<p>DS wants to apply to a couple of schools where he would be near the top of the applicant pool, we've read that if you are among the top 2 or 5% of the applicant pool, your chances to get merit aid, or a good financial aid package, are much higher. But we have only found the published middle SAT and ACT scores for the admitted class at each school, so we know the top 25%. Where could we find what the top 2%, 5% or even 10% of the applicant pool looks like?</p>
<p>Yes to the merit aid, no to the FA. Need based FA is just that, it is based on family income, assets and other financial factors; not on the merit of the student. Be aware, there are some merit scholarships that include financial need as one of the selection factors.</p>
<p>Some schools state approximate gpa and test scores of scholarship recipients. Another way is to look (and do a Search) on the individual college subforums here on CC to see the stats of past successful scholarship candidates. Also, by definition, schools where a student will be in the top of the applicant pool are safety and possibly match schools.</p>
<p>It’s not always obvious.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that you mean a chance at a big merit scholarship…like full tuition or similar…</p>
<p>A rule of thumb might be having test scores that are in at least the 97/98 percentile for lower mid-tiers and maybe 95 percentile for lower ranking schools. </p>
<p>Your son would do better if he applied to a few schools that would give him ASSURED scholarships for his stats. those schools have the info on their websites detailing what scholarships are needed.</p>
<p>To give you an example…</p>
<p>At a very generous merit school with the following mid 50 range…</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 21 - 28 </p>
<p>Then the top 25% has an ACT 29+…but…a student doesn’t start getting full tuition scholarship until he has an ACT 32…which is the top 10% of the freshman class. This is NOT typical…this is very generous. </p>
<p>Is your son a NMSF? If so, why not apply to some of the schools that give big money to NMFs?</p>
<p>What are your son’s stats?</p>
<p>how much merit money do you need?</p>
<p>How much can the family contribute?</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>
<p>Entomom, DS will also qualify for substantial need aid, but since the universities that provide the most generous need based aid are also hard to get into, we also want to include a couple where he might be offered merit aid money (or need money, or a combination, any money is welcome!). </p>
<p>Mom2college kids, DS is not a NMSF but does have a 34 ACT. However, his (tough) school does not rank and the gpa is not on a 4.0 scale, so, I don’t know if any of these assured scholarships may apply to him.</p>
<p>Look at the school’s discussion board here on CC. You may find info about previous merit scholarship winners.</p>
<p>*DS will also qualify for substantial need aid, but since the universities that provide the most generous need based aid are also hard to get into, we also want to include a couple where he might be offered merit aid money (or need money, or a combination, any money is welcome!).</p>
<p>DS is not a NMSF but does have a 34 ACT. However, his (tough) school does not rank and the gpa is not on a 4.0 scale, so, I don’t know if any of these assured scholarships may apply to him. *</p>
<p>What is your likely EFC?</p>
<p>What is your son’s GPA and what scale do they use? </p>
<p>Typically a school will recalculate “odd GPA scales” to a 4.0 scale. </p>
<p>For instance, at my kids’ university, the GPA requirement is 3.5+ and at least an ACT 32 for free tuition, but when a friend’s child applied with a GPA on a 6.0 scale, the school recalculated it and she got the scholarship.</p>
<p>check the common data set that has all the info you need here</p>
<p>If a school attracts a very qualified applicant pool–for example, 20-25% have scores >700 on a given section of the SAT–I think it can be hard to find statistics that break it down further than that.</p>
<p>In addition, I’ve only found one school on my kid’s list that actually gives statistics for the applicant pool. Mostly, I’m seeing statistics for the admitted/enrolled pool.</p>
<p>I have found the threads that list the self-reported credentials of the kids who are accepted, and the description of the merit awards they receive, to be very informative. It does give a flavor for what it took to get an award at that school.</p>
<p>You may have to change the default time window to go back to last April to find those threads for a given school.</p>
<p>I’m not sure whether there is an data that would be useful for GPAs, given the many different ways they’re calculated, but I do think there is something you can look at relative to SAT scores. </p>
<p>College Board publishes distribution of SAT scores. It’s probably reasonable to think that the distribution of high scores for applicants at very selective schools is very similar to the distribution of high scores on the test. </p>
<p>Here’s an example. Say a school has 100 scholarships to give for the top entering freshmen. Historical data suggests there will be about 14,000 applications for the ~2,000 spots in the entering freshman class. What you want to determine is whether your kid is in the range for the top 5% of the entering class (100 of ~2000). </p>
<p>If the school’s 75th percentile is at 1500 CR+M, that means that the top 25% of scorers among the 2000 entering freshmen will have scores between 1510 and 1600. Use the College Board SAT data tables to determine how these scores would be distributed … </p>
<p>Say the SAT data tables indicate that a total of 15,000 students scored 1510+. Of those 15,000, 2,500 received a score of 1580+. So a score of 1580 would put your kid into the top 17% (2500/15000) of the top 25%, or the top 4% or so of the class. </p>
<p>This isn’t exact, but I think it gives a pretty good approximation of how an SAT score places you within the entering class.</p>
<p>If a school attracts a very qualified applicant pool–for example, 20-25% have scores >700 on a given section of the SAT–I think it can be hard to find statistics that break it down further than that.</p>
<p>I have found that schools that have such a qualified applicant pool as described above often use merit to further “fine tune” their freshmen class to include students from unusual states or additional URM diversity, because the school isn’t needing merit to attract high stats students. Therefore, the limited number of merit scholarships often gets offered to those who fit those desired requirements and have high stats.</p>
<p>However, for schools that give good merit and who have more average mid-50s students. Then the top 25% of students are in the 90th percentile and the top 5% of students will likely be in the top 1-3 percentile and will get the big scholarships.</p>
<p>No smart student should fear applying to schools where the top 25% are about 90th percentile and above. There will be plenty of smart classmates - especially if the student is majoring in a challenging major. Also, if there’s an honors program on campus, that can offer further opportunities for having classmates who have higher stats. </p>
<p>At my kids’ school, the top 25% have an ACT 29+. An ACT 29 is the 94th percentile. So, those who have ACTs in the 98th/99th percentile get the biggest scholarships.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your feedback, looks like we’ve got some digging to do…</p>
<p>Yes, it definitely takes research and time…</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore…I’ve been lurking for about a year, and actively posting for several months. </p>
<p>She wants to major in math secondary ed and minor in theatre…but her minor in theatre has to have certain classes so she can become certified to teach drama. She wants to go OOS, so we MUST fine a school with great merit money. She was 15 points from our states’s NMSF cut off as a freshman with no prep, so she’s been studying and will take PSAT next month for another practice.</p>
<p>We know she wants to stay in the SE …so I’ve narrowed it to a few states and I’ve been digging thru these forums, c a p p e x and other search engines. I see which schools have both math ed and theatre minor, then check scholarships. if they are guaranteed merit…or substantial, then I dig deeper to see if the theatre minor has the specific classes she needs, AND if she can take them. (One school with big merit money has a class she needs to fulfill the drama certification, but it’s only offered to theatre majors!! So I sent an email to the minor advisor…)</p>
<p>I also check out the school’s policy on AP credit…if it applies as requirements they stay in the consider column; if they only give you “electives” for them, then I don’t feel so great about them.</p>
<p>I made a spread sheet where I listed all her criteria across the top: major, minor, AP credit, scholarships, major and listed schools down the side. Then I check off which schools have what… </p>
<p>We’ve narrowed it to 2 schools instate as safety schools, and about 6 schools OOS. I’ll keep looking, but I’m already thinking about which ones to visit during our Mardi Gras break and then in June during vacation…</p>
<p>You almost need a degree in college searching to help your kids get their college degree without you or them going broke!! Seriously it’s a matter of taking the time to investigate…</p>
<p>It takes time, patience, and willingness to consider schools/states you might not have done otherwise… </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>