Good Scholarship Chances

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am a sophomore at a private high school. I know its early, but I'm trying to get a sense of things. I have a 4.09 weighted GPA, I am white, and I do the following activities: Varsity cross country, Model UN, Spanish Honor Society, a service initiative program, a social action club, newspaper, and I work in the school shows.
I would not say I have a demonstrated need for aid, but I plan on going to dental school followed by specialty orthodontics training, both of which will be quite expensive. I hope to pay little for undergrad so that I won't be in too much debt later on (a lofty goal, I know).
Keep in mind, by junior/senior year I hope to have closer to a 4.15 GPA. I expect to get a 32-33 on the ACT, and I am not yet sure about the SAT. Out of the following schools, which might I get a good scholarship from? </p>

<ol>
<li>Villanova</li>
<li>Fordham</li>
<li>Holy Cross</li>
<li>Tufts</li>
<li>Boston College</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
<li>Brandeis</li>
<li>Northeastern University</li>
</ol>

<p>If none(which is probable), please list a few schools based on my limited stats- preferably smaller schools very close to metropolitan areas. Thanks for your input!</p>

<p>*also, I am not from the East Coast, where all of the schools I mentioned are. Not sure, but I believe this might be to my benefit?</p>

2

<p>What do you consider to be a “good scholarship”? Some/all of these schools cost $55k+ per year. If you were to get a $10k per year scholarship, would your family happily pay the other $45k per year? Is that what you consider a good scholarship?</p>

<p>What are your parents saying? How much do they want to pay per year? </p>

<p>Keep in mind that if your goal is dental school, then having a high GPA and DAT score is the goal.</p>

3

<p>Not exactly, I’m trying to get half scholarship. My sister’s GPA is .7 lower than mine and she got half to Fordham, and when I talked to my parents, they believed that I could get a full ride to Fordham… but of course they are quite biased.</p>

4

<p>You need to check the web sites of these schools to see if they offer merit scholarships. For example, I do not think Tufts offers merit based aid, and although your stats are good, even getting into a school like Tufts or BC would be a stretch. I certainly would not expect that they would offer you a merit scholarship. No offense. Just reality. You would be more likely to get something at a less rigorous school</p>

5

<p>Not exactly, I’m trying to get half scholarship. My sister’s GPA is .7 lower than mine and she got half to Fordham, and when I talked to my parents, they believed that I could get a full ride to Fordham… but of course they are quite biased.</p>

<p>Merit scholarships are based on test scores, not GPA. So the fact that your GPA is slightly higher than your sister’s doesn’t matter. Your sister’s award was based on her test scores. The GPA part was very secondary.</p>

<p>When you say that your sister got a “half scholarship” to you mean “half tuition”? Does that mean that your parents paid the other half of tuition PLUS they paid for her room, board, and books?</p>

<p>I think the only full tuition scholarship that Fordham gives is to National Merit Finalists and that is based on your PSAT from junior year, and making NMF your senior year. </p>

<p>Again, you need to ask your parents how much they’ll pay. </p>

<p>Also, do NOT solely rely on “maybe scholarships”. If you need very large awards then ALSO apply to a few schools that will DEFINITELY give you the awards for your test scores.</p>

<p>And, you need to be clear about terminology:</p>

<p>Full tuition scholarships: cover tuition, but you still have to pay about $15k-17k per year for room, board, books, fees.</p>

<p>Full ride scholarships: cover all costs, including R&B, books, etc. I don’t think Fordham awards any. If they do, they probably award only a couple to students with perfect test scores and GPA. </p>

<p>Half tuition scholarships: only cover half of the tuition. So at a school like Fordham, your parents would still have to pay about $35k per year (about $20k of half tuition plus about $15k of R&B and books)</p>

<p>Anyway, it’s very doubtful that you’d get a free ride to Fordham. And, if you don’t make NMF, then it’s also doubtful that you’d get full tuition.</p>

<p>Again…find out how much your parents will pay? Also, if you need merit, then remove the non-merit schools like Tufts and BC.</p>

6

<p>I believe Fordham does give out full tuition scholarships but very few. My D1 applied last year with high SAT scores, 4.6 weighted gpa and lots of leadership EC’s (she was valedictorian and won the award for most involved student). They gave her a $30,000 scholarship which I understand is very generous for them. I believe the cost of attendance would have been an additional 30,000. The competition is tough for these scholarships and the full tuition ones go the the very top of the applicant pool. Fortunately, she was awarded a university scholarship to Northeastern which was one of her top choices anyway and she is very happy. That scholarship covers full tuition for all four years.
This time with D2 who is a junior in hs I’m doing my research here and checking out the guaranteed merit scholarships and running all of the numbers on the npc. This way there will be no disappointments when decision time comes around.</p>

7

<p>Try a practice psat. If you are in the realm of top1%… you may qualify for National Merit Finalist… very helpful for Northeastern scholarships.</p>

8

<p>My sister got roughly half of tuition (just over 20k), not including room and board. She has a 3.2 GPA (B/B+) and a 30 on the ACT, while I have a 4.09 GPA (A) as of now and hopefully a 32-33. Her stats are much lower than mine, but her activities resume is outstanding.
Also, some very important info I should have mentioned… I go to a prestigious Jesuit high school. So that adds a good chunk (anywhere from 5-8k) of tuition money to many Jesuit schools that are fond of my school.
Based on our school’s scattergrams, all students, and I mean ALL students, above a 3.89 and a 31 get into BC (except for one student deferred). The pattern is very strict in that way. Tufts is more of a dart board.
My parents will pay up to 35k, but if they do, then grad school is all on me; if they pay a lot less, then they will pitch in for grad school, which is my goal.
Also, I’m hoping to be a semifinalist NM, but that’s not certain because my school is very competitive.
Thanks for your honest input!</p>

9

<p>Also, Villanova is similar to BC at my school; all students above 3.83 GPA and a 31 ACT were accepted but one deferred.</p>

10

<p>Just a reminder - being a NMSF has nothing to do with the competitiveness of your school. It has to do with your state’s cutoff number for scores on the PSAT. That, and your grades, will get your to NMF status.</p>

11

<p>Tufts, BC and HC give out very little to nothing in merit money. To get the awards, one has to be at the very top of the applicant pool. Yes, you are there in GPA, but honestly most merit awards focus heavily on test scores. The grades have to be good, but there is usually some slack in that area, but the test scores are what make the cuts most of the time. You can find out very close to what you can get from Fordham by playing around with the NPCs. Most of their awards are based on merit so you can see by changing your test score parameters, you award will change. I believe Fordham and NEU give out full scholarship awards fro NMFs. You should check out those schools that do offer that. My son’s school has a lot of kids getting accepted to Villanova, BC, GT, HC too, but getting large merit money is a whole other story. It is quite sobering to have to understand that even a $30K award just covers not even 1/2 the full cost of these big boys.</p>

<p>So without those test scores, it’s nearly impossible to come up with the likely schools for awards.</p>

<p>With good test scores, there are any number of Catholic schools, not just Jesuit ones that will come up with some good awards for you. I know Manhattan, Iona, St Joe’s, nearly all of the PA Catholic schools would certainly ante up some money. BC only has a very limited number of 1/2 tuition awards and those go to those kids they want the most, the kids they entice from the ivies from what I have seen. Do go for it, but understand they are highly selective. </p>

<p>So when you have some true test scores, you can come up with some schools that are good possibilities.</p>

12

<p>Also, I’m hoping to be a semifinalist NM, but that’s not certain because my school is very competitive.</p>

<p>Your school has NOTHING to do with becoming a NMSF. Making NMSF is based ONLY on your PSAT score. Your school can have 1000 NMSF’s. There is NO LIMIT. there is no “competition” at a school for becoming NMSF or NMF.</p>

<p>Yes, many (not all) Jesuit univ automatically give a $10k per year scholarship to all/most incoming frosh who come from Jesuit HS, plus they do give priority for admission. I don’t think BC gives a $10k merit to incoming frosh from Jesuit HS. BC doesn’t give merit.</p>

<p>The problem with BC, isn’t about admittance. You probably will get admitted. The problem is that you’re not likely going to get any free money from them. If your parents can afford to pay $35k per year for college, then likely their income/assets are high enough that BC will determine that you won’t get any need-based aid and they don’t give merit. Apply and find out, but be sure to have some financial safeties. </p>

<p>Spend this summer practicing for the PSAT that you’ll take in October.</p>

13

<p>BC gives out a limited number of 1/2 tuition scholarships. I don’t remember the number, but it is very, very small in relationship to how many kids they accept. Like 20 or so of them. It’s not just academic numbers they are looking for either, but diversity. They use the award to pull in the kids they most want for a lot of reasons. THose kids coming from “feeder” regions are going to have a tough go getting those awards as the line is around the city as for Catholic school kids wanting in at BC. They don’t have to buy those kids;they are for the picking. </p>

<p>Holy Cross has very few academic awards, and they, too, are difficult to get. As Mom2 says, applying to them is fine, but don’t count on any auto awards from those schools. </p>

<p>Cerjoo2, one my kids also got the $30K award. We were so impressed and then somber when we realized there was still that much to pay. Sigh.</p>

14

<p>^^^</p>

<p>BC does offer 15 merit scholarships to the 15 top applicants, which likely have perfect stats, perfect test scores, with the other aspects (like leadership, community service) being used for down-selecting. </p>

<p>It sounds like these offers are given to students who’d otherwise be attending HYPS.</p>

<p>This student is predicting an ACT in the 32 range, so not likely going to qualify. </p>

<p>Does Boston College offer merit scholarships?</p>

<p>Boston College is committed to need-based financial aid and, therefore, offers very little merit money. The Presidential Scholars Program offers our only merit-based scholarship, and is awarded to the top 15 students each year. Presidential Scholars receive a full-tuition scholarship regardless of financial need. There is no separate application required to be considered for the scholarship. To be eligible, students must simply apply through the Early Action application process. Scholars are selected by the Committee on Admission based on academic excellence, demonstrated leadership ability, significant community service involvement, and potential. Boston College awards all other money (more than $60 million in 2008) through need-based financial aid.</p>

15

<p>Mom2, they do come up with more than 15 at least in some years, I know. They do not necessarily have the top scores. I know a number of recipients over the past 15 years, and know many who were passed up for the awards with close to perfect scores the same years others got the award without such stats. A good friend of mine and former teacher to my son has a DD who got the award, and though she is very good student, she was no where near the top in terms of stats or even in the whole package as I know many BC accepted kids that year who were. But she was from the Midwest and the other kids were from the NYC area, and BC gets so many apps from here. About 10% of my kids’ schools were accepted to BC. </p>

<p>Also, the award used to be half tuition. Things change, so it is important to check on what is current with schools.</p>

16

<p>Actually, NMF does have to do with my school. About 20 kids usually get NMSF, which is based mostly on test scores. Every single year, 15 or 18 become NMF while a few kids remain NMSF. This is because the school cannot let everyone get NMF, so they take into account “the whole package”. So yes, the competitiveness of my school absolutely matters for me.</p>

17

<p>Look at NOVA Southeastern in Florida. They have a dental program you can apply for as a freshman and offer merit scholarships.</p>

18

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<p>Why not? All the NMSF’s at my D’s high school became NMF’s. I wasn’t aware there was a per school limit.</p>

19

<p>There is no limit on NMSF becoming NMF. At DS’ school, there are literally over a hundred every year.</p>