<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>Even as a top applicant, I would not expect much merit (if anything) from NYU. Because D’s stats were WAY above the reported middle range, I inquired as to why she wasn’t offered merit (didn’t expect it, but thought I would ask). I was told that only VERY FEW students get true merit (as least in Arts & Sciences) and that even valedictorians and students with perfect SAT’s don’t necessarily get anything.</p>
<p>So what’s the complete list at this point?</p>
<p>Are you going to apply for either the Computer-Based Honors Program or the Fellows program at Bama? You’d make an excellent candidate with your stats. Those two programs are highly competitive - kids from all over the country apply for those 2 programs and only 40 kids get chosen for each. </p>
<p>If you have any questions about either program, pm me.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Tres Elefantes - have you looked at the University of Maryland? It is a larger school than what you stated in your preferences, but I believe it may be worth checking out. My daughter was accepted at Yale, but she too was unwilling to be saddled with $200K in debt upon graduation. She decided on Maryland primarily because of the generous merit aid - she was awarded a Bannekker-Key scholarship, which paid for everything, including books. She was admitted into University Honors, which allows you to register for Honors sections of specific classes, and also to choose from other unique honors classes; she was also in the Gemstone program, a four year, multidisciplinary team project that gave her the opportunity to work with other students in other disciplines. My daughter’s stats coming out of high school were almost a carbon copy of yours; and she was able to start college with about 60 credits, which gave her the opportunity to double major and take a variety of interesting courses. I believe you would be a top candidate for a B-K scholarship. Many people used to downplay the University of Maryland, because of its past image. The past few presidents of the University have made tremendous strides in improving the academics and the campus is beautiful. The current president spent most of his career at Berkeley, and that is the model he is aiming for. I graduated from Berkeley, and from my review of the materials my daughter (and son, who also attends UMD) showed me, I can honestly say that the curriculum is rigorous. My daughter graduated in 2008 with a double major - accounting and government & politics. She is working for one of the Big 4 accounting firms and is planning on attending law school next fall. She did very well as an undergraduate, and has already been accepted at Duke and Georgetown, which goes to show you that if you apply yourself at a state university, you can still get into great programs for graduate/professional schools. I wouldn’t rule out state universities, and it doesn’t look like you are. Michigan and Iowa are also very good schools. I am just tossing University of Maryland in for your consideration. Their priority application deadline is December 1. This will give you priority consideration for merit scholarships. Good luck wherever you end up, and congratulations on your record so far - keep it up!!</p>
<p>72Bear</p>
<p>Tres Elefantes, U of Chicago is a great school (2 of my 3 kids have gone there), but I fear it may not meet your academic or financial aid requirements. Check the catalog carefully, as the Creative Writing offerings are limited, and by consent (submission). As far as I can tell, there is no Creative Writing major, though there is an English and CW minor. And though it offers many, many languages, I don’t see Vietnamese in the course offerings. Merit aid is also unpredictable, as it is awarded by a faculty committee, with no identifiable criteria posted anywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I love this school, my kids love this school, but I would suggest you research its offerings carefully before tackling the application.</p>
<p>^Yeah. I’ll double-check for sure.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! 
I don’t have the energy to type up my list right now. Maybe later.</p>