@twoin18, the Eccles program sounds wonderful, and not just for the scholarship. FSU, UA, UMD, UTD, and several other schools have these types of highly selective cohort programs. I don’t know if she has any chance of getting selected for these programs,. but I do think she’d grow tremendously with the extra support and attention.
Would a school like Tufts interest her? Swimming might work for her there. It’s really hard to tell from her list what is resonating.
Duke could be worth a try w/o swimming.
Some of those LACs are small and remote. Is that what she wants or something bigger?
Sounds like she’d enjoy my alma mater, Lehigh University.
Did you run the NPC for Davidson? My D was NMF, 4.0, etc. and they offered the most generous aid package of any of the privates she applied to. And they are no loans school so she will graduate debt free. Important to mention that we are bubble family so most colleges only offered work study and the basic federal loans. Davidson offered a grant that brought total costs almost $15k less than EFC with, as I said, no loans!
We didn’t run the NPC b4 she applied so I don’t know how accurate it would have been. The grant is not specifically NMF related but learned through the grapevine later that it may have been connected. So even if NPC number is higher, you could be pleasantly surprised like we were.
When I read your D’s interests it immediately seemed to me that Davidson would appeal to her – if she’s okay with size. Campus has bigger feel than you’d think and tremendous opportunities for students.
Meets Full Need schools should all be on the radar, especially the ones that meet with grants. You can google that but schools like Vandy, Rice, Wake (I think - know they meet full need, not sure about grants), Duke, could work.
The beauty is you most likely are set for safeties in FL so view it as a win and hunt for aid, either need or merit). Just be aware the merit at these top schools is VERY competitive. Lots of perfect scores with limited spots. Hard enough to get admitted let alone merit aid.
Good luck!
@1stTimeThruMom, thanks for the rec. We’ll check it out…
@AlmostThere2018, We ran the numbers for Davidson and it’s definitely on our list. I will call them next week to see if I can get a sense of their approach to non-custodial waivers. She’s somewhat concerned about the size, but it’s not a deal-breaker. There’s no perfect school/job/spouse, and she gets that. Thoughts on Davidson for undecided majors?
@gardenstategal, YES, we are all over the place I know. Part of the reason is because we’re chasing dollars. Duke, for instance, would be in her top 10 but I think we have to cross it off b/c the EFC is too high and chance of merit aid is negligible. On the reverse side, a school like Washington and Lee, while smaller, less diverse, and more Greek than she might like, is still on the list because the EFC is more reasonable, there’s also at least a semi-realistic chance for a full scholarship AND the school seems to provide amazing opportunities.
Another reason our lists are all over the place is because she very much wants to find the school that will:
*Provide rich, opportunities beyond the classroom (research/internship/travel/new experiences and perspectives)
*Have strong STEM and finance/econ departments (as those are her broad areas of interest)
*Have bright, ambitious, kind, diverse students
*Support her as she explores majors/careers
*Help her develop leadership and life skills so her academic success translates into life success
*Give her a leg up in terms of grad schools and/or job placement
*Provide the best chance for significant upward mobility (This may sound crass, but it’s very important to her. She’s a kid who had to buy the bargain prom dress, so she has a very pragmatic understanding of finances and the importance of ROI.)
Of course, I realize she’ll find this support at any decent school, but I do think that some schools excel in these areas, while programs like Randall, McDermott, or Eccles seem like they also go “above and beyond” for selected students.
But yet yeah, it’s very difficult to figure out which reach schools check off her boxes, are potentially affordable, and not so selective that she has no realistic shot. Glad we have the safety/matches nailed down at least!
@TrendaLeigh – Davidson gives a lot of space/time to declare a major. Like other small schools highly specialized classes are not offered every semester so you have to some course planning to take that into account.
They have a brand new science building that is amazing – Wall. You should look it up and see the pics. Chem and Bio are very strong. Economics as well.
Williams sounds like a great fit academically, since it has especially strong econ and math departments (which are the two most popular majors there). As a school, it’s well-resourced and provides a lot of support for students. But it’s small and very rural, which may or may not be appealing to a prospective student depending on their preferences.
@rickle1, yes, I realize she doesn’t have a chance at merit aid at the top schools - and it wouldn’t really help much unless it was full ride, because it would generally just replace need-based aid with grant-based aid. However, the FCs at most no-loan, full-need schools are at least semi-feasible. It is interesting how EFC varies from school to school; “meets full need” means something very different at Yale versus Vandy versus Wash U.
@writingpumpkin03, she’s going to apply to WOW, although as a non-URM, I guess her chances are negligible. She really needs to visit one of these smaller LAC schools to see what she thinks. She’s a very unspoiled kid, though, so I think she’d be happy at most of the schools mentioned, as well at her safety/match schools if her reaches don’t work out.
If you and your D have not had contact with her father, and he is not giving any support money, and you aren’t sure where he lives without investigating, you have a decent chance of getting that NCP waiver which would make things a little bit more possible in terms of reach schools being realistic.
For instance, I agree Duke is a lottery ticket, a very highly unlikely lottery ticket if you need one of those merit awards. However, with a NCP waiver, Duke’s excellent financial aid makes it good reach possibility. Not that your daughter, or anyone is a cinch to get in there but comparing acceptance there to Getting in AND getting enough merit money are at two different levels of probability.
LOL to whoever listed Washington and Lee with warm weather schools. My D went there and had snow in april one year and did river water specimen collection in 20 degree weather. But she had several close friends who swam and they were a great group of girls. If she got an interview for Johnson scholarship W&L could be a great choice. Not the easiest place to get for if you want to be able to fly.
Not really a reach but UofSC honors college is great community. If she gets NMF it is automatic stackable scholarship. Being chosen as top scholar (McNair for OOS) is a reach. Younger D had great experience and is new at Ivy for Grad school. Grants for undergrad research and lots of encouragement for study abroad and fellowships.
If the EFC numbers work for a lottery ticket at Penn (which is quite generous with aid), it sounds like a great place for your DS. Very pragmatic, pre-professional vibe, awesome opportunities for internships and research, strong in STEM and Business, etc. The pipeline to high paying jobs is very wide…
When I read your post, I immediately thought “Georgetown”–100% need-based (but 0% merit). Someone also mentioned USC–not as prestigious but a top 20 and they are really generous with merit-aid. It is a really big school, however, although it didn’t feel that way when you’re on campus.