November 30 was the “recommended” deadline for Schreyer, but the official deadline is December 20.
https://www.shc.psu.edu/admissions/faq/
It does require a few short essays.
@bodangles Thanks. They need to run the NPC on that school rather than assuming it will be affordable. They need almost 18k off sticker price for their 20 k target. Four days for that official deadline. ^
Note the Schreyer scholarship is 5k a year. You had to submit by Nov 30 for an interview and they DO NOT look at SAT test scores.
If there are financial circumstances that occurred recently, I’d say go for a few that get you close and then appeal the aid. But check out the links that were posted for you earlier. There are some ideas. And you are going to have to play some in state options to see how close you can get to your number.
Sorry about Penn. It was a brutal ED year. The DP had an article with the numbers; the rise in ED applications was significant. FYI: I’m an alum as well; I would NEVER get in today.
Good luck!
I think that virtually ALL of us Penn alums feel that way! The kind of stats that you need nowadays for Penn, would have been a shoe-in for the top four schools in the country way back when.
Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. This was what I was afraid of. The planning should have been done way ahead of time.
Yes, 75% of those accepted to Ivies 30 years ago wouldn’t be accepted today - it’s not that students are smarter, it’s that more have access to the top schools as institutional aid has never been stronger.
Actually, Penn gave a full free ride for poor people when I went. (I’m tail end of the baby boom.) I think that several things have led to the hyper-competitive environment. The common app makes it much easier for kids to apply to many more schools - it used to be that public school students routinely applied to three - a reach, a good fit, and a safety. Even a private school kid might apply to only seven or so. The other thing that’s changed is that so many international students are coming to the US for college, vastly increasing the application pool. In addition, there is so much more pressure on kids to perform, academically. My kids do much more schoolwork than I or my spouse ever did. I never did any prep for the SATs. And I didn’t worry about extracurriculars. Nowadays, if you want And even the rack rate price at Penn was proportionally less than half what it is today. When considering the value of a dollar then and now, that Penn education cost about what an in-state school costs nowadays, and the Penn education is triple the price, inflation factored in!
I think that the added competition has made high school an experience more like the East Asian cram school kids’ experience, for those who aspire to the top schools. I have tried to keep some balance in my kids’ lives, knowing that it’s unlikely that any of them will wind up at an Ivy. Oh, well.
I think he might have a chance of getting close to $20K at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. That is my D’s lowest net price so far for an out of state private.
Lycoming should also come to the low $20K range with a visit and interview. I think this might be a good choice for his interests, but I’m guessing.
I would also definitely look at Elizabethtown and the Stamps with the history of overcoming adversity. Deadline might be February 1.
I’ve heard a TCNJ likes out of state students and merit might be good.
@parentologist Kiddo should look in the 75-125 ranking range for this much merit - Temple, University of Arizona, Ohio State. Look USNews https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities
When I interviewed at Penn in the early 80s, the interviewer said “I usually don’t see such a big spread between math and verbal scores”…my heart sank. Then she said “oh! you are a Region 5!” (I was from suburban Los Angeles.) I didn’t know what that was but could tell it was good…so I said “Yes I am!!!” and then we had a great interview. Yup…I got in because I was geographically desirable. 
@SwimmingDad, yup no need for the top schools to worry about US geographic diversity anymore, only international.
@parentologist, actually international admission is a higher bar at all of the top privates as students are really just competing against themselves towards a soft quota that the school has established, but it is becoming an ever increasing part of many state flagships as the attraction of full pay students that also pay an international surcharge is huge!
Theoretically the test prep raises the bar for all applicants, so I think the biggest changes are the ease of the Common Application and the ability to learn about schools from your laptop thereby seeking colleges across a greater geography as well as the evolution of many more need blind/meet 100% of demonstrated need schools.
I do agree that high schools today as so much more mature intellectually then back in the 80’s…
I think another big driver of diversity is the outreach that the top schools engage in today to recruit the best and brightest from every neighborhood in the country, and not just the one’s where the alumni kids live.
I think Juniata, Westminster, and Muhlenberg may all have a few competitive full tuition scholarships. I don’t know their deadlines. There are also honor’s programs at larger publics if prefer larger schools. Would need to investigate merit and distance. Agree some Ohio schools give good merit.
Since the budget limit is $20K, and Penn doesn’t grant merit aid, does that mean this family was counting on need-based aid? If so, there may be good opportunities for that a schools a bit less selective than Penn whose deadlines have not passed.
@parentologist What is his EFC? The family is trying to find an affordable option based on merit or do they have great need? Sounds like divorced parents with two sources of income?
@parentologist, did son receive merit money at any of the rolling admission EA schools that he applied to?
Try WVU (West Virginia University). My DD is being offered $20k+ for out of state with similar stats. And it’s only about $40k oos state, so it is around $20k per year net. (Honors College)
Well, just found out that the kid was offered virtually free tuition at Albright (although would still have to pay room and board). Hope kid chooses to go there!