
<p>After youve settled on what are financial possibilities you and your daughter can have fun selecting colleges that fit her personality. From the little youve told us about her Id say that shed be of interest to many top schools, so the key is going to be to crack the financial nut and then to concentrate on finding the best fit: e.g, large/small, urban/suburban/rural, arts/sports/politics, coed/all women, geographic location . . .</p>
<p>Check out Amherst, which meets 100% of fin need and more than FAFSA. They have a major diversity push going on, so being a URM is a plus. My D was also the shy (non-partying) kid with people she didn't know. But she was the only one from her school going to Amherst this year, and she has made wonderful friends. She was in subfree housing, so she was in with kids like her. Freshman are in their own dorms, so they get to know one another just through contact in the halls, etc. Because the college is so small, it was a nonthreatening way to meet other students. PM me and I will get her my D's e-mail and she would be willing to give her info. BTW, we are from TX, too.</p>
<p>3rdTierGrad - Wow our daughters sound so similar (NMF and NHS from Texas!).... and I also graduated from a 3rd tier school...lol!</p>
<p>It seems like those full merit rides are coming mostly from the big schools like Univ of OK and UF. But my d has received very generous merit offers from Tulane and Texas A&M. Tulane especially offers quite a few full rides and near full rides. Texas A&M's package for d totals about $60K which will cover about 3 years. (A&M doesn't fit that small school description though.) </p>
<p>There are also scholarships that your daughter can compete for at Washington University in St. Louis (Annika Rodriquez) and UNC-Chapel Hill (Pogue Scholarships). These are full rides at top schools and I won't kid you, the competition is stiff. But I'd encourage your d to go for it. I always say...you can't win if you don't enter.</p>
<p>Please don't assume that the big publics are the only schools you can afford! My daughter is getting MUCH better financial support offers from EXPENSIVE privates than she will at our state schools. She, like your D, is a high-achieving "URM" (under-represented minority.) </p>
<p>I'm not sure from your post if your family can be considered "low-income" but if your family income is less than about $70,000, your daughter will have great financial support at many great schools. Itf you are in the income range, please check out <a href="http://www.questbridge.org%5B/url%5D">www.questbridge.org</a> which is a program that matches high-achieving, "low-income" students with full 4 year scholarships at some great (mostly LAC) schools. </p>
<p>As Momrath advised, get your financial criteria figured out and then have fun helping your D search for a great fit school. I recommend you fill out the FAFSA and/or use an EFC calculator to get a firm grip on the amount colleges will expect your family to pay. Once you know that, you'll know what kind of financial aid you're looking for (need-based or merit-based). </p>
<p>Do you as a family want her close to home or will it be o.k. for her to travel anywhere in the U.S? If it is o.k., there are many wonderful LACs with hispanic/diversity scholarships outside the great state of Texas.</p>
<p>Only had time to skim this thread, but remember to consider the Honors Colleges at many of the large publics, which can bring these schools "down to size." Congrats on your D's great results, and welcome to cc.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advise. If she is interested in a college, and I do the FAFSA, how do I start the ball rolling to see what kind of aid a college will give her? </p>
<p>Do we have to send in an application before any schools will tell us
(or)
Do they just come out of the blue unsolicitated like magic.
(or)
Do I take the dreaded tactic (I'm kinda shy too) of cold calling an admissions office and asking what kind of aid my daughter can get.</p>
<p>I just don't want to have her fall in love with a school, go thru the process of filling out an application and writing an essay, possibly getting accepted, and then me telling her we can't afford the family contribution.</p>
<p>Check the websites of the schools mentioned. You should be able to find information about financial aid policies/procedures.</p>
<p>Go to finaid.org and try their financail aid calculators. There are two types of methodologies - federal and institutional. Some colleges (most of the ones listed above) will use the institutional methodology. Again, check the college websites for their specific practices.</p>
<p>Go with your daughter to college fairs. If you are in the Houston area, there will be one on Sunday, April 3rd at the George R Brown convention center. Ask the reps about financial aid. </p>
<p>Most of all, talk to your daughter about what you can afford. If she knows your guidelines up front, then there will be less heartbreak all around.</p>
<p>Now, regarding the aid process. Daughter applies to colleges. You complete FAFSA, tax returns, and possibly CSS Profile and submit by required deadlines. College accepts or declines daughter. Financial aid offered will either be included in acceptance or follow at a later date (but in time to make a decision). </p>
<p>It is also very important for you to understand that your daughter should not be applying Early Decision to any of her colleges. Early Decision is a binding decision and will not allow you to compare financial aid offers with other colleges. Early Action and Regular Decision are non-binding and would be appropriate to your situation.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships may or may not have a seperate application form. Rice, Mt. Holyoke and Smith work off of the school application. No other paper work is needed. Some schools will have specific scholarships that you must apply for. Financial aid based on need uses the FAFSA and in many cases requires the CSS Profile in addition.</p>