I was specifically referring to the Texas A&M Brown Scholarship and admission application. Most merit applications are due by the EA deadline, which is November 1 for many schools.
How much progress has your daughter made on her college applications?
University of Miami Nov 1 and Emory Nov 15. I imagine most of these will be in the same timeframe. You need to do a spreadsheet ASAP with due dates and essay requirements. At that point I think you will know how much more you need to cut.
As others have asked, how far along is this student with essays?
Spreadsheets are vital. Also add columns for essay topics and word limits so she will know which essays have overlap, which can make it a little easier.
I echo many others in saying that this is going to be a LOT of work to do well.
I am under the impression that she is not far along with her essays. Please correct me if I am wrong. She needs to prioritize:
Right now she needs to focus on the schools that are auto admit/auto merit/ affordable. Once she hits “submit” then she can move on to the others, because at least she will have a school to attend. Make sure there is a school in there that she likes.
Next, I would focus on the schools where she has a chance for large awards: Miami, Richmond, Pitt, Vandy (slim but possible due to scores). Check and see if GW gives full rides/full tuition. If they don’t, this school will not be affordable. Same goes for UMD- they really don’t give the BK to OOS students these days.
The remaining schools can be saved for last. This is especially true for Duke/UNC- I would not complete this app until she has realistic schools submitted. The Robertson/Morehead Cains I know developed HS clubs that went national, etc.
Drop the Ivies if they are not affordable.
Medical schools do not care about undergrad prestige.
The confusion is that you are talking only about need blind colleges that need full need. That is a subset of colleges that are need blind, because most need blind colleges don’t meet full need.
I don’t know of a list, but many schools don’t consider financial need when making admission decisions….including many, probably most public colleges. These schools don’t need to take level of need into the admissions decision because they aren’t going to get close to meeting full financial need for most applicants. Said differently, an offer of admission at these schools doesn’t require the school to make a guaranteed underwriting/investment in any accepted applicant.
Yet another example of why I shouldn’t trust the internet…
Here is a complete list of need-blind universities in the United States in 2021. We’ve also bolded the names of full-need-met, no-loans schools to help you in your decision-making process.
| Adrian College | Harvey Mudd College | Stanford University |
|---|---|---|
| Amherst College | Haverford College | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry |
| Babson College | Hiram College | Swarthmore College |
| Barnard College | Ithaca College | Syracuse University |
| Baylor University | Jewish Theological Seminary | Texas Christian University (TCU) |
| Biola University | Johns Hopkins University | The College of New Jersey |
| Boston College | Julliard | Thomas Aquinas College |
| Boston University | Kenyon College | Trinity University |
| Bowdoin College | Lawrence University | Tulane University |
| Brandeis University | Lehigh University | University of Chicago |
| Brown University | Lewis & Clark College | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Marist College | University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business |
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | Marlboro College | University of Miami |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | University of New Hampshire |
| Chapman University | Middlebury College | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Claremont McKenna College | Mount St. Mary’s College | University of Notre Dame |
| Columbia University | New York University (NYU) | University of Pennsylvania |
| Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | North Carolina State University (NCSU) | University of Richmond |
| Cornell College | North Central College | University of Rochester |
| Cornell University | Northeastern University | University of Southern California (USC) |
| Curtis Institute of Music | Northwestern University | University of Vermont |
| Dartmouth College | Olin College | University of Virginia |
| Davidson College | Penn State | University of Washington |
| Denison University | Pomona College | Ursuline College |
| DePaul University | Princeton University | Vanderbilt University |
| Duke University | Providence College | Vassar College |
| Elon University | Randolph College | Wabash College |
| Emory University | Rice University | Wake Forest University School of Medicine |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) | Salem College | Wellesley College |
| Florida State University | Saint Louis University | Wesleyan University |
| Fordham University | San Jose State University | Williams College |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | Santa Clara University | Yale University |
| Georgetown University | Southern Methodist University (SMU) | Yeshiva University |
| Grinnell College | Soka University of America | |
| Hamilton College | St. John’s College | |
| Harvard University | St. Olaf College |
And another…
The following is a list of all colleges that offer need-blind admission for U.S. applicants. The colleges that also meet the full demonstrated financial need are listed in bold.
My fault for assuming these to be accurate.
Also, do not use websites other than the college’s own for up to date information about application deadlines. Some majors/programs/colleges within a university can fill up, have early/different deadlines. I’ve also seen extended deadlines on occasion.
Keep in mind while some won’t mind if the applicant submits by the deadline and supporting documents come in after, others can be sticklers and want the entire application, references, transcripts etc. received prior to the deadline. You need to submit well ahead of the deadline to those so you can track and follow up with the hs guidance counselor, etc. to be sure everything is in on time.
I think it’s great to reach and your daughter is impressive. However, as others have said, you need more “realistic” matches and some safeties. Nothing wrong with merit hunting if she’s willing to put in the time (a lot to make her app / essays stand out).
For perspective purposes only, we have some experience with the Jefferson Scholars program (wonderful program / school). S was his school’s nominee. Made it to the second round (interviews). Had a great session. Didn’t move forward. More importantly, was declined admission outright, not even waitlisted. Knows a few other kids with the same result. Just the way it is. Your D will be in tough competition with many other amazing kids. None more amazing than the other, just depends what the school or scholarship is looking for.
“She’d love a gorgeous campus (trees, traditional layout, etc.), on the East Coast, perhaps midwest, and ideally a small group (honors colleges, scholars programs, etc.) within a large institution.”
Here is a 26 student cohort program at Ohio State. If she doesn’t make it in there are also good opportunities in their honors or scholars programs as well. She might be a fit for their Morrill or Eminence scholarships, and would be a likely candidate for their National Buckeye which stacks with some of their other merit awards.
The Biomedical Science application deadline is Nov. 15, but the student must have already completed the university’s early application, Nov. 1.
" * Note that being offered admission to Ohio State does not guarantee admission to the Biomedical Science major. Students who are admitted to Ohio State but not admitted to the Biomedical Science major still have valid admission to Ohio State."
All the California UC’s and Cal states are need blind and do not met need.
I hear this a lot on CC but I recently came across this on Reddit A2C:
Top 25 medical schools undergrad representation, July 2021:
Don’t know what to believe…
This article is comparing “most selective” colleges to “minimally selective” and “non selective” colleges. I am not suggesting that this student attend a “non selective” school.
Colleges such as Pitt, Ohio State, U of SC etc certainly send plenty of students to medical school.,
Most colleges are going to say they’re need blind, even if they really aren’t, I know shocking that colleges would mislead! Need blind is one of the bigger deceptions, as I think ucbalumnus has posted, colleges may be need blind at individual level but not at the class level. They all have a budget, even Harvard, so a certain class will be full-pay, and they know by zip code, ECs, who that will be. These colleges would love to have half the class fund the other half, and use minimal amount of FA.
“Hi. For context, the student goes to a small private school in Puerto Rico.”
That actually could help, at least with admissions, very few people in these colleges are from a US territory. You may only be competing with other students in P/R. It may not help with the scholarships though as there you’ll be competing nationally.
Might want to check out the McCollough Scholars program for premeds at U Alabama. Program Description – McCollough Scholars And, of course, look at U Alabama merit.
The article lists only the top medical schools. My niece graduated from Vandy and then attended the TN state med school (her in state med school), which was nowhere on this list. “Prestigious” undergrad does not feed into “prestigious” med school by default . Getting into any US med school is a big accomplishment, and definitely prestigious , IMO!
One other option is that if your daughter is interested in Neuroscience and pre-med, would she consider Cognitive Science instead (combined with pre-med). Cog Sci often has (or can have, depending on the student) a large Neuroscience component. I ask because McGill University in Montreal is very affordable for Cog Sci and admits based on GPA and test scores – they don’t care about ECs or LOR etc. And although you have said your daughter’s are very good, so are many, many other kids and hers may or may not stand out in a way that you are hoping or expecting,
McGill is a very hightly-regarded college and they have different tuition structures for different majors. Cognitive Science falls under the “Faculty of Arts and Sciences” arena, and has one of the lower tuition costs that they offer. Tuition and room and board, at the current exchange rate, comes in at about 35k for a student living in a dorm, and considerably less if/when they move off campus as cost of living for apartments is quite low by major-metropolitan US standards. (Please note that all costs posted on McGill’s website are in Canadian dollars and of course have to be converted, and the exchange rate could change during the course of her education).
With your daughter’s stats, I think she would be a likely admit, and you perhaps at this price point you wouldn’t have to worry about gaining (and maintaining) merit money. (Since I don’t think you have posted a budget, I could of course be way off on this). They also give generous academic creidt for APs, so it is possible she could enter as a second year (what they call Year 1, as Freshman year is Year 0) and save even more money that way
Now, McGill tends to not have small classes (at least for introductory classes), and I don’t think it is leafy and green – both of which you said your daughter was hoping for. But people seem to love McGill and love being in Montreal even more. It’s supposed to be a wonderful place to be a college student.
You would have to look into if she could take pre-med at McGill as a Cog Sci major – and how the American med schools would assess that. That is not something I know about.
Also, although McGilll has a very high acceptance rate, it has been explained to me that is because only the most highly-qualified students apply, as the Canadian schools don’t work on a “holistic” methodology and therefore many students who don’t meet their cutoffs don’t bother to apply because they know they won’t get in. So I wouldn’t let McGill’s high acceptance rate be a negative, since previous posts have indicated a search for relatively high prestige.
Good luck!
Top 2 Florida Publics UF and FSU Priority deadline for merit is November 1st
Add to this list just about every public university AND every community college. All are need blind. And the vast vast majority don’t meet full need for all.
Just adding those will bump up your list hugely.
Good idea but she might get more money from UCF or USF. FSU would probably offer merit too. Not sure about UF. I’m not a FL resident.
UF is $500 Natl Merit - and tuition is reasonable. They have merit but it goes to very few.
FSU will give an OOS waiver - hence it’s on the list of “auto merit” - it’s not auto but with, last year, a 31 ACT - you got it. Very good Honors…my daughter got into #1 U of SC Honors but rejected FSU Honors - so not easy.
Tuition is $7K In-state - so that’s what the OP would pay. NMF is another $500 (and would get the in-state waiver just like the 31 ACT).
The Florida publics are diverse - large Jewish populations, for example and I’m sure have Muslim populations. They are well ranked - FSU has been growing - #55 now. UF now tied with UNC at #28.
And FSU is really really nice - and my daughter thought UF was (it wasn’t :)) - but both are obviously terrific names and even at full pop which the OP wouldn’t pay, are great values.