<p>Furman University has the Henry Lay Scholarship which is full ride-tuition,room,board.
D just got an offer from University of Alabama in the mail today giving her the full ride plus a laptop plus a$1000 National Merit scholarship and a$2000 stipend to be used for either an internship or international study after her freshman year. It also gets you into the Honors College with smaller classes,priority registration, guaranteed housing,etc. The requirement is that you are invited by being a National Merit Semifinalist, then you must advance to Finalist and list Bama as your first choice with NMSC. Even though this school isn't on her radar screen she had not planned on applying, at least my username did come true after all-hope4freeride!</p>
<p>You said northern schools, so here's one to look into: Wayne State University in Detroit, MI: Scholarships</a> - University Scholar. Since one of the requirements is to attend the Scholar's Day, this would be a perfect time to check out the campus.</p>
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my family's low-income status
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<p>If that's your situation, you should be looking at colleges with great NEED-BASED aid, which would include the Ivy League colleges and other colleges with large endowments. You're a current senior, right? Make sure to get your applications in on time to that kind of college.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama - New Automatic Merit Scholarships for "Out of State" Students</p>
<p>Listed below are the automatic merit scholarships for out-of-state University of Alabama incoming freshman for Fall 2009. NO interview or essays necessary. Just scores and GPA.... If you are interested, please go to UA.edu, pull down "Quick Links" (near top) and click on Scholarships, click on Types of Scholarships, then click on Out-of-State. </p>
<p>Obviously, the first two scholarships mentioned are the best, so if you have an ACT of 30+ or an SAT of 1240+ and a GPA of 3.5+, you can snag one of these scholarships.</p>
<p>(BTW... if you are "in-state," check the website for similar scholarships with lower thresholds required - for example full tuition for ACT 30/SAT 1320 (Math & CR) and GPA 3.5)</p>
<p>The University also offers great scholarships for National Merit for both in-state and out of state - full tuition, housing (including honors dorms), laptop, and $2000 towards study abroad.</p>
<p>Also, the University is very generous with AP credits. (My own son entered with 41 AP credits, therefore most of his "core curriculum" (aka Gen Ed) were complete.) Awarding generous AP credits allows for a student to: easily have a minor, consider a double major, graduate early, or take more "fun" or "personal interest" classes.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama is in the midst of a 10 year planned growth program. So far, it has exceeded all expectations, which has caused its USNews rankings to improve in recent years. </p>
<p>The University of Alabama, under the leadership of its president, Dr. Robert E. Witt, has committed the University to an ambitious plan for growth and achievement. His goals include increasing enrollment to 28,000 students by 2010 and stimulating significant growth in research in support of economic expansion for the state and nation. Under his leadership, enrollment has reached record levels and academic quality has increased significantly. The University ranks 12th nationally among public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars and leads the nation in the number of students named to USA Todays All-USA College Academic Teams. Since its inception in 2003, the Universitys Honors College has grown exponentially, enrolling more than 1,000 freshmen in 2007. Dr. Witt has also led a major building program on campus with 20 new facilities opening in the last five years. Private giving to the University is at an all-time high with supporters embracing the Our Students. Our Future. capital campaign and its major goal of improving scholarship opportunities for deserving students. </p>
<p>The University of Alabama is ranked #83 by US News & World Report for National Universities. That is ahead of the following well-known universities: #89 Drexel; #89 UC Riverside; #89 Iowa State; #96 UC Santa Cruz; #96 Auburn; #96 SUNY StonyBrook; #102 U of San Diego (to name a few). UA is ranked #37 as Public University. </p>
<p>UA has an Honors College, fabulous Honors Residential Halls, and a gorgeous campus. It also is home to the Crimson Tide football team - currently rated#2 in the nation.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama </p>
<p>Out-of-State Scholarships for 2009-2010</p>
<p>Presidential Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline<em>, has a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT</em>* score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Presidential Scholar and will receive the value of out-of-state tuition*** for four years. </p>
<p>UA Scholar
An out-of-state first time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline<em>, has a 30-31 ACT or 1320-1390 SAT</em>* score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a UA Scholar and will receive 2/3 tuition.</p>
<p>Collegiate Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline<em>, has a 28-29 ACT or 1240-1310 SAT</em>* score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Collegiate Scholar and will receive $3,500 per year ($14,000 over four years). </p>
<p>Capstone Scholar
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline<em>, has a 27 ACT or 1200-1230 SAT</em>* score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Capstone Scholar and will receive $1,500 per year ($6,000 over four years). </p>
<ul>
<li>Please note that meeting the priority deadline requires submitting a completed admissions application and scholarship application, application fee, official high school transcript, and official test scores (either ACT or SAT).</li>
</ul>
<p>** SAT scores are calculated using critical reading and math scores only.</p>
<p>*** Based on 12-17 credit hours per semester</p>
<p>hope4freeride >>>> D just got an offer from University of Alabama in the mail today giving her the full ride plus a laptop plus a$1000 National Merit scholarship and a$2000 stipend to be used for either an internship or international study after her freshman year. It also gets you into the Honors College with smaller classes,priority registration, guaranteed housing,etc. The requirement is that you are invited by being a National Merit Semifinalist, then you must advance to Finalist and list Bama as your first choice with NMSC. Even though this school isn't on her radar screen she had not planned on applying, at least my username did come true after all-hope4freeride! <<<</p>
<p>Congrats to your D regarding NMSF. When my son was an NMSF, he was contacted by University of Alabama. Since we are originally from California, my son was a bit "snobbish" about "southern schools," so it wasn't on his "radar schreen" either. Well, we went for a visit, and we were VERY impressed. The school is run very well, the buildings and grounds are beautiful, the professors are smart and helpful(!), the honors dorms are AWESOME (each student has his OWN private room in a suite with 4 bedrooms), and the recreation facilities are first class, AND the football team is, well, currently #2 in the nation, so school spirit is "sky-high."</p>
<p>The Honors College is the best thing going. There are three different Honors programs (visit the website at ua.edu fo more details.) There are several reasons to be in one or more of the honors programs - 1) the honors res hall; 2) the classes are SMALL - limited to 15 students; the classes are taught by the best profs; 3) priority registration - a big help when trying to set up your schedule, and 4) many of the honors classes fulfill "core education" (aka Gen Ed). Honors Colleges, especially those with Honors Res Halls, give a "small college feel" while still having the resources and choices that usually only larger colleges can offer.</p>
<p>Lastly, my son was able to essentially accept two NMF awards. He was able to accept my hubby's company's one for $10k, and still accept all from UA (except the annual $1k stipend - which is the "official" NMF award). That way, my son got the "best of both worlds" - a great scholarship from UA + the cash (the "official" NMF scholarship administered by NM corp). </p>
<p>So... the point of all of this is.... tell your daughter to "keep an open mind." If you live too far away to comtemplate a "campus visit," then at least go to the website and do the "virtual tour."</p>
<p>I've also posted info about UA's generous Out-of-state scholarships for those who are not National Merit.</p>
<p>The automatic scholarships are really exciting! Let's go one step further, does anyone have any information on the University Fellows Experience? (Besides what is on the website). How competitive is it? How many candidates are chosen?</p>
<p>I am not at home at the moment, so cant check on this, but if memory serves me correctly, the free ride/laptop/stipend offer from U of Alabama (DS got this offer last year) required a committment/acceptance of the offer and requirement that the student list that school as their first choice with National Merit by Dec. 1st, before a student was likely to hear from most other schools. So, be careful. I dont recall if you can change the first choice allocation with NM or not (probably so, but we chose to leave ours as "undecided" until DS was sure).</p>
<p>NM scholarship would be wonderful! However, daughters did not perform to cut off level for many silly reasons. Our first time through this...live and learn. They came back strong on the ACT though (33 for one and 34 for the other). So we are looking at the University Fellows Experience perhaps. Does anyone have experience? Thanks!</p>
<p>UChicago offers 20-30 full tuition and around 100 $10k merit scholarships. They also add money for NMF: $1k per year or $2k if you also qualify for financial aid.</p>
<p>jym >>>> I am not at home at the moment, so cant check on this, but if memory serves me correctly, the free ride/laptop/stipend offer from U of Alabama (DS got this offer last year) required a committment/acceptance of the offer and requirement that the student list that school as their first choice with National Merit by Dec. 1st, before a student was likely to hear from most other schools. So, be careful. I dont recall if you can change the first choice allocation with NM or not (probably so, but we chose to leave ours as "undecided" until DS was sure). <<<<</p>
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<p>This is not true... my son is a NMF at UA and he didn't have to commit until spring. It is true that you must APPLY to the school by December 1st - that must be what this person is confused about. The website clearly states that the application to the school must be by December 1st (obviously one cannot "accept" on the same day the app is due!)</p>
<p>Look at this link for Stanford! It is great for those who qualify!</p>
<p>The Stanford link is appreciated, but doesn't fit the title of this thread because the thread is about merit scholarships, but Stanford's financial aid is need-based. </p>
<p>After edit: But perhaps you were responding to my suggestion to the OP that he/she ought to look at schools with good need-based aid, and I agree that Stanford is one place to look for that.</p>
<p>UA is soaring up my list of colleges because of those scholly offers. Might end up there(hopefully I'll have mt ACT/SAT raised by then) if I don't get in/can't afford Notre Dame.</p>
<p>hawaiiboy.... I sent you a PM with my family's "tried and true" method for improving your test scores. Good luck!</p>