<p>Sounds like she would be a candidate for merit aid at Dickinson. Dickinson is quite strong in languages and study abroad. It has a lot more foreign language majors/minors than its peer schools. Double majoring in a language is popular there. </p>
<p>You can find the stats on how many students actually graduate with a particular major on the NCES College Navigator site. </p>
<p>I just did a quick search and Dickinson had 29 students with foreign language majors, including 8 French majors, in the most recent year for which data is available. Gettysburg had 18 foreign language majors, including 5 French majors, with a slightly larger population (2386 vs 2600). Lafayette had only 5 foreign language majors, 4 of the French.</p>
<p>These numbers don’t include the addition “studies” majors, such as Italian Studies, East Asian, Latin American, Near and Middle Eastern Studies majors, which also have heavy foreign language components, which at Dickinson add up to another 16 students. </p>
<p>My daughter is a rising sophomore at Dickinson. She started college liking Italian but not planning to major or minor in it, and is now planning to double major in Italian Studies (and psychology).</p>
<p>Middlebury is another LAC strong in languages, but it is much more selective, and I don’t know if it even offers merit aid.</p>
<p>A word of caution about NMF. New York sets a very high bar for finalists. S scored 790 M and 750 CR on SAT I, 790 US Hist and 770 Math SAT IIs. Did not make the cut for NMF. In almost all other states, he would have… but not NY. The NMF scholarships are a wonderful strategy, but be ready to diversify.</p>
<p>I was glad that so many others recommended women’s colleges for your D. They came to my mind right away, as well. Barnard would be good for TAP.</p>
<p>Along those lines, since you are in New York, you have a lot of great options…
– SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Bing. Very different schools but both very well regarded – and a bargain for the price. You already mentioned New Paltz and I think one other? New Paltz has an honors program (no merit money but some perks like mentoring, first pick of classes, etc) and it is in a fun college town. </p>
<p>-- HEOP if you are low income. Look it up to see if your household income makes you eligible and then make a plan. There are a couple dozen schools that range from Cornell and Columbia to less selective colleges. The key is to find a school where your D’s stats hover EXACTLY at the lower 25% percentile. Barnard is an HEOP school. Hamilton is another. This opportunity program is funded through the state all the way to masters level.</p>
<p>As for other ideas…
– Questbridge (again for lower income). There is a whole subforum about QB which you can look into.</p>
<p>-- You can always throw in a couple of reaches that are generous with financial aid. If they are not too far from home at least you will save on travel costs. Vassar comes to mind, they have excellent language programs and they are near a local commuter train.</p>
<p>This is a really important website and you can learn so much from the experienced posters who share a wealth of information here. It is great that you are here – please let us know how your D’s college search unfolds!</p>
<p>Barnard is need-only. @Dharmawheel described the family financial situation as “peculiar” referring to savings being exhausted during years of job loss – but I interpreted that to mean that the employment situation is now resolved and family has an income that wouldn’t qualify for the amount of need based aid they would require.</p>
<p>Obviously it would make sense to run the numbers with the NPC to see whether Barnard would be do-able – but the point is that it is neither mid-level nor merit-giving. </p>
<p>Something doesnt sound right. EVERY state has the SAME cutoff of the SAT to make NMF…which is about 1980. States do NOT have their own cutoffs after the NMSF cutoff.</p>
<p>Are you saying that your son made NMSF in NY with his PSAT score , filled out the NMSF paperwork during fall of senior year, and then did NOT make NMF? If so, it wasnt because of his SAT…it was due to something else. </p>
<p>NY doesnt get to set any such bar…it has no say at all.</p>
<p>Calmom is right about why the financial picture is “peculiar”–five years of unemployment/underemployment, then in January came a full-time job that, supplemented by drawing on a small pension (my husband is 62) gives us enough to live on. So the combined sally puts us squarely in the middle-class, but there are no savings. We do have a protected annuity to supplement social security but can’t touch that for college.</p>
<p>Nebraska has a few decent colleges…Nebraska, Nebraska-Omaha, Creighton. Personally, i think you should broaden your search outside Nebraska. Maybe consider some Iowa schools. :)) </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids, I think that @momcino was simply trying to emphasize that she had a kid who did very well on standardized tests, but who did not make the NY cutoff for National Merit because it’s such a high bar, so the OP shouldn’t count on that and should have a Plan B.</p>
<p>mom2, I believe that the situation is the reverse of what you suggest: the student had high scores on the actual SAT, but his PSAT was not high enough to make the NY cut-off.</p>
<p>OP, I think it is going to be particularly important for you to run the NPCs. Your ages and lack of savings may be taken into account. And don’t discount the possibility of appeal, if that becomes necessary. </p>
<p>If FA is crucial, casting a wide net is key. I also think that in her case, prepping for the PSAT is crucial.</p>
<p>"Of these entrants, some 16,000 Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 1% percent of the state’s senior students…</p>
<p>Qualification levels also vary by state, and qualifying levels are higher in competitive states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts."</p>
<p>Yes, suzy100 hit the nail on the head. I was trying to say that even with high achievers the NMF status is not a given, it would be good to have a back up plan – esp if you are in NY which has one of the highest PSAT ceilings.</p>