Finally ready to post.

Parents Forum
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<p>I have been reading the discussions on CC like a madman for the last couple of months. Thanks to the collective wisdom of many of the dedicated members I have greatly increased my knowledge of the college “process”. I finally feel that I have enough of a grip on the octopus that I can ask for some clarifying advice and wisdom.</p>

<p>My junior son is interested in going to an out of state school. We have put aside enough to handle room and board and other expenses, but we are unwilling to cover tuition without substantial mitigating merit aid.
Our EFC will be fairly high ($25,000-$30,000).</p>

<p>My son’s “stats”
3.98 GPA UW
Rank 10/510
2210 SAT just released from Jan. 2011. That is why I have been waiting to post.
224 PSAT WA state
5 APs so far. Probably two more next year.<br>
4 years of foreign language.
Decent ECs
4 years varsity swimming. Will most likely be Academic All-American
Plays in the school orchestra as well as with a regional junior symphony.
Volunteered for 5 years at a children’s theater.
Served as a page at the state legislature.
Works as a lifeguard.</p>

<p>There is a really good chance that he will make NMF.</p>

<p>Schools that we are considering. He will only look at secular schools and claims that he does not want to be in the boondocks.</p>

<p>Pretty sure of decent merit aid.
Denison
Northeastern
Tulane
Rice
American
Alabama and/or Auburn</p>

<p>Unsure of merit aid
Vanderbilt
Michigan
Pittsburgh
Carnegie Mellon
University of Washington (This will be a financial safety)
Washington University Saint Louis</p>

<p>Are we missing some hidden gems? Any glaring holes in our approach? Anything crucial that he needs to do between now and the fall? Should he at least apply to an Ivy, Stanford, etc. just to see if he can get in and what kind of financial package he would get?</p>

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<p>My son had similar stats and got waitlisted at Rice (we were surprised). He got a decent merit aid offer from Wash. U.</p>

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<p>free - Congrats to your S on his excellent stats and interests. </p>

<p>Your post begs a few questions:

  • Denison and Northeastern on the same list?
  • Denison, but not Bucknell or Gettysburg?
  • Alabama/Auburn, but not UFlorida?
  • Michigan, but not Wisconsin or Virginia?
  • WashU, but not Northwestern? </p>

<p>Also, what does your S intend to study?</p>

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<p>No merit at the ivys. So your EFC would be your out of pocket yearly. Is that doable if he were to get into one of the ivy’s or need-based LAC?</p>

<p>Have you looked at any of the larger LACs? His leadership ECs and varsity swimming might make him eligible for some of their merit scholies. </p>

<p>I’ll try and get a list of “hidden gems” for you.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

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<p>My experience would suggest he’s in at Denison and if a NMF will receive generous merit aid. I have one friend who is essentially there on a free ride due to there generous merit and financial aid. However, it is in the boonies.</p>

<p>@NewHope I don’t think of WashU and Northwestern as equivalent schools. Both great schools, but Northwestern has generally admitted a clear notch above in situations of which I am aware.</p>

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<p>I’d agree that Rice is not necessarily a safety for merit. </p>

<p>NewHope, I think the difference is that the schools the OPs S is thinking of applying to have substantial merit aid that he is competitive for. At least that’s the case for the last 2 sets of comparisons, I’m not as familiar with some of the other schools.</p>

<p>Agree w/Modadunn about Denison. I tried to sell it to D2 but she balked due to double whammy of a small school in a small town.</p>

<p>Looks like your S will be NM, if so, check out UMinn-TC for a ‘pretty sure’ of merit aid school. It would put him in a big city and has guaranteed 10k/yr for NMF plus other scholarships for top students. Their tuition, R&B are relatively low for OOS students, so their scholarships go a long way towards a reasonable COA.</p>

<p>What is his M+CR score? That will make a difference with Pitt. Also, be sure he gets his application in EARLY to them. They are rolling for both admissions and scholarships and from what I’ve seen this year, as time goes on you need higher stats to get the full tuition scholarship. Also, try to keep his rank up, they look for kids in the top 2% for full tuition.</p>

<p>Yes, he should try for some of the more selective schools, if he is fortunate enough to get in, you may get a doable FA package, particularly with HYPS.</p>

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<p>Grandparents live near Ann Arbor. Michigan and Denison would be within their sphere to help out if needed. From what I have read on CC Northwestern does not give much merit aid.
He is unsure on the area of study. Bucknell and the others you mentioned are the kind of alternates that we are looking for. Thanks.</p>

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<p>One ‘hidden gem’ that should be on his list is Grinnell. The enormous endowment has resulted in very generous merit and financial aid, outstanding facilities (including a world class athletic facilities and top ranked swim team), the smallest average class size of any LAC (none bigger than 30), no distribution requirements, fantastic faculty mentoring, and the location is a cute college town of 9,000, the center of which is a two block walk from campus. The vibe is intellectual, quirky, unpretentious, understated, and individualistic.</p>

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<p>740 m
800 cr
670 w</p>

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<p>Pitt only considers M+CR, over 1500 is great. If you haven’t already, do read this thread on the Pitt forum, it will really help you out for next year:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pittsburgh/1068579-scholarship-info.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pittsburgh/1068579-scholarship-info.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Grinnell is a great school but definitely in the boondocks!</p>

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<p>Free Mom, maybe he’d like to add another West Coast school or two? My daughter did not realize until the middle of senior year she didn’t actually want to move 3000 miles away from us.</p>

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<p>I was going to make the question “WashU, but no Emory?” But the OP’s list has a strong mid-country flavor, and he did mention interest in Ivys … so that’s where Northwestern came from.</p>

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<p>Is this one of the threads you’ve worked your way through already? If not, you should find some useful ideas here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If American, he should also look at George Washington. Some kids love the urban nature of GWU, others prefer American’s campus, some are fine with both. If urban is OK, add Boston U. U Maryland College Park has some merit money that he may be competitive for; apply by their early date at the start of November for consideration. Application is free for National Merit semifinalists. </p>

<p>I agree he should apply to the schools with super-generous need-based aid to see what happens, apply early to Pitt, and that Rice merit aid is more uncertain. Also agree about Grinnell, even though it’s rural. The students make their own community, and they have money. </p>

<p>Other random thoughts: Emory? Pomona doesn’t have merit aid, but their FA may be workable. USC? With NM it’s automatically half-off tuition. I love UT-Austin’s Plan II honors program, which is a tough admit even in-state but may well like your son’s stats. Not sure how OOS tuition stacks up.</p>

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<p>Deborah T I had a hard time finding West Coast schools where merit aid seemed possible.
USC looks like 1/2 tuition. We know that the AZ schools would work, but if he goes the NMF route he would choose Alabama or Auburn.</p>

<p>entomom thanks for the link. We are thinking of trying to get at least some applications in by the end of September.</p>

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<p>My daughter with higher stats, (also a lifeguard, with interesting EC’s but no varsity sports) was accepted at Rice and did not get any merit aid. You should check with the Rice admissions office. We learned after my daughter sent her application that students who are invited to compete for one of their best scholarships are those who mention their interest in research. </p>

<p>You don’t have USC on your list. Half tuition for National merit, some high stats students compete for full tuition scholarships.</p>

<p>It sound like he doesn’t want to swim in college?</p>

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<p>It looks like you are in Washington State (West Coast), if so, you might look at some out of state public schools that give a break to students from other Western States. I’m in CA and some Colorado schools will cap out of state tuition for students coming from certain Western states. I found that those schools cost a bit more than Univ. of CA, but not nearly as expensive as private. Something to consider if what he majors in is well ranked in one of those schools. (That is the case for my daughter.)</p>

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<p>your son has put together great things for his college apps. The PSAT score looks to be in the NMS category. </p>

<p>That said, if you are interested in admission (much less merit money) to Rice, NWern, Vandy, WashU etc, he should be working to up his SAT to top quartiles at said colleges as we see many students with higher stats waitlisted due to high numbers of completely qualified applicants. I think Vandy got close to 27 thousand applicants so the competition is really very high. A bit easier at Emory but competition for Emory Scholars is very competitive.
His PSAT indicates to me that he can find a few more numbers in his SAT retake. I also highly recommend devoting a handful of Sundays to the real ACT book and to taking it as well. Competition for merit money at the above colleges is extremely difficult as the applicant pool is pretty much an onslaught of equals on paper. Our sons were also regional orchestra material and swim team members. </p>

<p>So if merit money is required before you will approve a private college, testing is one variable you still can alter. I have a son on merit at Vandy whose ACT was tops and his best number on first sitting and his SAT was not even top quartile in the admitted student pool at 2240 two years ago…so you need to read the admissions blog at VAndy and skim last years stats.</p>

<p>Topics are on the right side of the blog from all last year’s rounds. I think they do a Ten Day Report in September summing up each class in final form.</p>

<p>You never will receive merit money without trying and trying has many intrinsic rewards for personal growth as college is replete with new places where you must write essays, interview and compete.</p>

<p>You never know if you don’t explore testing a bit further. Other son had a “tie” between ACT and SAT. It is all very personal.
Vandy merit son was admitted to Rice but didn’t receive merit dollars so could not attend. This is not surprising as his stats, though top quartile were barely top quartile, his peers were all excellent at Rice and colleges are picking a class of personalities who will contribute in different ways to campus.</p>

<p>He made every effort for merit money possible and did get offers in two colleges but prepare for a scramble among equals. That meant giving up some sunny Sundays in late junior year after APs to sit for more testing with the SAT, SATIIs or ACT…and also one son landed a top score October of his senior year. </p>

<p>I think his Wash State residency has some cache if he would consider coming south. I guess publics aren’t going to be a big help to you although he might get in Chapel Hill or Wm and Mary. You will still be assessed heavily based on income.</p>

<p>There are southern colleges private eager to land students from the Pacific NW. Males are in lesser numbers in applicant pools at many wonderful southern colleges like Furman. Many of the top liberal arts colleges do not give a penny of merit money but there is some merit money at schools like Washington and Lee, Wake Forest and Furman. University of Richmond and Washington and Lee have really upped their merit dollar offerings. You can expect that liberal arts colleges will be concerned about yielding their serious merit applicants so no point in competing if you aren’t willing to attend.</p>

<p>Small colleges with merit dollars are looking for “fit” in their merit money winners. So choose wisely and visit and really get to know the colleges on your son’s final list. </p>

<p>Lastly, it is possible that an Ivy admission in a very well endowed Ivy would have a cap on your contributions that is better than you think. Use their calculators to estimate on their websites. </p>

<p>Your son is in great shape but be realistic about the numbers as schools like Vandy that offer No Loans (so does Davidson!) in their packages are swamped with applicants.</p>

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<p>IloveLA he is a good but not a great swimmer. He does want to continue with music but he is a good not a great musician. Sounds like Rice is a much bigger reach than my research led me to believe. Thanks</p>