I am an in-state senior from a highly competitive public HS. I was pretty sure I would get some aid from Rutgers until I found out that barely anyone got a scholarship from my HS last year. I am not applying for need-based aid.
My stats are National Merit Semifinalist, 1540 SAT and 3.7 Weighted GPA (3.4 Unweighted).
I would be VERY happy if I could get at least a $10,000/yr scholarship. Hoping for 16k.
What are my chances ? At this point, I have lost hope of getting into HC, so hoping for a scholarship.
@krosp123 did you get a chance to read the replies to your previous post “Rutgers Honors College chances”? It would be nice if you could aknowledge reading them…
Anyway I believe that getting 10K/year requires getting in the Honors College, but you might be able to get 8K/year if you get into a Honors program.
The same questions still apply: what school do you want to apply to? What do you want to major in?
@NJEngineerDad thanks for the reponse. I want to major in computer science, which is offered through SAS. However, I really want to live in the Honors College dorm for the first year, so it does not really matter what school I get into.
If I get in through a school other than SAS, I would take the offer and try to switch to SAS after a year while keeping the scholarship. If for some reason, RU doesn’t let me do so, a double major is also not a bad idea.
I am interested in nearly every subject, so if I get into RBS, I would do Econ, at SOE, I would do ECE, and at SEBS, I would do Bio. Regardless, CS would be my career choice.
I have also posted on the Rutgers subreddit about this. The application only lets me apply to three schools, but since I want to apply to four (SAS, SOE, SEBS, RBS), I have to make a choice. I am assuming that SOE gives the least money due to being very competitive, so I’m guessing I should leave that one. What do you think ?
Also, cost is not really a factor, at least to my parents. I have made it clear to them that I am not willing to take on any debt and want to take advantage of my National Merit offers. However, they insist on me getting into the best school I can and that they would bear the entire cost of my education. We are also not applying financial aid as income is too high. My parents say they have saved a lot for my college, but I don’t really want to make them spend around $200k if I go OOS or around $100k going to Rutgers, especially when I have full rides from many great universities.
Getting a scholarship at Rutgers would be the best choice for me as I would be close to home and would reduce the financial burden on my parents. I am thinking of ways to maximize my chances of getting into the HC so it guarantees at least a $10k scholarship, hence the above strategy. If you have any ideas, please let me know !
@krosp123 I think that your approach makes sense. If living in the Honors College the first year is your top priority, then applying to the three less competitive schools is the logical decision. And, unlike what others have written, I think you should not completely rule out being accepted in the Honors College via the SAS because I am not convinced that the SAS cares as much about the GPA then it does about the SAT scores. That said if you do not get accepted in the Honors College via the SAS, and that you later decide to switch from another school to SAS to study computer science, you will probably lose your scholarship (at least that is what is implied if you read the FAQ on Rutger’s website).
What OOS schools are considering that offer guaranteed merit based on your expected national scholar status? Have you looked at Arizona State University (good computer science program, good Honors College, good price for national scholars)?
I did a little searching. There’s a couple of schools I can think of that would offer good merit aid with the GPA you have. Texas does college admissions by class rank. If you’re in the top 25%, you qualify for a fairly sizable scholarship at Texas State University and UTSA.
@NJEngineerDad Do you think whether I apply for FAFSA is a factor in getting a merit scholarship at Rutgers ? I am absolutely sure I am not getting need-based aid as our household income is $200k+. So I was thinking :
- If I DO apply for aid, then Rutgers will know our financial situation and may be reluctant to give out merit-based aid as well.
- If I DO NOT apply for aid, then Rutgers may either think that I am a super-rich multi-millionaire kid and the outcome may be the same, OR since they do not know my financial situation, they would treat me without any bias, which is what I am hoping for.
What do you think I should do ? The application is asking for my SSN anyway, which is apparently used for aid consideration (not sure how it works).
@krosp123 I am pretty sure that applying for aid by filing the FAFSA is NOT a factor in getting a merit scholarship at Rutgers. As a NJ resident with an household income of over 200K/y you will not get any need-based aid at Rutgers, but I believe that getting a merit scholarship is just based on merit. I would file the FAFSA. This can be useful for OUTSIDE scholarships that may want to see that info because they consider both merit and need…
PS: at this point I am unclear where you are planning to apply. So, where are you applying? Is the price a concern or not a concern? Are you going to make it as a national merit finalist?
@NJEngineerDad I am pretty sure I will advance to finalist. I am applying to NJIT, UF, UCF, and ASU for the full ride from NMF. I am also applying to UIUC, UMD, and Purdue. I may also try UMich or Northeastern but not sure yet. As an extreme reach, I may also try Princeton or Cornell.
My list is still not confirmed yet, but I’m pretty much set on going to Rutgers. I feel like it would be a great fit for me, and while I am still not sure about Honors/Scholarships, I’m hoping to get into the SAS Honors Program with a Scarlet ($3500) scholarship as the bare minimum. If I get either HC or $10k (Trustee?) from Rutgers, I would be super excited to attend and would turn down any other acceptance, even if it was an Ivy/T20.
@NJEngineerDad The cost would be something we would consider only if I got into something significantly better than Rutgers, such as UIUC/CMU/Princeton, which I am not hoping for anyway. If I do get in, we will then do an analysis on whether it would pay off or not.
That being said, the odds of me attending Rutgers or NJIT is over 90%, regardless of money as my parents do not want me going too far away.
@krosp123 I just want to say how happy I am that a prospective applicant from NJ is excited to go to Rutgers! I attended back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (AKA the 1980s) and as a NMF, I got into the then new honors program with a full ride and had a great experience. Obviously, it’s much more competitive to get in these days and there was no free standing Honors College back then.
My only advice to you is that I would prioritize the school with the major that mosts interests you and not try to game the process for the sake of improving your chances to get into the Honors dorm.
I suspect that your GPA might be a bit low for Honors and possibly for CS if you have to be accepted into the major as an entering freshman. However, as a NMF, you also might want to look at UT-Dallas, Texas Tech, and U of New Mexico. I don’t remember if those Texas schools offer full tuition or full ride for NMF but it’s one or the other. UNM offers full ride for NMF. If the financials work out, personally I think Rutgers would be the best bet. But if not, there is good merit funding to be had at these western schools, along with ASU.
Finally, I don’t see the point of submitting the FAFSA if you truly aren’t eligible for need-based aid.
Good luck!
@krosp123 I agree with @mamaedefamilia on all points except the one regarding submitting the FAFSA because…
“Even if you believe you will not qualify for need-based financial aid, it is still important to file the application, since some merit scholarships also have a need-based component.”
https://financialaid.rutgers.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/
Note that I suppose they are talking bout external merit scholarships.
My son (3.86/4 & 35 ACT) was accepted by SOE & RBS is 2017 but not offered Honors College. He was offered SAS Honors via RBS (RBS does not have its own) & only $3500.
I don’t think the Honors college has an easier path- it has access to students from all schools
Consider the advantages Rutgers offers if you want to intern in NY/NJ and/or find your first job here.
My son was shocked to learn few NYC opportunities exist at his mid-western school despite its highly ranked business program. Part of him wishes he stayed close to home for this reason
You have a higher SAT score than I did and I got $28000 from SOE last year which is one of the more competitive schools, but my GPA is much higher. On that note, I know someone who had an extremely low SAT score (1300) but still got $10k because of her high gpa and her acceptance into the honors college at SEBS. I think you could definitely get a decent amount of money, definitely not a full ride, if you get accepted to an honors college as your sat compensates for your gpa