<p>I live in the Chicago area and my sister attends U of I.
I have a 34 ACT and 4.1 weighted GPA (top 15% or so)...
Nothing very spectacular EC</p>
<p>My question: I was sent a scholarship information sheet, and the scholarships all seemed to be worth virtually nothing. Are there some secret scholarships that they award that they don't advertise or if you're not a minority do you have no shot?</p>
<p>Though many may qualify for some merit aid, the amount is usually not large, average in $1,000 to $3,000 per year range. There are few full scholarships. This is typical of public universities.</p>
<p>Although I don't agree with drusba that merit scholarships of $1,000-$3,000 are "typical" of public universities, I do agree that it's not likely that you're going to see significant merit money from a highly ranked public like UIUC because although your stats are very good, they are not exceptional for this school. My daughter attends Kansas State University and has stats that are similar to yours and she had exceptional ECs in high school. K-State gave her about half the total cost of attendance in merit scholarships, renewable for all four years. The difference is that statistically she was in about the top 5% of K-State's applicant pool and was also from an entirely different region of the country, so they wanted her for diversity -- that doesn't seem to be the case with your situation. Have you thought about private schools? With your numbers, you would likely be in the running for significant merit aid.</p>
<p>Ya, thanks agreed. I would rather go to a school where they really want me than be just another kid, I have applied to a few other schools. Appreciate the input. </p>
<p>I apologize for the title of the thread, I got a bit carried away.</p>
<p>Something I noticed is that public schools in the midwest don't seem to have a lot of large merit scholarships, whereas schools in the South seem extremely generous. I guess they are looking to attract top students to boost their stats/rankings...</p>
<p>You would qualify for IU's Faculty Award to OOS students which goes up to $7000 a year for 4 years. My son had an ACT of 30 and received the full $7K. With your stats you would also be a great candidate for other merit awards offered by the Hutton Honors College.</p>
<p>Don't let IU's easier admission requirements make you think it is a lesser school. It may be easy to get into, but it's not so easy staying in. </p>
<p>There is no essay required with the application and admission is rolling. The sooner you get your app in, the more merit money will be available.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My son was offered admission and very generous scholarship money at Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State (he ultimately opted for Ohio State). It is costing us less than what in-state at UIUC would be.</p>
<p>I have a twin S & D who are seniors in HS this year. And yes I would agree, the preliminary work that I have done indicates that (other than Southern IL at Carbondale) for the most part they will be able to go to out of state schools cheaper than in state schools. At Michigan state with an ACT of 33 or greater, you can get in state tuition as a start.</p>
<p>I came across an article writen a couple of years ago within the State of IL on how there is an outflow of students out of Illinois greater than the inflow of students. This was at the time when there was a state scholarship worth about 2000 that helped reduce costs. There was a recommendation that that be raised to 4 to 6 K to help reduce that problem. What did the state of Il do- rather than raise the amount, they dropped the 2000 to 0. Other than possible Southern IL, it is looking very doughtfull that my kids will be going to college in Illinois.</p>
<p>Appreciate the advice a lot. I have applied to numerous out of state schools also. I think I have a good shot at a full ride at SIU in state as well. My feeling is that if you go to an honors college at another "inferior" state university, it's probably just as good as U of I.</p>