But they have to discount all of tuition for the student to be at their needed price. Is that possible in merit aid?
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UMass Amherst probably won’t give you enough merit money to meet your budget. Last I heard their max OOS merit was 16K/yr, bringing it down to about 40K/yr OOS without health ins. It’s a great school, and the dorms and food are good, but it’s probably beyond your budget.
Considering that you can do premed almost anywhere, I’d urge you to take the financial pressure off of your parents and apply to the schools that are automatically giving full rides, or at least full tuition, to NMSF. Then add in a few with potential full ride/full tuition merit scholarships for students like you, like Tulane. Most of the highly selective schools will not give you any fin aid, and don’t give merit aid.
Your biggest constraint is money. Make your list according to that. Fortunately, with your great record, you’ll still have lots of great schools to choose from.
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Another one to consider would be Univ of New Mexico.
Scholarship info → Scholarship Office | The University of New Mexico.
You’d be a good contender for their competitive Regents Scholarship, which covers ~$23,000/year and includes an out of state student tuition waiver. Therefore, the finances/cost looks like this:
OOS tuition = $34,045
Room & Board = $10,350
- OOS tuition waiver = $22,919
- Regents Scholarship = ~$23,000
…that leaves you with in-state tuition + R&B total of $21,476, which the Regents Scholarship will basically pay ALL of.
They also have an Amigo Scholarship which you’d qualify for:
- $22,919/year for 4 yr + $200/yr annual stipend
- min criteria for consideration: 3.5 GPA + 23 ACT/1130 SAT or 3.0 GPA & 26 ACT/1240 SAT.
- the $22,919 gets applied to OOS tuition
So the $$ works out like this for the Amigo Scholarship:
OOS tuition = $34,045
Room & Board = $10,350
minus $22,919 tuition scholarship
equals $21,476/yr.
UNM’s campus in Albuquerque is walking distance from UNM Medical Center, which is handy for medicine-related internships, research, volunteer opportunities. The school attracts a LOT of OOS students due to its National Merit program.
AND w/your GPA & test scores, you’d get into their Honors program, which, like honors programs at other schools, gets you priority class registration, living in the honors LLC dorm, etc.
Our family went on a tour of UNM this spring. There’s a lot of good places to eat right across from campus if you get tired of dining hall food.
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Also FYI, UNM professors often do research work in conjunction with Los Alamos National Lab.
Physics & Astrophysics majors’ info is available at Undergraduate Program - Department of Physics and Astronomy | The University of New Mexico.
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Is the university of Oregon a good choice? They offer the stamps scholarship which is full oos tuition and fees.
I will check into UMN!
I’m looking at Mount Holyoke. Any tips on how to bring them up to my parents? Both are conservative, dad is very conservative. My mom knows I like girls and boys, dad suspects, so they probably won’t be super on board with an all-girls college. Is it worth the trouble to even ask? How should I go about that? I guess bringing up the co-Ed colleges nearby
Oregon is a $64k cost of attendance. So no it’s not a good choice. It goes under the - stamps is a lottery ticket. If I have common app spots to waste then sure. But the odds of me attending are slim to none.
You have to be realistic given your monetary restrictions. It may mean attending in a region yiu don’t want or finding lesser / unknown nake schools in an area you do want.
UMN is $52k. Not sure of merit today but a few years ago max was $15k.
And don’t forget college costs more than they list.
The bottom line is the base of your list has to be something you can afford and would be willing to attend.
If you want a large school that’s liberal - maybe your parents don’t but both Oregon and Minnesota are, instead of Oregon, check out U of Kansas. It may make costs.
Also realize that at most schools kids are apolitical.
Whether you go to perceived conservative Auburn or liberal Vermont, it’s more likely you’d have to find politics. They won’t find you.
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I meant UNM, not UMN sorry
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Oh that works with merit. Absolutely.
My son (also National Merit) received enough merit at Minnesota to bring OOS tuition down to about 10 or 11K/year this year. May not bring down to your budget but if you decide to apply, apply very early (he applied in August).
Both Minnesota and New Mexico are members of National Student Exchange which would also give you an affordable way to spend a semester or year at another NSE school during your academic career.
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Is it feasible for you to visit some of these campuses? Picking a random example from your list, seeing a campus (and surrounding environment) of a place like Colorado State could make a big difference.
I’ve visited UNC, UVA, Richmond, and Arkansas. I plan to visit Tulsa and Oklahoma since they’re nearby. The others I’ll visit if I get accepted with a big enough scholarship when I’m deciding
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I think those would be fine (except maybe Oregon); a women’s college is just pushing it a bit. It also depends on money. If it’s free, he’ll care less about it.
Then why bother with any paid schools when you can go free or near free.
You might have a school at $25k and $10k.
Guess where dad is making you go (so it sounds like).
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Is Louisiana Tech with its full ride not an option for you?
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It is, I just know that I wouldn’t like it and I should have other full-ride options, especially being National Merit. I’ve been to the town several times and I did not like it at all. And the general campus culture is not what I’m looking for. If I didn’t know I’d have options that I’d like better, I’d include it. But since I have others, I won’t.
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True statement about Auburn - carries a conservative name tag but we are moderates that lean left and there are some true liberals - everyone seems to be respectful of others viewpoints, political, religious, etc. If that does bother a conservative parent, they may want to look for a private school.
My bigger point is - and mine are at Alabama and Charleston. Politics aren’t everywhere, in your face, unless you make them so because that’s your jam.
I wouldn’t even say that people are respectful. I would say in most cases it doesn’t seem like politics is even a part of the daily ritual.
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University of Oregon offers a Stamps Scholarship, but that’s tough to get.
You might look at Oregon State. The Honors College and compact campus makes a larger school seem smaller and the science offerings are fairly strong. There is also a new music/arts building.
If you were in a neighboring state, it would be a no-brainer because you would qualify for the WUE scholarship. But it still might be worth applying to see what other merit you could attract: they may be interested in drawing more students from your part of the country, which could help. And I think some of their largest merit scholarships might put it in reach.
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